Home Articles

Declutter Gmail’s web interface by using the Simplify Gmail Chrome extension

ARTICLE – In the past, my Gmail web interface looked a bit cluttered (shown in the above screenshot). I was curious about streamlining this look and stumbled upon several tech news articles that pointed me toward the Simplify Gmail Chrome extension. This extension was written by a former lead designer of Gmail, Michael Leggett, with the help of some of his friends.

Ta-da! This is what my Gmail looks like after using the Simplify Gmail extension. You can see that the Gmail logo located in the upper left-hand corner of the screen has been removed completely and the Compose “+” button has been moved from the upper left to the lower right corner of the screen.

The “Search mail” box has also been moved from the top center of the screen to the upper right side of the screen. Google’s Calendar, Keep, and Tasks has also been moved from the right sidebar to the Overflow menu (the ellipsis) located just above the Compose “+” button in the lower right corner of the screen.

To see your “Inbox”, “Snoozed”, “Sent”, “Drafts”, “Labels”, etc. menu items in the right sidebar, you just click on the Menu icon located in the upper left corner of the screen. I left these hidden to obtain an even cleaner look.

When I opened my emails before using the Simplify Gmail extension, this is what my screen looked like (above screenshot).

And here is what my opened-email screen looks like after using the extension. Again, the Gmail logo is gone and has been replaced with several icon buttons all located on a single line (the “Main Menu”, “Back to Inbox”, “Archive”,  “Report Spam”, “Delete”, “Mark as Unread”, “Snooze”, “Moved to”, “Labels”, and the “Overflow menu” buttons). The “Search email” box has also been moved off to the upper right corner of the screen.

NOTE: Depending on your Gmail settings, this extension may not work for you. For example, it didn’t work well for me when using the “Multiple Inbox” setting in Gmail as shown in the screenshot above. Using Multiple Inboxes with this extension, I could no longer see the distinct inboxes that I set up. And because the list of emails expanded side-to-side to fit the screen, the Compose “+” button overlayed the email list. In addition, the number of emails being displayed (e.g. 1-60 of 60 located at the top center of the screen) was overwritten by that of another inbox. But, once I got rid of Multiple Inboxes, the extension worked well for me.

Just in case you are curious about whether or not it is safe to use his extension, Mr. Legget posted the Simplify Gmail code in GitHub for those of you who wish to examine it.

The Simplify Gmail Chrome extension is available from the Chrome Web Store for those of you who like a cleaner, less cluttered Gmail web interface.

Filed in categories: Articles

Tagged: ,

Declutter Gmail’s web interface by using the Simplify Gmail Chrome extension originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 29, 2019 at 8:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Julie’s gadget diary – I ordered the Huawei P30 Pro

ARTICLE – As Britney Spears would say, “oops, I did it again…” I ordered another phone. This time it’s the Huawei P30 Pro. I know that my score sheet for buying new phones and actually keeping them has been pretty embarrassing for the last year and a half. The last phone that I bought and actually used was the Pixel 2 XL back in October of 2017 and I’m STILL using it today!

I’ve bought and/or tried many phones since then but I keep going back to the Pixel 2 XL. I even bought the Pixel 3 XL but sent it back along with the Essential Phone, iPhone XS Max, and most recently the Samsung Galaxy S10+. I liked all of those phones but just not enough to keep them. I guess I’m getting much pickier as I get older and when features don’t work the way I want them to or they should, I get frustrated and revert back to what does work.

The P30 Pro has all the features I look for in a smartphone:

  • A great camera
  • Always on display
  • Wireless charging
  • Good battery life
  • HDMI out

Things I probably won’t like include the in screen fingerprint reader because I tend to have a crappy experience with most fingerprint readers no matter what tech they use.

I also prefer flat screens to the P30 Pro’s curved display, but I’m just nitpicking now.

I’m mainly looking forward to trying out the P30 Pro’s camera. I was impressed with the Huawei’s P20 camera and got some insanely good pics with it while on vacation in California last summer. The P30 Pro’s 40MP SuperZoom is next level though and looks mighty impressive. I can’t wait to try it.

