Tagged: gmail

Sparrow is the best Gmail desktop app for Mac

This is the most interesting discovery I made in a while. Sparrow is a minimalist mail application for Mac that is designed to keep things simple and efficient. It integrates with Growl and can be a full blown client when you want to by clicking on a toggle for easy previews.

It is still in beta but perfectly stable for daily use. In fact I already want to investigate the possibility of removing Mail from my system, but I fear the ‘consequences’.

On the next update there’s going to be support for other generic email service providers that support IMAP, as well as more Gmail specific features such as Labels and hopefully eventually Priority Inbox!

I hope it’ll remain freeware when final code publishes.

sparrowmailapp.com

Gmail down

As of right now I can’t seem to access Gmail. Google Calendar, Docs all loads fine. I was actually waiting for some important emails for once. Now I know why it’s such a “big deal” when Gmail goes down.

On the other note, at least I don’t have to stress out and deal with my emails until they arrive… Ain’t that a bitch :p.

Integrate Google Apps with your desktop (Part 1, Windows Vista)

This is how I have done it, I use both Windows and Mac OS X regularly and use Google Apps as the backend services for my domain. There aren’t a lot of guides out there to show you how to integrate these services.

Windows Vista

Sorry I haven’t used XP for a long time now as my main system. Vista runs very well on modern hardware. This is what I have done to my installation.

For mail checker I use a Sidebar gadget called GMail Counter.

For calendar I also use a Sidebar gadget called Google Calendar Agenda.

Now download the Gmail Icon made by William Randol. Save it in your Windows directory, typically C:Windows. Or you can type in %windir% in an Explorer window to be directed to it. You might need to escalate the rights to authorize this action with UAC.

Make a .reg file with the following code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClientsMailGmail]
@=”Gmail”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClientsMailGmailDefaultIcon]
@=”c:\windows\Gmail.ico”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClientsMailGmailProtocols]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClientsMailGmailProtocolsmailto]
“URL Protocol”=”"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClientsMailGmailProtocolsmailtoshell]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClientsMailGmailProtocolsmailtoshellopen]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClientsMailGmailProtocolsmailtoshellopencommand]
@=”rundll32.exe url.dll,FileProtocolHandler http://mail.google.com/a/example.com/?extsrc=mailto&url=%1“

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClientsMailGmailshell]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClientsMailGmailshellopen]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREClientsMailGmailshellopencommand]
@=”rundll32.exe url.dll,FileProtocolHandler http://mail.google.com/a/example.com/?extsrc=mailto&url=%1“

You need to replace the two entries of ‘example.com’ with your domain name. Now merge that .reg file with your Windows registry by double clicking on it. You should now be able to access Control Panel -> Default Programs and set Gmail as default. You can of course also edit more parts of the .reg file and name it something else. I left mine as Gmail for ease of remembering.

There you go, any mailto: links you click on in Windows or browser windows should direct you to your Google Apps e-mail. If you’re already logged in it will automatically start to compose.

Continue to part 2.

Affixa, and other Sidebar gadgets eliminate need for desktop e-mail and calendar client

I have discovered the holy grail of e-mail when Google started their Google Apps hosting services. But incorporating all of this stuff onto your desktop was always a pain. Not to mention the regular joes who just uses Gmail in its pure form (www.gmail.com). Well forget desktop e-mail client software and embrace your browser.

Here’s how to completely dump the need for Outlook, Windows Mail, Thunderbird, or whatever it is that you run on your desktop to get your e-mail fix.

First we need to solve the nasty mailto: protocol default. In Windows it is only limited to an actual app. You cannot link it to Gmail or any other website. Until Affixa that is. Affixa will allow you to associate mailto: protocol to Gmail or Yahoo Mail. Google Apps hosted sites are also supported. And after you install it and set it up (make sure you enable HTTPs), you don’t even need the tray icon to be active. I disabled it from running on Windows startup as well. Don’t need the tray icon unless you need to change a preference.

Any <a href=”mailto:”> links will now direct you to a created Draft in Gmail. As well as any of the default Windows mailto: protocol calls. This include the Send To -> Mail Recipient option on your desktop, and the e-mail function in individual programs such as Word, Excel, Adobe Reader, etc.

Then I downloaded a couple of Sidebar gadgets to alert me of new e-mail arrival and Google Calendar notices. Google Calendar Agenda brings onto your Sidebar all of your calendar events, and Gmail Counter lets you know of any unread e-mails in your Inbox.

The two gadgets are set on refresh on interval. Google Calendar Agenda is preset and you can’t change it, but it’s frequent enough that I don’t really miss any updates. Gmail Counter can be set to update as frequently as every minute.

This setup works really well for me, even in Windows Live Messenger, I can press on the check mail button and it would launch browser for Gmail as opposed to trying to open an app.

But wait a minute, there’s the problem with offline viewing you say. Well you can use Google Gears to enable offline viewing, but if you can’t get online to send a message, what’s the point of using your e-mails?

Check link below to download Affixa.

affixa.com

Setting up Gmail IMAP in Thunderbird

Well no matter what I did I could not get rid of the [Imap]/Trash label on Gmail once I had it setup with Thunderbird. It’s even more annoying than Outlook’s Junk label because to me it feels more protruding. This guide explains how to do it the right way!

I would also add something to this as in Thunderbird you can set your IMAP home folder. So if on the initial creation of the profile you set your IMAP home folder to [Gmail] then it would display all the folders in a non-cascaded list. Looks more streamlined.

To get to it you have to go to Tools -> Account Settings, choose the Gmail account you want to change and go to Server Settings -> Advanced. Fill in “[Gmail]” for IMAP server directory and you’re set. It takes effect when you re-sync the folders, or a restart of Thunderbird would take care of it.

But yeah, this guide solves the Trash mystery.

howtogeek.com