DChetty» GMail

The new GMail design, leaked!

DChetty — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:14:03 +0000

The product launch video for the new design GMail has been leaked. Watch it here:

I’m most excited about the custom search changes and the ability to edit screen real-estate assignment to chat (which I don’t use within GMail) and labels, which I use a lot of.

Gmail Motion – The idiocy!

DChetty — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:07:50 +0000

One has to question Google’s thinking on launching this service on April Fool’s Day, but nonetheless, it actually does look legit.

Check out the video explaining how Human Computer Interaction has just evolved using motion detection technology and has now been integrated into Gmail:

Here is just a few of the popular commands and the motion gestures required to use them.

I must admit, that for the life of me, I don’t see how I will use this service as it just seems ridiculous to be standing infront of my computer at work doing things like this. I know that the Wii, XBOX Kinect and Playstation Move have made it ok to acting like a fool infront of a computer screen, but this is just a bit too far now.

I think that this service will be destined for the waste paper bin and join teh mound of useless technology that seemed revolutionary at the time, but is actually just not usable, like Google Buzz!

Google’s predictive technology heats up with Gmail Priority Inbox!

DChetty — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:59:31 +0000

So if you haven’t heard yet, GMail has launched a new feature called “Priority Inbox”. Its targeted at heavy users of mail and helps sift out the important mail from the less important mail.

In short, it keeps track of all the mails that you reply to, star, read, delete, etc and ranks the mail’s importance.

Here is a short video released by the GMail team to describe the service:

It then teaches itself based on your interactions with the system to become smarter in its predictions.

I might have my doubts about the algorithm’s success rate, but I love that it is now possible to group all unread mails into a single view without having to search using, “is:unread label:inbox”

Google Buzz – The next step!

DChetty — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:28:00 +0000

Google is reknown for launching brilliant services, offering it free to use with little if not any monetization model at all on the service, in then move on politely to kill the next big thing. They did this with mail with the launch of their GMail service, with Picasa, the photo management software and site, GTalk, the IM and VOIP service, etc. Disruptive technologies with high impact viral marketing from the geek world with their blogs, Twitter accounts and other sharing platforms work for Google.

Their latest offering is a stab at content sharing and uses GMail as a platform to house the technology and fuses the concepts of Google Wave, Twitter and GMail into a seamless inteface that is usable, easy to understand and practical.

The biggest advantage that it has to other services, is that all Google products use the same consolidated Contacts list. Google Buzz looks to integrate Twitter, Picasa, Flickr, YouTube, etc.

Here is a video released by Google to highlight the concept of Google Buzz:

GMail has really grown up since its launch as it now hosts mail, IM, docs, and now Buzz. Best of all, it’s available for mobile too!

GMail URL Shortener!

DChetty — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:53:00 +0000

URL shorteners are a useful tool when sending emails. Not only are long links unsightly, they often break inside email clients becoming useless. I use Gmail for my email client and was delighted to see that bit.ly introduced an application that provides a URL shortener right inside Gmail.

To install bit.ly‘s URL shortener:

Go to Settings > Labs
Scroll down to the very bottom and click the radio button to enable “Add any gadget by URL”
Click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page
You should now have a gadgets tab at the top of the settings page. Click it.
In the “Add a gadget by its URL:” box paste this link:
http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/107368512201818821991/bitly-shortener.xml
Congratulations you now have a URL shortener application right inside Gmail!

GMail HTML Email Signature!

DChetty — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:41:00 +0000

I have been so chuffed with my little Gmail skin and the added functionality that it brought me, that I set out on a quest to find a way to use an HTML email signature in Gmail. Currently, GMail will place the image of a signature as an attachment and it appears at the bottom of the page which is very uncool!

So, in the quest to make the most awesome email account, the “awesomest” email account, I will be looking at making subtle changes using plugins. I should also make it VERY clear, that all these plugins will run on your browser and will in NO WAY affect the performance of GMail.

Once again, this is a browser plugin for Firefox, and honestly, if you are STILL using Internet Explorer, then get with the program!

Once again, its a SIMPLE process:

Install Greasemonkey plugin for Firefox.
Install the script by clicking on GMail HTML Signature.
Then open up a text editor and write a HTML signature and save it in a text file.
Now open GMail and notice on the Compose Email window, there is a link that says CREATE SIGNATURE. Simply click on it and place your html code for the signature in the box.
Hit Save!

I placed the image that I wanted to include in the signature on a server with a link to it in the HTML code. This makes the signature VERY light, saving you bandwidth and prized email space!

Coolest Gmail Skin!

DChetty — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:31:00 +0000

I’m a HUGE Google fan and I believe that if ever a company should take over the world, Google should be that company. They have completely revolutionized the internet and are solely responsible for the return of the dot com age.

Google has always focused on usability and have maintained the “Clean” approach to its design. Admittedly, Google seemed to have missed the mark with the design of its revolutionary email service, GMail.

The current look is horrid and though its probably the fastest email client around, with GREAT usability and boasts the most amazing labeling system, the “Clean” look just doesn’t do it.

The answer: A simple CSS overwrite! Thats right, I used the word simple!

Add a firefox plugin called “Stylish“
Open the following link: http://www.naverniouk.com/design/gmail/gmail.css
Right click on the new icon at the bottom right hand corner of your Firefox Toolbar and select “Add Style to Stylish” and voila!

Its as SIMPLE as those 3 steps!

The CSS is file is overwritten on your pc, so it has a ZERO EFFECT on the performance of your Gmail account and its FREE!