In light of Google’s new privacy policy changes, Microsoft has released a jab at Google in the form of a new Gmail Man video ironically, as I’m sure you’ll note, hosted on Google-owned YouTube. Whether you agree with the Microsoft ad –because it is an ad, after all– or not, it’s hard not to appreciate the that little girl’s expression when she finds out where ads come from. Personally, I think everyone is over-reacting anyways. I hardly ever say anything important over gmail anyways; I usually use GChat, or text from my Android phone. Whatever. Come over here Big Brother! Gimme a big hug!

(via The Next Web)

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In the Quora post, Fox said that at the time, Hwang was responsible for most of the Google Doodles and other logo work, so one can assume that designing the Gmail logo was right up Hwang’s alley and he didn’t necessarily need months of designing logos he disliked, then going back to the drawing board.

Interestingly, Fox reveals that the initial logo was made in the usual Google font, called Catull, but the letter “A” was deemed awkward, so they used used Catull for the “G” to tie the logo together with the regular Google logo, then used Myriad Pro for the other letters, which they felt looked cleaner.

So, now every time you look at the Gmail logo, you’ll notice that the “G” doesn’t match with the rest of the letters, and you’ll be somewhat impressed that a designer came up with the subtly clever “M in an envelope” design the night before the product launched.

(via The Atlantic)

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So, I bit the bullet today: I switched my Gmail over to the new look. I figured I’ll have to do it sometime, and I might as well do it now, while I’m shaking up all my old habits with fancy labs. If you remember, sharebros were not too happy about the Google Reader redesign, and even more people are likely to be miffed by the Gmail one. According to Google it’s “cleaner and more modern,” which apparently means “has a lot of white space where useful information used to live.” For the moment, you can stick with the old look, but there’s also a display mechanism built in that looks a lot more like traditional Gmail without straight-up being the old format. It’ll come in handy when they kill off the old one for good.

When you first boot up the new look, it’s in what is called the “Comfortable” density setting, meaning that each and every email is sprawled out across half the screen. It’s not comfortable. This change instantly makes new Gmail feel awful. All you have to do to rectify this is to jump into settings (that Gears of War-ish cog in the hot bar) and switch it over to “Compact,” which could probably be more accurately labeled “Normal.” This shrinks things back down to familiarity.

Granted, there’s no way to get your good old-fashioned hot bar back, but some changes are for the better. This default spacing change is for the worse, but you can fix that at least. When it comes to the rest of them, trust Google, I guess. That, or get a dedicated email client and pretend you’re still living in the past.

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Gmail has been a stalwart companion and workhorse for over seven years, but in that time it has remained mostly the same. However, a recent video posted to the official Gmail YouTube channel heralds the arrival of a new look for the web-based email service, and new functionality to boot.

Though the slick new look of Gmail, pictured above, has been available as a theme for some time, the video announces that this will now become the default theme. Though there will be numerous redesigned HD themes available, this is now the default look of Gmail that other themes will be built on. More than appearance, the video unveils different levels of “density” for the mail service with each displaying more or less information as the user desires. The left sidebar is now resizable, making life easier for people that use chat more than labels and vice versa. Also, Gmail will now automagically resize itself depending on how large the user makes the browser window. Perhaps the most interesting change is the updated search box which — similar to the Chrome browser — is the new centerpiece of Gmail, with advanced search options and the ability to create filters directly from the search box.

Strangely, the video has been made private since it was originally spotted earlier this week, suggesting that it was accidentally made public in the first place. However, someone was able to nab it, and you can view it below.

(via Google Operating System)

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When it was originally launched, Google Buzz was meant to be the search giant’s first foray into social networking. Its aim was to allow users to quickly and easily share their activity, and place it prominently on the main Gmail page. However, the service was far too overreaching, leading to an uproar that ended with the service becoming a wasteland, and Google in hot water with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

For the six of you that still use the service, Google says you’ll be able to pull down a copy of your data using Google Takeout.