I’ve ordered the Huawei P30 Pro from an eBay seller since it can’t be purchased directly through Huawei for shipping to the US. It’s supposed to be shipped or delivered by next Friday 4/19.

So does anyone want to start up a pool to see how long it will take for me to send back the P30 Pro for a refund? 😉

I have a good feeling this purchase is going to work out this time. My fingers (and toes) are crossed, but only time will tell.

Filed in categories: Articles

Tagged: ,

Julie’s gadget diary – I ordered the Huawei P30 Pro originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 12, 2019 at 5:32 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Why did Apple’s AirPower fail?


ARTICLE – In 2017, Apple made a rather astonishing and equally exciting announcement during the iPhoneX/8 launch event. It would be bringing an innovative Qi-enabled wireless charger to market called AirPower.

Wireless chargers were nothing new at the time — they’re certainly rampant now — but the AirPower stood out because it could simultaneously charge several devices. Purportedly, it would be able to charge one of the newer iPhone models, an Apple Watch and the company’s second-generation AirPods all at once.

Another reason the Apple-branded charger was significant is that most third-party chargers require a special adapter or configuration to work with Apple devices. With the AirPower, one could simply place their devices on the pad.

However, on March 29, 2019, Apple officially announced its plans to cancel the product. It’s no longer coming, ever, and that’s a huge bummer. The company says it’s because it could not deliver the quality of products it is known for. Then again, that is changing — considering more recent developments about the longevity of Apple AirPods and misconceptions about the company’s planned obsolescence with its smartphones.

What Really Happened to the AirPower Charging Pad?

It’s unlikely we’ll ever know the full story behind AirPower, but it must be long and convoluted considering how much time transpired before Apple canceled the project. It was originally announced in September 2017 and meant for release in early 2018, yet the company didn’t cancel it until March of this year. More importantly, during that entire time, product demonstrations, updates and information were almost nonexistent.

Apple’s official statement is not very telling, either. “After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have canceled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward,” said Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.

Some reports have suggested that overheating was a major concern, which does happen with powerful chargers of this caliber. Another possibility is that because the charger had to accommodate so many devices, it required more coils and that meant RF exposures would be too high — unable to stay below FCC limits.

Whatever the case, this is a pretty embarrassing event for everyone at Apple headquarters. Mistakes and errors happen, of course, but it’s the fanfare with which the charger was announced that is so questionable. The company went so far as to include references on other products — the second-gen Apple AirPods were delayed and even teased the AirPower on its packaging — and also promote the new product on its official site.

This does bring up one important question: How early should Apple be announcing products?

Sometimes, it is beneficial to know a new product is on the way, as this can prevent people from upgrading to an older or obsolete model shortly before launch. With things like AirPower, however, announcing too early causes confusion and embarrassment. It could have avoided this simply by not talking about the product until it was ready for distribution.

However, when you have a tech giant like Apple constantly pushing the envelope, these things are bound to happen eventually. The AirPower was not the only problematic launch for Apple, and it won’t be the last.

What’s Next?

Undoubtedly, this is an opportunity for Apple to reflect on the future development of its products and the company’s engineering process. It may be a little more conservative about announcing products early — at least, one can only hope.

The worst-case scenario is that rampant errors and failed launches become a normal occurrence, but it’s still way too early to say whether or not that’s a possibility. It’s more likely this is a rare event, and the company will continue to launch successful, innovative products its customers enjoy.

Photo by Ben Kolde

Filed in categories: Articles

Tagged:

Why did Apple’s AirPower fail? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 12, 2019 at 12:00 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Walmart pickup towers a huge improvement

ARTICLE – I wrote earlier about Walmart’s new grocery pickup. In the comments, someone complained about Walmart’s regular pickup, and I agreed that it was less than ideal. Several times I’ve ordered from Walmart online, and either because it wasn’t available to ship, I didn’t want to pay for shipping, or I wanted the item right away, I went to the store to pick it up.

