Are you sick and tired of going to your mailbox only to find that more than half of your new mail is junk mail? Want a way to filter out this junk mail so you never have to deal with it again? ProQuo.com has an option that may interest you.

Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like an infomercial, but seriously, this service just might interest you.

ProQuo.com gives you the solution you need to divest yourself of annoying junk mail. ProQuo.com will not only carry out your request not to receive the mail, but will also help you through the steps in removing that junk forever! So, how exactly do this work?

After the registration is completed you are presented with various types of mailing lists (coupons, credit cards, catalogs, etc.) You can stop most of them with a simple click. Others require printing out a form or going to another website. At the end of the process, you can rid yourself of a lot of unwanted junk emails as well.

Essentially, this service is equivalent to the “opt out” option you find when you call that phone number to stop getting telemarketer calls. It made me happy when I discovered this service, because I really hated going to my mailbox to pull out credit card offers, coupons, and catalogs I don’t even read!

Check it out. The service is free.

I covered google docs in this post, since then I have been keeping an eye out for another application that has as much to offer someone wishing to bring more of their work online. The good news is that I think I found one, the bad news, with so much of my stuff invested into google docs I am not sure that Zoho provides enough reason for me to switch. However for those of you who are about to make the jump from desktop applications to online document use, Zoho may be your answer.

While both google and Zoho offer very similar services there are some that only Zoho offers and others that only google offers. Both offer the following: Word Processor, spreadsheet, slideshow, web clippings, email, chat, wiki (google uses Jot), and web conferencing. What only google has: Web site hosting and feed reader. What only Zoho has: Database application, Online database, project management and customer relationship manger. I think the main difference between the two is that Zoho appears to be more business oriented while google remains strongly consumer driven.

While time will only tell if Zoho will be competitive against the juggernaut that is google, however if you are someone looking for a new place to store your work online, Zoho is worth the time it takes to explore it a little. I like Zoho a lot and if in the future I find that google does not meet all my needs I will definantly give them a shot. You can check out Zoho here, registration and use is free unless you opt for their Zoho business which runs $40 per user per year.

I must admit, I have been a dedicated AOL user for years. AOL 1.0 was the best thing that could happen to me years ago. Yes, now that I look back, I paid a ridiculous price for the once popular internet service. They have managed to generate themselves quite a bad reputation, even after giving out all their services free, but I stayed that true dedicated AOL fan, and to this day, I have given up a few of their services and their AOL 9.0 application, but I am still a proud AOL fan. Despite their new beta products that are created, only to be forgotten about months later, AOL Desktop (Codename Helix) looks rather promising.I visit their beta site often, just to see what new items are being released, and a few months ago, I came across AOL Destop. It is a pretty interesting concept. If you remember AOL Suite, the look is very similar, with a bar at the top; however, it is an actual desktop in that you are able to add items to this desktop and more. Mail, Browser, and AIM are all integrated in one nice, simple location.

Highlights include:

• Improved Navigation: A new “AppMap” feature located between the Web button and Search field on the toolbar, instantly displays clickable thumbnails of all your open windows. Now you can find what you’re looking for instantly – and switch windows with just one click.
• Tabbed Organization: Tabs on email, browser and IM windows allow you to surf, send mail and more, without cluttering your screen.
• More Email Options: New, streamlined AOL® Mail lets you send and receive messages using multiple email accounts, including GMail, Verizon® and many more, in the same window.
• Enhanced IM: AIM® 6.1 is built right in so you can see which buddies are online, chat, share pictures and more.
• Easy to Use: New functionality allows for fast, easy transfer of your Favorites and Personal Filing Cabinet from AOL 9.0 to AOL Desktop.
• MapQuest® Integration: Enables you to conveniently embed a map and link to full directions right in your email.
• AIM Invisibility: Avoid interruptions online – just set your preference in AIM to “invisible” and you’ll appear offline to others from the moment you sign in.
• QuickTips have been added to provide contextual hints about new features in AOL Desktop.

If you want to try it out, visit here. It’s cool, it’s fun, and simple to use.

[updated]: This post is getting tons of traffic, so I just want to welcome all the new visitors and hope you will come back and visit again. You can also stay current with tech news and sign up for our newsletter and a chance to get a free iPod nano. More Info here.

Google just added IMAP support to GMail a few days ago. My personal account was upgraded but I am still waiting for my Google for your domain account to upgrade. Right after I installed leopard, I setup my Apple Mail to connect to my Gmail account using IMAP (setup instructions)

[If you can't see the video, click here]

The good thing about this setup is that my tasks and notes are synced with my gmail account. It is not a perfect sync, since they just show up as messages in my “All Mail” folder labeled with Apple-specific labels.

One thing that bothered me, is the constant sync message that keeps popping up as I worked on notes and/or tasks. I am not sure what’s going on here… any ideas?

I have always used Microsoft Outlook on my PC because everything is integrated in one place, calendar, tasks, email, contacts and notes. Initially, I contemplated moving over to an all-apple (and Gmail) solution, but until they figure out all these sync messages and when Gmail adds true support for tasks and notes, I am going to have to wait. Plus, Entourage 2008 beta is looking really good(screenshots).

[updated]

Here is a quick video that shows you how to properly associate your trash, spam, drafts and sent folders with the correct Gmail folders when using IMAP

[If you can't see the video, click here]

Question: why isn’t Apple Mail called iMail?

Catalog Choice, sponsored by the Ecology Center and funded or endorsed by various environment-friendly groups, is a free Web service that allows you to opt-out of unwanted catalogs/mailings that you receive. This service is provided in hopes that it will reduce mailbox clutter and save the environment at the same time.

The Catalog Choice Website states that the current statistic of production and discarded paper catalogs adds up to more than 19 billion paper catalogs per year! I actually receive several catalogs per week that I’ll briefly flip through and eventually throw away. Many of the catalogs, I have no clue why they are even being sent to me. Many companies send out catalogs by profiling demographic areas, in hopes that indivduals will place an order.

The Catalog Choice Website also has a list of astonishing enviromental facts that I encourage everyone to read. This list may open your eyes to the severity of the environmental changes that are occuring as a result of the way that we live on this Earth.

Joining Catalog Choice is simple. Users simply sign up by providing their current home address (where you are receiving unwanted catalogs). Once the sign-up page is complete, you can begin searching for catalogs that you no longer wish to receive. You find the catalog and decline its receival. You can invite friends to do the same and decrease the number of trees destroyed even more.

The only slight downfall is that you have to know the names of the catalogs that you no longer want to receive. I know that when I receive a catalog that I don’t want, I usually throw it away immediately and I don’t recall their names. I am assuming that it’s best to keep a stack of unwanted mail until you have the chance to look them up and decline them in Catalog Choice.

Catalog Choice is a nice service and it’s completely free. It is relatively easy and it is sure to make you feel good when you do your part in saving our Earth.