During VMworld this week, VMware introduced a new Dropbox-like application called Project Octopus that will let users safely store, access and share corporate documents. It all so sounded so promising, and then someone asked me whether it will actually get used. Read more »
Google+ users can under some circumstances access IM conversations of other Google users. The bug seems to be related to the way Google Talk is integrated within Google+. Google has said that it is addressing the issue, which only affects users of shared machines. Read more »
GoFileDrop is an app that adds a public mailbox to your Google Docs account, enabling anyone with the appropriate link to upload files to your account. It was previously only available to Google Apps customers, but it can now be installed by regular Gmail users. Read more »
Google had a great quarter and finally has a hot social media offering. But it can’t relax on its laurels. Google faces key challenges to the growth of its search and advertising businesses that it could address with better product ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
What apps do mobile workers need to get their jobs done? A new Forrester report has identified eight “must have” categories of mobile collaboration apps. Here’s a run-down of all the categories outlined, together with some of our recommendations for apps to use in each category: Read more »
It’s no surprise that Google is looking to use its new platform, Google+, to add a social layer to the company’s existing services. It seems the company wants to forge ahead with plans to incorporate some of Google+’s social features into its flagship webmail product, Gmail. Read more »
Google has held back iOS users from the full Gmail experience that Android owners have enjoyed since 2008. Three changes to Google Sync bring Apple’s Mail and Calendar apps closer to parity. Between these and new iOS 5 features, might some switch from Android to iOS? Read more »
I make extensive use of smart folders and tags to sort my email into logical groups that I can easily process all at once. The key is to use rules and filters that automatically sort my email without any additional intervention from me. Read more »
One of the problems with conducting so much work communication via email is that a lot of useful information ends up being locked away inside people’s inboxes. GrexIt allows Google Apps users to move specified conversations from their inboxes into a shared, searchable repository. Read more »
Keeping an email address book up-to-date is a fairly labor-intensive task. Kwaga’s WriteThat.Name, which works with Gmail and Google Apps, can automatically scan incoming emails for the contact information that’s typically contained in email signatures, and then update the contact database with that information. Read more »
Looking for a way to access your Gmail inbox from your Mac’s menu bar? Zentertain’s Mailbox is a lightweight app that does just that, adding an envelope icon to your menu bar that, when clicked, pops open a window containing your Gmail inbox. Read more »
I’m a huge fan of anything that can make me more productive, so I’m always looking for ways to accomplish more while not killing myself doing it. It’s easier to excel if you can do more than your peers while still having time to recharge. Read more »
With all the bad news about recent outages of Amazon Web Services and Sony’s Playstation Network, cloud-based services and the cloud industry needs to more proactively educate users to protect the “cloud” brand. Read more »
The Yahoo Mail blackout was the source of a lot of headaches Thursday, with some 1.2 million users said to be affected. We’ve scoured the web for the best information on backing up your email or switching your mail provider. Read more »
Yahoo Mail is down for a sizable chunk of users and the company is working to fix the outage. This is another black mark against the company, which has seen its revenue slide, is selling off beloved web properties and is generally struggling to remain relevant. Read more »
If you’re anything like me, you probably have several email address books, each with a daunting number of duplicate, conflicting and junk entries. Scrubly is an automated online tool that can help clean up Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail address books. Read more »
We’ve probably all had times when we’ve been so busy we didn’t have time to deal with an important email when we we read it. The danger is that it ends up being forgotten. Snooze Your Email for Gmail may be able to help. Read more »
Did you know that you can simply copy and paste images into Gmail messages using Chrome? While drag-and-dropping images messages has been available in Gmail for a while now, being able to paste images from the clipboard is arguably an even more useful feature. Read more »
As part of a raft of small changes to Gmail, the app now has the option to disable its automatic saving of contacts. While many people find the ability find auto-saving useful, for some it ends up creating too much clutter in their contacts list. Read more »
If you need to securely share data like a password, bank account or credit card number, Lockify is an easy way to do so. Once your message has been encrypted, you are given a link that can be sent via email, SMS or Facebook private message. Read more »
