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If you are looking to do it though, the Black Canvas Email Signature Firefox add-on is worth trying.

Delete me

The fact that I can’t delete messages in Gmail by using the Delete button on my keyboard drives me nuts. Maybe I’m an old-school user or I always look to the keyboard for my computing needs when I shouldn’t, but the Delete button is one of the most useful keys I interact with each day, and yet it’s useless on Gmail.

Doesn’t it annoy you that you can’t drag and- drop e-mails in Gmail? I can do it in Yahoo Mail and AOL Mail. Why should Gmail be any different? Instead of being able to drag and drop, the message is clicked and I have the option of reading it or sending it into the trash. Sometimes, I simply want to drag and drop a slew of e-mails into the Trash to save some time. It’s not a big deal–I’m using my mouse anyway–but it is annoying.

Instead of really filing my e-mails away into the various designations I provide, Gmail simply adds a “Label” to each message to tell me where each belongs. Great, but why can’t it just give me a folder? It’s not that labeling is awful–it does help me organize my messages somewhat–but it’s simply not as useful as folders themselves, which make it much easier to organize my in-box. Oh, and some better filtering on those labels would be nice too.

Call me a privacy nut or just way too worrisome, but I don’t like that Google scans my e-mail to deliver more relevant ads. It’s not that I’m against relevant ads–I think that’s what makes Google’s success online so compelling and the main reason why the company is in the place it is today–but I simply don’t like knowing that my content is being watched by a public company so it can make more money.

Labels

Where’s the drag and drop?

E-mail scans for advertising

I’m fully aware that the opportunities afforded to government branches allow them to do the same and I’m equally upset about that. But, Google? Come on! At least no one at the company actually reads my e-mails, I guess.

Try clicking on an e-mail and tapping the Delete button. Doesn’t work, does it? Now try highlighting the e-mail and clicking the Delete button. That one doesn’t work either, does it? But if you enable keyboard shortcuts in Gmail’s settings page and click the Shift and 3 keys at the same time, you’ll be able to send messages to the trash. OK, so it’s better than nothing, but why not just use the Delete button? I think that’s far more convenient.

Last week, I discussed why Gmail is the best e-mail service on the Web and took a look at all those features that earn it that title. But just because it’s the best doesn’t mean that the e-mail service doesn’t annoy me sometimes. In fact, Gmail has a handful of quirks that Google needs to address.

I know I’m probably walking into some fire for this, but I find Labels extremely annoying and useless. I enjoy being able to categorize all my content into different folders without getting bogged down with each e-mail that comes in. But with Labels, I don’t have that luxury.

As someone who uses Gmail with multiple e-mail addresses, having the option of using just one signature simply isn’t enough. I need different signatures for different e-mail addresses and, unfortunately, it simply doesn’t work that way with Gmail. So, each time I want to use a different address, I’m forced to erase my signature and write a new one or use a generic signature that I can use for any e-mail address. Maybe it’s a small gripe, but other e-mail services allow for the use of multiple signatures. It’s a simple addition, and I don’t see any reason to not include it.

Single signature

Ultimately, what’s nice about Xumii is that it will allow people to take their social networks in their pocket, and not worry–as I’m sure many do–that while they’re on the go they are out of touch. This way, they can stay in touch no matter where they are, and they can continually update their friends with the latest things they’re doing, or the most recent photos they’ve taken.

The idea is that users will be able to access their various social networks through their mobile phones on a single application, rather than having to rely on computers and full browsers.

SAN DIEGO–Who needs a computer to access the many social networks people are members of these days?

Whether this is a good thing for us and our ability to detach ourselves from our computers is a question for someone else to answer.

Xumii allows anyone to access friends and information from multiple social networks on their mobile phones.

That’s pretty cool, and another nice feature is the ability to share photos or other files with people on that all-encompassing friends list. So, for example, a user could access their Flickr photos, select a picture, and then have it sent to any friends on their list.

(Credit:
Daniel Terdiman/CNET Networks)

In the demonstration, the company showed how users can access a list of friends from any social network they’re part of, a list that will show each friend, the service they’re part of, and whether they’re online or not.

That’s what Xumii, which presented at DemoFall Monday afternoon, has set out to obviate.

While thousands, or even millions, of people regularly switch between services like Facebook, imeem, MySpace, and others, it can be cumbersome to do all that switching.

The case centered on allegations that Take-Two backdated stock options for its officers, directors, and key employees that could be exercised at a strike price lower than where the stock was trading on the date the options were granted. The SEC alleged that Take-Two defrauded investors by failing to properly record the stock option compensation grant date and strike price.

Take-Two agreed to the settlement without admitting to or denying the SEC’s allegations, the SEC said. The agreement is also subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Take-Two Interactive Software reached a $3 million settlement agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, relating to charges that the game publisher engaged in falsifying financial records as part of a stock option-backdating scheme, the SEC announced Wednesday.

