New Gmail Features - Updated

If you're a Google fan like me and have your very own Gmail account, you'll love the new features Gmail engineers recently rolled out.  To name one function, the buddy list and labels can now be moved to the right of the screen allowing for easy scrolling.  To access this feature and more, follow the instructions below.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

1.  Go to gmail.com and login into your account.

2.  Click on the Settings link.

3.  In your Gmail account’s Settings, click the Labs tab.

4.  Scroll through the list and enable any one of the new functions.

5.  Click "Save Changes" button and you're done! Why can't other apps be this easy?

Read up on the Official Gmail Blog

Happy rearranging!

William Yuan 12 year old solar power revolutionary

Call it pure entrepreneurial genius. William Young has has my attention.

William Young's invention of a highly-efficient, three-dimensional nanotube solar cell for both visible and ultraviolet light has been rewarded with a $25,000 scholarship from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development.

A few quotables:

Yuan said that, "Current solar cells are flat and can only absorb visible light. I came up with an innovative solar cell that absorbs both visible and UV light. My project focused on finding the optimum solar cell to further increase the light absorption and efficiency and design a nanotube for light-electricity conversion efficiency."

Yuan continues as he stated that his "next step is to talk to manufacturers to see if they will build a working prototype," Yuan said. "If the design works in a real test stage, I want to find a company to manufacture and market it."

Congratulations to you William Young!

Read more at http://www.katu.com/news/local/28432984.html

KISS, Keep It Simple [ fill in the blank ]

Did you read the instructions? Well yeah. Of course I did. It said to put this piece over here and nail in that part there. Ok done. Oooh. Ahhh. You step back and marvel at your work. That's the best looking table I've ever seen. Possibly, but too bad it was supposed to be a chair.

During the .com era, it was about the Internet hype of javascript rollovers, oooh, ahhh, flying banners, tons of heavy imagery, and what we now call obsolete use of style elements. The good news is, after every trend comes refined processes and protocols.

The user interface is now riding shotgun while flashy, busy designs take a back seat. When I was in manufacturing, I remember an application which our customer service team used for order and customer management.

The application was a monster. Back track and drill down every order item from last year. Easy.

Ask it to do your laundry.

No problem.

The only catch was it took about twenty minutes to find anything. The user interface (UI) looked like a dashboard of a Boeing 747 aircraft. All I wanted to do was view an order, not fly an airplane. Similarly, existing and new applications online are following the trend of "design with the user in mind".

If you had a chance to voice out your suggestions to the manufactureres of your favorite gadgets or applications, what would you ask them to change? What would you suggest to make the gadget or app more user-friendly? Looking forward to your comments.

A Day to Remember

When you hear the emergency broadcast test on the radio, it is usually just that - a test.  Seven years ago on this very day, that same emergency broadcast sounded the alarm to one of history's greatest tragedies.  

To all those we've lost, we'll always remember.  To our colleagues who selflessly serve in the military,  our prayers and thoughts are with you and your families.

Take a few minutes to honor those who have passed, serve, and use their stories to help others remember that as individuals we can do great things, but together we can do exceedingly more! 

Back to the Future

If you're anything like me, I get excited about new technology. May it be a new social networking site or a new 2.0 app, whatever it is, it's got my full undivided attention.

Today is one of those days.

At 5pm AEST today, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) which is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator complex will have its switches turned on. Stay tuned to see what new discoveries will be found.

For more info, take a look at the resources below:

• Science Daily
• On Youtube
• Wired

Google Chrome's Smoke and Mirrors

After reading up on countless articles smashing Google Chrome, I've come to realize that people do not understand what a BETA release is.  Sure it doesn't have all the add-ons like Firefox, but remember Google Chrome is in its BETA form.

BETA.  

Beta is the pre-release version of a software product.  In this case, a very savy 2.0 software product.  It's a working prototype on steroids which means yes, there could be bugs.  Even the best systems we use today have bugs.  

If you're looking for a great new intuitive browser, try out Google Chrome at http://www.google.com/chrome. 

West Side

Newark to San Francisco.  San Francisco to San Jose.  San Jose to Sacramento.  I enjoyed every minute of it.   California is a beautiful state.  Not much of a blog today, but thought Cali needed some praise.  Kudos to the folks that allow shorts as business casual.  The west coast family will be missed.  Thanks for all the trips to "Jollibee" and "Goldilocks"!