Mailbird, A New Email Client for Windows

I have a chance to try out a new desktop email client, Mailbird. For those using Macs, it has a look and feel of Sparrow. But Mailbird is Windows only, at least for now. I’ve been using it for less than a week and love it so far.

It has a sleek, clean, and uncluttered look. On the left side, you’ll find a sidebar for navigation. It doesn’t seem that you can customize the sidebar. If it is, I haven’t found the way yet. On the second panel is the overview list of your emails. Then the main window which shows the message when you click one of the email on the list view.

One notable feature is the apps section. You can enable apps such as Dropbox, Google Drive and Facebook, and access it directly from Mailbird. There’s also support for tech website such as Techcrunch and Lifehacker, which let you browse those sites from within Mailbird. All apps are disabled by default, by the way. And there is only a few available right now. However, the developer promises more apps are on the way. If you have a favorite app you’d like to add to Mailbird, you can submit it to their support page.

Now the downsides. It only supports Gmail, so if you have Hotmail or Yahoo account, you’re out of luck. There is no support for POP, IMAP, or multiple account yet, either. The workaround is to set up multiple identities, which they explain it here. They are also promising to add those features in future updates.

When I first installed it, I noticed a performance issue on my desktop machine, especially when I tried to load one of the apps. No such issues on my laptop, though. Subsequent updates improved it, and I don’t have any problems right now. The support team is very responsive and friendly. They answered my questions literally within minutes after I sent them.

Mailbird is free with ads and forced signature link which says “Sent from Mailbird.” Pro version is $12 a year, $9 a year if you pre-order now. They do not say when the promotion ends. There is also a one-time payment option in the works, they say, although there is no detail yet.

There are other desktop email clients, such as Windows Live Mail and Thunderbird, which are free. There are also Postbox ($10 one time fee) and Microsoft Outlook, which is part of MS Office. So which one is the best? My suggestion is to download Mailbird and give it a try. Then you can decide if it worth to spend money on. For me personally, I like it enough to purchase it.

You can sign up and download Mailbird here.

Reusing My Old Laptop as A File Server

My first laptop is a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion dv1227us. I bought it about seven years ago. Last year, the Wi-Fi stopped working and the keyboard is missing a few keys. I can still use the keyboard but it gets annoying. Since I got another laptop, I just put it aside. 

I’ve been using Dropbox as an online file storage so I can access it anytime, anywhere. But cloud storage services give you only a limited amount of storage for free. So I decided to put my old laptop as my personal file storage.

The laptop has 1.5 GB of RAM and 60 GB so obviously it can’t do a lot of heavy lifting. But for file server, it’s perfect. Originally it came with Windows XP, which I replaced with Lubuntu. I chose Lubuntu because it’s lightweight and based on the popular Ubuntu distro. Which means it has a lot programs written for it and has a healthy amount of support as well.

I also installed Hamachi VPN service and set up VNC server. By setting up Hamachi, I can access my files from the Internet securely and I can also login remotely to do some admin work on the laptop. Here is a screenshot of my VNC session.

It might look like a lot of work just to be able to access some files. And cloud storage services are way easier to set up. But I learned a lot in the process and have more control over my own data. And I do not have to worry about privacy, which seems like a big deal these days..

 

 

Using Remind Me by Astrid to Manage Your Gmail

If you want to eliminate your email clutter and achieve the ever elusive “inbox zero”, there is a new webapp called Mailstrom. But you have to get in line since a lot of people heard about it. Of course, with a little bit of work you can do it yourself. You may not achieve inbox zero, but at least you can work your way toward it. Cnet has an article about how to turn your email into tasks with Astrid’s Remind Me extension for Chrome. Astrid is the maker of a popular task manager app for smartphones and tablets. Hit the link below for details. Please note that this trick only works with your Gmail account on Chrome.

Astrid blog has a bit more elaborate setup on how to integrate the extension into Gmail. If you are interested only in managing your Gmail inbox, just scroll to the bottom of the article.

Remind Me by Astrid via CNET 

image by CNET

Twitter Clients Roundup

If you are a heavy Twitter user, you may find the official Twitter website a bit lacking. Fear not, Twitter warriors! There are several Twitter clients out there to ease your burden! While I’m not a heavy user myself, I like to use a standalone Twitter clients with features that will make my life a bit easier. So I sampled a few and I’d like to share what I think of them. If you feel differently, let me know in the comments.

The first of all is the venerable TweetDeck. It started out as an Adobe AIR client. Twitter has since bought and rebuilt them but ditched some of the features. I tested the Chrome App, but it should be the same with the standalone app. It has multiple account support, inline image previews, URL shortening service, search, filters, and Facebook support as well. TweetDeck is free.

The second one is MetroTwit. This client has a Metro…sorry, Windows 8 style interface. MetroTwit is the most feature-filled client in this roundup. It has URL shortening and previews, inline image previews, tweet search, filters, and more. It is also customizable; you can resize and reorder the columns, and support for themes. The free version has ads and no multiple account support. To remove ads AND add multiple account, you need to fork over $17. While the ads itself is not that annoying, you might not like having to pay $17 just to add the multiple account support. It is a strictly Twitter client; no Facebook support.

