Picture of the Day

It's worth all of the Op-Ed's from the whole week.

graph via torsten

The Goggle Machine Surprizes Again

I like Gmail. It's got my kind of capacity and my kinds of features. I like the ease of using Google Calender, Google docs, et al. In short, I'm a happy user. Hence, when told about Gmail's latest feature, I simply had to post it here.

I wouldn't have thought about this but someone at Google did and it apparently sounds like a great feature to many a user judging from the responses and comments they have received. Can't say I'll have a need to use it but I reckon it's usually a good idea to be open-minded vis-a-vis the 'Google machine.'

A bit says:

"When you enable Mail Goggles, it will check that you're really sure you want to send that late night Friday email. And what better way to check than by making you solve a few simple math problems after you click send to verify you're in the right state of mind?

By default, Mail Goggles is only active late night on the weekend as that is the time you're most likely to need it. Once enabled, you can adjust when it's active in the General settings.

Hopefully Mail Goggles will prevent many of you out there from sending messages you wish you hadn't. Like that late night memo -- I mean mission statement -- to the entire firm."
Read more here.

Some of you who also do work/write at night might find this annoying and unnecessary but plenty of AM folk might find it really useful. I suppose that's Google's strongest suit: catering to all on some level and in some capacity.

Would you use this feature? Do you find it micromanaging and/or too editing?
graph per google

Myspace and Google.

I happened to read Daniel Tynan’s recent article on google today and I found myself agreeing with him almost entirely.
Recently I pulled my Myspace account because it simply was a nuisance to have and keep. Spending 5-12 minutes a day on it felt like a decadence I couldn’t afford.

I illustrate.

I think Myspace could be a good source of information. I certainly enjoyed getting the 411 on my favorite rock bands, their new releases, tour dates, etc. But I also enjoyed keeping in touch with family and friends who also subscribe to it. However, how many sites does one need really?
Between the work email page, google mail, research sites and word processing, Oy Weh!, it’s simply too much.

Plus, I noticed during the time that I was using Myspace that communication became too exhibition-laden. Leaving comments for people could be a fun, little thing but when they appear disingenuous and affected, well, that’s when I react the following way: “ewe, stupid!. what the heck does that mean?” There is no elegant or eloquent way to react to affectation and faux-ness.
At least I have not yet encountered it.

So, as Daniel Tynan suggests in his article “Living la Vida Google,” it’s really not necessary to leave the Google realm. Google’s even a legitimate lexeme in our vernacular and it’s easily used in all the content-based parts of speech. Some examples include, “I googled it” as a verb, “that’s what Google says” as a noun, and my favorite: “It’s googlingly true” as a smashing adverb. It’s my coinage, by the way, but I sure enjoy it.

Again, Google does not pay me to endorse it but as Tynan, I use Gmail for emails, get directions from Google Maps, I get news, weather info, and movie listings from it, I have YouTube and Blogger accounts (both are owned by Google),
and the list goes on and on.

I am not hot on monopolies, of course not, but if a company gets what living in the 21st century is all about and it expedites the working and writing processes of the speed-obsessed such as I, why migrate elsewhere and leave the comfort of my domicile with Google.

So, why don’t I have a Myspace account? Because I do not need to. All I want and need, I am getting from my google sites, minus the at-times-well-intended-affectations and simply too long emails one gets from supposed friends.
My people know where I am and I am not hurting for communication. Far from it.

Ah, yes, and I have yet to see Google closed for ‘maintenance.’ So, sorry, Myspace, you are simply not a match for google and I can only afford to be with the very best.

Humbly,
a previous user who is replacing you entirely with someone better qualified who is always available and only gives me what I want it to give me.