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GeekSugar has a feature on what it calls the “Top 10 Labs That Make GMail Better.”  I’m not sure I agree with them. Here’s their picks and my opinions:

Calendar

This is really nothing special.  Calendar apps are a dime a dozen these days and are a feature of many popular e-mail programs, including my current favorite, Windows Live Mail (although in all fairness, I am also a GMail user).  GeekSugar mentions the fact that it lets you schedule your autoresponder in advance, but really, how many of us have a real need to use one, and how many more of us simply find them annoying?

Quick Links

 
Now this lab is interesting and useful.  It lets you instantly bookmark any URL you receive in a GMail message, giving you one click access.  A panel on the left hand side of the GMail screen keeps them at close hand—this I really like.

Send & Archive

This is another lab I really like.  It allows you to instantly archive a thread as soon as you’ve replied to it, which helps keep your inbox tidy.  However, this isn’t something you’re likely to find useful if you participate in lengthy e-mail discussions with friends or on mailing lists.  In those cases you’ll probably want to keep the thread in your inbox so you can refer to it as necessary.  Still a useful lab though!

Pics in Chat

This is another lab that I don’t find especially useful.  It lets you add pics of the people you’re chatting with to GMail’s chat function. This isn’t particularly necessary for most folks.

SMS in Chat

This lab lets you send text messages from the chat window.  I suppose it would be useful if you didn’t have your cell phone handy, but who doesn’t have their phone handy these days?

Superstars

This lab helps you track threads and sort e-mails by assigning icons to them.  You can then search for messages based on the icon you’ve assigned them.  This is very useful if you use one Gmail account for several different kinds of messages (for example, business and personal) or if you get large amounts of email each day.

E-mail Addict

This one is as humorous as it is useful.  What it does is periodically block your screen for 15 minutes.  This is supposed to make you take a break to get up and stretch, which is actually a very good idea.  Periodic breaks will help you avoid both eyestrain and muscle aches.

Forgotten Attachment Detector

Love this lab!  I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s sent an e-mail to someone without attaching the promised file.  This can be quite embarrassing in a business setting!  This lab can actually detect if you’ve mentioned an attachment in the e-mail and when you hit send will ask if you meant to send one. Very useful!

Tasks

Another lab that really isn’t anything special.  You can find to do list apps everywhere and they seem to be built into everything from cell phones to email programs.  I don’t think GMail has anything stellar here.

Custom Label

If you like to be super organized and pretty too, this lab is for you.  It allows you to create custom colors for your GMail labels.  It’s a nice feature.

Well there you have it.  Now I want to hear your opinions.  What do you think of these labs, and which ones do you think enhance the GMail experience?  Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Read: [GeekSugar]