Some time ago, we put together an official WWD add-ons collection for Firefox, gathering together our favorite add-ons at the time. With the speedy Firefox 4 being released this week, some of you may be giving it a try, so I thought I’d update the list. Read more »
Xobni, a popular productivity add-on for Outlook, is finally coming to Gmail and Google Apps. It works via a browser plugin that adds a sidebar to Gmail to help you search and manage your contacts while automatically creating profiles for anyone you’ve ever emailed. Read more »
Envision this: A few minutes before a scheduled meeting time, you get an SMS that shows photos of the participants, together with data from their LinkedIn profiles, their last few tweets, and links to your most recent emails with them. That’s the idea behind Noteleaf. Read more »
Google has released a new Gmail Labs feature called Smart Labels that should help to keep your inbox more organized and free of clutter. It automatically labels and filters certain types of email, such as group mailing lists, social network notifications and newsletters. Read more »
In the wake of Google accidentally deleting some Gmail accounts over the weekend, I thought I’d share my Gmail backup method. While Google has apparently nearly restored all of those missing accounts, now’s a good time to review your own backup strategy. Read more »
Over the weekend, Google apparently accidentally deleted some 150,000 Gmail accounts. We’re all growing increasingly reliant on the cloud. If a cloud vendor accidentally deleted your data, locked you out of your account, or shuttered one of your favorite services, what would you do? Read more »
Google Docs Viewer, the handy online document viewer that enables you to view Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and PDF files online without having to download them to your machine, now supports 12 new popular file formats. The list of supported file types now includes: Read more »
I am a known devotee of Apple’s Mail.app, despite its failings, so it’s rare that a Mac mail client will tempt me away from it. Sparrow could be good enough to finally shake my faith when it comes to Gmail. Read more »
Living in the cloud isn’t without its risks. Gmail outages are rare, but they do happen. Your Gmail password could also get stolen or hacked. You can make sure that you don’t lose any important data should these things occur. Read more »
One of the fun things about writing here is that I get to experiment with a bunch of apps and devices. Here’s a list of the products I tried in 2010 that have made their way into my everyday work life. Read more »
Some Gmail users are seeing ads below messages. Gmail has long displayed ads in its web interface, to the right of incoming messages. But some are complaining that the new placement makes it more likely that people will click on ads accidentally. Read more »
Google dominated the Android news this week, as the company announced a number of products and updates. Front and center was the Nexus S and Gingerbread (Android 2.3), and we had a quick unboxing video. Gmail got Priority Inbox support, and YouTube got a facelift. Read more »
Most email providers have filtering systems that do a pretty good job of catching spam messages. But every so often, there will be a surge of spam messages that get past the filters to pollute our inboxes. Here’s a tip that may help reduce future messages. Read more »
The folks at Google must never rest, as the update just released for Gmail for Android demonstrates. The new Gmail is available for Android 2.2 and above and adds some nice features, including support for Priority Inbox and improvements in composing new mail. Read more »
Gmail’s Priority Inbox feature — a smart feature that learns which of your emails are the most important and displays them in a separate inbox — now provides feedback on why it considers particular emails important and has a tweaked algorithm that should mean it learns faster. Read more »
As most of the world is aware, Facebook launched its Social Inbox feature last week. The unified messaging system pipes online and mobile communication functions people use — SMS, instant messaging, Facebook chat messages — into a single inbox. On the face of it, having just ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
It looks like Google’s planning some revisions to its simple to-do list management app, Tasks, because the company is asking for feature suggestions. You can submit new feature ideas and vote on the ideas already submitted in an online poll that will run until November 19. Read more »
After archiving a message in Gmail, you’re taken back to the inbox view. A new Labs feature, Auto-advance, modifies that behavior; it takes you straight to the next message. It should save some time when you’ve got a full inbox that you want to power through. Read more »
Want to make sure that your Gmail account is secure? Google has provided a handy online checklist that contains the steps needed to protect your account against hackers. The list is organized into five sections, and most items have a “read more” link for further explanation. Read more »
Six months after we first met the founder of Greplin just after he came up with the idea for the company, he’s found a co-founder, raised funding, launched a beta and gotten so much interest he had to stop accepting new testers. Read more »
