slashnode.

Google have finally released a secure, HTTPS version of their search website. This is long overdue, in my opinion.

SSL creates a secure tunnel through which communications between the client (ie: you) and the server (ie: Google) cannot be understood if they are intercepted. In a world where unsecured public wireless networks are becoming increasingly available, SSL enabled websites are becoming more and more important.

To read more about Google’s SSL solution, check out the help document accessible from the Google support knowledgebase.

Note that only Google Web Search is available via SSL; other products, such as Google Images and Google Maps images are not currently available via SSL. If you are using SSL, these properties can not be displayed in the left pane.

So go on, head on over there and give it a try!

Google's Pacman tribute

Fans of the retro classic Pacman will be rewarded when visiting Google.com today. To mark the 30th year anniversary of Pacman’s release, the Google team have created their first playable doodle.

Pac-Man is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for U.S. distribution by Midway, first in Japan 22nd Published in May 1980. Immensely popular in the United States from its original version to the present day, Pac-Man is universally regarded as a classic medium, virtually synonymous with video games in 1980 and an icon of popular culture.

The Google Doodle tradition was started in 1998 when Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin created a doodle for Burning Man Festival. The doodle was designed by Brin and Page to inform users in-case of the server crashing during their absence.

Google Doodles following this event were designed by an outside contractor, until Larry and Sergey asked the then-intern Dennis Hwang to design a logo for Bastille Day in 2000. Hwang has been responsible for designing Google Doodles since.