That’s where the Firefox (and Google Chrome and Safari) add-on Rapportive comes into play. Rapportive integrates into the Gmail interface naturally. The extension displays a new sidebar on the right side of any email that you open on the Google Mail website.

The sidebar displays the contact’s name and email address, location, a profile picture if available, the contact’s occupation, recent social media usage (Twitter) and options to connect on social networking sites like Facebook or LinkedIn. Another interesting feature added by Rapportive is a note taking module that is displayed in the sidebar. You can jot down notes which are displayed whenever an email of that contact is opened in the Gmail interface.

You see who you are communicating with, and have options to add the person to your social circles. This works best if Rapportive was able to find the user on one of the social networking sites it uses to display the contact information. This does mean that you won’t get any useful information, that is information that go beyond the user’s email address, if Rapportive cannot find or link the user on one of those sites.

Users can hover over any email address in Gmail, for instance in emails with multiple recipients, to see their information on the screen as well.

Rapportive does not need access to your Gmail’s login credentials. The company gets limited access to your Gmail inbox on the other hand, and users with sensitive information may want to pass on this one because of it.

What I really like about Rapportive is the ability to “see” who you are communicating with. You get instant access to information about your Gmail contacts that you would otherwise only have access to if you’d run searches on sites like Google, Facebook or LinkedIn.

Firefox, Chrome and Safari users can download Rapportive from the official website.

Google has released a Gmail Ninja guide to further that popularity. The guide is divided into four different grades: white, green and black belt as well as Gmail master that begin with the basics and slowly build up to advanced tips that even expert Gmail users might not have heard about.

White Belt:

Use stars to indicate a note is special.
Reply by chat.
Organize your email with labels.
Clean up your inbox using “Move to” — it works just like folders.
Search your mail instead of sorting.
Archive messages to tidy up your inbox without deleting anything.
Import your email and contacts from your old address.
Spice up your inbox with a theme.
Join forces to rid the world of spam.

Green Belt:

Talk face-to-face with video chat.
Use Tasks as a handy to-do list.
Use filters to control the flow of incoming mail.
Highlight important emails using filters and colored labels.
Send email from your phone.
Preview attachments without downloading them.
Avoid email gaffes with Undo Send.
Tell your friends what you’re up to with a status message.
Never forget an attachment again.
Tell everyone when you’ll be back with vacation responder.
Nothing says “I’m excited” like a bouncing happy face emoticon.
Save notes in your drafts

Black Belt:

Get through your mail faster with keyboard shortcuts.
Use search operators to find the exact message you’re looking for.
Filter your email with personalized email addresses.
See which messages were sent right to you.
Make Gmail go where the internet doesn’t.
Quickly add multiple attachments to an email.
Add “(EOM)” to the subject of one-liner messages.
Set up canned responses instead of typing the same reply over and over again.
Click less and watch more using YouTube, Flickr, Picasa, and Yelp previews.
Use quick links to get anywhere in Gmail with one click.
Send and archive in one step.
Send and receive mail from multiple addresses
Show people who you are with a picture.

Gmail Master:

Bring Google Calendar and Docs to Gmail.
Send SMS text messages right from Gmail.
Forget to sign out of a public computer? Sign out remotely.
Personalize your RSS feeds in web clips.
Search for superstars by name.
Use Gmail on your own domain.
Shift-click to quickly select multiple messages.
Set Gmail as your default email client.
Emphasize the important words in chat.
Quote selected text to respond to a long thread.

Most of the tips contain a short description and then either a link to a detailed explanation or a video that explains the tip in detail. The tips are definitely worth checking out even if some of you might know most of them. [Gmail Tips]

Another new service was introduced only a few days later. This new service allows Gmail users to automatically unsubscribe from email newsletters. All that needs to be done is to either report the email as spam which will bring up the unsubscription option or to click on the Show Details link in the top right corner and to click on the appearing Unsubscribe from this sender link (if it does not appear it means the newsletter cannot be unsubscribed from automatically).

This sounds – in theory – like a good new feature but there are a few limitations currently in place.

The unsubscribing option is only available for some legit newsletter providers. This is understandable as it would not make sense to unsubscribe a user from a spam newsletter as it is likely that the user did not signup for that newsletter in first place and that the cancellation request would result in more spam than in less because of the verification of the email address.

Not all legit newsletter providers are supported as well at this point. The Gmail blog gives some information on how to prepare a newsletter for the automatic unsubscription. It is definitely a welcome feature that needs broader support to become effective for the majority of users.

Enabling POP3 in Gmail is therefor a two-step process. POP3 needs to be enabled on the Gmail website first before the other email client is configured to connect to Gmail using the POP3 protocol.