Take-Two is just one of a number of companies over the past several years to pay multimillion-dollar settlements to the SEC in connection with stock option-backdating cases. Brocade Communications was among the first companies to become embroiled in the SEC cases, which also later affected security software maker McAfee, Apple Computer, and CNET News’ former publisher, CNET Networks.

A settlement agreement had largely been expected, after Take-Two announced two years ago that it had received a notice from the SEC’s staff that it would recommend that charges be filed against the company. Take-Two, at the time, said the company expected to pursue a settlement agreement, rather than fight regulators in court.

Operating the voice search is simple–on BlackBerry, just hold down on the green ‘talk’ button and speak your search term. OneSearch will start scouring Yahoo’s database for answers as soon as you let go. Nokia owners can hit the pencil key to get going. Those without pencil keys will launch tier search by pressing the right shortcut key (labeled Y! OneSearch) and speaking or typing into the search box that appears.

Although voice-recognition technology is constantly improving as a whole, many voice searches I’ve tried using various applications have fallen flat. It helps to launch uncomplicated searches in quieter areas. I’ve experienced my share of success, but have also had to punch in search terms or edit them in the search field when the speech recognition software bungled a command or when the search engines didn’t return the results I had in mind. Still, it’s good to have options, and as the technology improves, voice searches will save plenty of typing time and hassle.

Voice-responsive search has been available from Yahoo’s OneSearch 2.0 application for select BlackBerry phones since this last April, but until this week only a few of you could to try it out.

You can now speak your search into Yahoo's search widget for Nokia start screens.

On Thursday, Yahoo slipped voice recognition into the OneSearch 2.0 home-screen shortcut–available for a smattering of Nokia Series 60 phones–and in the Yahoo! Go 3.0 files for select BlackBerry, Nokia Series 40, and Nokia Series 60 models, such as the BlackBerry Curve and high-end Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones. Those using older versions of either of these apps will have to download them anew to get the chatty update.

You can download the OneSearch 2.0 with a voice start-screen widget for select Nokia Series 60 phones by navigating to m.yahoo.com/shortcut from a PC or phone. The new version of Yahoo Go 3.0 (technically 3.0.4.6), which includes the voice-supporting Yahoo OneSearch widget, can be found for some Nokia and BlackBerry models at get.go.yahoo.com from a PC or the phone’s native browser.

Updated on 10/10/08 at 11:35 a.m. PST with more details about beginning a voice search on Nokia devices.

(Credit:
Yahoo Inc.)

The Nokia 5630 XpressMusic will initially be available in the second quarter of 2009 in Europe; China; parts of Asia, including India and Southeast Asia; the Middle East, and parts of Africa. It’s a GSM phone that also supports 3G service using HSDPA networks.

The estimated retail price is 199 euros or about $258. It could be a while before Nokia makes this phone available in the U.S. market.

(Credit:
Nokia)

The new phone, which is less than a half-inch thick, is a full-featured multimedia handset designed for music lovers. It will debut next week at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The phone comes with a 4GB microSD card for music, but users can also get external memory cards with up to 16GB of storage. Users can listen through an integrated 3.5mm headset jack or on stereo headsets via Bluetooth. Another cool feature is the “Say and Play” function, which lets people control the music playlist by saying the song or artist aloud.

The phone also has a 3.2-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash. And it supports video recording. Pictures and video can be shared on Nokia’s Ovi service or through other social networking sites like Flickr or Facebook.

People who buy the 5630 XpressMusic phone can access Nokia’s Music Store, which allows for over-the-air music purchases and downloads. Software designed to work with Nokia Music allows people to transfer and organize their music collection on their PCs.

Nokia unveiled its latest XpressMusic phone, the Nokia 5630, on Tuesday.

During the hearing, the parties may also touch on a complaint made prior to November last year, which the states and the DOJ are investigating. Microsoft declined to comment on the investigation.

Once the templates are finalized, Microsoft plans to publish all 19 system document drafts by the end of March, with the final version expected by the end of June.

Microsoft and antitrust regulators will be back in federal court on Thursday, for a regularly scheduled status conference on the software giant’s compliance with the final judgment order stemming from its historic consent decree.

Antitrust regulators and the technical committee expressed concerns at the last joint status hearing back in June that Microsoft’s overview documents were not sufficient. Microsoft, as a result, drafted additional “system” documents that aimed to provide more details on the interaction between the protocols in various complex scenarios. But after reviewing the templates, regulators and a court-appointed technical committee found they needed revisions.

In preparation for the upcoming hearing, which will be held in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Microsoft, the Department of Justice, and state antitrust regulators filed a joint status report late last week.

The parties will again address improving the technical documents that Microsoft provides to third-party licensees, which are meant to aid them in making their software interoperable with the Redmond giant’s operating system.

Meanwhile, Microsoft recently informed the technical committee that the next version of Windows,
Windows 7, will have a number of protocol changes and, as a result, will have a number of new and modified technical documents. The technical committee expects to see these documents later this year, according to the joint status report.

