New Gmail enhancements

I'm the type of guy who almost always checks my email before doing anything else in the morning when I first sit-down in front of my computer. The only thing I do before this, of course, is make a fresh pot of coffee and pour myself a mug...

It's a ritual.

Historically Geeky

I've used Gmail as my primary mail client since it was first available in 2004, and it just keeps getting better. I love it's simplicity, and the way Google has been rolling new features into it over time rather than a big "upgrade" or "redesign" as I've witnessed and experienced in other products.

I like the subtle changes and there's a feeling of 'delight' that this type of staggered (i.e.: Agile) feature roll out approach offers for the user. It also makes it possible for the developers to really focus on the implementation and get feedback early and often to squash any bugs and resolve any unforeseen front-end glitches more effectively as well. With this approach, everybody wins.

It's Delightful & Delicious

Today I had a pleasant surprise when I noticed some minor, yet really nice improvements in the way that Gmail presents their Tool-tip (a.k.a.: "HoverCard" information). These are admittedly not Earth-shattering changes, but they were a nice surprise nonetheless, so I thought I'd blog about it to see if other folks are also seeing these changes in their Gmail client.

Hover Info; Chat Column

The presentation of info is much better when you hover over a user's name in the chat column — much cleaner and more like a business card where the order of elements is better organized, and the buttons are placed on the bottom of the card. I really like this because the structure makes more sense, and it feels more natural to me.

Hover Over Sender Info

The other improvement I noticed isn't a huge change, but it is better in my opinion. When you hover over the sender's name you get the same presentation, treatment and structure as you do with the user's name. Same look, same feel, same structure: buttons on the bottom. I'm a big fan of consistency and this is also important in terms of usability.

If you're not using Gmail, I suggest you take a look at it and consider doing so. If you are using Gmail already, then I also think it's a good idea to check the Google Labs section every now and then or subscribe to the Official Gmail Blog RSS feed to find out if there's anything new you might want to try.

Facebook Rolls-Out New Privacy Controls

Today, Facebook is launching their new tools to give you more control over the information you share on their service. If you're on Fb, you'll be asked to review and update your settings as you log in. The process is pretty straightforward and easy to do. All you will need to do is make any adjustments to who sees what and then save the new settings, or just keep your old privacy setting as is.

"Facebook's new, simplified privacy settings give you more control over the information you share. We've recommended settings below, but you can choose to apply your old settings to any of the fields."

Control Your Experience

Here are the main points for the new privacy features:

• Helping You Choose Settings


• Simpler Settings


• Adding Control for Each Post


• And more...

Here's the Facebook blog post with more information:
» New Tools to Control Your Experience

Read their blog post to get the low-down on all the new changes. It seems like they've really put a lot of work into these new features, and more importantly — this time it seems like they've listened to their users.

A few screenshots of what you'll see

Notification pop-in...


Update Privacy Settings Screen...