Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, September 12, 2008

Gmail Labs Adds Three New Reply Features [Gmail]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/390015748/gmail-labs-adds-three-new-reply-features

Gmail Labs has rolled out three new features to beef up the popular email client's Reply feature. How can you improve something as simple as Reply, you ask? Well, in at least three ways: Quote selected text, Default 'Reply to all,' and Vacation time. First, the simple Quote selected text feature generates a reply with the currently selected text. Just select the text you want to quote and then hit 'r' (the keyboard shortcut for Reply). This one seems like the most buggy, and the Official Gmail Blog admits it doesn't work in Chrome or Safari yet. (I even had a little trouble getting it to work in Firefox.) The other worked much better.

The next one is simple: Default 'Reply to all' does exactly what it sounds like: replaces the Reply button in the top right of emails with Reply to all by default. The idea behind it:

When we're working on features for Gmail, the email etiquette on the team is to reply all so everyone involved is kept in the loop. Mark was an intern here this past summer who got frustrated when he'd reply to an email only to realize that he forgot to reply all and had to resend the message. Thus, this Labs feature, which makes reply all your default selection.

It doesn't change the keyboard shortcuts, so 'r' still does a single reply and 'a' will reply to all.

Finally, the Vacation time feature adds something tremendous to the vacation auto-responder: It allows you to schedule your vacation so you don't have to do it manually when your vacation starts—and you don't forget to turn it off once you get b! ack. It' s simple, smart, and fills a need. Doesn't get much better than that.

New in Labs: Reply add-ons [Official Gmail Blog]

Monitor Your Monthly Bandwidth with Your Router [Bandwidth]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/389962223/monitor-your-monthly-bandwidth-with-your-router

In the face of internet service providers like Comcast instituting bandwidth-capping, the Simple Help weblog details how to use a router running the open-source DD-WRT firmware to monitor your bandwidth. It's actually very simple to do, requiring no work on your part aside from installing DD-WRT on your router. DD-WRT automatically tracks bandwidth, so from there it's a matter of knowing where to look. If you're running the user-friendly Tomato firmware (we also showed you how to install Tomato), you can easily access your daily, weekly, or monthly bandwidth as well.

Like DD-WRT, Tomato automatically tracks bandwidth usage for you, so all you need to know is where to look. Just log into the Tomato interface, and then click on the Monthly link under Bandwidth in the sidebar (or, if you're using a default configuration, just follow this link). You'll get a simple table displaying your bandwidth stats for the month. Tomato also displays bandwidth use by week, day, and even in real-time if you're interested.

I've used DD-WRT and Tomato exclusively over the past few years, so I'm not really sure what the status is for bandwidth monitoring on most default router firmware. If your router supports bandwidth monitoring, let's hear about it in the comments.

How to use the DD-WRT firmware to monitor your bandwidth [Simple Help]

DropBox Leaves Private Beta, Invite No Longer Necessary [Syncing]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/389992401/dropbox-leaves-private-beta-invite-no-longer-necessary

One of Lifehacker readers' favorite file syncing tools, Dropbox, left private beta today and registration is now open to all. If you're unfamiliar with the service check out how Dropbox syncs and backs up files between computers instantaneously.

Microsoft MixView Is Prettier, More Useful Version of iTunes' Genius [MixView]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/390365837/microsoft-mixview-is-prettier-more-useful-version-of--itunes-genius

Not content with deploying their version of Apple's Genius tech support lackeys, Microsoft is now biting on the iTunes Genius song feature as well and the initial previews make it look... really awesome, actually. Wired got a sneak preview of the Zune 3.0 software, to be released on Sept. 16, and found it much more intuitive and encompassing than Apple's recommendation system.

The new feature, called MixView, puts a single album, artist or Zune user at the center of the screen and surrounds it with related items. This allows you to start on an artist and instantly find related bands. Double-clicking to any song plays you a 30-second sample, gives you a chance to buy the track or plays the full track if you're a Zune Pass subscriber.

MixView will be free to everyone, even if you don't own a Zune or subscribe to Zune Pass. Besides pulling reccs from their internet store, it will also apply its music aggregating prowess to your existing MP3 library. It'll be interesting to see how this really stands up to Genius come next week. [Wired]

New Tesla Gearbox Ups Range to 244 Miles, Hits Zero to 60 Time of 4.0 Seconds [Tesla Motors]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/390401944/new-tesla-gearbox-ups-range-to-244-miles-hits-zero-to-60-time-of-40-seconds

Tesla Motors has finally rolling out its long-awaited single-speed transmission for the all-electric Tesla Roadster, which will pare down durability issues while upping torque and range. The new gearbox, made by transmission whiz kids Borg Warner, lets the Roadster hit its promised zero to 60 time of 4.0 seconds while upping travel distance to 244 miles per charge.

If you're one of the 27 people who already own a Roadster, Tesla will be offering a free retrofit come next month. Now that the gearbox is all figured out, the company expects to start producing 10 new Roadsters every week, ramping up to 40 per week by early 2009. [NextAutos via Jalopnik]