I have started using Gmail as much more than an email host. With its gobs of storage, speed and tremendous search/tagging capabilities, you can transform it into a personal nerve center that's available from any computer or mobile device. When you tap into this power and combine Gmail with some other tools, it is perhaps the most essential site ever developed. Most of the following life hacks have not been documented.
This series has several parts...
- How to turn Gmail into a massive personal database (Gmail + the Google Toolbar)
- How to get real-time news updates in Gmail (Gmail+ Google Talk + Twitter)
- How to automatically store your bookmarks in Gmail (Gmail + del.icio.us + Yahoo Alerts)
- How to manage Calendar and To-Dos in Gmail (Gmail + Backpack + GCal + GTalk + iMified)
- How to blog from Gmail (Gmail + Wordpress/TypePad/Blogger + IMified)
The latest version of the Google Toolbar has a send to Gmail function. Select some text or graphics, right click on it and send it to Gmail. The Toolbar then automatically feeds it into a new message.
Now, when I find something I want to save I use this feature and send it to a secret contact in my address book. This is basically a [my username]+[secret phrase]@gmail.com email address (Lifehacker explains the value of these here).
Once the article arrives in my Gmail inbox, I have a filter whisk it a way into the archive and tag it with an @Database label. Further, I am toying with having the same filter also forward these to a premium Google Apps account that has 10 gigs of space. Now all I need to do to call it up later is enter label:@Database and a keyword. Whammo - an instant personal database.
Firefox with Greasemonkey: The Enhance Gmail Greasemonkey script incorporates Google Calendar and the Google Chat gadget directly into your Gmail account. Install it, then click the Calendar or Chat links at the top of the page to open your inline calendar or chat gadget. If you don't like the default setup of the inline layouts, you can edit the script and change a few simple values to get it looking nice (like the screenshot above, which also features Remember the Milk integration).
For example, to place the calendar on the bottom half of your window (which I prefer) rather than splitting the window vertically, open up the Greasemonkey script and edit this line in the top section, changing:
