So Gmail has finally implemented a “Delete” button. It is a very good idea, for the times you get email you want to read but you will never read again, such as useless newsletters and such. Then again, I should just unsubscribe to most of the mailing lists I am getting newsletters from, but that’s another story. Anyway, one click instead of two for deleting is a small step toward a better healthier lifestyle.

Another feature Google has been working on is actually much more useful in my everyday life. There is now a “Gmail” button on the Google Toolbar, which allows you to search within your mail from anywhere, not only from the Gmail homepage. This is brilliant, especially for the times you are in the middle of an email (reading or writing one) and you need to find someone’s address in an old email, or what someone wrote earlier for example. Saves time, clicks, and makes everything much faster.

The new Googlebar also has an built-in translator which allows you to put your cursor on any English word on a page and pops-up a little translation in the language you want. As long as there is French (and Japanese) I am happy. It’s a bit intrusive that it works with a rollover, and I guess I would have preferred if it had a button or something, but I guess it does work so I’ll just get used to it. Does it make a request to Google every time I check a word? I suppose so…

Wish there was French to English dictionary too, though. For the moment, french-linguistics.co.uk is not bad. If you know a better one, please add it in the comments below.

And there is a spellchecker that works just like the one in Gmail, except you can use it everywhere you type text, on any editable text field (online forms, blogs entries…). This will be a huge time-saver for me.

Well, for a while I was happy with the unofficial Google Toolbar, which I installed before Google made one for Firefox. I couldn’t be bothered changing it for the official one. But now, I just did.

Only thing missing is the search in Google Directory (DMOZ) button. Apparently, Google doesn’t want to promote this anymore, and it’s a shame because it can be very useful sometimes.

Of course, all this plus being able to customize the “from address” on outgoing mail (and therefore you can use your own domain names) just makes it even more difficult for me to not use Gmail for 100% of my mail, and Google for 99% of my searches. Does that make them evil? I don’t think so. Google just provides a service that I need, and works to make it even better. Raises the standard for everyone out there, including themselves.

P.S.: Is there still someone who hasn’t tried Gmail yet? People who never got a Gmail invitation?? Just wondering. If you are so unlucky that nobody has invited you yet, leave a message in the comment…