Remember The Milk Releases Gmail To-Do List!
Posted by James | Filed under Geek, Web
Despite feeling like my head is going to fall off because of the fact I’m working on Christmas Eve, I am nevertheless a well-organised annoyed person thanks to a spiffy Firefox extension released by Remember the Milk (hereafter referred to as RTM - because I am lazy).
I’m sure, if you’re reading a blog like this, that you know what RTM is (you internet-savvy daredevil that you are). But if you accidentally stumbled upon this blog, and are desperately looking for an exit, I’ll briefly explain that RTM is a web-based reminder / to-do service. I set up an account right at the beginning but I have never really used it because a) I tend to use a multitude of notebooks scattered around my desk to keep on top of tasks, and b) I need to have something staring me in the face all day long for me to actually use it.
So since I typically have Gmail open all day and I work in front of a computer, I’ve been really waiting for Google to introduce their own integrated to-do feature. I’ve been fairly mystified as to why Google has been dragging their feet bringing out a relatively simple feature like this. Surely a to-do list is a logical extension of an email service, a calendar, and an online office suite? Some were speculating that Google wasn’t doing it because they had probably decided just to go the easy (and usual) route and buy someone out. Maybe even RTM. Maybe RTM made this Gmail extension as if to say “want to buy us Google? Come and get us!”.
Anyway, whatever the reasons for RTM making this extension, it is still a really great extension and if you use both Gmail and Firefox then this is a “must-have” extension. I always avoid writing “must-have Firefox extensions” blog posts as the internet is full of these kinds of crappy posts but I have to make an exception in this case. Get this one.
One of the things I really like about the extension is that if you give a specific label to an email (such as “to-do” then the email is automatically added to your RTM to-do list. When you un-label the email, it disappears from your RTM list.
The actual list itself sits to the right of the screen. So your inbox gets pushed to the left a bit like three people squeezing into the back seat of a car (with the poor inbox being the crushed pig in the middle!) . If you then go to your Gmail settings, there is now a sub-tab where you can configure your RTM extension to get it the way you want it.
Tags: email service, firefox extension, google, reminder, rtm
Mozilla Weaves Web Platform for User Data
Posted by James | Filed under Code, Future, Geek, Web
Mozilla today announced Weave, a new web platform that will store users’ browser metadata in a cloud environment for access anywhere. Weave is a "framework for services integration" that will, according to Mozilla, "focus on finding ways to enhance the Firefox user experience, increase user control over personal information, and provide new opportunities for developers to build innovative online experiences."
Weave is currently available for beta users of Firefox 3 here. The basic idea is that browser metadata (things stored in your Firefox profile like bookmarks, history, RSS feeds, usernames and passwords, etc.) is pushed into the cloud and stored on Mozilla’s servers. The data is available to users from wherever they get online and users can share information with friends, family, or third parties while retaining control over how, when, and if the info is shared.
Mozilla is launching the service with a set of organizing principles to reassure users of their privacy and the intentions of the project. Those principles are reprinted below and in my mind will make it easier for consumers to trust Mozilla with their data:
Mozilla will:
- provide a basic set of optional Mozilla-hosted online services
- ensure that it is easy for people to set up their own services with freely available open standards-based tools
- provide users with the ability to fully control and customize their online experience, including whether and how their data should be shared with their family, their friends, and third-parties
- respect individual privacy (e.g. client-side encryption by default with the ability to delegate access rights)
- leverage existing open standards and propose new ones as needed
- build an extensible architecture like Firefox
Mozilla presented some initial use cases for Weave including data backup, using Firefox from anywhere (or on mobile devices) using personalized info (like your history and bookmarks), and collaborative bookmarking. The next version of Weave, planned for 2008, will include a set of APIs for developers to build additional services that can access and (presumably) store metadata.
Weave and Data Portability
The first thing I thought about when reading about Weave was the project being undertaken by the folks at DataPortability.org to create a standardised set of protocols for sharing and remixing our data. It seems to me that Weave has many of the same goals: increased control over personal information, anywhere access to that information, easier third party access to information, etc.
Mozilla has 15-20 projects in development ranging in areas from calendars to email to instant messaging. Weave could potentially hook into all of these in the future and begin to draw together the pieces of the mythical web OS.
But by supporting things like OpenID and OAuth, could Weave potentially act as a hub and delegator for all of our online activities and personal information? That already seems to be a goal of the project, and Weave appears to operative with many of the same ethical principles as the DataPortability.org project (i.e., users have control of their information and how it is shared), and it further seems to me that something like OAuth could make Weave even more secure for users. Support for the data portability stack would, in my opinion, make Weave a more powerful framework and help define standards for data portability that would benefit all users in the long run.
According to a statement made in the comments of a blog post by Mozilla Labs VP and General Manager Chris Beard, Mozilla is open to working with the data portability stack. "We’ve definitely been following openid, oauth, etc. very closely as well," he wrote. "The focus first should be on what can and should the browser do as an intelligent agent on behalf of the user and then we can determine how best to get there from here."
What do you think of Mozilla Weave? What would you like to see developers build using the forthcoming Weave API?
Tags: metadata, web platform
Welcome to Jimmahdigital.com, personal blog of James Simm, Wigan/Manchester-based .Net developer.
