Technology

Shortwave just rescued my inbox from the drudgery of Gmail

Published

2 years ago

March 24, 2022

Shortwave just rescued my inbox from the drudgery of Gmail

When Google killed its Gmail different Inbox in 2018, it promised that a number of of its concepts would ultimately come to Gmail. Whereas some did arrive, most of what made Inbox a hit, akin to “bundles,” by no means did. As a substitute, within the following years, Google has shoehorned its total productiveness suite into Gmail to push individuals into utilizing the remainder of its Workspace companies. And it’s about to worsen as Google gears as much as roll out a serious Gmail replace that’s extra cluttered than ever.

Gmail’s evolving interface works for these invested in Google’s ecosystem, nevertheless it does little to avoid wasting individuals from the drudgery of sifting via their messy inboxes daily. It’s straightforward to see why: it nonetheless dumps on you a listing of emails with no actual construction past an unpredictable set of filters for maintaining out promotional messages, spam, and social media updates.

The e-mail apps that provide to repair Gmail’s shortcomings have been equally disappointing for me: Newton Mail couldn’t preserve an proprietor, nor my belief. Spark had too many options I didn’t want. Superhuman, a $30 / month electronic mail app that wishes to make you “really feel like you have got superpowers,” overpromises and underdelivers. However after years of app hopping, my seek for a Google Inbox successor could also be lastly coming to an finish, because of a refreshingly minimalistic new Gmail consumer referred to as Shortwave.

Shortwave is designed by a bunch of ex-Googlers, together with Andrew Lee, who beforehand based and offered Firebase, an app growth platform, to Google. Shortwave — priced at $9 / month except you’re OK with solely three months of electronic mail historical past — makes no bones about its ambitions to step into Inbox’s sneakers. It even seems and works prefer it with a blue-accented theme, nevertheless it’s greater than only a clone. It builds upon the efficient design decisions that powered Inbox with a few of its personal, and within the two weeks I’ve spent with it, it has made me much more productive at managing my electronic mail.

After I hearth up Shortwave — out there on the net, iOS, and Android — it doesn’t drown me in an avalanche of emails. As a substitute, the non-essential objects, akin to updates from social media and automatic confirmations like those from Amazon, are bundled neatly collectively, and the threads I labeled beforehand for, say, a undertaking are sorted in one other by default. This all occurs inside the similar inbox, not below varied tabs like Gmail, which permits me to control it and stop junk from piling up.

Shortwave’s pattern inbox.

Picture: Shortwave

As a result of most of my inbox is already organized once I leap into it, there are far fewer emails that demand my speedy consideration. It appears like my work has been lower in half: I do know the messages below bundles akin to “Newsletters” can wait, and I can shortly get to the emails that matter with out stressing over the unread depend (which doesn’t exist on Shortwave anyway).

Shortwave’s most putting high quality for me, nevertheless, is the way it compelled me to rethink how I sort out my electronic mail inbox. Earlier than, I used to dive into it head-on with no plan — dealing with no matter was on the high first and sure lacking what was on the backside.

Now once I go surfing, there’s a sure routine to it. I first archive all of the junk in a single go together with the “sweep” button, immediately unclogging my inbox. Subsequent, I examine if there are any unread messages within the “Favorites” part, which homes emails from my most continuously contacted individuals, to know whether or not I’ve any updates from my editors and reply to these in case I do, as that’s normally my high precedence, and I can now discover them with out manually going via numerous stacks of different messages.

Then I can comfortably triage the remainder: I pin probably the most pressing objects to the highest of the inbox, snooze what can wait, drag and drop associated emails onto one another to throw them in a brand new bundle I can revisit later. Except for truly answering my emails, none of it takes me quite a lot of minutes, and you are able to do nearly every little thing with keyboard shortcuts.

*Shortwave teams routine threads below a single merchandise in your inbox.*

Like lots of people, I endure from an anxious tendency to roll over to my telephone and examine my emails very first thing within the morning, however Shortwave’s Do Not Disturb mode now holds all emails till later and retains my email-anxious mind in examine. The app additionally lets me cherry-pick the type of emails I wish to be notified of and frees up my notification panel of junk like offers and advertising and marketing updates altogether.

And in contrast to many new electronic mail shoppers, it appears like Shortwave strikes the proper steadiness in terms of data density. Its interface is simply spacious sufficient that my inbox exhibits loads of emails at a time, doesn’t seem as one large messy glob of textual content, and is straightforward to navigate — in contrast to Inbox’s, whose design was criticized for its low density of data. I additionally discover it significantly better at laying out busy threads, clearly displaying when there’s a brand new recipient in an electronic mail chain or when somebody pings me immediately as an alternative of everybody by breaking the reply-all right into a sub-thread.

