The onslaught of new features in Gmail shows no signs of abating. Today, Google added a few more more capabilities to its email product. The first lets you archive and label emails in a single step, and there are now new keyboard shortcuts, as well.

Gmail has long used a labeling system for managing emails rather than folders, which are used in email programs such as Microsoft Exchange. The labels let users organize their emails, which have a little more flexibility than folders in that emails can have multiple different labels at the same time.

Google admits:

“it’s not always obvious how to use labels, especially for people who are new to Gmail and used to using folders, and it hasn’t helped that some common tasks have been more complicated than they should be.”

Today, that changes. Google has revamped the buttons and menus along the top of the Gmail inbox. The new buttons allow you to hit the “Move to” button, which will label and archive an email in a single step, rather than the two steps it used to take. There is a separate button for labels, which are now supported with auto-complete. Start typing the first few letters of a label, and list of suggested labels will appear from which you can select the one you want.

Lastly, Google is adding new keyboard shortcuts to support these new functions. Use “v” for “Move to” and “l” (lowercase L) for “Labels.” You have to have the keyboard shortcuts turned on in order for them to work.

So there you have it, more features for Gmail that should make labeling and archiving just a little bit easier.

Pretty much every celebrity photo – save for the unflattering ones on gossip sites – is so heavily touched up nowadays that this bit of ad-busting from Germany is freaking genius as far as I’m concerned:

I don’t know about you, but all the detail that they put into this (like the Photoshop layer list) really makes me wish that I’d see stuff like this pop up in the US more often.

Today, Google announced that the enterprise version of its Google Earth product is available in mobile form “immediately.” What does this mean? You can look at your enterprise’s own Google Earth data out in the field when not connected to the enterprise network.

I’ve never used this product, but the idea is great. According to Google:

Google Earth Enterprise lets customers build globes with their own data that can be accessed with the same fast, easy-to-use technology as Google Earth. Previously, Google Earth Enterprise customers could only access their private Google Earth globes when connected to the network. Sometimes, when working in the field, limited or no network connectivity prevented our customers from accessing the full potential of the geospatial data.

The portable version of Google Earth Enterprise allows organizations to distribute geospatial data to their employees where bandwidth is limited or unavailable — such as emergency workers responding to a disaster. Customers can deploy the portable solution for a single individual, or for a multiperson team.

This version is also appropriate for situations when users are away from their desks and need to access an organization’s geospatial data. Data collected in the field can also be transferred to the primary system when network connectivity is available.

I can imagine many uses of this product on the enterprise level. Think about your field force workers, or emergency response teams. For those who travel regular routes, or need to take down survey data or need access to other geospecific information, having remote access to this tool can be highly beneficial.

Google says that the software is loaded on a customer-supplied USB drive or a large partition on a user’s laptop using VMware. In this case, mobile means accessible via a laptop, and not a mobile phone. Google didn’t say that Google Earth Enterprise will be available on any mobile platforms, but that would be the pinnacle of mobility.

The consumer version of Google Earth is available for the Apple iPhone.

Most of my friends know that I love tequila. It’s the perfect alcoholic beverage for doing shots. My friend Jason sent me the below video:

The best part of this commercial is all the side effects from drinking tequila. Here are a couple of my favorites from this video:

• Loss of clothing, money and virginity
• The consumption of alcohol is a major factor of dancing like a retard
• May cause you to tell your friends you are in love them over and over again

I’ve personally experienced friends of mine who can’t handle tequila with the above side effects. Classic! Yay tequila!!

If you’re a user of the Google Desktop product on the Windows platform, Google has good news for you. It’s finally added a Gmail gadget for the Desktop sidebar. Now you can see incoming e-mail without opening up Gmail in your browser.

I find Google Desktop to be very useful in Windows. The fact that a Gmail gadget hasn’t been available before now has been rather baffling. Thank goodness Google finally listened to the pleas of the masses and added one.

Google says:

“You’ll see that it covers the basics such as reading, searching, and sending messages. You can star messages, use the same keyboard shortcuts, and we didn’t forget about contact auto-complete. It doesn’t take up much space in your sidebar or desktop, and you can also resize it to show as few or as many messages as you’d like.”

Right now the Gmail gadget currently works with the latest release of Google Desktop for Windows. Support for Macs and Linux isn’t available yet. I haven’t have a chance to download it yet, but Google is excited that people check it out and provide some feedback.

This is so awesome! An a capella Star Wars tribute to John Williams:

As an added bonus, for only 99 cents ($0.99 USD) you can download the MP3.

So who is John Williams some people might be thinking…

John Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor and pianist. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in history, including all but one of Steven Spielberg’s feature films, Star Wars, Superman, Jaws, E.T., Born on the Fourth of July, Harry Potter, and more.

Below are the full lyrics to this a Capella master piece: Read the rest of this entry…