Looks like product recalls are now the vogue, and it’s not just in the food industry. Google, in typical do no evil fashion, has unveiled a new feature for Gmail that allows users to hit the panic button and “Undo” the sending of an e-mail message, for whatever reasons.
But you have to act fast – five seconds to be precise, otherwise you will have to go through the futile effort of sending a follow-up message to the unintended recipient and beg him/her to “delete the message and destroy any printed or electronic copies”.
Short of erasing someone’s memory, there is no sure-fire way to “undo” a misdirected message. Old-fashioned vigilance is probably the best way to avert these snafus in the first place.
Problem is, Gmail’s “Undo” feature seems to be a rip-off from Bigstring Corporation’s playbook. Perhaps Google should consider buying out the company to eliminate the competition, however insignificant.