Well, I did this again last weekend, and it was completely changed. And a ton better. Walmart has introduced pickup towers and lockers (sometimes called vending machines) at 700 of its stores. Picking up my order was actually fun!

But let me back up.

The previous system would have you order online, and you’d get an email confirmation when your item was ready. (That part hasn’t changed.) To receive your purchase, you had to trek to the back of the store. Then you’d have to wait for an actual person, which often involved pressing a button to summon them from who-knows-where. Then they would have to search for your order, which often meant digging around to figure out your order number and where your item was stored. Then you had to wait for them to actually find it.

More than once it left me grumbling under my breath that I should have scoured the store for it myself or perhaps sprung for shipping if it wasn’t in-stock merchandise.

This weekend our pool hose cracked, and I really wanted to vacuum the leaves from the bottom to start getting it in shape for my little guy’s birthday party next month.

The Walmart site showed only one hose in stock out of the two stores in our town. I could have gotten it delivered but didn’t want to wait. So I gave the online pickup another try. And gosh was I happy I did!

We lumbered to the back of the store out of habit, but a sign directed us to the front for pickup. Apparently, we’d rushed right past the giant orange pick-up tube on our way in.

As we approached the orange tower, glass dropped away from the computer, which asked us to enter our order number or scan our phone (both barcode and order number were on the confirmation email). A couple of seconds after scanning my phone, a bright orange locker popped open behind us! Lo and behold, our pool hose.

The screen reminded us to shut the locker when we were done. And that was it! What had taken upwards of 30 minutes in the past was condensed into mere seconds. Well played, Walmart.

Read more about Walmart pickup towers in Business Insider and on the Walmart Blog.

Filed in categories: Articles

Tagged:

Walmart pickup towers a huge improvement originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 11, 2019 at 8:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Savor the savings with Kroger Pickup’s clickable coupons

ARTICLE – Kroger Pickup (formerly ClickList®) offers super-convenient grocery shopping and virtual coupon clipping.

If you’re a Kroger Rewards member, you can log in to Kroger.com, and by selecting “Start my cart” it will display suggestions based on your recent purchases.

They also have a tab for “My Sale Items” to show you which of your usual go-to’s are on sale at the moment.

Plus, whenever you come across an item that’s offering current store or manufacturer coupons, you can add the coupon by simply checking a box. For bargain shoppers like myself, it’s priceless! I certainly won’t miss clipping coupons the old fashioned way and then half the time forgetting to bring them or else taking them with me only to discover they expired yesterday.

The drawback is, unlike Walmart grocery pickup, for example, Kroger charges $4.99 per shopping trip. However, with online coupons and offers, you can often make up that five bucks pretty quickly. Plus, your first three orders are free, and they’ll sometimes send you coupons for free pickup here and there after that.

Similar to other grocery curbside programs I’ve used, you select a one-hour window to gather your goodies. Also, you can click which items you will accept substitutions for in case they’re out of stock (and you can accept or reject those substitutions at pickup time).

When you arrive, there’s a designated parking area for drive-up customers. And you simply call the displayed phone number to let them know you’ve arrived and which parking stall you’re in.

The Kroger site offers a few nice bonus features, too.

First, you can add comments. So, for example, I like hard avocados so I can use them later in the week when they ripen. I can let my personal shopper know my whims and wishes, and so far, they’ve done a good job fulfilling my requests.

Secondly, the site offers suggested recipes, and if you want to try one, you just click “Shop Ingredients” and all the needed items pop up.

Since we shop at Kroger already, my family has some established Kroger-brand favorites (like their popcorn and string cheese), so this has been a hugely convenient option, especially when we’re having a busy week or gathering up supplies for another Friday sleepover. Plus, like all Kroger shopping trips, we earn those nifty fuel points.

Filed in categories: Articles

Tagged:

Savor the savings with Kroger Pickup’s clickable coupons originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 27, 2019 at 10:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.