(Google Blog via Macworld)

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In any discussion of search in email, Gmail is the king of the hill because of its close integration of Google search. However, some other aspects of Gmail received specific praise from the study, such as conversation threading — where back and forth email exchanges are grouped together. Strangely, the study endorsed “superthreading,” where emails of a similar topic or project are organized together. Which to me, sounds like folders, but maybe I’m missing something.

(Box Free IT via Slashdot, image via Alexandre Duret-Lutz)

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Even though Gmail isn’t particularly cluttered or ugly (aside from that bar on the left, maybe?), Google has decided to spruce it up a bit, making it even easier on the eyes. Currently, they’ve only released two new themes for the service, but it is part of a larger plan that was announced on the Official Gmail Blog quickly outlining their intent of visually upgrading Gmail through a series of interface updates.

One of the two released themes, “Preview” and “Preview (Dense),” can be seen above, sporting an easy-to-read, cleaner, minimalistic style. The Gmail team explains that there are two version of the new theme because, eventually, Gmail’s interface will dynamically expand depending upon screen size and user interface preferences. Both of the new themes can be found in the theme tab within Gmail’s settings.

Here is a screenshot of the new theme in conversation view:

Again, not particularly revolutionary, but cleaner and a little more modern. The Gmail team will also be launching some new themes with the same cleaner, more modern design principles within the coming months, including ones attuned to a darker work environment.

(via Gmail Blog)

In the midst of a blog post blandly titled “Ensuring your information is safe online,” Google lobs a bombshell of an accusation against the Chinese government: It says that it unearthed a Gmail account hijacking campaign, “which appears to originate from Jinan, China, affect[ing] what seem to be the personal Gmail accounts of hundreds of users including, among others, senior U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries (predominantly South Korea), military personnel and journalists.”

Google’s backing for its accusations come in part from a thorough February 2011 blog post from researcher Mila Parkour of Contagio, which details several “spear phishing” methods by which hackers attempted to get the passwords and personal information from their targets. In the image above, for example, a fake Gmail login page is used to attempt to scoop up user passwords. Google:

The goal of this effort seems to have been to monitor the contents of these users’ emails, with the perpetrators apparently using stolen passwords to change peoples’ forwarding and delegation settings. (Gmail enables you to forward your emails automatically, as well as grant others access to your account.)

Google detected and has disrupted this campaign to take users’ passwords and monitor their emails. We have notified victims and secured their accounts. In addition, we have notified relevant government authorities.

The Chinese government denies any connection with hacking attacks: “Allegations that the Chinese government supports hacking activities are completely unfounded and made with ulterior motives,” an official said in a statement.

(via WSJ, PaidContent, Google. title pic via Contagio.)

Gmail’s forgotten attachment detector is a wonderful thing, and in that vein — helpfully analyzing the context of an email using the data centersful of information without being too pushy — Google is rolling out two new features to Gmail which previously existed only in Google Labs. Called “Don’t forget Bob” and “Got the Wrong Bob?”, respectively, they both analyze a user’s email history and scan the current recipients of the message in draft.

The first of the two makes suggestions as to who to include “based on the groups of people you email most often”: Clicking on those suggested names automatically adds them to the recipients list. The second has the potential to avert even more awkwardness: If Gmail ‘thinks’ you are accidentally including the wrong person as the recipient of a message in the place of someone else with a similar name, it gives you a clickable suggestion to replace the “wrong Bob.”

Both of these features will roll out over the next few days across all Gmail accounts.

(via Gmail Blog)

There is no technical issue on our side; we have checked extensively. There is a [Chinese] government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail[.]

The accusation comes after Google has repeatedly locked horns with the Chinese government, and gone so far as to move their corporate headquarters to Hong Kong, where governmental authority is somewhat diminished. Prior to their move, Google said they were targeted by Chinese hackers who stole source code and apparently accessed email user information. This apparently included information about human rights and pro-democracy supporters.

Observers are noting that this could be part of a larger effort by the Chinese government to crack down on dissension within the country, and enhance their censorship over Chinese internet access. Which is hard to believe, considering that it already has some of the tightest controls in the world.

If true, these accusations will only further frustrate an already unhappy relationship between Chinese authorities and Google. One wonders how far these two will push each other, though in the face of the monolithic power that is Chinese authority, even the mighty Google seems at a disadvantage.

