Gmail Labs

Enable the new "inserting images" in Labs under Settings, and Gmail users will have the option of using the new images toolbar icon. Make sure rich formatting mode is turned on and then when you compose a new message and click on the picture icon, you can either upload photos from your computer or by entering a pic's URL.

Unfortunately, this feature doesn't bypass the whole "display images below" (which appears at the top of the email to protect you from spammers), but it does show the photo in its entirety (so your mom doesn't have to click "view"). It also allows you to move the photo around within the email, insert text wherever you want around the pic as well as change the size of the photo (size options at bottom of photo once you insert) — yay!

The latest and greatest Gmail Lab is called Sender Time Zone and is perfect for someone like me who has friends and family located in many different time zones.

Now when you enable Sender Time Zone, you'll see a green phone icon next to your contacts that are reachable (it's between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. their time) and red phones for those who are away from their desk or sleeping. And when you click "show details" you'll be able to see what time the message was sent from your time zone and what time it is for the recipient. Now you can avoid the small talk of asking "so what time is it over there?." Thanks Gmail!

Three cheers for Gmail! The web-based mail service is on a Gmail Labs roll. The latest addition? Search Autocomplete, which when enabled, will help you find any and every name in your contact list. Just type in the first couple of letters and you'll see all of your matching contacts in the drop down list. And for other messages, all you have to do is type "photos" or "pictures" and the appropriate search terms (jpg, etc.) gets added in the search bar. . . same goes for typing "attachment" as well. Just think of it like Google Search, right inside your Gmail inbox!

I'm still recovering from the happiness high I received yesterday thanks to Gmail's announcement of YouTube, Picasa, Flickr and Yelp previews labs. But let the happiness high continue (I'm even more elated with this news), because there's now an Undo Send lab! Probably even more useful than the Mail Goggles Lab, this new "Undo" option can save you many headaches and sleepless nights.

Once you enable the lab, you'll have a five-second window of opportunity to click "undo" before an email is sent to the addressed recipient. You will notice the undo option right above the email, but you'll have to act fast. A notification (like the one below) will appear to let you know that your email is still within your control zone.

Imagine if it wasn't necessary to click a link to view a photo album or YouTube video? Now if you go into your Gmail Labs under Settings and enable YouTube videos (you can watch the entire clip right from your inbox), Flickr and Picasa preview, and Yelp review preview, you can see everything inside your mail window. Yes, Gmail will automatically detect links from various sites and show you previews right from your email message.

Is it just me, or are Gmail Labs on fire this month?! I don't think my Gmail has ever looked so good or functioned so well thanks to all of the new lab offerings. For all of the avid travelers out there, the latest lab will add your geographical location to your signature so your email recipient will know the exotic location you sent it from.

To take it for a test drive, enable the Location in Signature Labs tab under settings and then check off the box "Append your location to the signature" in your signature preferences. And if you have it turned on and there's an email or two that you don't feel comfortable attaching your location, you can always delete it.

What a week for Gmail! I not only put together a top 10 Gmail labs list, but I was overjoyed when Gmail got new buttons to make email organization a breeze. To end the week on a high-note, Gmail has just rolled out another new lab that makes it possible to view multiple Gmail inboxes in one browser window. TechCrunch took it for a test drive and as you can see, it looks pretty hot — and helpful! Once enabled, the new lab called Multiple Inboxes allows you to create up to five different window panes. To access certain labels, just type in the label and the name, for instance label: travel, and all of your travel emails will show up. I'm in love with Gmail all over again.

Having no Internet connection doesn't mean you have to be completely without email (sorry, people who like to get away from it all). If you're a Gmail user, Google has just announced that you can use Gmail while offline, thanks to a new feature in Labs.

Once you enable offline Gmail, Google Gears downloads a cache of your mail; then, when you have a crappy connection or none at all, Gmail can switch to offline mode. Send and receive messages (they get put in your outbox and then are sent when Gmail detects a connection) and use other Gmail features as if you're online.

It's not going to get you online when you're in a remote jungle, but it sounds great for times when you keep losing your connection and are getting frustrated. Check under Labs if you want to try it out (although it's not yet available for everyone, so be patient).

Still confused about how it works? Check out the video above.