GeekSugar

Connect With Gmail Offline

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:13:31 PDT

Productivity hounds, your moment is here. Google released a new Chrome app giving offline access to Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs. Continue to view emails, draft responses, and view documents when your flight doesn't have WiFi or the office's Internet connection goes down.

The Offline Google Mail app is available in the Chrome Web Store for free download. The app has the same basic layout and feel as the web app designed for tablets. Once installed, use Gmail without a connection by clicking the offline icon on the "new tab" in the Chrome browser, and go to work!

The offline modes of Google Calendar and Docs lets you views events and documents, Internet connection or not. Offline editing in Docs isn't quite ready, but Google hopes to make it available soon. The Offline Google Mail app is available immediately, while Docs and Calendar offline apps will roll out over the next week.

Do You Use a Paper Planner or Digital Calendar to Stay Organized?

Kelly Schwarze — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 03:16:13 PDT

The New York Times recently published a story profiling a dying breed - the paper planner user. What was once a traditional holiday gift for the New Year is now often replaced with the convenience of digital calendars and apps on smartphones and tablets.

Many paper advocates quoted in the article fear the breakdown of technology in their carefully planned lives. While the digital adopters can't fathom the chance of losing a notebook calendar and appreciate the cloud-based digital backup. The debate comes down to a matter of preference, with each option offering its own pros and cons.

Though we're rarely more than an arm's length away from our smartphones, there is a touch of romanticism in the act of writing things down and doodling between the lines. Plus, many people find that in everyday life or while studying for exams, writing helps remember important facts. Where do you stand in the digital vs. paper organization divide?

5 Calendar Apps and Tools to Keep You on Time in 2011

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:11:21 PST

You may have already made your list of New Year's resolutions, but one thing we can try to work on all year long is being timely and organized. These calendar apps and notification tools will fit in nicely with your life as it is now, since they can live on the Internet or your phone. Small steps.

How to Remove Facebook Birthdays From the Droid Incredible's Calendar

GeekSugar — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:15:28 PDT

Many of us rely on our phone's calendar to remember important personal and work appointments, dinners with friends, or any other thing that may slip our minds. So it was more than annoying for my co-worker when she realized that her Facebook app on her Droid Incredible was not only synching her friends' profile pictures (this is good) and phone numbers (not always so good), but also every birthday on her friend list. While it's nice to keep your close friends' and family's birthdays mindful, whenever she looked at her calendar it looked like she was perpetually busy, since the feature doesn't distinguish between synched birthdays and appointments. Add to this the fact that since she shares this same Google calendar with her boyfriend, his phone is also filled with superfluous appointments. Luckily, unsynching Facebook birthdays from your HTC phone is often just a quick setting change. To learn how to do this, just

Go to the Calendar app and once there press Menu, then press More and go to Calendars. This will take you to a list of synched calendars (eg, your Google calendar on your phone and computer), where you simply uncheck the Facebook option, and presto! Turns out you are free to go to that weekend camping trip.

Tech Dating 101: When Couples Text Couples

GeekSugar — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 07:30:49 PDT

Today's installment of Tech Dating 101 deals with making plans as a couple. My boyfriend loves to cook and we are always having people over or going to friends' places for dinner. When we coordinate with another couple it usually involves texting back and forth to set up a time that works for everyone. Lately I've been noticing that this may not be the best way to do things. Find out why after the jump.

Google Calendar Updates Make For Easier Event Scheduling

GeekSugar — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:15:35 PDT

Google just introduced a bunch of helpful updates to Google Calendar aimed at making the service easier to use. The latest version is cleaner and simpler and includes a few helpful new features. Google Calendar pages got a slight design change, too, making them look more like pages in other Google apps, and the most-used features were moved to the top of the page for easy access.

Find out more about the changes after the break.

New Tool For Google Calendar Finds the Best Time to Meet

GeekSugar — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:30:39 PDT

I use Google Calendar all the time, both to manage my own schedule and to plan events with family and friends. Now, Google has taken what it does best - search - and applied it to Google Calendar.

Called "Smart Rescheduler," the new technology is available in Google Calendar Labs - a similar service to Gmail Labs. It automatically searches for the best time to schedule or reschedule a meeting by checking all participants' availability. To use the feature, enable it in Labs, and then select your meeting parameters from the dropdown menu. Set lengths for your meeting, and a time and date range. Then search for available times. The tool shows you times when all attendees are free, and a few alternate times when there are a limited number of conflicts. Select a time, and the meeting is scheduled easily around all participants' availabilities. Calendar success!

Daily Tech: Google Calendar Gets Hiding and Snooze Features

GeekSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:15:52 PDT

Google Calendar has just implemented a handy snooze button for notifications you want to disappear momentarily - Lifehacker
Check out an in-depth review of the Apple iMac - Gizmodo
Carve your very own 3D pumpkin using a game called Pumpkin Chop on Xbox Live Indie Games - Kotaku
A database marketing firm says that Facebook accounts for 25 percent of US online pageviews - The Silicon Alley Insider
A university in Australia has introduced a mandatory Twitter course for its journalism students - Switched
Wal-Mart is expected to roll out tech-support services by the beginning of the holidays - CrunchGear

Daily Tech: The New iTunes 9 Is Available For Download Today

GeekSugar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:25:29 PDT

iTunes 9 includes a new interface, application management tools, and media sharing - Engadget
A Facebook app for Android handsets surfaces - Gizmodo
With Google Voice you can now forward emails and reply to SMS - Lifehacker
The cutest video about Google Street View you'll ever watch - Boing Boing
Here's how you can use Facebook Chat without having to open FB - Digital Inspiration
Keep track of your fave sports teams schedules and add birthday reminders for your contacts in Google Calendar - TechCrunch

How to Receive a Daily Agenda From Google Calendar

GeekSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:20:35 PDT

Google Calender has tons of features that make it easy to stay organized, and one of my fave tools is the daily agenda email.

To get your daily agenda, just go into your GCal and look in the left margin for My Calendars. Click the down-arrow button and then click Notifications. Check off the "email" button next to Daily Agenda. Click save and you're all set.

The daily agenda emails will hit your inbox each day at 5 a.m., so even if you forget to open up your calendar that day, you'll still know what's going on. And you can get separate agendas if you have different Google calenders for different groups.