E-mail Regrets? You have 5 seconds to "Undo-Send"

You may be perplexed next morning. You're confused, and prudence would suggest you ought to take some time to think it over. But out of confusion, you may rush to conclusions.

Ok, this is not a self-help blog.Moreover, it is a save-yourself-from screwing up blog. I read something cool on Google's Twitter feed a few days ago.

You might send an e-mail to someone hastily and regret it the moment you click "Send" and the Escape button ignores your belated second thought of not sending the e-mail. It's ok, especially if you're using Google's GMAIL! Now you have 5 seconds to undo sending the e-mail after you click the "Send" button. Sweet, eh?

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Also, Google has devised a way to help you make sure you know what you're sending. Sometimes people are so inebriated late in the night, they may send an e-mail which they'll regret later. A feature under "Google Labs" called "Mail Goggles," when configured, makes you solve a simple math problem when you click "Send" for any e-mail within a certain period of the day or the week. If you solve the problem correctly at that time, your mail will send. Else it'll stay in draft.

While I respect the purpose of Mail Goggles, it's terribly annoying. I would recommend it for those of you who live life by the edge. Cheers!

IM Integration: AiM on GMAIL chat now!

Google has invested about a billion bucks in AOL (yes, it still exists) and now has enhanced the already cool feature of chatting on GTALK via GMAIL. For those who don't know, you can chat with other GTALK contacts who are in your address book while checking your GMAIL on the same web page.

The latest innovation is integrating AOL Instant Messenger with GMAIL chat (GTALK). The simple requirements are:

• Internet Explorer 7+ or Mozilla Firefox 2+ as your browser


• Your GMAIL View set to Standard. Check the bottom of your GMAIL to ensure this.


• With the above setting, you should have your chat contact list displayed to the left-center of your GMAIL window.


• Below your name under Chat you'll find a dropdown box that'll allow you to change your status. In the same dropdown, you now have the option: Sign Into AIM.


• Obviously, you'll need an AIM account to log into that :-)

With residential high-speed Internet having crushed AOL in the ISP market, it's Instant Messaging service is probably the only viable product under the AOL umbrella. AIM has a huge proportion in the market of Internet chatters (especially teens, just like facebook and myspace), Google probably thought this was a good idea in order to counter Microsoft and Yahoo!'s collaboration earlier this year. For those who do not know, you can also chat with Yahoo! users from Windows Live (formerly MSN) Messenger and likewise. However, when it comes to download-free, web-based, non-JAVA (but JavaScript) chatting, Google wins. A lot of my friends can only chat via GMAIL/GTALK while they're at work. A lot of employers disallow downloads of AIM/Yahoo Messengers and block JAVA to disable their web-based IM clients as well.

Way to go, big G. However, I think I'm going to continue using meebo at work and at home.

Click here for more info on AIM in GMAIL.

411 Service from GOOGLE, Free!

While trying to get out of my short-term writer's block, I found another interesting service by Google.

From any phone in the US, you can dial 411 to get information about places to eat, movies to watch etc. in a specified area. However, most phone companies charge $ 1.49 or more every time you'd dial 411.

Google's experimental Voice Local Search provides the same service, for free. Instead of a three-digit code, you can dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) toll-free and talk with the automated system.

I just called that number, said what city/state I was in, and asked for a Starbucks. After saying the address, they connected me to that Starbucks store too.

Moreover, if you're calling from a cellphone you can also have them text/SMS you the details of the business establishment, by just saying "text message" or pressing 9.

Links:

• GOOG 411 @ Google Labs (click on cheat sheet for more details)

A Smartass named GOOGLE

Man, these guys at the big G keep impressing me and everyone else who pays a little attention. The April 1^st Toilet ISP was funny and ridiculous enough, but today, a co-worker enlightened me about GOOGLE playing cute this way:

1. Go to http://maps.google.com


2. Click on "Directions" below the search box


3. From: New York
   To: Ireland


4. Click the button that says "Get Directions"
   ...
   ...
   ...


5. Check out Step # 23.

Can I get an LOL? Or a WTH, maybe?


P.S. Fine, lazy people, here's the link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=new+york&daddr=ireland
&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.644047,71.015625&layer=
&ie=UTF8&z=3&ll=61.185625,-29.882812&spn=51.05916,142.03125&om=1

Google's Wireless Internet via crapper

I'm not kidding. Google now offers FREE wireless Internet to everyone. They send you a free setup kit upon request, and .... you have to put one end of the fiber-optic cable into your toilet! So besides alligators appearing out of the commode, we can also use it for obtaining free Internet from Google, how bizarre....

Read it and see it with your own eyes:

http://www.google.com/tisp/

Note: I haven't tried this yet. But if you plan to, please let me know.



Oh wait, it's April 1st!