Posts tagged Gmail
Gmail requires SMS verification for creating an account
Jul 7th
Believe me, the title of the post is not wrong. Apparently, Gmail has imposed a new restriction according to which all those users who create a new Gmail account, they will be required to send an activation code which Gmail will send to them via SMS. This practice is not something new. Infact the same approach was used in America and other countries when Gmail was not available at the global level. Google explained this new restriction in this manner:
If you’d like to sign up for a Gmail address, you need to have a mobile phone that has text-messaging capabilities.
If you don’t have a phone, you may want to ask a friend if you can use his or her number to receive a code. Also, if you know someone who already has a Gmail address, you can ask them to email an invitation to you.
One of the reasons we’re offering this new way to sign up for Gmail is to help protect our users and combat abuse. Spam and abuse protection are two things we take very seriously, and our users have been very happy with the small amount of spam they’ve received in Gmail. We take many measures to ensure that spammers have a difficult time sending their spam messages, getting these messages delivered, or even obtaining a Gmail address (spammers will often use many different addresses to send spam). Sending invitation codes to mobile phones is one way to address this, as the number of addresses created per phone number can be limited.
You may consider the following points in relation to this new restriction:
- This restriction has not been imposed at the global level.
- Also using your cell phone, you can create only a limited number of account (the upper limit is yet to be known)
- Not all countries and carriers are supported.
Gmail Labels gets the finishing touch
Jul 2nd
Gmail has finally done what is set out to do. Yes I am talking about the Labels feature which was designed to have a look and feel similar to that of a folder. Well that is all done now. Now you can do the familiar drag and drop for the purpose of labelling your messages. Labels have been freed from their own and seperate container and now they are displayed below the built-in labels such as inbox, spam, trash etc.
In order to provide room to other features as well, what Gmail does is that it only displays the most frequently used labels and hides the less frequently used ones inside the more dropdown.
The list of labels is more customizable than ever before. Want to hide a few of the built-in labels and other labels, you can do that by changing the order of your labels as you desire. Besides this, want to hide a system label such as Spam just go to the settings page and take the necessary steps. Damian Gadja of Google in relation to this label customization said:
You now have control over which of your labels show. We’ve done our best to get you started by automatically showing the labels you use most and hiding the rest. Label hiding is my favorite new feature, since it saves me from having to look through labels I rarely use. If I ever need to reach any of my old labels, I just click the “more” link
Just now I used this feature and I simply loved it. Go ahead and give it a try.
Gmail increases attachment size to 25 MB
Jun 29th
Do you use Gmail frequently and send files and attachments using your Gmail account?. If yes then you might like this post. The news is that Google has increased the maximum allowed attachment size. Previously it only allowed files bearing size of 20 MB to be sent. Now it has increased it to 25 MB. Google said:
With Gmail, you can send and receive messages up to 25 megabytes (MB) in size. Please note that you may not be able to send larger attachments to contacts who use other email services with smaller attachment limits. If your attachment bounces, you should invite them to Gmail.
There is a slight problem with the Flash uploader as Alex Chitu reports. Gmail Flash uploader for some unknown reason doesn’t allow to upload files larger than 10 MB. Attempting to attach files whose size exceeds 10 MB gives the error message as attachment failed. Using the basic uploader for this purpose solves the problem. But here is the bad part of it, it becomes tedious to upload multiple files using the basic uploader. Do share with us if you face the same problem.
10 useful Firefox Add-ons for daily use
Jun 28th
This is a quick overview for those new to Firefox: Add-ons are little free tools that make your application experience better and easier. Add-ons don’t stop at browsers, either. Email applications like Thunderbird have them, too.
Just go to Firefox add-ons, browse, click “Add to Firefox” and click “Install” in the popup window. Once installed, you’ll need to restart Firefox to complete the process.
Some of the them are here:
Adblock Plus — No. More. Popup. Ads. Or auto-playing videos. You can easily download a Filter Subscription. You can create your own filters to block ads on specific sites.
