Michael Harper’s Tech & Art Blog

Yet another benefit of having Gmail is its incredible amount of storage that is given to you for free. I think that it is currently around 7.5 GB per user. I ask, “so why not take adavantage of that space?” If you use an app like Gspace, then you can. Gspace integrates with Firefox and allows you to easily drag and drop files into a mini filesystem with directories that can be accessed from any another Firefox browser using the same add-on. This app works great for me because I am constantly switching between my desktop and laptop. Now I can easily transfer and store files through Gmail’s excess space. This is great. Check it out at www.getgspace.com.

In case you don’t know it, Gmail is my personal favorite web-based email client. Gmail has been around for some time and I have loved it since its inception. Today, I discovered the ability to change the “theme” of your Gmail interface. Most themes have different views (e.g. Nature scenes go from day to night while something like my “planets” theme switches views of the galaxy each day). Google has been adding features left and right as of late. Google Docs, Calendar, Google Talk and more. Recently I transitioned from using my Toshiba Satellite laptop for work, to using an HP Workstation xw9300. Not only that, but creating dual-boot and virtual machine systems forced me to settle on either a cumbersome syncing solution, or a simple web-based email client. Gmail surpassed victoriously and I was left bidding farewell to Outlook and Evolution. Gmail does a great job of managing my multiple email accounts from multiple domains. I never see myself going back to app-based email clients again. Can anyone suggest anything that even comes close to Gmail? A few more brief reasons why I pick Gmail over others:

Google has recently released a beta version of the 3rd installation of their user-friendly, photo management software called Picasa. This is yet another handy and free product that has been added to Google’s arsenal of software and services (they will one day rule the world). Picasa is incredibly easy to setup and install but, mainly it’s - in my opinion - the easiest and most straight-forward photo management software anywhere. I never was very drawn to a lot of these vendor-made programs that try to persuade you to use their hardward and buy more of their crap. Here are just a few of the reasons (there are plenty more) I prefer Picasa as my photo editor and viewer: