Gmail introduces auto-unsubscribe feature

It’s not uncommon for Internet users to sign up for an email newsletter or mailing list only to decide later they want to opt out. Even though these messages may not all fall into spam territory, generally it’s easier to just mark them as such hoping they stop showing up on your inbox, rather than going back to the source and actually following the unsubscribe process.


Google has found this to be a very common behavior and thus is introducing a new auto-unsubscribe feature to Gmail to try and streamline the process. Now, when you report a newsletter as spam, you will see the notification box above asking if you want to automatically unsubscribe as well. The feature may not work for all mailing lists, according to Google, and it can take several days for the request to be processed. Still, it seems like a really useful feature to have.

Additionally, the search giant says Gmail won't display the unsubscribe option for lists that are known to be spammers so that you don't get more spam from them by inadvertently verifying that your address is legitimate.

Google Talk: Run Multiple Instances or Login as Multiple Users

If you have several google talk accounts, you may want to run multiple instances of google talk at once. Here’s how to do it.

Many users, including myself, like to have several different personalities on IM–Work, play, etc. By default google talk with only allow you to run instance of the program at a time. Here’s how to get around that…

Run google talk with the following switch: /nomutex

If you installed google talk to the default location, you can easily create a shortcut to this setting.

1. Right-click on the desktop
2. Select New
3. Select Shortcut
4. Paste this into the text box:
"c:\program files\google\google talk\googletalk.exe" /nomutex

5. Click Next6. Name it whatever: Google Talk Multiple, etc.
7. Click OK until you are done.

Access multiple email accounts with Gmail in 3 easy steps

It seems as though nearly everyone has at least two email addresses these days, and it’s not uncommon to have upwards of four that are used on a regular basis for separate purposes.

You may or may not have heard of Gmail’s multiple inboxes feature and how useful it is, so if you’d like to take advantage of this awesome way to manage your email, read on.

The multiple inbox feature can be enabled to access third party email accounts (hotmail, your ISP email, etc.) alongside your Gmail account and can even be used to display certain sections or labels within your Gmail account simultaneously, e.g. by creating a search filter for a labeled or starred email.

Though at first glance this may seem daunting, it’s not that bad to configure and will give you the advantage of never ever having to check 2+ separate email accounts again.

Step 1:
Login to your Gmail account and enable the “Multiple Inboxes” feature under the settings > labs tab.

Once you do that, an additional box next to your inbox pane will show containing search results for “is:starred” and “is:drafts”. If you have starred or draft emails, you’ll see them there. If you don’t want to have a pane dedicated to drafts or starred emails you can remove those panes by going to the multiple inboxes settings.

We will be adding our third-party email accounts next, so we can add those inboxes to separate panes in Gmail.

Step 2:
Head back into settings and take a look under the accounts tab for an option labeled “Get mail from other accounts: Add a mail account you own”.

Enter the email address, password and any other relevant information, then add the account. During this setup process you’ll be able to apply a label to the new incoming mail and if preferred, archive it as well (both recommended). You can also take advantage of the “custom from” feature which allows you to send emails from those addresses through Gmail.

Step 3:
After you’ve successfully added your external email accounts, jump over to the “multiple inboxes” tab in the settings.

If you haven’t touched these settings yet, by default you’ll see that pane 0 is occupied by “is:starred” and Pane 1 by “is:drafts” (I opted to remove those on my account). Simply enter the new email address or any other search criteria you might want displayed beside your Gmail inbox. Also note the additional settings, which provide the ability to increase or decrease the number of messages that will be displayed in the extra inbox panes as well as their position.

For adding additional email accounts simply repeat steps 2 and 3 to add more inboxes or labels as well as anything searchable that you want displayed in its own pane. And this is just one of the many advanced features found in the Gmail Labs tab which can take your webmail experience to the next level. Enjoy.

Jumpstart your old Firefox extensions

While 3.5 has brought a boost in speed, Firefox isn’t the fastest Web browser around. It isn’t the most secure browser either, nor is it the most used. Firefox’s entire appeal is based on the fact that you can build it as you care to. More than any other, Firefox is customizable. That being the case, it’s a bummer when major revisions come along and “break” all of the add-ons you depend on.

Broadly used add-ons are usually prepared well in advance, and tested with beta releases. Unfortunately, many aren’t updated right away and others not at all. Because we refuse to let our extensions die, we’re going to take a look at a workaround which may also work for you. For reference, I’ll be using Firefox version 3.5 with Google Gears 0.5.23.0 – which is incompatible.

Now, there are two methods of forcing your old add-ons to work; one requires you to download an extension and is easier – the other needs nothing but elbow grease and guts. If the first sounds more appealing, head on over to the add-ons page and install Nightly Tester Tools. For the second method, skip the next paragraph.

Extra add-on: After adding Nightly Tester Tools to Firefox, it should restart the program and automatically open your add-ons window. If not, head to Tools > Add-ons.

Finding your defunct extension should be easy enough. Right click on it, and opt to “Override compatibility”. You’ll be warned about the numerous potential side-effects of forcing your add-on to work, and if you’re okay with proceeding, choose “Force Install”. Restart Firefox, and your stubborn add-on should be enabled.

Elbow grease: Now, I understand if you already have seventeen add-ons and you don’t want another. Roll up your sleeves and open Firefox.

In the address bar, enter “about:config” (minus the quotes). Click through the warning, right click somewhere on the lower window and create a new Boolean (New > Boolean). When prompted, enter the value “extensions.checkCompatibility” (again, no quotes).

You’ll be asked to choose “false” or “true” – you want false. Restart your browser and you should be able to enable or install any incompatible add-on you want.

It should be added that forcing any given add-on to "work" with the latest version of Firefox does not guarantee it will function properly. In fact, depending on the add-on the result will vary considerably, from perfectly stable to totally buggy. Good luck.

Microsoft confirms Windows 7 Family Pack, RTM

The Windows 7 development team announced on their blog this afternoon that the operating system has been released to manufacturing (RTM). Windows 7 Build 7600 (7600.16385.090713-1255) has been signed off as the official RTM build. Windows Server 2008 R2 which was being developed in parallel also went RTM today.

Microsoft has confirmed it does plan to offer a “family pack” for Windows 7 Home Premium that can be used on up to three PCs. According a recent entry on the Windows Team Blog, the decision followed feedback from beta testers and enthusiasts over the last three years clamoring for “a better solution for homes with multiple PCs.” There’s no official word on pricing yet, although rumors and previously leaked information suggest it will sell for somewhere just under $150.

The blog posting also discussed the release to manufacturing process but did not offer any update on the exact timing of that stage. However, Microsoft provided more information when this final RTM code will make its way to certain customer groups.

TechNet and MSDN subscribers will be able to download English-language versions of the RTM code on August 6 (and remaining languages by October 1), while volume license customers with existing Software Assurance licenses can get the OS via the firm’s Volume License Service Center on August 7. Microsoft partner program gold-certified partners and Action Pack subscribers will be getting the code next, on August 16 and 23 respectively, and everybody else will have to wait until the official release on October 22.