Enabling Gmail POP3

Open the Gmail homepage, log into your Gmail account and click on the [Settings] link in the top right corner of the screen to open the Gmail configuration. Now select the [Forwarding and POP/IMAP] link which should open a page just like the one you see below on the screenshot.

You basically got two options here to enable POP3. The first [Enable POP for all mail (even mail that's already been downloaded)] enables POP3 in Gmail for all email messages even those that have already been retrieved while the second [Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on] enables POP3 from that moment on which means that old emails cannot be retrieved. A click on the Save Changes button will save the changes and allow POP3 connections.

Gmail POP3 Data

It is time to create the accounts in the email client now that POP3 has been enabled in Gmail. The procedure is different depending on the email client at hand. Below are the values that need to be entered into the email client.

Email Address: Enter your full Gmail email address
Password: Enter your email password
Incoming Server: pop.gmail.com
Incoming Server Port: 995
Outgoing Server: smtp.gmail.com
Outgoing server (SMTP) port: 587
Encryption: TLS

You can check out the help pages over at Gmail that contain configuration walkthroughs for various popular email clients.

Google Mail is without doubt one of the most popular online email services. What makes it so interesting is not only the functionality that it provides out of the box but also its extensibility. The following article contains all the tools and tips needed to make you a Gmail pro. It contains the best Firefox extensions, Greasemonkey scripts, desktop tools as well as how tos and other tips that will increase the functionality of Gmail immensely.

Firefox add-ons:

Better Gmail – Compilation of some of the best Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail compiled as a Firefox add-on.

Cookie Swap – Manage multiple Gmail accounts at once with this Firefox add-on.

DragDropUpload – Drop files into attachment boxes easily.

Email This – Emails the current title, highlighted text and link of the active page using email applications like Gmail.

Email Yourself – Use this Firefox add-on to email information about the current webpage to yourself.

GContactSync – Synchronizes the contacts between Gmail and Thundebird.

Gmail Ad Blocker – Removes the ads that are shown in the Gmail interface to make more room for your messages.

Gmail Agenda – Integrates Google Calendar into Gmail.

Gmail Checker – Checks for new emails automatically in Firefox.

Gmail Contact Book – Easily pick contacts when writing mails in Gmail.

Gmail Manager – Manage multiple Gmail accounts and display new mail notifications.

Gmail Notifier – Will monitor a single or multiple Gmail accounts from within Firefox. Displays information such as unread email messages in the status bar.

Gmail Redesigned – A complete new CSS stylesheet for Gmail that changes the look and feel of the website.

Gmail S/Mime – Makes it possible to send and receive signed and encrypted emails in Gmail.

Gmail Signatures – Automatically inserts HTML signatures in Gmail messages based on the address the emails get send from.

Gmail Skins – Change the color of the skin of the Gmail website.

GTD Inbox – Increase the productivity and manageability of Gmail with this Getting Things Done add-on.

Integrated Gmail – Makes it possible to display other Google services like Google Calendar or Reader directly in Gmail.

Bookmarklets:

gCompose – Will display the new mail dialog when pressing the bookmarklet’s button.

Gmail Search Bookmarks – Save searches with this bookmarklet.

Gmail This – Button to email the current page using Gmail.

Multiple Gmail Signatures – Create and use multiple signatures in Gmail.

Greasemonkey:

Always Show CC Field – Will always display the CC and BCC fields in Gmail.

Attachment Reminder – reminds you of an attachment based on words used in the email.

Gmail + Reader Integrator – Integrates Gmail and Google Reader.

Gmail Attachment Icons – Adds bigger and better attachment icons to Gmail

Gmail Emoticons – Adds emoticons to Gmail.

Gmail Filter Assistant – Ads an advanced filter management module to Gmail.

Gmail Macros – Adds extra keyboard shortcuts and macros.

Gmail Persistent Search – Save and access previous searches in Gmail.

Gmail Preview Bubbles – Preview a message without opening it.

Gmail Right-Click – Adds a right-click menu to Gmail to navigate the website faster and more comfortably.

Gmail Spam Count Hide – Hides the spam count in Gmail.

Gmail Super Clean – Provides a cleaner interface for Gmail.

Gmail To – Forces all mailto links to use Gmail.

Gmail Unread Message Count In Favicon – Display the unread message count of your Gmail account in the Gmail favicon.

Google Account Multi-Login – log into multiple accounts at the same time.

One Click Conversations For Gmail – Access conversations with one click.

Desktop Applications:

Blogsigs – For Webmasters: Add the title of your latest blog post in your email signature.

Gdisk (MAC) – Turns the Gmail account into a portable hard drive on the computer.

Gmail Assistant – A notifier for multiple Gmail accounts with many options.

