Gmail Lets You Send Attachments While Offline

November 25, 2009

Google has introduced a feature that lets you send attachments in Gmail while you're offline. It works the same way as it would online, except that you can't include inline images.

"If you have Offline Gmail enabled, you'll notice that all your mail now goes through the outbox, regardless of whether you're online or offline," says Google software engineer Andy Palay. "This allows Gmail to capture all attachments, even if you suddenly get disconnected from network. If you're online, your mail will quickly be sent along to its destination."

To get Offline Gmail, you have to go to the Labs tab in Gmail. Then select "enable" next to the offline Gmail option, and save you changes:

Once you reload the browser, there will be an "Offline" link in the upper right-hand corner of your Gmail page, by your username. The link will take you to Offline Gmail's set-up. You will have to download Google Gears if you don't already have it installed on you machine.

On a related note, Google is calling upon Gmail users to send them photos of themselves using Gmail offline in "unusual places." They are planning a blog post showcasing the most interesting ones. This could be part of a bigger plan to show people different cases where using Gmail offline can be handy, considering Google's big push for Google Apps of late.

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Google Ignoring Its Own Policy on Desktop AdSense?

November 24, 2009

It has been discovered that Google is now showing AdSense ads inside Google Earth. While it is not that surprising to see Google putting ads on another one of its properties, it has raised a few eyebrows, given that Google Earth is a desktop application.

Google actually states in its policy that it doesn't allow developers to use AdSense ads in their desktop apps, but it appears that Google is bending the rules for its own product. The company is certainly free to do so, given that it owns the product, but some are beginning to wonder if this could lead to Google changing that policy.

Currently that section of Google's policy reads:

"Currently, we don't permit Google ads or AdSense for search boxes to be distributed through software applications including, but not limited to toolbars, browser extensions, and desktop applications. In order to comply with AdSense program policies, please note that Google AdSense code may only be implemented on web-based pages."

Blogger Amit Agarwal at Digital Inspiration appears to be the first to point out the ads in Google Earth, and he provides a couple of screenshots here. In one, you can see AdSense ads when you search for a location or business, and the ads can be found in the search results. In the other screenshot, you can see the ad in the window that pops up when you click a placemark (the red pins on the maps).

The interesting part of this find is not so much that Google is placing ads in Google Earth, but what it could mean if the company were to in fact change its policy.

"If that policy changes, we could see more and more of Office 2010 Starter or FeedDemon like applications that are completely free to the end-user but supported by web advertising," says Agarwal.

Joseph Tartakoff at PaidContent adds that "arch rival" Microsoft has already promised to introduce the ad-supported version of Office to come pre-loaded on PCs.

It is possible that there is being too much read into Google's decision to include AdSense ads in Google Earth. It does make for an interesting conversation though. What do you think?

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