To convey these kinds of conveniences to Gmail, I needed to belief that Shortwave gained’t promote or learn my emails, which it technically can do. Although handing reins to my knowledge to new corporations has develop into more durable for me to do than ever, Shortwave makes a convincing case. Along with clear insurance policies that state Shortwave doesn’t monetize private knowledge, it says it has handed a Google-mandated annual audit — which might value third events over $75,000 and entails stress-testing their safety protections. It additionally helps its case that its enterprise mannequin will depend on a premium subscription, not on advertisements or knowledge brokerage.

(Google and the corporate that did Shortwave’s audit, NCC Group, refused to remark.)

Though Shortwave is now my default inbox, I nonetheless should return to Gmail each every so often as a result of it might’t schedule emails but and lacks a couple of normal folders, akin to spam. The absence of a delete choice has been a letdown as properly. Lee claims all of those are “excessive on the precedence record,” however he can’t touch upon when these updates will arrive.

One other factor that would throw a wrench in Shortwave’s expertise for me is the startup’s grander ambitions to exchange apps like Slack with electronic mail. On Shortwave, organizations can create “Workspaces” the place workers can chat in real-time as they might on a messaging service. Besides in Shortwave’s case, all of the messages are emails. In the meanwhile, these enterprise instruments stay of their separate division and don’t get in the way in which, however whether or not that adjustments (and clutters Shortwave’s clear inbox in the identical approach Google did with Gmail) stays to be seen.

*Shortwave additionally enables you to flip electronic mail into chat.*

I’m skeptical of Shortwave’s plan to remodel electronic mail into the silver bullet for all work communication, but when my squeaky clear inbox is any indication, it might actually restore a state of calm into your chaotic relationship with emails and patch that Inbox-sized gap on the planet.

Shortwave doesn’t try to reinvent or complicate electronic mail, and its sensible inbox is easy and sensible. A lot in order that whereas utilizing it, all I might marvel was why Google by no means introduced over all of Inbox’s options to Gmail. Lots of its options could seem minor additions to Gmail — however put collectively, they add as much as an electronic mail expertise that’s much less irritating and extra practical.

Technology

Logitech has ‘no plans’ for a subscription mouse

Published

2 hours ago

August 6, 2024

Press Room

Logitech has ‘no plans’ for a subscription mouse

Faber: The other day, in Ireland, in our innovation center there, one of our team members showed me a forever mouse with the comparison to a watch. This is a nice watch, not a super expensive watch, but I’m not planning to throw that watch away ever. So why would I be throwing my mouse or my keyboard away if it’s a fantastic-quality, well-designed, software-enabled mouse. The forever mouse is one of the things that we’d like to get to.

Patel: What made the mouse a forever mouse?

It was a little heavier, it had great software and services that you’d constantly update, and it was beautiful. So I don’t think we’re necessarily super far away from that.

But, again, I just come back to the cost. You sell me the mouse once. Maybe I’ll pay 200 bucks for it.

The business model obviously is the challenge there. So then software is even more important when you think about it. Can you come up with a service model? In our video conferencing business, that is now a very important part of the model, the services, and it’s critical for corporate customers.

Let’s come to that in a second because that makes sense to me. You sell managed services to enterprises. You price support contracts for cameras and whatever. That’s an ongoing need businesses have. I’m still stuck on, “You’re going to sell me a mouse once and it’s going to have ongoing software updates forever.”

Imagine it’s like your Rolex. You’re going to really love that.

But Rolex has to employ software engineers to ship me over-the-air updates forever.

But the artifact is like your Rolex, and then given that we know the technology that we attach to changes, it’s not going to be like your Rolex in that it doesn’t have to ever change. Our stuff will have to change, but does the hardware have to change? I’m not so sure. We’ll have to obviously fix it and figure out what that business model is. We’re not at the forever mouse today, but I’m intrigued by the thought.

It certainly will help with sustainability. There are two ways people have traditionally proposed monetizing hardware over time. It’s subscription fees and it’s advertising. Is there a third way that I don’t know about that you’re thinking of?

No. The third way is the traditional model of “we innovate and we have you upgrade.” That’s the current model. And we’re pretty damn good at that model because we have pretty damn good innovators around the company who do come up with fabulous products.

That is definitely the model today. It’s not a bad model at all, especially since we’re continuing to design for more sustainable products. We’re continuing to recycle and refurbish products. All of that is good. But that said, I am intrigued by a forever mouse or forever video conferencing solution that you just update with software and create a business model around that.

I’m going to ask this very directly. Can you envision a subscription mouse?

Possibly.

And that would be the forever mouse?

Yeah.

So you pay a subscription for software updates to your mouse.

Yeah, and you never have to worry about it again, which is not unlike our video conferencing services today.

But it’s a mouse.

But it’s a mouse, yeah.

I think consumers might perceive those to be very different.

