Wednesday, September 24, 2008

get on the bus.

Read the stamp on my hand earlier this afternoon. Around lunch time today, there was a Google bus parked in the Newcomb Plaza and a huge tent with lots of computers set up underneath it, demonstrating Google apps.

UVa had recently switched to Gmail for hosting school email, so I suppose Google probably saw this as a good opportunity to educate the student population regarding Google and some free publicity. In front of the tent was a table full of gumball machines, and lots of frisbees and whiteboards being handed out. After the lady up front commandeered someone, you were given a comprehensive tour and guide of how to use Google features. It was really interesting, and I learned a thing or two even though I've been using Gmail since high school. After the demonstration, your hand was stamped with "Get on the bus" and that provided entry to the Google bus parked to the side.

The bus was seriously cool. All the seats were taken out, with a row of couches to either side of the bus. There were whiteboards covering all the walls, so students were frantically scribbling stuff on the walls. There was another person handing out t-shirts (college students pretty much get free t-shirts out of the wazoo, it's a pretty sweet perk!) and get this, there was Rock Band for the Wii set up in the very back. I was impressed and hey, Google just rocks. =)