For those of you still utilising Gmail after this week's outage, and who, like me, get frustrated with the antiquated method of adding attachments one-by-one to a Gmail message when using the web interface you will be happy to read of the latest Gmail update.

As of today you will be able to simply hold down the Ctrl key (Cmd on OS X) and click on each file you want to attach to your message. You can also hold down the Shift key to select a continuous list of files.









Perhaps, more importantly you will now also be able to see the progress of your attachment import, instead of simply waiting for a "Done" message.

Labels: attachment, gmail, google, update

Posted by eishman at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

As I write this Google's Gmail is down and millions ,somewhere around 113 million users, have no access to their email and the only information coming from Google is "We're aware of a problem with Gmail affecting a small subset of users.
The affected users are unable to access Gmail. We will provide an
update by February 24, 2009 6:30 AM PST detailing when we expect to
resolve the problem. Please note that this resolution time is an
estimate and may change"
Chris M had already blogged about how Twitter had helped him out while he was Gmail-less. So to keep up with the developments I turned to Twitter, a 'micro-blogging' platform I use sporadically when I am bored (ironically notoriuos for the amount of downtime experienced by it's users).
The problem I now had though, was that I purposefully keep the number of people I follow to a minimum so how was I going to keep up with developments being tweeted by the thousands of Twitter-ers?
Enter Tweetdeck. A utility I have known about for some time, checked out more than once but never gotten the impetus to install. It took a quick Adobe Air install and a quicker application installation and voila Tweetdeck was up and running. But how does this help?
Tweetdeck allows you to initiate a phrase search, this appears in a separate column in the application and then updates this column as new tweets that match the search appear. This is not limited to those you follow!

So now I sit back and watch 10 sec updates of the worldwide confusion, frustration and anger as they come to terms with the potential pitfalls of keeping your emails in the cloud!

Labels: down, gmail, outage, problems, tweetdeck, twitter

Posted by roygbiv at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments

The nice guys @ Google have decided that it's time that their Gmail interface gets a new look. However instead of shoving it down our throats, they are giving us a choice of around 30 skins, or themes, to choose from. While I have to say I haven't ever thought 'Gee, Gmail is looking old' the new look I chose, gave the whole Gmail experience a fresh feel.

If you have a Gmail account click here to see the themes available.

Labels: gmail, google, skins, themes

Posted by roygbiv at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Gmail, Google's free (and fantastic) email service has just upped its attachment size limit to 20mb.

Firstly, what does this mean for gmail users? Well, in my opinion, not a hell of a lot. The problem is that there are not many other email services that will accept this attachment or send an attachment of that size. Yahoo!'s Mail Plus will besides the odd small email service. Obviously Gmail to Gmail would me no problem.
Perhaps, this will be the start of something though and other providers will also up their limits. This will open up the Senator Ted Steven's full tubes debate again.

So what does this mean to us here in South Africa? For one be careful downloading those massive attachments though, they could seriously dent the monthly cap.

Here's a tip. You can use Gmail as a repository or mini-backup service. Get your self a copy of the Firefox Gspace add-on. This turns your Gmail account into a virtual FTP site.

We always appreciate free stuff here in South Africa.

Labels: add ons, eish, email, firefox, gmail, google

Posted by eishman at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

I have been a Gmail convert for some time now. The rather large capacity, simple easy to use interface and fantastic search capabilities have made life easy for me and saved my bacon more than once.

By an incredible fluke I discovered the Mobile java application the day after it was launched. Not quite knowing what I was in for, I immediately downloaded the applet to my cellphone. What a little gem! I have been using it daily ever since.

Sure you can configure most new and not so new phones to fetch mail from your existing pop account, but there are some real limitations. You invariably only download the message headers, you cannot keep too many message on the phone as they clog of the little space you available on the phone, old messages are hard to find etc.
One real advantage of using this little application is that your messages are resident and stay on Google's servers. This means no massive data downloads when fetching that message with a massive Powerpoint presentation you didn't know was attached.
Also, as the mantra goes, you never need to delete your messages which combined with their rapid search option means you can always find that email from months ago that contained John Smith's telephone number you just lost.
They have also made quick number key shortcuts for easy (in fact easier than the web version) navigation. As an example, pressing the number '7' on your keypad twice will delete the message you are currently viewing.

Here's a quick step-by-step guide as to how I set it up so I can use it for both personal and business emails i.e. multiple email accounts.

1. If you do not already have one, get yourself a gmail account. You no longer need to wait for an invite. Just make your way to http://mail.google.com and sign up.
2. Set up your existing mail server to forward all mails to your new gmail address. Most ISPs have a setup option on their webmail page to do this. Do not forward from your mail client (eg Outlook) as it makes for a very messy inbox with a whole lot of "fwd's." Also it's difficult to ascertain who the mails are originally from.
   
3. Sign in to Gmail and modify the account setting "Send as" options. Add the account you want your recipients to see when in 'Sent By' in their inbox and make it your default. By doing this when you send mail from the Gmail account from your cellphone your recipients can still reply to the email address of your choice. I would also suggest activating and adding a default signature for all mails sent.
   
4. Go to the Java applet on your cellphone, sign in, and you are up and running.

As easy as that.

The costs, just the data sent and received. I still use GPRS only and the response is impressive and the cost not exorbitant. Check your data package charges with your provider.

Enjoy.

Labels: cellphone, email, gmail, google, mobile

Posted by eishman at 9:49 PM | Permalink | Comments