Emails with color?

Which color do you prefer?

Below are six screen shots of the top-left corner of the Web Suite in different colors. Which of them would you prefer to read your emails in?

I like a few of them, but the second one (blue) is my preference. Which one is yours? The first one? Second or third one?... Maybe a different one for each day of the week? :-) Want the ability to choose yourself? That's what we're planning on actually.


Tell me which one you like the best by leaving me a comment below. Don't tell anyone I showed you this exclusive "preview"--these pictures haven't been officially disclosed anywhere yet. :-) And thanks for choosing AOL.

PS: I’ve been out of the office for the past 5 days and just got back online, so I’ll be replying to comments and direct emails soon. Thanks for being patient.

Tae
“The AOL Mail Blog Guy”



Tags: AOL Web Mail Web Suite Skins Colors

How to email faster & easier

Hi,

There are many, many new keyboard short cuts in the Web Suite that are handy, but there are 5 that every Web Suite user should know about. These will not only help you save calories, but also help your index finger and mouse last longer. :-) Seriously, they help you read, compose, and send email faster, which are the repetitive things we do often.

Notes: Your mileage may vary depending on which browser you use; these may work in other browsers, but they are intended for Internet Explorer 6/7 and Firefox. Mac users, should substitute the Apple key for the Ctrl key below.

To Write an email quicker while in the Inbox or any folder:
Just press Alt-W, which is short for Write email. (while holding down the Alt key, press the letter W)

To Reply to an email quicker while reading an email:
Just press the R key by itself (short for Reply). Guess what it is to reply to All? The A key of course--see how logical we made it?

To Forward an email quicker while reading it:
Just press the F key by itself (short for Forward of course).

To mark an email as New:
Just press the N key by itself (remember, emails marked “Keep as New” are never auto-deleted in AOL-branded accounts; AIM-branded accounts keep emails forever without any action).

And my favorite, to Send the email quicker:
Press Ctrl-Enter (while holding down the Ctrl key, press the Enter key)

There are another 50+ short cuts available in the Web Suite. If you want to see the full list of them, send me an email (websuiteblog at aol dot com). The list is too long to post here.

After you try these keyboard short cuts for a few days, you’ll love them. Enjoy managing your emails a bit faster.

Tae
“The AOL Mail Blog Guy”


Tags: keyboad, shortcuts

Panels, Panels, and more Panels

Written by guest blogger Jeremy, Product Manager, Mail Business Operations

What is a Panel you may ask. A Web Suite Panel is a “drawer-like” (can be opened or closed) portion of the Web Suite on the right side of the screen. The Panel area contains various content that makes the Web Suite even more handy (think Swiss Army Knife). Currently there are the People, Events, TMZ, and To Do Panels but there are more coming soon. As Tae has announced before here, one of the newer Panels is the AIM Panel that’s being beta tested now; the next release will add even more functionality to that AIM Panel.

So what other new Panels will be coming in the future? Many of you have asked for an easier way to access other services, so we’re adding a new Directory Panel. This panel will easily take you to other great areas, to see TV/movie times, sports news/scores, business news, music, shopping, etc. See the screen shot below for a sample of what’ll be available in the Directory Panel.



If you’re looking for something a little more fun, then you can have the new Quote of the Day Panel shown. This panel will show popular quotes from famous people. If you ever wished Ralph Waldo Emerson sent you an email, you can read off his quote and pretend he wrote it for you.



The Panels area offers a great way to spice up the Web Suite. We are actively creating many more panels that satisfy your different wants and needs. Some of the new upcoming Panels will be: News, Entertainment, Technology, Business, Sports, and Weather to name a few.

Future plans also include creating a way for users to create their own, or import other 3rd party widgets. If there’s a particular Panel idea you’d like to see, or know of a great 3rd party widget you’d like to add, tell us about it. We’re listening. We’ll try our best to base what gets added, on your input.

Thanks and enjoy the great new Panels coming your way (coming within a month or so).

Jeremy

New AOL 9.1 Beta available now

The Web Suite and the AOL Program (also known as "installed-client") both access the same email accounts, just through a difference look-and-feel. For those of you who also use the installed AOL Program on Windows, did you know that there’s a new beta version 9.1 with the following changes?

The ability to browse the web without signing on when you have a broadband or third-party dial-up connection.
An Inbox-style mailbox with unlimited storage.
Increased flexibility, with the addition of Express and Customized installation options.
The ability to easily find and add RSS Feeds to your Favorites while browsing.
Increased safety while web browsing with SurfLight™, which automatically warns you of malicious or suspicious websites.
Quick access to the latest News by clicking or hovering over the newly added News icon in the Toolbar.
Details about the new version are in the FAQs.

I’ve been trying out the new beta version and it looks great. Give it a try. You can use both the Web Suite as well as AOL 9.1 and switch back and forth on-the-fly.

Enjoy!

Tae
“The AOL Mail Blog Guy”