Finally, Google releases colored labels and AIM. It took over 3 years to introduce this simple features, but it finally is finished. Take a look at the the attached screen of how I organized my labels (it currently auto labels around 80% of my incoming mail… pretty solid)

*it is a 1600 x 1200 image, so the url is here:  http://schlottke.org/jacob/gmailright.png
The AIM decision had to be a tough one for Google. They don’t want to throw in the towel and admit that the Google Chat application is a piece of garbage by itself, but they must have had a tough time deciding to do this. AOL and Google do have some partnerships already slated- Google search powers AOL, for example. Where this decision is a good one (and one they had the foresight to see) is that they now can access everyone’s AIM contacts, through Gmail.

I’m a little short of sleep, so if this is a less coherent rambling than normal, you may need to dig deeper for the meaning… lol.