The next one is Sobees, a Twitter client made by a Switzerland software company. Sobees supports multiple Twitter accounts, as well as feeds from other social network such as Facebook and LinkedIn. You can display the feeds in the columns or tabs. On the left side of each feed, you’ll find the options for the respective service displayed in icons. So you can update your status on Facebook, tweet your new car picture, or post a new job on LinkedIn by clicking on one of those icons. Sobees doesn’t have a search feature and inline image previews. URL shortening and filters are present, though. And the individual column and the layout are customizable as well. Sobees is free.

The last one is DestroyTwitter, an Adobe AIR client. Despite its scary name, it actually has a minimalist design. It is also light on your system; a perfect client for your netbook. But don’t let the minimalist approach fools you. DestroyTwitter has many features that you’ll find useful. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It has search feature, filters, URL shortening, and support for picture upload service such as TwitPic or yFrog. It’s missing the support for multiple account and inline image previews, though. Like the other clients in this article, DestroyTwitter is also free.

So, which one is the best? Well, like I said before, none is perfect. And we all have our own preferences. If you want the most features, MetroTwit wins hands down. But if you don’t like the Windows 8 interface, you can try TweetDeck. As a bonus, TweetDeck runs on Mac and Windows. Sobees’s support for multiple account and other social network is handy if you want to keep track of them simultaneously. Finally, if you want a minimalist approach, DestroyTwitter has that covered. It’s also lightweight; great if you have an older system.

Personally, I like DestroyTwitter for its minimalist design and unintrusive notification. I have mentioned before that I am not a heavy Twitter user, so I don’t need a boatload of features. In the end, though, these are merely tools. As with other tools, you need to find the one that fits well with your workflow and style. There are many others out there that I cannot find because of time and resource constraint. If you have a favorite one, let me know in the comments.

Google Drive Has Arrived; Gives You 5GB Free Storage

Google has just announced their own cloud storage. It’s called Google Drive, or Drive for short, and aimed directly at Dropbox, Microsoft’s SkyDrive, and Apple’s iCloud. It’s actually a revamped Google Docs. Here is the snapshot when it was still Docs:

And here the snapshot after I converted to Drive:

The standard account offers 5GB for free; upgrade options are 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month and 1TB for $49.99/month. There’s also an Android app for phones and tablets. iOS devices support is in the works.

I have been using Dropbox for years, but I’ve been trying their competitions as well. I found that Dropbox’s sync is unparalleled to the others. Besides, they keep increasing my storage, so I see no reason to switch. Drive has just come out today, so I haven’t use it extensively; however, Lifehacker has an article about it if you need more details. Since I use Google a lot, this is a compelling alternative to Dropbox. But I think more likely I’ll use it as a complement to Dropbox.

If you already have a Google account, here is the link to activate it:

Google Drive.

Enjoy your new cloud storage!

I have nothing to do, so I decided to do an inventory of my backpack. Let’s take a look at the items that I usually carry (Click on the image to zoom)

1. My laptop, HP dm3-1130us. I’ve had this for almost 2 years now.
2. Power adapter for the laptop.
3. Logitech Notebook Mouse with the Nano receiver which stays on the laptop. Forgot the exact model, but I love the feel of the mouse.
4. Sony DSC-W150 point and shoot digital camera. Picked this one on sale 3 years ago. Not exactly a high-end camera, but it’s adequate for snapshot.
5. iPod Touch 16 GB, first generation. It won’t install newer apps from Apple AppStore, but it can still provide me with some tunes. Oh, and plays movies too.
6. My full-size notebook whenever I need to write longer notes.
7. Moleskine Cahier notebook when I need to write something quick and don’t want to whip out my bigger notebook.
8. Small comb. Hey, you never know when you might need it!
9. Wet naps when I need to freshen up.
10. Some pens and a mechanical pencil.
11. Eraser and extra pencil leads.
12. My eyeglasses case with the wipecloth inside it.
13. Cables: Mini-USB, micro-USB, and iPod cable.
14. Various USB flash drives.
15. Headset for my Android smartphone (not pictured).
16. My checkbook.
17. Ibuprofen.
18. BreathSavers, my favorite mint.
19. Last but not least, my backpack. It’s a North Face Recon that I bought in 2008. Still going strong after all the abuse it’s taken.

I usually also carry some energy bars, but I don’t have any at this moment.

Boomerang Plugin For Gmail

I’ve been using Boomerang plugin for Chrome for a while. It lets you schedule when you want send an email. It comes in handy whenever you need to send an email at a later time. More than that, let’s say you need to follow up on an email at a later time. You can schedule that email to be resend (boomerang) to you at your chosen time.
The free version limits you to ten credits a month, which lets you manage ten email messages a month. The paid version starts at $4.99 month. All versions support Gmail and Google Apps. There’s also an Outlook plugin available.