Connected Well

Google is getting better at telling you the information you need while out and about.

Now, Google maps can show you if a product you want is in stock nearby.

Next, I’d like to have even more granular information for a given location such as when I am in Home Depot and I can’t find ten penny nails or sprinkler heads or when I’m in Walmart and none of the thirty seven aisles seem to have sugar free, organic apple juice

Rahhb mobile Apps, augmented reality, business, google, mobile, products

I have a gmail account that is the nerve-center of my digital communication empire, but I also have two GoogleApps domains (one for M|REC and the other for mMEdia) and a client of mine has their email hosted on GoogleApps, too.

When I am juggling between accounts, I have a few options:

1. Send mail from one (or multiple) accounts.
   I have taken great pains to arrange each of these accounts so that I can send email from my @gmail account via each of the other ones (except my client’s, for obvious reasons).  While this adds some convenience, it is tedious to setup, and then I have certain copies of some messages in one place, with others in other places.  More about that in another post–or not. This also used to tack on the unprofessional “on behalf of” header until they revealed how to avoid it just recently by configuring gmail to send the mail through your other domain’s SMTP server.

   Fair warning: Try doing this if you want, but that sound you just heard was at least one other reader’s head exploding.  Do not try this at home, or in the presence of small children or endangered species.

2. Configure Firefox to ask you when you click a “mailto:” link how you want to send the mail.This is a totally awesome example of why FireFox makes IE wimper and cry for its mommy(ies?).  Follow the link over to LifeHacker to see the code you need to drop into your address bar to configure not only Gmail to launch from a mailto: link, but any Google Apps domain.

   For me, I ran through this step-by-step configuration once for each of my accounts: Gmail, MREC, mMEdia and my client.  Now I have a long list of options that pop up gleefully when I click a “mailto:” link and I no-longer have to wait the 196 seconds for Outlook to sieze my computer on loading only for me to shut it off.

   The trick is to not commit any of the options as the default, then everytime you click a “mailto:” link, you will get the option screen to choose.  Note that you can also launch Outlook or Thunderbird or another desktop app, too, allowing you to flow between even more personalities.

   Somewhere, my therapist is smiling.

Lifehacker: Configure mailto: links to launch in Gmail or other GoogleApps for Domains accounts

api Tools Apps, firefox, gmail, hacks, ie, internet explorer, lifehacker, tweaks

Sync is hard.

I’ve never used any synchonization software that gets it right all the time. However, I am pretty pleased with Google’s Sync program, launched nearly 2.5 years ago, now part of their suite of mobile apps for smartphones, including BlackBerrys.

Google Sync for BlackBerry

Every once in a while, my calendars get out of sync, and I need to delete and reset my BlackBerry. Normally, you can reset the sync by:

• Go to Google Sync on the phone (either find the app icon, or scroll to the top of the BlackBerry-button menu while looking at your calendar.
• In Google Sync, click the BlackBerry button*.
• In the menu, choose “Options”
• In the options screen, click the BlackBerry button* again.
• In the menu, choose “Reset Calendar Sync”.

This action removes all the synchronized events on your calendar. Then you can re-sync again to get everything pulled back down from Google Calendar to your device.

However, the last time I did this, I also corrupted something, so my BlackBerry’s “default calendar” had a duplicate set of events from my Google Calendar. This isn’t bad, jut really annoying. I also had recurring events that don’t exist anymore, that I was having to manually delete. Not productive

To solve this problem, I had to take more drastic measures. Follow along:

• First, I synchronized my calendar manually from the BlackBerry, ensuring that it succeeded.
• Next, I followed the instructions above to Reset my synchronized calendar, removing it from the device. Note that I did NOT resync at the end of the reset.
• Then, I connected my BlackBerry to my computer and saved a full backup.
• Next, following instructions from this BlackBerry Forums post, I removed ALL of the calendar events on my BlackBerry.
• Finally, I went back to the BlackBerry, launched Sync, and did a manual sync (BlackBerry Button* > Sync), ensuring it was successful.
• This removed the offending calendar(s) and now my calendar information is an exact copy of what’s online in my Google Calendar.

For simplicity, I am copying the instructions from the BlackBerry forum and inserting them, below, with links to screenshots:

If you are having errors in your Calendar or Address Book on your BlackBerry, and you wish to delete the entire Calendar (or Address Book) database on your BlackBerry, follow the directions below. Make certain you have a good copy of your Calendar or Contacts elsewhere, as this procedure will complete delete ALL Calendar entries and/or Address Book entries on your BlackBerry.

1. Open Desktop Manager on your PC.

2. Open up Backup/Restore > Advanced.

3. From Advanced you’ll see a split pane screen. The left pane is what is going to be backed up from your device and the right is a list of the currently existing databases.

3. Highlight on the right side your Address Book database (or your Calendar database) and click the arrow in the middle pointing to the left. This will copy the information over and prepare it for back-up.

4. Once the back-up has completed, hit the Clear button at the bottom to erase and clean out the entire address book database (or Calendar database).

5. After it’s finished, it will ask you if you want to save the back-up you’ve created, say yes and check the device to make sure the address book (or calendar) has been properly cleared out. Now, resync the necessary contact information and you should be set to go.

* The BlackBerry button is the “Menu” key on your berry.  It looks like

api Help, Tools, mobile Apps, blackberry, error, fix, google, google_calendar, gsync, Help, sync, Tools

For a while, SMS heaven seemed to rest lightly on all users of gmail and it’s in-browser gtalk client. keeping up with people who were not “online” but mobile was as easy as pie.  Changing between SMS and gTalk chat was clear and simple. All was well in the universe, until the SMS gods at google removed their goodwill in March of this year.

But, what is this?  Could it be possible that we have been found worthy of their blessings once again?  It appears so.  Check the screen clips.  Do you see this in your gmail, too?

Below, see that your contacts in Gmail’s chat sidebar, who have a mobile number, show up with a mobile phone icon when they are not online.



Clicking “Send SMS” in the window above, pops open the chat box where you can send and receive SMS messages from the user:

If the user comes “online” (signs into gTalk) then you have the option of switching to Instant Messaging, and no-longer sending your messages via SMS.

*It would be nice if I could redirect SMS that goes to my phone’s number to gTalk… and if I am not online, then it just goes straight through. Interesting possible app there…

api Apps, Tools, mobile Apps, communication, google, gtalk, IM, sms

Anagram may have launched one of the most valuable killer apps for blackberry in a long time.

More than a year ago, I mentioned Anagram as one of the little apps I can not live without and, as a hyper cheapskate recessionist, the desktop app is well worth the registration fee.

But, from the looks of things, Anagram has launched a FREE blackberry version to go along with their other versions that integrate with Salesforce, Outlook, Gmail, Google Calendar, NetSuite, Jigsaw, Palm Desktop and Tablet PC.

Hit the link and you have to punch in your bb email address and you’ll get an OTA link for download. It integrates right into the blackberry menu and allows you to select and then save contact information in email signatures or off web-pages, text messages or any other text field, and then have it import right into your address book or calendar, etc.

One quick tip: It looks like you need to COPY the text first, then “Capture with Anagram” for it to pull correctly.

Way to go Anagram.

This little tool is so valuable, I only wish I was actually paid to talk about them .

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