[Laughs] Yes, but it’s gorgeous. Think about it like a diamond-encrusted mouse.

Technology

Disney Plus, ESPN, and Hulu are all getting more expensive this October

Published

10 hours ago

August 6, 2024

Press Room

Disney Plus, ESPN, and Hulu are all getting more expensive this October

Disney is rolling out a new wave of price hikes that its subscribers will probably be none too pleased to be hit with. Beginning October 17th, individual monthly and annual plans for Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN are all going up.

Monthly subscriptions to Disney Plus with ads will jump from $8 a month to $10. The monthly Disney Plus ad-free tier will increase from $14 to $16, and annual ad-free plans will rise from their previous $140 price point to $160. Hulu’s ad-supported tier will rise from $8 / month and $80 / year to $10 / month and $100 / year, and monthly ad-free plans will jump from $18 to $19. ESPN Plus’ $11 / month and $110 / year plans will now cost $12 / month and $120 / year, respectively. And people subscribed to Disney’s basic and premium streaming bundles will also see their bills getting a bit more expensive this fall.

Along with the new prices, Disney Plus is also giving subscribers access to ABC News Live and a series of curated playlists serving up content from across the company’s portfolio beginning September 4th. The first playlist to hit the service will be focused on things for preschool-aged audiences, and Disney plans on launching four additional categories — Seasonal, Epic Stories (Marvel and Star Wars fare), Throwbacks (older shows and films), and Real Life (documentaries) — in the near future.

The playlist news tracks with past reports of Disney wanting to get into the FAST channel game to offer subscribers a low-effort way of finding things to watch. And while the price hikes similarly gel with Disney’s continued push for streaming profitability, the move isn’t likely to be a welcome change for viewers when it rolls out.

Technology

EV paradise or charging hell? Alarming electric car secret exposed

Published

10 hours ago

August 6, 2024

Press Room

EV paradise or charging hell? Alarming electric car secret exposed

The surge in the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has brought an unexpected challenge to the forefront. Despite being the third-largest EV market in the nation, Los Angeles and its surrounding areas face a critical shortage of charging infrastructure. A recent study by real estate giant CBRE has dubbed this region a “charging desert,” highlighting the growing disparity between EV ownership and accessible charging options.

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Electric vehicle at a charging station (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

What is a ‘charging desert’ and how was it discovered?

With an advanced digital mapping tool, CBRE assessed EV charging needs nationwide to help its clients. The tool’s purpose was to inform charging networks and property owners to locate and select the optimal locations to install new EV chargers.

This digital mapping tool combines data from approximately 80 sources, from mobile phones and housing type to EV ownership, to name a few. Comparing these sources gave CBRE valuable insights, such as whether most EV owners charge their vehicles at home or work.

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Electric vehicle at a charging station (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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LA’s charging deserts: Key areas lacking sufficient EV infrastructure

The tool revealed that parts of L.A. have significant charging deserts, which are areas where there are not enough public, accessible fast-charging stations to meet the needs of the area. These areas include:

Inglewood
Long Beach
Sherman Oaks
Studio City
Lomita
Southwest Torrance
Westwood (UCLA)
Fullerton (Cal State Fullerton)
Redondo Beach

Electric vehicle at a charging station (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Why are there ‘charging deserts’?

A variety of factors lead to a “charging desert,” including but not limited to a strong rental market in which most people do not have the ability to charge in their homes.

For example, Inglewood is made up of almost 70% of renters. And despite more than 1,000 registered EVs in the area and even more driving through daily, there are no public chargers in that area. Additionally, there are issues of inadequate power infrastructure, such as electrical substations for distributing additional power. Also, in densely populated urban areas like L.A., limited parking space makes it challenging to install charging stations.

However, Los Angeles is installing EV chargers on light poles to help meet the growing demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

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Electric vehicle at a charging station (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Challenges of EV charging infrastructure in the US

The electric vehicle (EV) market in the U.S. is witnessing significant growth, with over 1 million EVs sold last year, marking a record high. However, the share of electric vehicles in light-vehicle sales has seen a slight decline, dropping from 8.1% in Q4 2023 to 7% in Q1 2024, as reported by Cox Automotive. Despite this dip, research indicates a “second, significant wave” of potential EV buyers is anticipated in the latter half of the decade.

CBRE’s recent analysis underscores the considerable gap that remains in the charging infrastructure necessary to facilitate this shift, emphasizing the urgency for enhanced investment and development in EV charging solutions.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Even though Los Angeles has nearly 588,000 EVs registered to make up 4.2% of the cars being driven, there are huge gaps in readily available EV charging options. Though the city of L.A. is working to help meet this demand by installing chargers on light poles, L.A. and the rest of the U.S. have a long way to go before having the infrastructure to support America’s shift from gasoline-powered vehicles.

Do you have an EV? If so, has charging been a challenge? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.