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The reason it always seems like your Internet connection goes out at the worst possible time is because when you stop and think about it, there's really no good time to be without Internet access. Whether we're trying to play an online multiplayer game or collaborate on a cloud project, losing an internet connection sucks. That doesn't mean you can't still be productive, however, because Google has made it possible to use your Gmail account offline. Here's what you need to do.
Log into your Gmail account, click on the Settings link in the top-right corner (right next to your email account), and then click on the Offline link. You'll see a bunch of options for configuring Offline access, but the one you have to check for this to work is the 'Enable Offline Mail for this computer' radio button.
Configure the other options however you like and then press Save Changes. You should now see a pop-up window with a short description outlining what Offline access is. Read it and then press the Install button. This will open up yet another window directing you to install Gears. You need this app in order to access Gmail offline, so go ahead and click through the installer. Be sure to save your work because you'll need to restart your browser once Gears is finished installing.
After installing, you should be greeted with a pair of pop-up windows. One of them will ask permission for Offline Mail to use Gears (mark the checkbox and click Allow), and the other will ask if you want any shortcuts installed (select as desired).
At this point, the synchronization process will kick in. Depending on how much email you've acquired through the years, this could take a long while, even on a fast connection. Once it's finished, however, you'll be able to access all your mail offline just by clicking on any of the shortcuts you created in the previous step. And don't worry about remembering to sync in the future; Gmail will do this all on its own whenever you log in.
Gmail Backup
If you'd rather not use an email client like Outlook or Thunderbird, and don't want to install Google Gears for offline access, you can still maintain a backup of your Gmail account. Here's how.
Download and install Gmail Backup from here. Run the program, input your username and password, and choose a directory to save your mail. When you're finished, click the Backup button and Gmail Backup will do the rest. Should you ever need to view these messages offline, you can do so in Outlook and other clients that support the .eml file format. But what's even cooler is that you can restore your local emails back into Gmail just by clicking on the Restore button.
Google does a lot more than just email, and that can mean wielding different accounts, tabs, or browser windows. If you're heavy into Google Apps, that can quickly become a drag, so here are a few ways you can integrate Gmail with other Google services.
We'll start off by mentioning iGoogle, which serves as your hub for most things Google, or your gHub (we made that up). With iGoogle set as your home page, you'll have quck access to a variety of services, including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and a bunch of optional Gadgets, which you can access here.
Google Calendar
to integrate Google Calendar with your Gmail account, log into Gmail, click on Settings, and select the Labs tab. Scroll down and enable the Google Calendar gadget, and then click Save.
Google Docs Previews
Google Labs also has a gadget for previewing Google Docs. You'll find this entry just below the Calendar gadget. Once enabled, you'll be able to see previews of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations right in your email whenever someone sends you a link to a Google Doc.
Google Voice Player
There's no need to navigate back and forth from Gmail to Google Voice in order to play back your voicemails. Enable 'Google Voice player in mail' under the Labs stab and you'll be able to play back your voice messages from your email notification.
Comments are closed on this article
schwit
December 24, 2009 at 8:51am
"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." This is a quote from the CEO of Google. This is an incredibly scary philosophy, especially coming from the head of a company whose profits are based upon datamining your emails and searches and who knows what else they do with the data.
reutnes
December 24, 2009 at 7:13pm
Something you need to realize is that EVERYTHING you do on the internet is tracked. Yahoo does it, AOL does it, Google does it, Microsoft/Hotmail does it, the government does it. Name any company connected to the internet. I'll wait. ________________ they do it too.
Now Google CEO says that if you have something you don't want other people to know, then you shouldn't put it online. This is not just true to google! It's true for FREAKIN EVERYBODY. It DOES NOT take a Google CEO to tell you this! If you ever took a computer course, they probably told you. If you ever had somebody repair your computer, they probably told you. Your favorite tech blog probably has a post about it.
So why is it so different when Google CEO says it? Why is everybody freaking out? This isn't news, people! It's been happening every day since the internet was invented.
I don't have anything to hide. I don't care if Google or Yahoo or whoever else knows that I play a trumpet, enjoy video games and visit 4 different tech sites. I really don't. What are they gonna do with that? It's not like they'll figure out that I run a meth lab in my garage based on that information. (I really don't). If I have some superbad secret that I don't want a search provider to know about, then chances are I work with the mob and that it will never get punched in online in the first place.
DBsantos77
December 24, 2009 at 8:21pm
But what about pr0n? XD sorry I had to ask. :D
-Santos
Teh Rig:
AMD Phenom II X4 720 (Unlocked to 965 Black Ed. @ 3.6 Ghz 1.47v.)
CPU-Validation - http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=904672
HIS HD5850 @ 1 Ghz/1.2 Ghz!!! 1.25v
G
V-mateika
December 23, 2009 at 11:27pm
The point is (for me), that Yahoo is the most poorly secure email client. The major email clients all have similar features nowadays but Gmail remains king for very good security.
reutnes
December 23, 2009 at 8:47pm
The thing I like most about Gmail is that I can put in the name/password of any of my other email accounts anywhere else and it will retrieve them for me. My school hands out email addresses to students, but it really is sub-par compared to Gmail, plus the teachers can read all your stuff. I also have an old yahoo address, and some people just refuse to accept that yes, I really did switch email addresses. Gmail makes life easier by getting emails from both of those accounts and putting them all in one handy place. I can also send mail FROM those addresses using my Gmail account, if I should wish to.
hades_2100
December 23, 2009 at 10:46pm
Yahoo has this. So does my school account. So does Outlook... What's your point?
Digital-Storm
December 23, 2009 at 11:45pm
Last I saw, Yahoo doesn't let you send an email with another account name. Such as sending an email from gmail from your yahoo email address.
hades_2100
December 25, 2009 at 3:35pm
??? Beside the FROM field I have a drop-down list of 5 email addresses to send FROM.