(NYTimes, UK Telegraph)

Users who opt to use the service can chose whether they want to receive notification of incoming chat messages, new emails, or only new priority emails. Other options, such as the position of messages, can be customized by clicking the wrench icon on the alerts themselves. The notifications can be activated in the “settings” tab of Gmail, but are only available to users of Google’s Chrome browser. According to Google’s Gmail Blog, plans are currently in the works to make these notifications part of “the standard Web platform.”

Those of you pretending to not see chats or ignoring emails for extended periods of time had better find some new excuses. “I didn’t see it,” just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Also, if you’re easily distracted and get itchy knowing that there unread messages waiting, you might want to think twice about turning these on.

(Gmail Blog via Lifehacker)

Keyboard navigation is enabled by default in Google Instant, simply use the up/down arrow keys to navigate through the search results. Highlighted results will have a small blue arrow next to the title. Pressing right with a result selected will open the site preview, and pressing the enter key will open the link. Google Instant can be toggled with the menu located to the right of the search box on any result page.

Gmail, Reader, and Calendar

Google has an expansive set of keyboard navigation controls for many of their products. Comprehensive lists of available commands can be found below. Keyboard navigation for Gmail must be enabled in your settings.

• Gmail keyboard shortcuts
• Google Reader keyboard shortcuts
• Google Calendar keyboard shortcuts

Reddit

The Reddit Enhancement Suite adds full keyboard navigation to Reddit, allowing users to quickly preform common tasks with a quick keystroke. Available for Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera.

Twitter

Twitter has added native keyboard navigation with their recent redesign, below is a full list of available shortcuts.

Dropbox

Under “Account Settings” in the web interface, check the “enable file browser keyboard shortcuts” box. A list of available shortcuts can be found by typing “?” from the home window.

Universal Navigation

If you really want to get serious about completely ditching the mouse, try the Keyboard Navigation extension for Google Chrome, which assigns an alphabetical key combination to every link. It has the unfortunate side effect of being absolutely hideous (though, it can be quickly disabled), but it gets the job done.

Facebook routinely gets flack for not letting users easily access their contacts’ email addresses in bulk; even their supposedly more user-friendly Download Your Information feature, released in October, doesn’t touch upon it. Plenty of techy types have come up with Greasemonkey scripts and the like to successfully pry email addresses and other personal data from Facebook, which Facebook has in the past argued constitutes a violation of its Terms of Service — never mind that it’s the users’ own data.

Fortunately, there’s a much easier way to mass export Facebook contacts’ email addresses, although it might be counterintuitive to tech geeks for one reason: It requires you to create a Yahoo email address.

*First, create a new Yahoo email address; after going through the authentication process, you should see a prompt to “transfer your contacts to Yahoo! to get started.”

*After selecting Facebook and allowing Facebook to import your contacts, you will receive this confirmation: “Congratulations! [x] new contacts imported.” You should now be in a tab called Contacts; if you aren’t, click “Contacts” in the left-hand menu below the inbox. (See the red box below.)

**NOTE** Some users have reported that they need to turn Facebook chat on for the import process to work correctly.

You should now be in the Contacts tab. There’s a menu button called “Tools” in the light blue bar up top; click on this button and a dropdown menu will appear. Select “Export…” (See below.)

Almost there. Select your preferred format for exporting. Michael Arrington recommends Yahoo CSV, which gives you a handy .csv file for uploading or viewing in programs like Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice; Outlook users may just want to select the Microsoft Outlook option.

Congrats! You’ve just exported your Facebook data. (And probably have your first Yahoo! email account in years.)

(via TechCrunch)

Word recently got out that Facebook was holding an event on Monday (see above invite), but it wasn’t immediately clear how big a deal this was; after all, Facebook’s most recent event, announcing Facebook Deals, was of interest to some business owners, but it probably wasn’t terribly exciting to the mass of Facebook users. If the latest reports are correct, however, Monday’s event could indeed pose a major shakeup to the Web: Facebook’s long-rumored “Gmail killer,” Project Titan, may be ready for the limelight.

