gmail

Google has come up with yet another new feature for its Gmail system. This one allows users to store a range of 'standard' responses and even have them sent automatically to emails based on their content. The 'Canned Responses' feature lets you set ... up a range of replies for particular situations that you experience commonly. It's the same kind of idea as an 'out of office' message but lets you tailor the response to different types of correspondence. For example, as a tech writer, I receive emails from computer-related organisations with story ideas. When I'm pressed for time, I'll usually ... (view more)

"Mail Goggles" is now part of Google's free Gmail service. The feature is simple really, but could serve as an effective deterrent against very bad email-based decisions while in an 'altered state'. Just answer a few basic math questions in a ... specified period of time before sending out your email. You shhhaid wha...? After a grueling work week, you decide to accept an invitation from some friends to meet at a local bar for a beer. While reminiscing about the "good old days", you realize that one beer has become two, two beers have become four and in no time at all you have surpassed your ... (view more)

Google has said sorry to users of its Gmail service after they were left without access to their emails for almost two hours early last week. The firm made a rare apology on its official blog after the outage, saying "The issue was caused by a ... temporary outage in our contacts system that was preventing Gmail from loading properly." (Source: blogspot.com ) There has been some speculation the problem may be connected with a recent change to Gmail's contacts system, designed to separate contacts users have manually added from those which are created automatically when you send or receive a ... (view more)

Google has announced two new security measures for its Gmail service: a partnership with eBay and PayPal to reduce phishing attacks, and a tool to warn users if somebody may have illicitly accessed their mailbox. The firm has teamed up with the ... auction and money transfer sites because they are two of the most common targets for phishing, a technique where hackers send emails that appear to be from the company and include links to bogus sites in the hope of capturing user names and passwords. Gmail already highlights potentially suspicious emails with a red box and removes any links those ... (view more)

Google has found a new testing panel for its in-development software: the entire Gmail user base. The company already has a dedicated 'Labs' website for the public to test new software and give feedback. Now they are building a Labs option directly ... into the Gmail website, meaning every user will see the features that are being developed. Sensibly enough, the option only includes features designed for Gmail itself, rather than general Google software. Users can read a description of each feature and turn it on or off (they are turned off by default). There's also a web address which users can ... (view more)

It seems few people use Outlook Express anymore. For many web users, email has moved online, to sites like Yahoo Mail, Gmail, and the ever-popular Hotmail. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, but above all each are tasked with outdoing one ... another in order to gain headway in a competitive market. It's part of the reason Yahoo has recently announced unlimited storage space for those that use its mail service, with another fan-favorite site rumored to follow. Yahoo Mail has been in service for nearly a decade now, but is clearly worried about losing the popular vote amongst web mailers. ... (view more)

Alas, Gmail's day has come! Google has finally decided to nix the "by invitation only" requirement and allow anyone interested in Gmail to sign up for a free account. Google has been phasing out the invitation restriction geographically, beginning ... last week with Europe. This past Wednesday, North America, South America, and Asia all gained restriction-free access to Gmail. (Source: news.com ) Although the nearly three-year-old service is still in beta mode -- signaling that Gmail is still a work in progress -- lifting the invitation restriction is a big step for Google. Keith Coleman, Product ... (view more)

Right before the New Year, Google received a nasty surprise. Gmail users were susceptible to having their contact lists stolen and used for malicious purposes. In order for the bug to activate itself, people had to be logged into Gmail and then go ... to a website designed specifically to exploit the vulnerability. Signing in to sites such as Blogger.com, Orkut.com, and Google Docs ... (view more)

"It looks and feels like Gmail on the desktop." That's the proclamation made by Google product manager Tony Hsieh on the company's new Gmail mobile phone application. Hsieh compares the new mobile Gmail so favorably to its desktop cousin because ... it's a standalone application that doesn't operate through a browser. It can run on any cell phone with Java service. As a result, the new service "promises computer-like response times for viewing email," according to Reuters. (Source: pcmag.com ) Google lists the following features for its mobile service on Gmail's login page: It has the same Gmail ... (view more)

Is the FBI poking around your e-mail? Randall C. Ashby II used his Google Mail (Gmail) account to distribute hate speech -- and that was all the feds needed to investigate him. On May 22nd, 2006, Ashby signed up for Gmail and sent a threatening ... message to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP immediately forwarded the offensive letter to the FBI. Here's a transcript of Ashby's e-mail: Warning: The following quote contains disturbing content! "You are no match for our numbers and our power. We will come out of the night and rise from the dirt to ... (view more)