One of the hardest aspects of managing email is keeping track of sent messages where a reply is expected. Do you have this problem? I know I do. Some of the people I correspond with are completely reliable, and I know that if I send them something, I will get a reply within 24 hours and often sooner. But some of my other regular correspondents are not so reliable.
At all.
It's really frustrating.
Luckily, if you're a Gmail user, there is a very simply method for keeping track of messages where you are expecting a reply. You see it every day, and you might even be using it for something else.
What am I talking about?
The Starred attribute. With a single key or button press, Gmail allows you to add a star to a message which prominently appears whenever that message or thread is in view.
This process is incredibly simple, but effective. Now, I should first point out that starring an email is for all intents and purposes the same as labeling a message with any arbitrary label. But I think stars work better as an expected response reminder than a label would. So follow along with me and see if you don't come to the same conclusion.
In wake of the federal government's decision that they own your notebook computer plus all your flash keys and your first-born child, coupled with the costs and hassle of commercial flying, travelers are looking at alternatives to data-filled laptop computers. Besides, laptops are heavy, especially when you add in the battery, and then you have to schlep all those geeky-tchotchkes we stuff inside the bag. My eyes are a little too old to use my phone exclusively (it works for on-the-fly email and an occasional text message) but it doesn't get me quickly to web-based apps that I need for business. What to do?
Enter Ultra Mobile computing. From 7" to 11" screens, with Vista or XP operating systems, 2-lb ultra portable computers are entering the business landscape. Costs range from $300 - $2000 and up (US$) and what they offer may be just what you need. The trick is to buy only what you need so it's both portable and affordable. For example, I need Word and Excel when traveling but I hardly need to load Access or Publisher so a smaller hard drive works fine - what I really want is a web browser and speedy wireless Internet with the ability to VPN. We're a Windows shop, so Outlook Web Access (browser-based) takes care of email needs.
Fundamentally just a tiny computer, an ultraportable fits into a larger purse or in your briefcase (yay! no laptop bag to stuff into the overhead compartment!). Once you struggle through choosing to install only those programs you absolutely have to have because the hard disk is going to be significantly smaller than your 160+ Gb workstation, look into the free and low-cost portable applications that take little drive space and require almost no installation so your compact hard drive doesn't get crowded.
But what about hauling all my files with me if I don't have the luxury of a VPN or I haven't figured out yet how to remote into my desktop back in the office (which I remembered to leave ON during my trip)?
The key? For your ultra-portable machine, get applications that fit on a Flash key or iPod with as close to "zero footprint" as possible. Zero footprint? These are applications that remove all temporary files/registry settings once the program has exited. If you create a document, you can move it as well to a portable storage device, like a Flash key. No trace left behind and less for the TSA to explore when they seize your computer at the border.
John McCain has gotten a lot of flack recently for his lack of tech savvy. McCain doesn't use email, the web, or a computer. But it turns out he's not the only high ranking politician who prefers a fax machine to email. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has a cellphone and recently learned to send text messages - but has never sent an email.
The article raises an interesting point - does the guy at the top really need to be CCed on every single email his underlings send around? Some of Rendell's staffers say the answer is not only no, but that this frees the governor up to think about other things. He can make the decisions when it's time to do so, but he doesn't have to get bogged down in all the back and forth emails sent while hammering out the details.
On the other hand, Rendell has probably been responsible for the destruction of a small forest during his time in office, since every single document he needs to read has to be printed out in advance.
What do you think? Is it OK for politicians to be technologically illiterate, or would you like your elected officials to at least know how to look themselves up on Wikipedia even if they still prefer to write out their speeches by hand?
In our last installment the XForce was busy keeping you safe on the Internet. In this episode it's XForce versus the evil spam.
Spam, as we all know, is a pain in the rear. The XForce report covers a lot of ground on spam and phishing.
Some of the things the report covers (that I won't):
What happened to image-based spam?
How much spam is phishing?
How much spam is PDF spam?
Where are the web pages contained in spam messages hosted?
So, here are the interesting spam nuggets from the report. The XForce reports that Russia sends 11% of spam, Turkey sends 8% and the US sends 7% of worldwide spam. Can you believe that Turkey is beating us in spam?
The XForce report also lists the most common subject lines for spam and surprisingly, there is not a mention of Viagra in any of them. The most popular spam subject line, at .67% of the world's spam is - Replica Watches. I know, boring, isn't it? The second and third most popular subject lines are about more risque topics.
If all this talk of spam has that lovely Monty Python song stuck in your head, go try the spam-a-lot game. But if you're at work you might want to turn your speakers down (or off)!
Earlierthisweek, a Homer Simpson impersonator began instant messaging fans with a link to an "internet-only exclusive Simpsons episode." This -- like many things spawned in the dark corners of 'net -- turned out to be a PC virus. But how did this impostor gain Homer's identity?