Better Gmail 2. Folders4Gmail helps you to have labels in folder-like sub-folders. It is the replacement of attachment icons. You will see the Word’s blue ‘W if your document is of Word.
Download Statusbar. Downloads appear across the bottom of Firefox where they don’t intrude. When you’re ready to open one, just double-click the relevant filename in the status bar.
Firefox Environment Backup Extension (FEBE). A backup tool for an application is worth because it restores data with little effort. This one backs up your add-ons and rebuilds them.
Long URL Please. This add-on automatically expands shortened URLs. Even if you can’t see the full URL, you can mouse over the link to see the full link tooltip-style.
Print/Print Preview. Adds a print icon to the tool bar with a down arrow giving you the choices of Print, Print Preview or Page Setup. This add-on helps because it ensures I print only what I need and nothing more.
Read it Later. The add-on puts a checkmark in your browser. Click the checkmark to add the page to Read it Later, click it again to remove.
Web Developer. This toolbar has helped me out many times. You can disable Java, Javascript and colors, manage cookies, change up styles with CSS, adjust form options and much more.
Word Count Plus. Simple tool where you highlight the text, click the icon and see the word count. Now it just needs an added feature to count characters for Twittering outside the box.
Xmarks. A bookmarks synchronizer that works between computers and across networks. It can synchronize passwords, give you information about a web page and create separate profiles. You can have a profile for each computer so you can pick and choose which bookmarks to display at each location.
China blocks Google’s global website
Jun 25th
Google’s global website was unfortunately blocked in China last night, signalling an increase in the crackdown of the Chinese government against the world’s leading search engine company.
Various attempts were made to access google.com and Gmail but all went in vain. This unfortunate incident took place at 9 pm local time. However the sites were able to be accessed via proxy servers which gave an indication that the site was blocked by internet sensors.
The blockage came after Google seemingly rejected the China’s order of blocking access to foreign sites through Google.cn, the Chinese based Google site. Google said in a statement:
We have received reports that most users cannot access Google.com in China … We are investigating the matter and hope that the service will be restored soon
People’s Daily and Xinhua the official news agency accused and blamed Google for showing links to pornographic and adult content in the search results. On similar lines, State media highlighted and reported the fact that users were able to search and navigate to foreign sites using google.cn, even after the government threatened during the last week to suspend foreign websites as they failed to stop pornographic links from showing in search results.
As a reaction to government’s threat and criticism, Google removed the buttons on Google.cn that allowed users to choose whether they want to search for local or foreign websites. Still users were able to search for foreign websites on the local Google website.
Another interesting fact to consider is that Google.com handles only about 5% of searches in China. However this blockage is still significant for Google since the search giants have put a lot of effort into entering the Chinese market. On a similar note, advertisers use the Global website of Google to market and advertise their products to the Chinese people. So it also holds a significance in terms of business. Let us hope that both the parties come to a common agreement.
Nokia E72 unveiled
Jun 15th
The all new Nokia E72 has great new features including optical scrolling and a five-megapixel camera. The E72 takes the very best of Nokia’s most successful QWERTY device and makes it even better. The frame is extremely slim of about 10mm with some sleek design touches and inside the device is treated to a range of user interface improvements too.
The optical navigation key makes scrolling through emails very easy as it also helps switch around the menus quickly and easily. The camera has been upgraded to a full five megapixels and heavy data users will have the support for up to 10.2Mbps connections over HSDPA. The audio jack has also had the upgrade treatment with 3.5mm jack now appearing on the top of the device.
Nokia Messaging is also there and now supports for Instant Messaging accounts including Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk and Ovi, and many others. Email set up is easier than before through Nokia Messaging, Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes Traveler.
Sound quality on calls is improved with the addition of active noise cancellation and navigation gets a improvement with addition of a digital compass. Maps is also integrated and comes with a lifetime walk and 10 days of turn-by-turn navigation, if activated within the first three months.
The Nokia E72 is expected to begin shipping in the third quarter of 2009, estimated retail price is €350.
Preview Gmail Inbox while it loads
May 22nd
The new feature in Gmail Labs: Inbox preview would definitely please those Gmail users having slow internet connection. Earlier you had to stare a blank white screen while the process bar was loading, with new inbox preview feature you can get a glimpses of 10 most recent emails subject lines in plain text format, during Gmail is loading.
While Gmail is loading, a simple, static preview of your inbox with your ten most recent messages is displayed. Turn it on from the Labs tab under Settings, and if you’re on a slow connection you’ll know from the start if it’s worth the wait.
Steps to enable Inbox preview :
Login to Gmail.
Go to the following path Setting –> Labs tab and scroll down to locate “Inbox preview ”.
Select “Enable” and then click “Save Changes”.
Next time you login into Gmail and if you’re on a slow connection you be able to see the your mails and can make out from the start if it’s worth waiting.
Automatic message translation comes to Gmail
May 20th
Google just announced a new Gmail Labs feature that’s actually useful, especially in multinational enterprises: the ability to automatically translate e-mail messages into any of 41 supported languages.
Google’s Darren Lewis announced that Google’s automatic translation technology has been integrated directly into Gmail. To use the new feature, users simply enable Message Translation from the Labs tab under Settings, and then set it to the language in which you wish to receive messages.
It’s a great move, especially for users who in the past needed to cut and paste messages into Google Translate in order to see what their multinational partners or customers had to say. And it’s much more useful than being forced to do math problems before a message can be sent.
If all parties are using Gmail, you can have entire conversations in multiple languages with each participant reading the messages in whatever language is most comfortable for them. This feature is of everyday use to help you out with teammates around the globe.
Facebook launches OpenID support – Now login with Gmail accounts
May 19th
Facebook announced that users would soon be able to login to the site via OpenID. Recently, Facebook has officially become an OpenID relying party: as users can register for Facebook using their Gmail accounts and any OpenID provider that supports automatic login. And now Facebook has become the largest OpenID relying party on the web.
Now, once users link their Facebook account to a Gmail address (or OpenID URL), they’ll be automatically logged in when they go to Facebook after having logged into that service. Facebook says that in its user testing so far, users who register through OpenID actually get engaged with Facebook more quickly than others.
Facebook says:
In tests we’ve run, we’ve noticed that first-time users who register on the site with OpenID are more likely to become active Facebook users. They get up and running after registering even faster than before, find their friends easily, and quickly engage on the site. We’ll continue to integrate more OpenID providers into our registration and account linking flows as they support automatic login,
To link an existing account with a Google or OpenID account, users can go to their Account Settings page and choose an account in the Linked Accounts section. Yahoo and MySpace are also listed here, but a Facebook prompt says:
Note that your accounts from Myspace and Yahoo do not allow for automatic login.
Google Outage caused by traffic routing error,says Google
May 15th
Many of the users might have experienced an unfortunate incident yesterday. That is right I am talking about Google unexpected outage which affected many users. The search engine giant has come and out and said this unfortunate incident was attributed to a traffic routing error. Specifically speaking users in the United States and other numerous countries were affected by it. Many services offered by Google including Gmail, YouTube, Google News and google.com homepage went offline and inaccessible because of this undesirable event.
The error which is termed as #googlefail by some was a result of misdirected traffic. No thanks to a system mistake, large number of users were routed through the same location. Urs Hoelzle, Senior VP of operations for Google in this regard stated:
An error in one of our systems caused us to direct some of our Web traffic through Asia, which created a traffic jam.
According to the estimates given by the senior VP, around 14% of Google users throughout the globe were affected. Complaints were received from users based in US, China, France and Australia. In an effort to explain the error, Hoelzle said:
Imagine if you were trying to fly from New York to San Francisco, but your plane was routed through an airport in Asia. And a bunch of other planes were sent that way too, so your flight was backed up and your journey took much longer than expected. That’s basically what happened
As expected, Google has came out and made an official apology regarding this state, calling it an embarrassing glitch. They have promised that their hard working engineers are taking all possible measures to prevent the occurence of such an incident in the future.