Gmail Backup – Explains how to backup all mails of a Gmail account locally.

Gmail FS (Linux) – Add Gmail as a hard drive in the Linux operating system.

Gmail Mobile – Mobile application for Gmail.

Gmail Todo – Quickly Add ToDo’s to the Gmail account.

GMDesk – Run Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Maps as standalone applications.

Google Email Uploader – Upload emails to Gmail.

Google Mailbox Loader – Import mailboxes into Gmail.

GPhotospace – Use Gmail as a online storage space for your photos.

GSN SMS Notifier – Send SMS when new mail arrives.

GTray – Display notifications of new email messages in the system tray.

KCheckGmail (Linux) – System Tray application for Linux KDE.

Mailstore Home – Backup Your email using this email backup software.

You’ve got Gmail (Trillian) – Adds new mail notifications to Trillian.

Tips:

11 Power Tips For Gmail – A collection of 11 tips for Google Mail.

Add Gmail Tasks To Your Firefox Sidebar – Explains how to add Gmail tasks to the Firefox Sidebar.

Edit Gmail Contacts From Chat List – It is far easier and faster to edit the Gmail contacts from the chat list.

Force Gmail to Always use Secure Connection – Forces Gmail to always use a https connection.

How To Read Mail Without Touching Your Mouse – It is possible to use Gmail without using the mouse at all.

Mark All Unread Mail As Read – Explains how to mark all unread mail in Gmail as read.

Ten Gmail Labs Features You Should Enable – A list of ten experimental features that can be activated in Gmail.

Top 10 Gmail Tips And Hacks – Ten excellent Gmail tips.

Watch Videos right in Gmail Chat – Watch videos that have been posted in Gmail chat in the same window.

What To Do If You Cannot Access Your Gmail Account – A collection of tips that explain what a user can do if he cannot access Gmail anymore.

How To:

Access Gmail From Thunderbird – How to configure Thunderbird to work with Gmail

Access Your Gmail Inbox With Python – How to access the inbox with a python script.

Analyze Mail Usage With Mail Trends – How to analyze mail usage over time.

Archive Mail On The iPhone – Explains how to backup mails on the iPhone.

Attach and Send Any File Type with Gmail – How to send blocked file types with Gmail.

Backup Gmail In Linux – A four step guide on how to backup Gmail in Linux.

Build Advanced Gmail Filters – How to create and use advanced Gmail filters.

Compose Gmail Messages With Launchy – Using the launcher Launchy to compose Gmail messages.

Create A Feed For Unread Gmail Messages – Use RSS Feeds For Unread Messages.

Export And Backup Emails From Outlook To Gmail – How to export email messages from Microsoft Outlook To Gmail.

Fast PDF Viewing in Gmail – How to view PDFs right in the browser.

How To Setup Gmail In External Mail Clients Properly – Explains how to setup Gmail in external mail applications like Mozilla Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook.

Import Contacts From Hotmail – How to import Hotmail contacts into Gmail.

Import Emails Into Gmail – How to import desktop emails into Gmail.

Manage All Email Accounts With Gmail – Guide for users with multiple email accounts.

Set Gmail As The Default Mail Client – How to set Gmail as the default mail client in Firefox 3.

Send SMS Text Messages – How To send SMS messages with Gmail.

Use Gmail As A Drive In Windows – Configure Gmail to Appear as a normal drive letter in Windows.

Use IMAP in Gmail – Explains how to use Gmail over IMAP.

Work With Attachments – Work with attachments in Gmail.

Misc:

Gmail Mobile - Access Gmail from a mobile phone.

Gmail Productivity Tips – Three productivity tips for Gmail.

Gmail Shortcut List – List of Gmail Shortcuts.

Gmail Shortcuts – How to use shortcuts for Gmail shortcuts.

Gmail Stickers – Get some Gmail stickers for your computer keyboard from Google for the price of a return stamp.

How To Make a Physical Gmail Notifier – Create a new gadget that will tell you if new mail has arrived in the Gmail inbox.

It was still possible to open the https website manually but Google does not force the use of https. There is however a setting in Gmail that is called Browser Connection (discovered via Sizlopedia) where the user can select to Always Use HTTPS when he connects to Gmail.

I highly recommend to enable that setting to everyone who is using Gmail as a mail client but especially to those users who use additional Google services that already force https usage.

You can reach the configuration menu by clicking on the Settings link in the top right corner of the Gmail account. Scroll down to the very bottom of the menu that is showing up after clicking on the link and check the Always Use HTTPS box.

Every tip is worth a quick glance at least, you learn a lot about the gmail service that you did not knew before. Great tip on advanced search features, contacts and attachements.