New features in Gmail

The Internet search leader Google has been adding more bells and whistles to Gmail as part of its effort to gain ground on the longtime leaders, Microsoft and Yahoo in free e-mail.

Latest on the list are To-do list, video chat and some other features. These features not only add Gmail's functionality, but also bring several new features right to your Gmail inbox. Here's looking into the six new features in Gmail.

To-do list

Google Inc is testing a new Gmail tool designed to help users keep a better track of their daily tasks.

The company has announced a new tool called `Tasks' that is designed to help Gmail users create their daily to-do list. `Tasks' sits in the same kind of Window as chats, so is visible while users read email, use the search function or do other tasks. The feature, which is coming out of Google Labs, is still in the testing phase.

To enable Tasks, go to Settings; click the Labs tab. Select `Enable' next to `Tasks' and then click `Save Changes' at the bottom. Then, after Gmail refreshes, on the left under the `Contacts' link, users can see a `Tasks' link. Just click on it to get started.

To enter a new Task, users just need to click on an empty part of their list and start typing. No buttons to click and it's saved automatically. Hit Return and there's a new task right there.

Gmail users can also easily convert emails into tasks: select one or more messages and go to More Actions > Add to Tasks. (Or turn on keyboard shortcuts).

However, there is no time frame for the new feature to be officially added (if at all) to Gmail.

TwitterGadget

The Gmail Twitter Gadget lets users Tweet directly from Gmail, complete with a number of emoticons.

The new TwitterGadget for Gmail helps users cut down on desktop and browser clutter by letting them sign into and use Twitter from within Gmail.

It enables the user to toggle on/off various display elements such as user thumbnails, timestamps, and post sources. Refresh intervals can be set from 3 to 30 minutes or manual only. Additional information about a poster is available, at a glance, by hovering over their thumbnail image.

To get the gadget on your Gmail, go to Gmail Labs and turn on Gadgets Tool. The Gadgets Tool will become another tab at the top of your Gmail settings. Click on that and insert http://www.twittergadget.com/gadget_gmail.xml into the text box. Click Save. Go back to Gmail, sign in, and you can use Tweet right from your inbox.

Turn email into Google Doc

Google is testing a new feature for Gmail Labs that in one simple click, `Create a document', converts an email into a Google Docs document.

This means no more copying and pasting the text from your email -- just open the message you wish to convert, click the `Create a document' link on the right side of the page, and you have a brand new document which can then be modified and shared!

In case, you're not interested in converting any of your current messages into documents, you can easily open up a blank doc by hitting `g' and then `w' (just make sure you have keyboard shortcuts on).

To turn on this feature, go to the Gmail Labs tab under Settings, select `Enable' next to `Create a document' and hit `Save Changes' at the bottom.

Gmail Video

Gmail and Google App subscribers can now choose to speak with friends on a video screen and simultaneously instant message them in a Google Chat box. The video screen can be popped out of the chat box and moved around a user's computer screen. Users can also change the size of the screen and expand it to full-screen size.

The condition being that both the user and his contact have computers equipped with Web cameras and microphones. Businesses that have bought an enterprise version of Gmail, found within the Google Apps software package, will also receive the feature at no extra cost.

PDF Viewer

Google has added support for PDF document viewing in Gmail. Users can see a View link in an email with a PDF attachment.

Click View and the PDF document opens inside your browser with formatting options like those available with Google Docs. The PDF can be viewed in HTML as well as in a new viewer. The document can also be downloaded.

With the transition, the option to open up PDFs as HTML pages straight from the message has gone; however, it still remains as a viewing option once the user is in the new PDF view and in search results from Google.com.

Gmail gadget for Google Desktop

Though strictly not a GMail gadget, it is a handy utility for Google desktop users that will allow them to read, search and send Gmail messages while in Google Desktop. Users can also Star messages and use keyboard shortcuts. The plug also utilises keyboard shortcuts and contact autocomplete.

In a blog post, James Yum, Developer Programs Engineer, Google Desktop, said, "You can Star messages, use the same keyboard shortcuts, and we didn't forget about contact auto-complete. It doesn't take up much space in your sidebar or desktop, and you can also resize it to show as few or as many messages as you'd like."

Presently, the application is Windows-only and requires Google Desktop version 5 or higher.

Google Desktop was released in October 2004. The application aims to make searching a PC as easy as searching the Web. Google Desktop provides users full-text search over email, files, music, photos, chats, Gmail and Web pages viewed.

The application also includes other gadgets that allow users to be shown new email, weather updates, photos and personalised news.

Sounds good, MSN is a big no no now. Gmail has some great features. I woudn't go near anything that has word "microsoft" in it.