I’ve been using a recently introduced Gmail feature, Priority Inbox, to help me sort my email, and I’m really into it. Here’s the thing: I get a lot of email, like everyone else, and I’m often distracted by it. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I feel like email’s running me life. Rather than deciding I need to do X, Y, or Z, I check my email, and let my email dictate what I’ve got to do. Of course, deadlines drag me out of my inbox and into the much more enjoyable world of actual writing, but you probably know what I mean: It’s very, very easy to use your email as a sort of shadow to-do list.
And so, the beauty of Priority Inbox: It hides email that’s not important. Now, it’s not a complete solution to being inundated with email (or feeling like you are), but it’s a step in the right direction in the way it makes it easier (at least for me) to ignore some of my email, in a productive way, and do the things I really need or want to do.
Here’s a video with more info:
ALLAN HOFFMAN 
Allan,
I read today’s Star Ledger ipad article with great interest. I too have found that my wife has become addicted to the device.
While I love the ipad, I cannot imagine it (yet) replacing a computer especially knowing that without a PC or Mac it’s impossible to even begin using the machine.
Furthermore, with itunes REQUIRED for OPS installs, upgrades and app updates – the ipad is absolutely dependant on not only a computer, but a knowledgeable computer user.
Finally, I eagerly await the print capability, promised in the November operating system upgrade.
Nice too if it were possible to delete photos easily from within the Apple OPS.
G Levitz
Sea Girt, NJ
You’re absolutely right, Jerry. The iPad’s completely dependent on using iTunes, which still bothers me quite a bit. That’s why it’s best as an “extra” computer, as I see it.
Also — and I didn’t get into this in the column — I’d really like for the iPad to have better controls for sharing the device with other people. For instance, it’s got iBooks on it, and now when my wife buys a book, it shows up in my iBooks account. There are plenty of other examples of similar quirks.