Monday, December 28, 2009

Google Tutor

at 8:39 PM

Google Tutor

Reading Gmail Threads in Stages with “Mark Unread from Here”

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 05:00 AM PST

When I work on a project with others I send a lot of mass emails to all collaborators. Aside from sharing documents in Google Docs, we still end up discussing a lot of the details by email. When the discussion gets heated, or someone sends a general call-out to everyone for bits and pieces of information, I end up getting around to reading the message thread after a few people have already responded. More than once, especially when traveling, I might only see the messages after there are too many emails to read in one go. Recently, Google announced a solution to what used to cause me a lot of extra work and frustration: Mark Unread From Here.

The “Unread From Here” function is new in labs, and let’s you indicate in a message thread at which message you want to start reading next time you open the thread. Basically, wherever you stop reading, you indicate that all following messages after this point are going to be considered unread until you get to them again.

How you use Mark as Unread From Here

In order for you to mark messages as unread from a certain point, you need to activate this function in Gmail labs:

Open up labs in Gmail.
Find the “Mark Unread From Here” function in the list
Select “Enable”
Scroll down the page, and save your changes.

Next time you receive a long thread of emails, and you need to refer back to them later, you can select mark unread from here from the drop down menu located in the top right corner of messages.

After you click “Mark unread from here”, the message from which you clicked and all others received afterward will be considered unread. The coolest part of this feature is yet to come: When you are taken back to your inbox you will notice something very cool to the message. Not only does it show up as unread mail, if you take a close look at the sender list, you will notice that the first few senders are not boldfaced (these messages are already read), but from the point where the thread is marked as unread the sender names are boldfaced.

To test this further, I went back into the thread and selected the last message to be marked as unread. When back in my inbox, only the last sender was now boldfaced.

When clicking on the message thread now, I am taken directly to the last email I had selected to remain as unread. This is definitely the coolest, and most useful, new development in Gmail labs I have seen in a little while. I can’t wait to put it to use and start saving time on long message threads! I also can’t wait to see what you think about this new labs feature in the comments!

Gmail problems or confused about Picasa? I’ll help you in the forums.

Share this post!

Similar Posts:

Friday, December 25, 2009

Google Tutor

at 8:42 PM

Google Tutor

The 50 Coolest Christmas Light Decorated Homes on YouTube

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 07:30 AM PST

‘Tis the season… to deck the halls, and some people take that to an extreme. If you have today off, and feel bored, how about try and replicate some of these cool YouTube videos, just in time for Christmas? Here is a compilation of the 50 coolest, most outrageous, and most extravagant homes decorated for Christmas on YouTube. Each one of these is synchronized to music, and wishing you a very Merry Christmas, and a happy new year!

