New interface in relaunch.
Google has gone for a minimalist look for Gmail in an update rolled out this month. If you’re wondering exactly what was in the latest release, here’s a link to the post on the Official Gmail Blog.
To summarise: a much improved conversations view which cuts out all the repeated email “tails”; a setting to change how many emails are displayed in the inbox; some crazy new themes for background wallpaper; the left-hand navigation bar is a little more configurable; a great new search window that can find look for emails with attachments or within three days of last Friday, for example.
It seems to have prompted a round of how-tos. Here’s a bunch that looked good to me.
LifeHacker gives a masterclass in using Gmail. Some new tips, a fair bit recycled but still useful.
Tech Republic put together 10 handy apps and extensions for Google Apps users using the Google Chrome browser including several for using Gmail offline.
Like Outlook, Google Calendar is filling a niche as a rudimentary project manager. The difference with a cloud calendar is that sharing is much, much easier – with colleagues and customers alike.
There are several tutorials on how to do this. Here’s a nice summary by a communications agency on its own methodology including a great tip on using hashtags. Google Calendar is searchable so give every project a hashtag and you’re set!