» Smart Phones, Web Design, Google or whatever
Email and Gmail
Email and Gmail, especially the latter since I think its such a great email platform.
Minority Report & Xbox Kinect Meet Gmail Motion!
Mar 31st
APRIL FOOLS!
Above is a part of the movie Minority Report where Tom Cruise uses a cool, futuristic motion-operated computer interface. With Xbox’s Kinect, this may not be as far off into the future as we expect. Today Gmail has announced Google Motion [beta] and you can sign up today!
If this is all a bit much for you, or if perhaps you don’t have a webcam yet, read about Manu Cornet, a member of the Gmail Frontend team who’s worked hush-hush stuff and Nested Labels, Message Sneak Peek, and the Unread Message Icon.
In the interview Manu answers these questions
- What do you do on the Gmail team and what did you do before joining Google?
- How did themes get started and how did you help develop them?
- What are the three Gmail features you wouldn’t be able to live without?
- What do you do when you’re not working on Gmail?
- What would your last meal be?
Minorty Report-Like Motion Interaction
Gmail Motion BETA – How it Works
How to Switch to Gmail
Mar 21st
Have you ever thought of switching to Gmail? Did the task of switching to Gmail seem too large for you to do effectivelywithout losing any of your inportant email, contacts etc? Good news, Google has a new “Switch to Gmail” website and has a new “6 step” mini site to help walk you through this task and answer some good questions.
Gmail Expands Priority Inbox Past Android for Mobiles
Feb 8th
If you have a smart phone but its not an Android you wanted Priority Inbox, the Gmail mobile web app now supports it!
The Gmail blog says:
Now, once you set up Priority Inbox in the desktop version of Gmail, you’ll see Priority Inbox sections when you visit gmail.com from your phone’s browser and click on the ‘Menu’ screen. You’ll also see importance markers in your inbox, so you can quickly identify which messages are important.
Read the entire Priority Inbox for mobile post for more detail. Also, the Gmail Mobile blog has more great reading for all things Google/Mobile.
Improvements to Google Contacts and Google Docs
Feb 3rd
Google Contacts
Along with updates to the Google Docs interface, Google has made improvements to Google Contacts as well in the form of new features to managing groups.
NEW CONTACTS FEATURE 1
You can add multiple email addresses by pasting a list into the Add to Group menu.
NEW CONTACTS FEATURE 2
You can also specify which email address is used in a given group.
Google Docs
For starters there is a new preview panel on the right sidebar, you can preview videos in the preview pane, its easier to view pictures/images, its simpler to explore and browse your files and more (read the entire post for more info on these features, visit Google Docs to explore, you can even take a guided tour in Google Docs that’s really informative, and there’s an Getting Started with Google Docs page, too).
…
Gmail Labs Unread Messages Icon
Feb 3rd
For those of you using Chrome or similar browsers with small tabs you may find this new Labs feature interesting… Unread message icon. In Chrome (version 6 and above) and Firefox (version 2 and above) you can see the number of unread messages on your tab where the Gmail “favicon” is located.
Google says…
When you’re visiting sites other than Gmail, it’s easy to find out how many unread messages are in your inbox by glancing at the title of your Gmail tab or window. However, if you have a ton of tabs open, or if you use Chrome’s “Pin Tab” feature that hides everything except the tab’s icon, it can be tricky to figure out without switching tabs.
- Gmail Blog, January 25, 2011
I expect this idea may find more use when its applies it to more browsers than Chrome and Firefox. Several Gmail (Labs) features that have come out lately have been specifically, or primarily, for Chrome.
HTML5 Desktop Notifications for Gmail and Chat
Jan 27th
For Chrome users, and thanks to HTML5 Desktop Notifications don’t have to miss new emails and chats in Gmail just because you aren’t in your Gmail window. Maybe you’ve switched to a different tab, browser or program and missed an important reply via Gmail or Gmail chat? No more, thanks to HTML5 Desktop Notifications.
Google has thought this new feature out, so you can enable notifications for Gmail, or Chats, or both; and you’ll get a popup notification whenever you get a new message.
Google is already planning to make desktop notifications available for other browsers so that you can enjoy it even if you don’t use Chrome.
How Do I Restore Deleted Contacts in Gmail?
Jan 3rd
In the past if you deleted contacts in Gmail they were lost permanently after a short time. No more, because now Gmail allows you to restore your contact list to an earlier date. This new feature allows you to undo deleting a contact, undo importing contact, or undo a contact list merge.
We’ve added a new feature to Google Contacts that allows you to revert your contact list and undo any mistakes made up to 30 days in the past. Let’s say you accidentally deleted a bunch of contacts or wiped the contact data from your Gmail account by mistake while syncing to another device. Visit Gmail’s Contacts section, select “Restore contacts” in the “More actions” menu, and choose the time you would like to revert to.
- From the Gmail blog, Restore Your Contacts
Gmail Shines up Some Images
Nov 16th
Google has made some minor images changes (and some other minor changes) to the Gmail login page. Other changes to the page include more sharing options, larger font for the header, and the “ticker” showing how much free space a Gmail account comes with has been moved to the top in its area touting Gmail’s features.
It seems Google wasn’t satisfied there, and moved on to smooth out the Gmail log a little, too. Check out the new graphics and visit the original Gmail post for even more detail.
Gmail Login Page Gets a "Shine"
Updated Gmail logo
