Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Gmail on your Google Desktop

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/6LILiofOMfM/gmail-on-your-desktop.html

Posted by James Yum, Developer Programs Engineer, Google Desktop On the Google Desktop gadgets team, we've seen countless requests for a Gmail gadget over the years. That gadget is finally here, so if you've got Google Desktop for Windows, give it a try. You'll see that it covers the basics such as reading, searching, and sending messages. You can star messages, use the same keyboard shortcuts, and we didn't forget about contact auto-complete. It doesn't take up much space in your sidebar or desktop, and you can also resize it to show as few or as many messages as you'd like.

When I'm at work, I keep two instances of the gadget open: one logged into my personal Gmail account and the other set to my Google Apps account for work related stuff. Instead of getting lost in a sea of tabs or browser windows, I can bring up the gadgets in an instant (hint: pressing the shift key twice brings up all your hidden Desktop gadgets). The Gmail gadget currently works with the latest release of Google Desktop for Windows. Try i! t out and please let us know what you think. Update: Changed title to clarify this is for Google Desktop.

Syncing your Google Calendar

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/VoZ_1mluHHo/syncing-your-google-calendar.html

Posted by Wen-Ai Yu, Support Strategist We on the Google Calendar team work hard to play well with others, so you can synchronize your calendars with a number of mobile devices and desktop applications. This way, you can choose whichever calendars you want to use and keep all of them up to date. Most of these options have been around for a while, and we're happy to announce that Google Calendar now supports the CalDAV protocol -- an evolving, open standard for calendar synchronization. Apple iCal and Mozilla Sunbird You can now sync your calendar with applications that support CalDAV, such as Apple's iCal and Mozilla's Sunbird. Learn more about how to get started in our help center. Microsoft Outlook Google Calendar Sync for Outlook lets you sync events between Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook Calendar. You determine the direction of information flow, as well as the sync frequency. It's compatible with Microsoft Outlook versions 2003 and 2007, and operating systems Windows XP and Windows Vista. BlackBerry mobile devices If you carry a BlackBerry smartphone, Google Sync for BlackBerry synchronizes your device's native calendar with Google. You can access your Google Calendar even when you don't have network coverage and get alerts for upcoming appointments with sound or vibration. It automatically runs in the background, so you can attend to other tasks and still be reminded of your appointments. Android devices

Spice up your inbox with colors and themes

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/_qa9949kqOc/spice-up-your-inbox-with-colors-and.html

Posted by Annie Chen, Gmail engineer Gmail fans have been building unofficial extensions to spice up their inboxes for a while, but up til now themes haven't been an integral part of Gmail. We wanted to go beyond simple color customization, so out of the 30 odd themes we're launching today, there's a shiny theme with chrome styling, another one that turns your inbox into a retro notepad, nature themes that change scenery over time, weather driven themes that can rain on your mailbox, and fun characters to keep you in good company. There's even an old school ascii theme (Terminal) which was the result of a bet between two engineers -- it's not exactly practical, but it's great for testing out your geek cred. We've also done a minor facelift to Gmail's default look to make it crisper and cleaner -- you might notice a few colors and pixels shifted around here and there.

Nokia's Down With Making A High-End Open Source Phone, Just Not With Android [Cellphones]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/R5ASCqY2G8k/nokias-down-with-making-a-high+end-open-source-phone-just-not-with-android

When Nokia first showed me their Maemo Linux-powered N800 Internet Tablet, I told them it was cool but that, ideally, I wanted this exact product, smaller, and as a phone. Seems like two years later, this might finally be the way things are headed.

"In the longer perspective, Linux will become a serious alternative for our high-end phones," Ukko Lappalainen, vice president at Nokia's markets unit, told Reuters.

"I don't see anything in Android which would make it better than Linux maemo," Lappalainen said."

These statements aren't necessarily a surprise, because with any mention of Linux, Nokians tend to shout Maemo like a reflex action.

One thing that came to mind when playing with the new N97 is that it is pretty close to the Internet Tablet Phone I wanted—the desktop widgets heralded as a grounbreaking way for users to customize their phones are incredibly similar to what Maemo has had since the beginning, and the hardware is very similar to the current top-end tablet, the N810. The only difference is Symbian, of course—Nokia's prize horse that they won't be giving up on any time soon.

So it makes sense they would dis Android. Nokia (or, at least, certain teams within Nokia) has been huge proponents of open source software long before Android was a twinkle in Larry and Sergey's eye. But where's the Maemophone? [Reuters]

Move Along, No Triple-Decker Fold-Up Grill To See Here [Cooking]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/RT32cFrImiY/move-along-no-triple+decker-fold+up-grill-to-see-here

When it's not being used, the multi-surfaced Hampton Grill folds up into a triple-decker moisture vaporator look-a-like for your patio. Ah, the luxe Hamptoms life—especially luxe if it auto-folds, as this video seems to suggest.