Introducing INBOX PAUSE. For when you temporarily want to “pause” incoming email in Gmail.

 Not so long ago I put the word out for a Gmail feature which would prevent any new email from appearing in my Inbox during particular periods of the day. See, like many of you I’m sure, as long as I’m online, I’ll constantly visit my Gmail Inbox to check for new mail. Even amidst the mother of all crises, I’d instinctively visit my inbox and lo and behold, there’s always new mail to distract me from more important issues.

The idea was to simply provide a feature which could prevent new email from appearing in the Inbox. Of course, I still wanted to be able to reply and compose mail, I just didn’t want new mail creeping in.

And, crucially, I always wanted to immediately be able to retrieve email when I was good and ready. I just didn’t want to be bothered by it or to be able to view any new emails.

Meet Inbox Pause

Ironically, a few days later, a new email arrives in my Inbox from Aye Moah at Baydin Inc, the creators of my most used browser extension Boomerang for Gmail, alerting me to a new extension they’d built: INBOX PAUSE.

It’s a marvelous little tool they’d built which does exactly which provides the exact functionality I’d been hoping for.

Screen Shot 2012 08 31 at 6.00.04 PM 220x84 Introducing INBOX PAUSE. For when you temporarily want to pause incoming email in Gmail.

 Simply install the extension, refresh your Gmail and you’ll notice a “Pause” button alongside your Mail drop down (as to the right).

When you click that button, new messages will stop arriving in your inbox. Instead, they’ll be held in a special label until you are ready for them. Should you wish, INBOX PAUSE can notify the people who email you to let them know that their message will not be delivered to your Inbox.

While your Inbox is paused, you’ll see a banner at the top of your Gmail window like this:

Screen Shot 2012 08 31 at 6.02.33 PM 520x67 Introducing INBOX PAUSE. For when you temporarily want to pause incoming email in Gmail.

When you un-pause your Inbox, all of the messages that you received during the break will be moved to your Inbox, and new messages will arrive as before.

Simple as that.

Grab the extension, only for Chrome, here:

→ INBOX PAUSE

A world first: Bionic eye transplant lets blind woman see

30 years ago, 54-year-old Dianne Ashworth started going blind when she was diagnosed with a hereditary condition: retinitis pigmentosa. A few decades of scientific progress later, and she was implanted with a bionic eye prototype at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in May. Last month, it was switched on after she fully recovered from her surgery. Ashworth hasn’t regained full sight, but for the first time, there’s hope: the Australian now see flashes of light and shapes when researchers deliver electrical pulses to the device.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but all of a sudden, I could see a little flash…it was amazing,” Ashworth said in a statement. “Every time there was stimulation there was a different shape that appeared in front of my eye.”

So, how does it work? A small lead wire extends from the back of the eye to a connector behind the ear, which in turn allows researchers to stimulate the implant in a controlled manner. Feedback from Ashworth will allow researchers to develop a vision processor so that images can be built using the flashes of light. The next stage of development and testing will include an external camera.

The positive result means other patients will be getting the same treatment: two have already had surgery and will have their devices switched on, while three more patients are scheduled to receive implants. This video courtesy of The Telegraph speaks for itself:

 

The way the device was implanted, and the way the surgery was performed, makes it a huge breakthrough. The Australian prototype was embedded behind, rather than in front, of the retina. 

“This is a world first – we implanted a device in this position behind the retina, demonstrating the viability of our approach,” Dr. Penny Allen, the specialist surgeon at the Centre for Eye Research Australia who led the surgical team performing the implant, said in a statement. “Every stage of the procedure was planned and tested, so I felt very confident going into theatre.” 

Funding from the Australian government was reportedly critical in the development of the device. The project is a collaboration between Bionic Vision Australia, the Bionics Institute, and the Centre for Eye Research Australia. 

There’s still a lot of work to be done. This early prototype consists of a retinal implant with 24 electrodes. Researchers are currently developing and testing a wide-view implant with 98 electrodes and a high acuity implant with 1024 electrodes. Patient tests are already planned for these devices. First though, more data needs to be collected for the current prototype. 

 “We are working with Ms Ashworth to determine exactly what she sees each time the retina is stimulated using a purpose built laboratory at the Bionics Institute,” Professor Rob Shepherd, Director of the Bionics Institute who led the team in designing, building, and testing the early prototype, said in a statement. “The team is looking for consistency of shapes, brightness, size and location of flashes to determine how the brain interprets this information. Having this unique information will allow us to maximise our technology as it evolves through 2013 and 2014.”