This holiday season, as a token of our appreciation to our most enthusiastic fans, we’ll snail-mail a free holiday postcard on your behalf. Yes, through the mail and everything.

- Gmail Blog, Spread some holiday cheer, one card at a time

So get on over to that website and send a free “Gmail Card” to the Google fan in your life, or maybe that person in your life who doesn’t use email (yet).

Once you turn on this feature, Gmail uses Gears to download a local cache of your mail. As long as you’re connected to the network, that cache is synchronized with Gmail’s servers. When you lose your connection, Gmail automatically switches to offline mode, and uses the data stored on your computer’s hard drive instead of the information sent across the network. You can read messages, star and label them, and do all of the things you’re used to doing while reading your webmail online. Any messages you send while offline will be placed in your outbox and automatically sent the next time Gmail detects a connection.

- Andy Palay, Gmail engineer, Gmail Blog

Gmail says Offline Gmail will be available to users of Gmail in US or UK English over the next couple of days (as of Jan 27th).

Gmail lover that I am I’m going to rate this one next to useless, unless you are trying to break yourself of the habit of sending emails consisting just of subject lines. My favorite recent Gmail feature is themes (check out my favorite Gmail themes), that became available in my Gmail account the day after I blogged about it.

Forgotten Attachment reminder: ok
Empty Email Reminder: yech
Gmail Themes: hooray!

Okay, so here are this blogger’s early on favorites:

Source: Ripped from Google

MORE READING, read the entire Gmail post, themes aren’t yet available everywhere:
Spice up your inbox with colors and themes

As for the rest of you, now that you’ve been hooked I’ll talk about Gmail. Google’s Tip: Your email, wherever you are on the web, with Toolbar post yesterday reminds us about the Gmail button and other features accessible through it on the Google Toolbar (like Google PR). As long as you are logged in you get access at-a-click to the most recent 20 emails using the Gmail button’s dropdown. There’s more including screenshots, check it out:

Tip: Your email, wherever you are on the web, with Toolbar

PHISHING/SCAM EMAIL #1
Subject: Attention: domain is expired.
From: networksolutions.com [mailto:tech@networksolutions.com]

Dear Network Solutions Customer,

We recently notified you that the registration period for your Network Solutions domain name had expired. As a benefit of having previously registered a domain name(s) with Network Solutions, you are eligible to receive a percentage of the net proceeds that were generated from the renewal and transfer of the domain name you chose not to renew. Since you have chosen not to renew the domain name listed below during the applicable grace period, we were successful in securing a backorder for this domain name on your behalf and it has been transferred to another party in accordance with the Service Agreement.

Renew your domain now – http://www.networksolutions.com

You must click on the following link, enter your domain name, and confirm your contact information in order to claim these funds. If your contact information is not correct, you must enter Account Manager and make the appropriate changes prior to clicking “submit” from the confirmation screen. If you do not do this, you will be confirming inaccurate information and will not receive any payment. Checks will only be made payable and mailed to the Account Holder of record.

Sincerely,

Network SolutionsŽ Customer Support

In the email the link that said http://www.networksolutions.com actually linked to http://www.networksolutions.com.com42.asia – and I won’t click that sucker to see where it goes. Fortunately Gmail caught all of the ones emailed to me in my spam filter, but others at my office got these emails also and forwarded them to me. Here’s the other one:

PHISHING/SCAM EMAIL #1
Subject: Inaccurate whois information. [IncidentID:86011]
From: networksolutions.com Tech Support
[mailto:tech@networksolutions.com]

Dear Network Solutions. Customer,

On Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:46:55 +0300 we received a third party complaint of invalid domain contact information in the Whois database for this domain Whenever we receive a complaint, we are required by ICANN regulations to initiate an investigation as to whether the contact data displaying in the Whois database is valid data or not. If we find that there is invalid or missing data, we contact both the registrant and the account holder and inform them to update the information.