Not much is known about the specifics of Project Titan, but word is it’ll be more than just a prettified new Facebook mail inbox:

[TechCrunch's] understanding is that this is more than just a UI refresh for Facebook’s existing messaging service with POP access tacked on. Rather, Facebook is building a full-fledged webmail client, and while it may only be in early stages come its launch Monday, there’s a huge amount of potential here.

Well-connected Microsoft-watcher Mary-Jo Foley says that her sources at Microsoft not only confirm a new email product coming from Facebook, but say that Microsoft will be a big part of it:

Titan, according to the buzz, isn’t a mere revamp of the current Facebook direct messaging capability; it will be a new full-featured Web mail product like Gmail, Hotmail, etc.

I have a source close to Microsoft who said the Facebook November 15 event will, indeed, be focused on Facebook’s new e-mail product. So what makes the event potentially interesting for Microsoft, its customers and partners? Supposedly, according to my source, the new Facebook e-mail will include Office Web Apps integration.

(Office Web Apps are the Webified versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote that Microsoft makes available for free to consumers and as paid add-on options for its business users.)

If the enormity of this isn’t immediately apparent, consider that one of Gmail’s biggest selling points is its integration into Google’s suite of cloud products. Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar and the like all constitute one synergic package. In partnering with Microsoft and providing the core email product itself, Facebook could vault into a similar position, with the advantage that all of it would further be plugged into Facebook’s social network. It awaits to be seen what’s in store for Monday — the Microsoft bit could be presented as an afterthought rather than a key selling point — but this could represent another bold push by Facebook into Google’s old turf, with the added benefit of presenting web users with more choices.

(via TechCrunch)

Hot on the heels of Gmail’s new phone call function, Google is rolling out a new feature called Gmail Priority Inbox that will automatically put your most important email, as determined by Google’s algorithms, into a high-priority inbox. Below that, you’ll see those emails which you’ve decided to star (this is a feature that’s already existed in Gmail); below, that, you’ll see “everything else,” the standard dump of your email as it comes in. Much like Google’s high-quality, barely noticeable spam filter, Priority Inbox will be a painless, automatic sorting and filtering mechanism, although if it’s not your cup of tea, you’ll be able to select your standard Gmail inbox from the sidebar.

Google OS:

Google takes into account implicit signals like: the messages from people you frequently email are important, if a message includes words frequently used in other messages you usually read then it’s probably important, the messages you star are probably more important than the messages you archive without opening. There are also explicit signals: click on the important/unimportant buttons, create filters to mark messages as important.

Google is rolling out Gmail’s Priority Inbox over the course of this next week. Below, their demo video:

(Google OS via TechCrunch, Lifehacker)

Calls to other countries will be priced in accordance with this rate table. If you don’t currently have money in a Google account, you’ll need to add it by clicking on your credit balance and adding credit using Google Checkout.

If you’re interested in trying out the service, you’ll first need to install Google’s 22 MB voice and video package (available at the link if you don’t already have it); from there, the phone icon will appear at the top of your chat list if it’s enabled for you. Click on that and you’ll be taken to a panel where you can punch in phone numbers. If you’re interested in receiving calls in Gmail, the setup is a little more involved: You’ll have to set up a Google Voice account, make at least one outbound call from Gmail, and follow these instructions.

One final random tidbit: If you’re Canadian, you can use the new service by changing your Gmail settings to English – US. (h/t Peter Norwak.)

Below, Google’s demo video:

(GMail Blog)

Iranians have reported widespread service disruptions to Internet and text messaging services, though mobile phones appeared to be operating normally Wednesday.

Iran’s telecommunications agency announced what it described as a permanent suspension of Google Inc.’s email services, saying instead that a national email service for Iranian citizens would soon be rolled out. It wasn’t clear late Wednesday what effect the order had on Google’s email services in Iran.

Google didn’t have an immediate comment about the announcement.

(WSJ via Zee Frank’s Twitter)

Google’s got the conference streaming on YouTube, so: check it out. We’ll continue to write about it as new stuff emerges.

Update, 1:20 EST: “Today, we’re going to announce something called Google Buzz, a Google approach to sharing.”