It turns out Mr. Simpson has a legitimate, real-world e-mail address: chunkylover53@aol.com, which appeared in the episode, "The Dad Who Knew Too Little." Before airing the episode back in 2002 for the first time, Simpsons writer-producer Matt Selman registered the address with AOL. As soon as the episode finished airing, Selman's inbox filled-up instantly. Selman began replying to emails under the guise of Homer, and fans got to enjoy a short conversation with the cartoon star
Six years later, the email account is no longer active, but fans begin receiving AIM messages from Chunkylover53. Fans forgot that an AIM screen-name can be tied to an email other than its AOL email counterpart, and Selman never registered it or abandoned it at a later time -- leaving it open for hijack.
Everything has gone electronic these days, from banking to health records everything is online and the only thing keeping this information away from unauthorized users is the cryptic password that you came up with. But what if you were pass away one day? Will your family members know your password to get into your accounts to sort out your affairs? Sure they could enlist the help of Oda Mae Brown and a ouija board but sending them an email from Death Switch may be easier.
After creating an account with Death Switch, you simply fill out your message of what you would like sent to others after your demise. And when you pass, this email will be sent to those you have specified. Grim but straight forward.
In order for Death Switch to send out the email after your passing, it will send you messages from time to time to which you will need to respond back verifying that you are still with the living. If you fail to respond back to this message after several attempts, the service will assume that you have expired and your message will be sent.
While we can see the logic behind this, one has to wonder if a will with instructions on how to handle your estate would be a bit more tactful than freaking everyone out with an email out from the dead.
If you ever used the "E-mail this file" or "Send To Mail Recipient" link in Windows you know what a great convenience this is. Select the file and an email is automatically created with the attachment. All that's left to do is fill out the To field and send the file, the only downside is that you must use a desktop mail client like Outlook Express. This leaves people who only use web based email services out in the cold... unless you're a Gmail user.
Developed by Chris Wood, gAttach! changes the functions of these built in links so that instead of Outlook Express gAttach! will launch Internet Explorer, create a new email and attach the file and have it ready and waiting for you. In addition gAttach! also works from within applications like Microsoft Office, Firefox and Adobe Reader to further streamline your emailing needs by selecting the File > Sent To option on your tool bar.
So if you're a Gmail user wanting more integration with your desktop gAttach! just might make your life easier.
Have you ever asked yourself, "Is someone else using my email account?" Well, if you're the cautious type, Google just added a few log-in monitoring features to its email service, so such paranoid questions won't feel so pressing anymore.
Wondering if you're Gmail account is open in multiple locations? Just look at the very, very bottom of the main Gmail page. It'll say something to the sound of: "This account is open in one other location." Click on the "details" link next to it to get taken to, well, a details page.
It'll give you the deets on the most recent sessions including the access type and IP address. It's not the end-all for email hijacking, but at the very least it'll help you point-out intruders. And if you don't see the feature yet, sit tight, Google is slowly rolling out the feature to all accounts.
Imagine receiving an email and as soon as you've read it, the message burst into flames leaving no trace of its existence. Wouldn't you like that same type of power? Well now you can, minus the whole burst into flame thing with Privnote.
Simply type in your message on the website and Privnote note will generate a link that you can send to your operative. The link can only be used once, so if your contact wasn't able to retrieve the message you've got some security issues. But all is not loss since Privnote will display the IP address of the person that clicked the link.... traceroute anyone?
We doubt that you would actually want to send company sensitive information this way but we got to admit the whole "self destructing" message thing is pretty neat.
When we first looked at Zenbe two months ago, the service was still in private beta. Now anyone can sign up for Zenbe. The company has also added several new features that help transform the service from a simple webmail client to a personalized start page.
For example, you can now sign into Google Talk and Twitter in the Quick View area on the right side of the page. This lets you chat with your contacts without leaving the email/calendar client. You can update your twitter status or read updates from your contacts.
Zenbe has also created a new email notification script for Firefox, redesigned the task list, and added buttons for easily deleting all items in your deleted and spam folders. Zenbe also says it's working on adding a Gmail-style conversation e-mail view, and is working to add IMAP support.
On July 11th, Zenbe will also be launching an iPhone list application. This is described as the company's first foray into bringing Zenbe to a mobile platform, so we expect we'll see a full Zenbe client for the iPhone and other mobile devices in the future.
The email subject line. The bane of our existence. Back when Download Squad was just a wee little blog, we used to communicate the old fashioned way, by sending letters in the mail and waiting a week for them to arrive. It may not have been the most efficient way to keep in touch, but at least we didn't have to write subject lines.
