I’ve written VBA code that does that, and I’d be happy to share it. Not sure what language you’re using, but you should be able to convert it very easily.

I’ve also written a bit of script to build Google Charts. Let me know what you think.

Google Charts

Thanks!

I find maps.google.com phenomenal. Nothing else even comes close to it. Not only can I find directions from point A to point B without knowing the address of either but I can even pick a particular route by simply dragging a point on the proposed route.

As far as charts go, my first thought was I can create a Excel chart with Google charts. Embed a webbrowser ActiveX control in a Excel worksheet and create a chart in it. My next thought was I could create a richer document in the WebBrowser with iframes (or divs or spans?) and embed multiple charts in the same browser! The first I have done (single chart), the 2nd (multiple charts) I haven’t had the time to experiment with.

As an aside, after you create a chart in the webbrowser, click on it and drag it outside the browser. You will get a static image of the chart!

I also create (and sell) interactive management simulations for use in MBA programs and for executive education. So far, I have been restricted to column and bar charts (which can be simulated with just rectangles). Now, I can get all kinds of charts into my simulations (for reasons related to my perceived customer base, I ruled out the use of Java a long time ago).

So, I think Google is on to yet something else that has the potential to be very interesting and useful.

Seriously, I don’t know if anyone is as disappointed by gmail as I am. If you remember when it first was released it was by invitation only. I was not invited. But there was a “gmail lottery” web page that people would donate their invites to and you could go there and refresh the page for hours until you got one…or you could add about 40 IE controls to an Excel workbook with the window positioned so you could the little text box that would tell you if you won or not, and add a button to refresh them all at once. Then you only had to refresh for 20 minutes or so before you won one.

Yes, I wanted one that bad. I transitioned my ISP email over thinking it’d be the last account I’d ever have. Now almost 4 years later I’m too far invested to jump ship, but it is really disappointing. Since I got a PDA phone I am even more disappointed by the fact that their mobile site is garbage and the don’t have a WM application so you have to use the crummy Java applet or hook up via IMAP. The whole thing is practically abandonware.

I’m not Google bashing. I’m simply making an observation. Gmail has been out for at least 3 years now. It’s still BETA! Google tags the word “Beta” next to the Gmail logo.

When I say Google apps go into perpetual Beta, I’m implying that Google lets its products languish in incompleteness. That may not be the case for some products, but it’s definitely the case for Gmail which has remained unchanged for at least two years now.
The minimalist look and feel, typical of Google, feels cheap to me. The tagging system they provide feels cheap. The fact that Google Adwords shows up on the right, while I’m reading email feels cheap. When Gmail came out, it was supposed to bury Yahoo and Microsoft’s Hotmail. It’s obvious Google is not out to do that anymore.

Google has now set its sights on the Microsoft Suite of applications. Maybe Google will take over the world with Google Docs, maybe not. I guess you could consider Google Docs a good start. I personally think Docs will be in Beta for a very long time, and Microsoft will provide a service of their own in the next year or two.

If you want me to show Google some love, Google Maps is an extraordinary product. Google Earth is very cool. Google Gears is an interesting start to the thin client generation of apps. Well done Google! As Ross said, “some of the Google stuff is totally amazing there’s no 2 way about it”.

Instead of folders, I use tags that keep all my mails grouped just the same. Besides, there is fairly little use for actually spending time categorizing mails, I only do it because I am anal about these things. The gmail search engine is far superior to any app, be it web or rich client, and I can find my mails multiple times faster than I do in Outlook at work.

What matters to me is a pleasant user experience, and while the new-fangled spiff of AJAX has worn out, it still provides to be an amazingly responsive UI for a web app.

Mike Alexander, what service would you recommend for a free web mail if gmail is such an inferior product?