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Google does not provide a Gmail notifier in Linux. Fortunately, there is CheckGmail, an alternative Gmail Notifier for Linux systems. It is fast, secure and uses minimal bandwidth via the use of Atom feeds. CheckGmail is a system tray application that checks a Gmail account for new mail.

When new mail is present the tray icon changes, an optional animated popup is displayed and a tooltip displays the number and details of new messages. Each message can be opened directly in a browser window, and many common Gmail operations (marking as read, archiving, deleting or reporting as spam) can be carried out on messages directly within CheckGmail, without the need to use the Gmail web interface.

If you are using Ubuntu, a simple command-line of “apt-get install checkgmail” will install the application for you. Start the application. Edit the CheckGmail Preferences. Enter your Gmail account and password. You are good to go.

I had trouble setting up Gmail IMAP in Evolution in the past that the only way I fixed it was removing Evolution and installing Thunderbird. But, today is a very good day. I finally got Gmail IMAP to work in Evolution! This post is to document the Gmail IMap configuration in Evolution as a future reference. Hopefully, someone will read it and benefit from it as well. So, here we go. Let’s add a new account in Evolution by accessing the menu. Pull down the Edit > Preferences. Click Add to add new account.

Identity Tab

Let’s start with the Identity Tab. Enter the name of the account. In my case, I am simply calling it “Gmail.” Now, enter your full name and your email address. You can add a optional signature if you want.

Receiving Email Tab

In the Receiving Email tab, please select “IMap” server type. Enter “imap.gmail.com:993″ as the server. The username is your full email address. Select “SSL encryption” for the secure connection type. The authentication type is “Password.” Checking remember password is optional if you want to avoid typing in the password everytime you access Evolution.

Receiving Options Tab

This section is really a personal choice. I like to be able to check messages every 10 minutes, show only subscribed folder as well as automatically synchronize remote mail locally.

Sending Email Tab

Please select “SMTP” for server type. Use “smtp.gmail.com:587″ for the server. Use “TLS encryption” for secure connection. Select “Login” for authentication type. Use your full email account name for the username. Checking the remember password feature is optional.

The rest of the Tab folders are optional settings that you can set based on your own personal choice. That’s it. How I failed to get it to work previously was beyond me. Sometimes missing a single parameter can mean a whole lot of difference.