Fortunately, Yahoo! has a hidden feature designed for the creativity-challenged. Can't come up with a clever or appropriate subject line for that email you're about to send? Just hit the subject button in the new version of Yahoo! Mail. Yahoo! will throw in a quote, funny phrase, or who knows what?
Here are just a few of the things that we found. Keep in mind, somebody must have taken the time to actually type these in there.
Do you use them for good, or for awesome?
I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message.
Hazards of storing plutonium in Tupperware
Why does Chinese food always taste better in front of a computer?
Have you ever had one of those days when you can't seem to get your computer to do anything you want it to? Say you want to download Windows Movie Maker, so you go to the Microsoft web site, check out the download page, and simply can't find it anywhere. When you do finally find it after performing a search, the page times out before you can download it. And once you've finally managed to get it on your PC, the installation process is excruciating.
It turns out you're not the only person who has trouble getting Windows to do what you want it to. The above scenerio is described in great detail in an email Bill Gates sent in 2003. This letter was released to the public along with a huge pile of other communications as part of the antitrust litigation Microsoft's been involved in for the past few years. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has posted the text of the entire email, but here are a few of our favorite parts:
Gates seems infuriated that it takes so long for Microsoft web pages to load
He had no idea why he would have to use Windows Update to install additional software before he could install Windows Movie Maker
His computer was unuseable for 6 minutes while applying updates
He asked why he should have to reboot his machine, which he reboots every night
Upon installing Movie Maker, Gates checks the add/remove programs dialog to see if it shows up, and instead he finds a list of programs with obscure names like Windows XP Hotfix Q329048. hHe writes "Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable?" he asked. "The file system is no longer usable, the registry is not usable. This program listing was one sane place, but now it is all crapped up."
There are plenty of ways to get a custom email address. You can sign up for service with Mail.com and choose from a number of custom domains. Or you can register a domain and use Google Apps to link it with an email account for free. But if you're a Yahoo! Mail fan, you might find that getting the domain name you want isn't the hard part. It's getting the prefix.
About 266 million people use Yahoo! Mail, which means the odds of getting an address like john@yahoo.com are pretty poor at this point. Today Yahoo! made things a bit easier by opening up two new domains, @ymail.com and @rocketmail.com.
If RocketMail sounds familiar, that's because it's the name of a company that Yahoo! purchased in 1997. The first version of Yahoo! Mail was built on technology developed by RocketMail earlier in the 1990s. You can snag an account using one of the new domains by visiting the new signup page.
A NYT article says that Americans waste $650 BILLION dollars over-checking their email obsessively. BILLION. Not Millions. Not Thousands. BILLIONS. Crazier? We waste $650 BILLION dollars trying to get back into the groove of work after checking our email obsessively.
Why do we do it? Are we that afraid of missing something?
Some of us here can say that we too check our email obsessively. Even going so far as to click on the Gmail logo over and over to refresh the page. Does this sound familiar to you? If so, you're apparently not alone.
How do we stop? How do we combat this problem? Do we love email that much? We hear people complaining all of the time about information and email overload, so maybe we're trying to get a jump on controlling it before it controls us?
Many questions and not a lot of answers, but if these numbers from the NYT are true, oh boy do we have to change some things.
First things first.
Stop. Look, and Listen.
Stop checking your email so often
Look and notice that Gmail already refreshes itself
Listen for emails to come in automatically via POP or IMAP
You won't miss something.
What's your favorite way to catch email? We find that checking email on the mobile slows us down a bit. Unless you get too obsessed with that...can you say Crackberry?
Tired of getting email notifications letting you know that someone wants to be your friend, poke, or wink at you? Webmail provider Orgoo wants to bridge the gap between email and social networking. That means you'd be able to receive all of your email notifications without leaving the social networking site. TechCrunch reports that Orgoo hopes to convince social networks like MySpace and Facebook to integrate the Orgoo email interface, which will also encourage users to spend more time on the web page.
While most social networking sites have some sort of private messaging feature, they tend to lack the features you'd find in a full fledged email service like Gmail or Yahoo! Mail. Orgoo supports POP and IMAP, which means you wouldn't necessarily be stuck with an @orgoo.com or @myspace.com email address. You could link any POP or IMAP-enabled account to the service.
Last year Yahoo! made some waves by claiming that email itself could be the basis for the next generation social networking. The implication is that Yahoo! may add social features to its email and IM services to make Yahoo! Mail a bit more Facebook-like. Orgoo's solution seems to achieve the same goal by taking the exact opposite approach.
One of the hardest aspects of managing email is keeping track of sent messages where a reply is expected. Do you have this problem? I know I do. Some of the people I correspond with are completely reliable, and I know that if I send them something, I will get a reply within 24 hours and often sooner. But some of my other regular correspondents are not so reliable. 
In wake of the 
Check this out y'all:
