I must admit that I have been particularly happy about some of the new features coming out of Google Labs recently.  Last week it was the Mail Goggles, and this week it’s the equally brilliant Canned Responses, or “email for the truly lazy”.

“If you’re sick of typing out the same reply every time someone emails you with a common question, now you can compose your reply once and save the message text with the “Canned responses” button.  Later, you can open that same message and send it again and again.”

And with the help of Gmail’s pre-existing filters which can sort through your messages using a combination of keywords and sender/recipient info, you can set up automated messages for different keywords, which means you can finally spend the rest of your work day doing more important tasks…like playing solitaire.

via GmailBlog

Like most other people who have become slaves of the workplace, I spend an inordinate amount of time checking my email. Partly because I take pride in responding to work related emails in a timely fashion, but also because it’s the ultimate distraction from an otherwise dull environment. I mean who knows that types of delightful surprises might be waiting in your inbox? Perhaps a message from an old friend, a new facebook notification, or maybe the lottery chose you as their first random online winner!

Point being, sometimes you need to know right away when you get a new email. So why not use this strangely large, envelope shaped blue box, that lights up when you have a new message. It works in the background via USB and supports Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, Outlook Express, and POP3.

[Product Page via CrunchGear]