MapIt is a bookmarklet that simplifies Google Maps searches - just highlight an address on a web page and map it with one click. [Link] Thanks to Tom for the pointer. (The bookmarklet is one small step for an Austin cyborg, but Tom and Andy are gonna make bigger steps for Austin cyborg-kind.) Incidentally, using the bookmarklet I did see some strange behavior, all on the Google end. E.g. the labels in the left-nav didn't conform to the labels for the virtual pushpins on the map.
More wrangling over email tools... though I've generally been happy with Gmail, there's one nagging concern: gmail's use of labels vs separate 'boxes' and the aggregating of related emails as "conversations." I like these ideas conceptually, but practically they've been a hassle, because I often over look email responses that are tacked onto original messages in that conversation style. I thought I would adapt in time, but it's not happening. So I'm using gmail pop access to retrieve email using Outlook, something I'd avoided before because it's such a drain on system resources. C'est la vie - I can't afford to miss messages, so I'm living with the drain, and I'm leaving mail on gmail so that 1) I can use it while traveling and 2) I have a searchable record there. On the other hand, I'm using Outlook to handle mail day to day. Still not an ideal solution.
Another advantage of using Outlook.... it's still works best for contact management. And I'm almost tempted to go back to Outlook's calendar, because it integrates with the Palm, which has been shoved aside since there's nothing in particular I'm doing wtih it right now. I used it almost exclusively as a mobile calendar and contact reference. Google integration with Palm, or with Outlook which then works with Palm, would be ideal.
Even more ideal: an open source alternative to Outlook that's as robust, or nearly as robust. I'm keeping an eye on Thunderbird. If there Thunderbird was better at handling spam and had better tools for tracking messages, it would be preferable. It does have a Palm module, though I haven't tried it.
Gmail improvesFollowing my various email experiments and complaints, I've settled into a Gmail habit. Google engineered a couple of changes that made Gmail more usable. Now you can retain formatting when you paste rich text into a message you're composing, and you have an option to archive all messages in your inbox, and delete all message identified as spam. (Before you had to page through and select a pagefull of messages at a time).
I still find that I miss some n ew messages because of the way conversations are grouped, but that's probably more a learning curve issue than a problem with the technology.
Storing email on somebody's remote system isn't ideal, but my email load is so heavy that the overhead for downloading and managing messages is just too much, especially with the added processing that spam control requires. When I'm using Gmail, overall local system performance improves dramatically, especially compared to performance when Outlook is running, which is actually Outlook + Qurb + Kaspersky Antivirus.
Gmail does occasionally hiccup. It was offline for a while yesterday afternoon, for instance, and that worried me a bit. (The system says "Oops!" - not really what you want to hear from your mail system or your surgeon.)
More email gmail thunderbird outlook bluesLast month I moved from Thunderbird back to Outlook because Thunderbird didn't seem powerful enough, and later I tried Gmail as my primary mail client, but noted a couple of deal-breakers, figuring I had to settle for Outlook after all, with Qurb added to block more spam than Outlook catches with its (generally good) junk mail filters. However Outlook takes forever to download mail, and it's slower still with Qurb installed.
I was blown away by Google Calendar, which I'm using instead of Outlook's, so it made even more sense to use Gmail. At the moment, I'm trying a Gmail/Thunderbird combination, plus Google Calendar. Contact management is still best in Outlook, but I'm seeing how well I can do with Gmail's approach and a few other utilities for other stuff (e.g. Backpack for reminders and for notes). Despite a low-level nagging concern about putting my data on machines I don't control, I'm getting into the web-as-operating-system thin client approach, and figuring if anybody can pull it off, Google and 37signals can.
Why am I also using Thunderbird? I still need something other than Gmail to correspond with email lists and to send rich-text (i.e. html) emails (unless I create 'em in Gmail).
This isn't over; I'm still not sure I have the right combination for my modus operandi, which includes a heavy and persistent flow of information, much of it in various email streams.