View PDF Files in GMail

Short and sweet post.  If you use GMail, check out the newly added feature that allows you to view PDF files right from your browser.  If someone sends you a PDF attachment, just click on the new View option and take a quick look at it.  I stumbled onto this today while retrieving a file someone sent me.  This is great when you want to review a file someone sent you, but don’t necessarily want to have to download it - like when you check your email somewhere other than your normal computer.   Great add on to a great tool.

Official Gmail Blog: Fast PDF viewing right in your browser

Gmail Now Comes in a Can?

I am an unabashed lover of Gmail, the free email service offered by Google.  This week the Gmail team introduced a new feature that has some real value - Canned Response.  The feature allows you to “pre-write” standard email messages that you can then call up with one click and send as a response.

My first gut reaction to this was “email for the lazy.”  I thought to myself how impersonal to not take the time to write out each and every response in detail to the person on the other end of the message.  But then it hit me.  You could use this for numerous applications as a way to save time and improve the quality of your responses.

Here is one example.  Directions.  Suppose people are often asking you for directions to your workplace, directions to your home, or directions to your favorite coffee shop.  By typing the directions to these places up ahead of time, you can easily send people a detailed map with proofed instructions as to how to get to the desired location.  This might include where to park, landmarks, the name of the receptionist, a description of yourself, or any number of other relevant details that do not frequently change.  When someone needs directions they are not seeking out a personal response or opinion, they just need function information.  Thus, a canned response helps everyone.

Now, should you use this feature as a response to personal thank you emails, comments on your blog, or other specific responses?  I would caution against it.  Once someone gets a few of the same message from you, it can be annoying.  Like anything else, there is a right time and place for it.  Used correctly, this feature can be really helpful.

Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Canned Responses

Shiny Metal Objects - Google Chrome

Count on Google to invent yet another great product.  From the Search Engine to Gmail to Google Docs to Goog-411, the folks at Google continue to make my life better.  Enter Chrome - the new web browser from Google.  Now those who know me, know that I am a loyal Firefox user.  I love the extensions, and the ability to customize my browsing experience.  That said, Chrome is amazing.  It screams.  The browser was designed from the ground up with the idea that the way people use the web has radically changed in recent years.  Now, the web is more of a platform for what we do, and not just a collection of static pages.   

Thus, Google Chrome is designed to manage video, dynamic web pages, multiple processes, and browser memory much better than its counterparts.  The experience of using it is noticably better from the first instant. The only drawback that I have encountered to date is that it does not work on a Mac, and thus I had to dust off the PC to test drive the product.  Apparently they are working on versions for the Mac and for Linux.   I can’t wait until they do, because it is such a superior product.  If you have a PC, you owe it to yourself to download it and take Chrome for a test drive.  

As someone who spends an increasing amount of time utilizing the web as my primary workspace, I look forward to making Chrome my browser of choice.   It is faster, more secure, more stable, handles video better, manages online applications more effciently, has a great interface, and is FAST.  

Oh, and another thing that makes Chrome cool…. Google used a comic book to help promote its release.

 

Google Chrome

Email the Past - Happy April 1 from Google

Google always delivers something fun on April 1st. This year is no exception
Check out Gmail Custom Time. Imagine being able to have a tool where you could email into the past… Now wouldn’t that be fun

Here is a brief excerpt:

“I just got two tickets to Radiohead by being the ‘first’ to respond to a co-worker’s ‘first-come, first-serve’ email. Someone else had already won them, but I told everyone to check their inboxes again. Everyone sort of knows I used Custom Time on this one, but I’m denying it.”

Robby S., Paralegal

They are even good at humor.

Gmail: Google’s approach to email

Oh yeah, on another note - a non-fictitious one. Google Docs is going to work with Google Gears now. Huh? That means that you can pull your documents from the online editor in Google down onto your desktop, without the need for additional programs such as MS Office. Pretty sweet. It is being rolled out slowly, and I have not seen it yet. I will update once I get to try it out.