One explanation for that would seem to be that as the economy falters and people struggle to make ends meet, Make helps them learn to do things on their own, without spending a lot on pre-produced goods. And, because it fosters a do-it-yourself ethos, the magazine–and its related media–is attractive to those interested in becoming more self-reliant.

On Saturday, Make: Television will debut, a partnership between the magazine, Twin Cities Public Television, and American Public Television. All episodes will also be available for DRM-free download in HD, on YouTube, Vimeo, iTunes, and Blip.tv.

For some time, Make has been producing video content that has been available online. But now, for the first time, it is creating all-new content that is intended for television.

“Make: is the DIY series for a new generation,” a release about the new show began. “It celebrates ‘makers’–the inventors, artists, geeks, and just plain everyday folks who mix new and old technology to create new-fangled marvels. The series encourages everyone to invent, revent, recycle, upcycle, and act up. Based on the popular Make magazine, each half-hour episode inspires millions to think, create and, well, make.”

Make is also behind Maker Faire, a two-day DIY festival that takes place each year in both San Mateo, Calif., and Austin, Texas.

Following on the success of their hit do-it-yourself magazine, the people behind Make will now bring their efforts to public television.

The launch of the show comes at a difficult time for media, what with layoffs across the industry and a weakening environment for advertising. But Make senior editor Philip Torrone said that things are going well for the magazine and that it is doing as well as it ever has.

The show will focus on the same kind of activities and people that have filled the pages of Make magazine. Among those featured in the first episode, for example, are Cyclecide, a group that travels the country putting on a bicycle rodeo; the maker of a cat-feeder built from an old VCR; and the man behind the “laser harp,” a musical instrument played by strumming laser strings.

Whether the TV series will be a success is unknown. But the fact that Twin Cities Public Television and American Public Television have decided that now is a good time to launch the show is a sign that people, there at least, believe that the time is right to promote DIY to a larger audience.

Kirkpatrick, who is working on a book about Facebook, maintains a must-read blog about the company on–where else?–Facebook. (Talk about eating your own dog food!) He makes the correct point that when Facebook closed its deal with Microsoft back in fall 2007, that still was during the bull market’s heyday. So when you wake up, check the news aggregators and find yet more mindless musing over the “news” that Facebook–or any other tech company for that matter–is worth a lot less in February 2009, you have to wonder whether these folks have been paying attention.

I hate it when someone else beats me to a post, but no sense crying about it. Besides, David Kirkpatrick sums up the situation far more eloquently than I ever could:

“All those people on the blogs and in the press who are obsessed over Facebook’s valuation are really a bore. Anybody who thinks Microsoft’s $15 billion valuation ever was a real common-stock valuation doesn’t understand much about finance. And nobody but Microsoft would have wanted to lead a round at that valuation–getting into Facebook had unique value for the company which most of all wants to prevent Google from making further inroads into its business.”

“It may still prove to have been a brilliant stroke for Microsoft–the software giant is in the door with search on Facebook just when Facebook is the platform where more and more of the Internet’s content is being created. There’s a special characteristic to all that data–it is not searchable by Google. A nice score for Microsoft for a mere $240 million. Who cares how much of FB it got in return? It kept Google out.”

Still, the fascination remains for the chattering classes. When the conversation turns to Facebook (and Twitter, as well,) the bloviation-fest is nonstop. Especially regarding possible investments from venture firms.

It’s easy to understand the valuation obsession. It’s another holdover from a recent past that now seems forever ago. You remember those days, back when the economy was working? Back when the blogosphere was perpetually fascinated by widgets and irrelevant Web site tweaks? But I’m with Kirkpatrick on this one. It’s boring beyond description. No matter. As the recession-depression rips through the economy, there’s important news to consider.

Don’t open attachments because most legitimate e-cards include links to the company’s Web site that allow you to go directly to your card.
If something looks a little strange or “phishy” just delete the card.
Use security software on your desktop.
Watch out for misspelled words or names, a disguised name (such as Your Friend, A Secret Admirer), or an odd URL.
Always read the fine print before accepting any terms.
Also on the site is a free 90-day trial of AVG Internet Security, which includes antivirus, antispyware, and antirootkit protection plus a personal firewall and Linkscanner protection against malicious Web sites.

The tips, which should be familiar to most online users, include:

One inexpensive way to send holiday cheer may be to send e-cards, but security vendor AVG warned on Tuesday that online criminals are taking advantage of the fact most people don’t know the difference between a legitimate e-card and one hosting malware.

Last week security vendors warned of a Trojan horse masquerading as holiday-themed e-cards from McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Hallmark.

Did your brother-in-law really send you a singing holiday card? Did a long-lost friend from college really include you on this year’s list?

To better educate the public, AVG has launched a site, “Slam the Holiday Scam,”, co-sponsored with CyberStreetSmart.org and i-Safeworking, and is working to team with various online safety organizations such as the National Crime Prevention Council, the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, CyberStreetSmart.org, i-Safe, the National Cyber Security Alliance, and Consumers Union, and Protection from Brand Infection.