GMail labels – How do I do this?

Since I’ve switched to using GMail, which has no folders, it has labels.  Can I set up a label that shows me everything in the inbox that DOES NOT have a label assigned to it? 

Effectively, what I’d like to do is to block out everything else, just show me (most likely) new messages, ones that do not have a label assigned to them. 

I’ve not been able to figure out how to do that, however.

 

Anybody?  Anybody?  Buehler?  Buehler?

Technorati Tags: GMail,Labels

Gmail versus Exchange versus everything else

Brad Feld commented yesterday on a big win that GMail was able to procure by converting 1.3 millions seats of Exchange users over to using GMail.  Sounds like a big win for Google and GMail doesn’t it?

I recently did the same thing, although on a much smaller scale.

I consolidated all my email addresses to forward to my Gmail account.  I can then respond to those emails from whatever account it was originally sent from and no one is the wiser.

Except….

I’ve missed a few emails because for whatever reason, they didn’t forward to GMail.  Or, the responses I’ve sent from GMail didn’t reach the intended recipients….not good on either front.

So, my hope, for the 1.3 millions users in South Wales (Australia) they don’t run into these problems.

I love GMail.  I’m even getting over the fact that folders aren’t available.  But missing mail and having mail not reach it’s intended recipient is a BIG problem…..

I’ll be watching over the next several weeks to see if the trend continues.

Do you have show stopping issues with GMail?

 

Technorati Tags: GMail,Feld,Google,Exchange

Gas,Oil and I just don’t get it

Oil was up today, about $3 a barrel.  Gas is up, as always.

 

I get home, and I have an email from BMW introducing their brand new M series.  A V8.  What?  Are you people asleep?  Are you not thinking?

Check it out here

Bunches of folks are being laid off from GM, from Ford, from Chrysler.  We can’t keep the factories going. 

Yet, there are small companies out there building alternative energy vehicles.

Like Aptera .  Like the NMG.

Like Tesla .

Why don’t some of these car companies get together with some of the alternative energy vehicle companies and harness the workers and assembly lines they have to build vehicles that are available today that conserve oil?  Wouldn’t that be a better use of our resources in the US?  Might it help the stock market regain some of it’s value by showing that American car companies care?  Sheesh people. Think about it.

Granted, the cars I’ve mentioned above are not for families.  But if every commuter who commutes alone picked up one of those cars above, or even half the commuters who commuted alone picked up an NMG or an Aptera, do you know how much foreign oil we would not have to use?  Do you know how many auto workers could be spared their jobs by building these cars in the US?

 

Nice looking car BMW.  But I’d take an Aptera or a Tesla Roadster over it any day.

Technorati Tags: BMW,Aptera,NMG,Myers Motors,Tesla,Electric

National Pro Fastpitch to air on Fox Sports

I noticed this evening that Fox Sports will be broadcasting a number of the games from the Professional Fastpitch Softball league this summer.  I missed the first couple airings, but they are airing a game tomorrow night (June 26, 2008).

Check out this link for more information .

 

This is a great advancement for the sport of softball.  My two older daughters play competitive U12 softball, after playing a few years in a league that has softball as an afterthought.  So this is good to see women’s softball being promoted.

Check it out!

I’ve already set my TIVO to get all the episodes. :-)  Gotta love TIVO.

 

Technorati Tags: Pro Softball,Fastpitch,Fox Sports,Softball

Hardwick comments on startup office locations

A former coworker of mine, now a tech recruiter, posted on his blog recently about where office space should be located for their startups….

Dave says “…

I would say that you should not locate your firm where your talent has to travel through the Bellevue Way interchange on Hwy 520, or the NE 45th street exit in I-5 near the U.W.

It's only going to get worse, gang!

“

You need to read the whole post to get the gist of his commentary, but my comment to him, on his blog, was that in startup mode, new companies, especially tech savvy companies, should look into creating virtual offices.  Virtual offices would allow workers to work from anywhere, their home or Starbucks, or the library.

By doing this, it would cut down on the amount of travel (and fuel) having to be used for these employees.  It would also allow them to be less stressed by having to commute to their jobs, they could just commute to their office downstairs or in the other room.

This could possibly have other benefits as well.  By staying home, crime rates may go down (houses that are populated are less likely targets for crime, me thinks), and it might revitalize neighborhoods where neighbors watch out for each other like “the olden days” and get to know their neighbors

Companies still would be able to communicate, either via web conferencing, Skype Video (greatly enhanced in the new Skype 4.0 beta release that came out in the last week or so). 

Virtual PBX systems are available (see www.virtualpbx.com and www.gotvoice.com as two examples) where a central number could be called, answered by a receptionist and the callers could be routed to wherever the employees were located.

Think about Dave.  Encourage companies to embrace the virtual corporation.  It  enhances peoples lives, and it can enhance the world as well.

Another benefit, especially good for startups, is that if you work in virtual mode, you aren’t increasing your burn rate by renting office space.  Your CFO will love you.

Technorati Tags: Virtual,Hardwick,Job Hacking,Telecommuting

Skype 4.0 beta 1

Skype 4.0 beta is out. Beta 1, actually. The interface has radically changed. It's a HUGE interface now, oriented towards video, not voice or text chatting.

So far, other than the new HUGE interface, it seems to work ok. I hope that the Skype folks will read this and see that they need (IMO) to make the new HUGE video oriented Skype interface an optional thing. It takes up way too much screen real estate, and I'm running a very large monitor with a high resolution, and it's still too big, in my opinion.

More as I use the application.

Technorati Tags: Skype,4.0,beta

Tiger comes storming back

I didn’t get to watch the US Open today, but I see that Tiger, with six holes to go was five shots back.  Two eagles and one birdie later, Tiger is in the lead for his next US Open title.

What a great Father’s Day present it would be for Tiger to win.

Go get ‘em Tiger.  Show ‘em how it’s done. :-)

 

Technorati Tags: Tiger Woods,US Open,Golf

Scary incident at the softball field today

We were at a tournament today, with the Diamond Queens, and we were watching another game, waiting for our game to start.

On the mound was a twelve year old girl, wearing sunglasses, but no GameFace (the GameFace looks like a Hannibal Lecter mask, but protects the girls if they get hit in the face with the ball).

Anyway, I wasn’t taking pictures at this game, I wish I had been, but the pitcher pitched the ball and a line drive went right back to the pitcher, right at her head.

The pitcher was able to get her glove up to deflect the ball a bit, but it careened off her glove and hit her glasses, shattering them and poking a decent size hole in her forehead that required seven stitches (we found this out later).

She was stunned when she got hit, went down but got right back up, but then saw blood (from the hole in her forehead) and went right back down.  Thankfully, she was OK.  Her mother was more shaken up than the girl was, actually, but frankly, if something like that had happened to one of my kids, I probably would have been freaked out too.

We were able to talk to the girl later that day, after she returned from the hospital (911 was called, paramedics came, but her parents drove her to the hospital on their own).  She’s doing OK, had to have seven stitches, but she’s doing OK.  She won’t play in the second day of the tournament, but she’s alive to tell the story, and will be able to come and cheer her team on.

I’m not a big fan of the GameFace apparatus, but after watching this incident (or the tail end of it), I think it should be mandatory for all infielders to be wearing them….

Technorati Tags: GameFace,Softball,scary