I could not take my eyes off this video of a techno-synchronized house. It is amazing!
This house has Christmas lights synchronized to the Nutcracker.
Another great video is a home synchronized to the the Carol of the Bells.
The coolest part of this house is how it ‘punctuates’ the “He”, in jingle bells.
Another Techno-music house, this time set to ‘Amazing Grace’.
Lights dancing to ‘Suite Christmas Rush‘ on this high quality video.
Fabulous effects on this house, particularly how it is synchronized to “Go” in the song.
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra chants along a Christmas Canon to this house.
Another TSO house using reportedly 125.000 lights!
A cheery Russian Dance brightens up Grand Haven, Michigan.
I think these people went a little wrong, but the house is supposed to rock to ‘Jingle Bell Rock’, and although cool it is not by far as synchronized as other homes.
Here is a better rendition of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’, Christmas light style.
This Carol of the Bells is nicely done as well.
One of my favorites: ‘Little Drummer Boy’
A very shiny ‘Sleigh Ride’.
Love the stars on the roof of this TSO house.
Here is another techno house, 66.000 lights set to ‘Auld Lang Syne’.
This house only uses 17.000 lights, and let’s hope the neighbors like Mariah Carey’s ‘All I want for Christmas’.
Not sure I want to live next to these people, the video starts by shouting out “It’s Christmas”, and if you are prone to seizures, don’t look. However, it does look super cool.
A techno-music Hallelujah home.
This video takes a while to really get up the speed, but the anticipation is well worth it.
When this entire house goes red, it reminds me of something Satanic. Set to more traditional Christmas music it’s a cool contrast.
Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.
One of my favorite carols is “Come all Ye Faithful”, and I particularly like the beginning of this video.
Someone in Rochester wants a hippopotamus for Christmas
Not a good quality video, but cool effects synced to a local radio station.
How about some Rock anyone? This is one I’d rather drive by than live next to as well.
Not the most spectacular, but cute nonetheless.
42.000 lights, some techno-type tunes, and the house is rockin’.
Another TSO house, too bad the camera was shaking in this one.
It’s a Rockabilly Christmas!
Let’s take a look at what a “Blue Christmas” looks like.
Another favorite of mine: Deck the Halls!
27.000 lights make this a Silent Night, when bystanders look at the house in awe (it’s worth the wait!).
This house keeps coming back, this time with ‘Christmas Eve in Sarajevo’ by the TSO.
…and again… ‘Queen of Winter Night’.
Impressive Christmas light show in Utah.
The clear high def of this video is impressive, as are the 65.000 light dancing to the Coca-Cola Christmas. I guess the owners must really love Coca-Cola..
It looks like there is snow where this house is, so Frosty the Snowman was actually a good choice.
I think there are enough lights here to scare off the Grinch.
All these people seem to want for Christmas is a whole lot of lights.
God Bless the USA is another song people like to sync their Christmas lights to.
This one looks sort of random, but is still set to a Christmas tune.
Another bright ‘Silent Night’. This video is also worth the patience until it lights up fully.
The way this house appears from the dark is kind of eerie.
This is one of the flashiest, and cheeriest visual Christmas wishes. It’s a Texan Christmas, but you’ll guess that from the music…
A lovely Christmas Medley.
Supposedly the most overwhelming house in Minneapolis (according to the person who shot the video).
A house lighting up to ‘I gotta Feeling‘. Although not the most extravagant, I gotta feeling this is gonna be a good Christmas!
And, after seeing all those crazy decorated homes, this is apparently how it is done! Simple enough, can we count on your house being this decorated next year?

Need help with Adsense, Adwords or SEO? I’ll help you in the forums: http://www.googletutor.com/forums/

Share this post!

Similar Posts:

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Google Tutor

at 8:40 PM

Google Tutor

How to Merge All Duplicate Gmail Contacts with One Click

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 12:00 PM PST

Merging duplicate contacts has been a necessity since people decided to use two or more email addresses, and have several contact numbers. Sometimes, a contact is added twice, or even more often, to your contact list as you update new information. I have some contacts that are duplicated four different times, and in the past I’d have to set aside an afternoon to sort through my contact list one by one and copy-paste new information into the most up to date entry.

Google already had a smart way of merging duplicate contacts, but you used to have to do it one by one. Now, Google has added the possibility of merging all duplicate contacts at once in Gmail. For those of us who are slightly paranoid about what is being merged, you can still see the details of each contact and the information being merged.

Here’s how it’s done

How to merge duplicate Gmail contacts in one click

Log into Gmail and click on “Contacts”
In the main screen, you will see a button with “Find duplicates” on it:
Once you click it, your duplicates are not merged yet. However, you get a new screen that lists all the duplicates that were found in your contact list.
For example, my list has 402 contacts in my contact list, but the total number of contacts saved by GMail surpass the 1800 mark. Of the 402 contacts there were 76 duplications.
You’ll see that you can choose not to merge certain contacts. This can come in handy if you know two people with the exact same name (trust me, it happens.. I know a man and a woman with the same first and last name). In this case, just don’t select the box next to that particular name.
If you want to see the contact info being merged, just click on “expand” to see the information in one large list of all contacts and the information in each file:
Once you are satisfied that you are merging the right contacts, you just need to click the button at the top of the page:

Gmail will take you back to your regular contact list, which is now quite a bit shorter and quite a bit more organized. I’ve cut down on 76 redundant contacts. Considering I merge my contact file with my phone, having less to scroll through is definitely helpful!