Please note: ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) regulations state that the WHOIS Administrative Contact may initiate and approve domain name registration transfers from your Network Solutions account to other Registrars. If you are not listed as the WHOIS Administrative Contact a transfer can occur without your knowledge if Domain Protect is not enabled for the domain name registrations listed above.

To change the WHOIS Administrative Contact Information for any of your domains, please login to Account Manager:

1. Log in to Account Manager at: http://www.networksolutions.com.
2. Click on the “Profile & Accounts” tab in the left navigation menu to be taken to a page listing your account details.
3. Click on “Accounts” and select the account you wish to edit.
4. Click “View/Edit WHOIS Contacts” to make your updates.

If you believe someone requested this change without your consent, please contact Customer Service.

If you would like to order additional services or to update your account, please visit us online.

Thank you for choosing Network Solutions. We are committed to providing you with the solutions, services, and support to help you succeed online.

Sincerely,
Network Solutions. Customer Support

In this one the clickable link to http://www.networksolutions.com actually went to http://www.networksolutions.com.sys58.biz and I also did not check that one out. Although I did not click on either of the links in the email I can tell youi that most likely there was a copy of the Network Solutions site and when you attempted to log in as instructed their copycat website would collect your login, and then send you to a VALID Network Solutions error logging in page, or at the very least you’d be sent to Network Solutions’ home page. Either way you’d assume ther was some glitch or you’d mis-typed your login and simply try logging in again, never realizing you’d been had until someone later broke into your account using your stolen login info and stole your domains.

UNRELATED – NEW GMAIL FEATURE TEMPORARY “RECALL”

Here’s my compulsory Gmail blog “news bit of the minute”. Even though I don’t use SMS or text messaging on my cell phone I know some of you do. Check out Almost new in Labs: SMS Text Messaging for chat.

As a side note I just tested them out in an email and they are 100% functional

… Gmail for mobile 2.0 is designed to be more reliable in low signal areas and provides basic offline support for phones like the Nokia N95, Sony Ericsson W910i, and BlackBerry Curve…

So what’s the deal? I don’t know, I don’t have a Blackberry, iPhone or G1, but maybe the G1 supports offline Gmail and offers multi-language support out-of-the-box?

• Yes.
• No.
• Maybe.
• No thanks, I’m busy, but thanks for thinking of me.
• I’d love to, what time?
• I can’t go, I’m grounded … again.
• Yes, but can you wash my camel while I go?

Okay, that last one is probably a stretch, but some of the others are probably part of “email vocabulary” for most of us. According to New in Labs: Canned Responses Google started asking the question of how to manage frequently repeated replies (FRR’s) and Gmail’s Canned responses was born. So log on in to Gmail and give it a spin.

WHAT CAUSES ERROR 103

I can’t say for sure but I get the feeling that Gmail Error 103 is a temporary error (except for the August 11th “crash day” noted in Kevin Burke’s My Gmail is Still Down) that may occur if:

• you try to type an email too quickly then send it (I often lock up computers clicking stuff more quickly than the computer reacts), or…
• if their server is busy or something, or if something happens between you and the Gmail server

TRY TO FIX GMAIL ERROR 103

1. CHECK SENT MAIL AND SEE IF YOUR MESSAGE(S) WENT OUT
   According to a user in a Google groups post dated August 8th of this year, check your Sent Mail. When I did the emails I was trying to send were actually there
2. TRY LOGGING IN USING SECURE GMAIL LOGIN
   Try logging in at https://mail.google.com and according to Gmail Help Discussion Center if doing this helps you should try enabling the ‘Always use HTTPS’ setting in your Gmail
3. Try using “old style” Basic HTML (See screenshot below)
4. TRY GMAIL HELP CENTER
   The Gmail Help Center can help you navigate through actions to take or to identify issues for you when your Gmail acts up. Under Recommended Articles on the right is an link to ‘Oops…’ errors which is where I went the first day I had this error 103 and it ran me through a helpful troubleshooter
5. TRY USER GROUPS
   Gmail Help Discussion Group has news, info and a known issues link which is great for those of us having problems with Gmail

I hope this post is more useful than the last one.