Quick Access to Gmail Attachments

I often find myself sifting through boatloads of mail looking for that video attachment of that guy getting hit in the crotch. There's a way to do that fairly quickly in Gmail using a couple tools:

• Quick Links from Google Labs
• Advanced operator searches

Getting the "Quick Links" tool:

You can check out the article Manually Enable Gmail Labs in Your Account or you can just copy and paste this into your browser: https://mail.google.com/mail/?labs=1#settings. You will then see a green beaker in the top right of your Gmail screen just after your email address. Click on this icon and you will be taken to Gmail Labs where you'll see a tool called "Quick Links". Select 'Enable' and you will now have a "Quick Links" tool on the left pane of your email screen.

Using Advanced Operator Searches:

The best way to get results is to play with the operators in your search. You can find the search operators here. Here are some that I use:

• has:attachment (*.mov || *.wmv || *.wm) - With this in my searchfield, it will return any videos that were sent to me with the formats of .mov, .wmv or .wm.
  
• has:attachment (*.wav || *.mp3 || *.m4a || *.wma) -"You have received a new voicemail message" - This search string will return all .wav, .mp3, m4a and wma files that were attached, but that don't include the string "You have received a new voicemail message" in it. (I have my voicemails emailed to me and I don't want to include them in my music search.
  

As you can see, these searches are pretty self explanatory.

Once you're happy with your search results (I'm sure I'll be tweaking mine for a while), and you have your search string in the search field, simply select "Add Quick Link" from your Quick Links tool. When it prompts you for a title of the search, enter a name and select "OK".

You will now have a custom search in your Gmail that will serve up all of your Videos or Music that was ever sent to you through Gmail.

Now you can hedge fuel just like Southwest ... [Mygallons]

"Now you can hedge fuel just like Southwest Airlines! A Miami company is offering gas-weary consumers the opportunity to 'lock in' today's gas prices. For an annual fee, one can obtain a gas card that works as a debit card at a variety of gas stations. Does this idea appeal to you? [MyGallons.com]"

Start Using the New iGoogle Today

Start Using the New iGoogle Today:
"Last week we told you about iGoogle's new look, which they've rolled out to a few users in June and will continue to roll out to users through July. However, if you're dying to start using the new iGoogle today you can head to the iGoogle Sandbox Sign Up page and enable the new iGoogle right now. The only catch: Google puts you on the honor system that you're a developer. If you're comfortable calling yourself a developer (there are no real checks in place), then go ahead and get started. Either way, hit the jump for a closer look at the new iGoogle."

**Note from Eric - I tried this for a day and was looking for a way to change back pretty quickly. Didn't like this at all because having another column for navigation on the page makes your RSS Gadgets even smaller. I'm already fighting for width on my gadgets and this just made it smaller.

From a practical standpoint, having a row for the navigation above the RSS Gadgets seems to be the best place for them.

I was able to change it back just by hitting this url:www.google.com/ig/sandbox

Hacking The Facebook Platform For Data Portability

Hacking The Facebook Platform For Data Portability:
"There’s one thing about Facebook that most people still seem to have wrong: that it’s a walled garden. Quite the contrary, the Platform allows for full data portability and has since its inception. It actually isn’t a walled garden at all."