Got a question about Google? Ask me in the forums: http://www.googletutor.com/forums/

Share this post!

Similar Posts:

Friday, December 18, 2009

Google Tutor

at 8:19 PM

Google Tutor

5 Great Google Chrome Extensions You Should Install

Posted: 18 Dec 2009 05:00 AM PST

So yesterday we saw how we can install extensions in Google Chrome by switching to Chrome’s beta channel. As promised I am back with a list of cool extensions for Chrome that enhance your experience of using this browser.

1. Google Quick Scroll

When you search for some text or a phrase in Google, it displays the results in the form of website links accompanied with snippets of the destination page.

Although the text snippet shows your search query, when you go to the original page, the search query seems to be buried somewhere in the page and you usually need to use Ctrl+F to find that text (happens a lot of times in my experience).

Google Quick Scroll is a useful extension by Google that aims to solve that problem. This extension helps you locate the search query on the destination page when it is difficult and time-consuming to do that manually.

googlequickscroll

2. Lastpass

Lastpass is my personal favorite when it comes to managing passwords for my umpteen online accounts. As more and more online services appear and you sign up for them, it could be a cumbersome task to manage usernames, passwords and other profile data. Lastpass takes care of all that in a safe and secure manner.

Lastpass’ Chrome extension is like its Firefox counterpart and works like a charm.

lastpassextension2

lastpassextension5

3. Tab menu

Tab Menu offers a great tabs management solution for Google Chrome. As it mentions, you can “select, close, rearrange, and search your tabs in a vertical menu. ” Pretty cool.

tabmenu

4. Chrome Gestures

Chrome Gestures is for people who love using the mouse more and more. It introduces features like mouse gestures, smooth scroll, simple superdrag etc.

chromegestures

5. ChromeMilk

ChromeMilk brings the amazing Remember the Milk task manager to Google Chrome. It adds a small button on the Chrome toolbar that helps you quickly access and add tasks and reminders.

chromemilk

So which are your favorite Google Chrome extensions ? Lets hear about them in the comments.

Share this post!

Similar Posts:

How To Add Extensions In Google Chrome

Posted: 17 Dec 2009 08:12 AM PST

There has been a lot of buzz and excitement lately around Google Chrome extensions. It seemed like everyone was waiting for the Chrome team to officially introduce extensions so that they can ditch Firefox once and for all.

While the Chrome team did go ahead and launched extensions in beta, and also introduced a nice extensions gallery, regular users are yet to get that feature.

So if you are a Chrome user who is missing Firefox’s extension bliss badly then this guide will help you install and activate add-ons in this browser.

Steps

1. Download & Install Google Chrome Beta

Go the Google Chrome Beta site and download and install the beta version of the browser. As they mention, the beta version helps you try out the latest Chrome features and that includes extensions.

chromebeta

2. Once you hit ‘Accept and Install’, the Google Chrome downloader starts up and begins the process of downloading and installing the beta channel.

chromebeta2

3. Go to the Extensions Gallery

Once the beat channel is installed, you should find a small notification at the footer of the start page informing you about the availability of extensions.

chromebeta3

If you don’t find that, you can go directly to the chrome extensions gallery.

chromeextensiongallery

4. Install Your Favorite Add-on

And that’s it ! You are ready to install your favorite extension. There are a huge number of extensions available.

You could check out the most popular or featured extensions, or just search for your favorite add-on.

I decided to install the Lastpass extension for password management. So I did a search for it, found it and installed it. Simple.

lastpassextension

lastpassextension2

lastpassextension3

The best thing about extensions in Chrome is that you don’t need to restart the browser for installing them.

So that was about how you install extensions in Google Chrome. Try them out till Google introduces extensions officially for everyone using Chrome (which I believe should happen in the very near future ). In the next post I’ll talk about some cool chrome extensions you could make use of.

Buy an ad right here. You are reading this aren’t you?

Share this post!

Similar Posts: