Make Tech Easier: Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts Cheatsheet. “With over 1.5 billion users worldwide, Gmail has easily become the most commonly used email client for people across the world wide web. In fact, many people use Gmail for both their personal and professional email accounts, and it’s easy to see why when you look at all of the fantastic features and automations Gmail offers its users.”
CNBC: Google is bringing A.I. chat to Gmail and Docs. “Google is deepening its push into generative artificial intelligence, introducing features Tuesday that will let users create text in Gmail and Docs using the company’s AI technology.”
Make Tech Easier: Gmail Automation: 8 Useful Google Scripts to Automate Your Gmail. “Gmail, by itself, is already a very powerful email client. With the help of filters, you can set up automation to better organize your inbox. However, for power users, the filter feature is not sufficient compared to writing custom scripts. These eight Google scripts can further automate your Gmail.”
The Verge: Google is still trying to fix Gmail’s Outlook syncing issues. “If you typically access your Hotmail or Outlook account using the Gmail app, there’s a reason you probably haven’t seen any new emails today: Google says it’s investigating an issue it’s having syncing with Microsoft’s servers.”
How-To Geek: Contacts Are Getting Better in Gmail. “The Google Contacts sidebar in Gmail, which you can find to the right of your window alongside apps like Google Tasks and Google Keep, currently lets you see contacts. A new change is rolling out that will let you add new contacts and edit existing ones.”
Engadget: Google will once again apply Gmail spam detection to political campaign emails. “Google doesn’t plan to let political campaigns dodge Gmail’s spam detection for much longer. The Washington Post has learned that Google plans to end the email filter bypass pilot program by the end of this month.”
Wall Street Journal: Google Didn’t Show Bias in Filtering Campaign-Ad Pitches, FEC Says. “The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint from Republicans that Google’s Gmail app aided Democratic candidates by sending GOP fundraising emails to spam at a far higher rate than Democratic solicitations.”
Lifehacker: How to Back Up Your Gmails to Avoid Paying for Storage. “There are two steps to dealing with a Gmail backup. The first, of course, is downloading the messages from Google, but it doesn’t end there. Google will send you the files in .mbox format, a file format none of the apps on your computer can likely read. But, that’s okay. We’ll fix that.”
The Verge: Google is letting businesses try out client-side encryption for Gmail. “Google has launched a beta of its client-side encryption for Gmail, letting businesses apply to test out the feature meant to make ‘sensitive data’ and attachments unreadable even to Google. The company announced the beta, which Workspace administrators can sign up for until January 20th, in a blog post on Friday.”
Engadget: Google Workspace’s latest updates include improved Gmail search. “Google has revealed some minor, albeit handy, updates for Workspace. Soon, when you join a Google Meet call or start presenting on one from a Docs, Sheets or Slides file, you’ll have an easier way to share that file with other attendees through the meeting’s chat panel.”
Google Blog: Add these new Google widgets to your iPhone. “Our Lock Screen widgets for iOS 16 are officially available, so you can access features from your favorite Google apps with a quick tap or even just a glance at your iPhone Lock Screen. Between these and our Home Screen widgets, we’ve got you covered across all your favorite Google apps. Let’s take a closer look at ways you can use all these new widgets.”
Reuters: Republican National Committee Sues Google Over Email Spam Filters. “The U.S. political committee accuses the tech giant of ‘discriminating’ against it by ‘throttling its email messages because of the RNC’s political affiliation and views,’ according to a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of California.”
The Verge: Google built a spam backdoor for Republicans — and they aren’t using it. “Google has launched a controversial program allowing campaign committees to effectively opt out of spam filters — a huge concession to mounting political pressure from Republicans. But Verge reporting shows the RNC has not taken advantage of the program and made few efforts to alter the core practices that might result in their emails being labeled as spam.”
WIRED: How to Get the Old Gmail Design Back. “Google is switching up the design for Gmail to bring it more in line with changes across the company’s other services. But if you see the new look and hate it, you can still hold on to the old look for a little longer. It’s unclear how long this option will last, but for now you can switch back to the previous design with just a couple of clicks.”
Ars Technica: Gmail users “hard pass” on plan to let political emails bypass spam filters . “Earlier this month, Google sent a request to the Federal Election Commission seeking an advisory opinion on the potential launch of a pilot program that would allow political committees to bypass spam filters and instead deliver political emails to the primary inboxes of Gmail users. During a public commenting period that’s still ongoing, most people commenting have expressed staunch opposition for various reasons that they’re hoping the FEC will consider.”
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