Dear Gboard: Are you a joke? No, really. One of the features people like most about Gmail is the embedded shortcuts: "R" for reply, "C" for compose. So please explain why we would need a separate keyboard for single-finger shortcuts?

For those curious about this arguably superfluous device, here's how it works: You plug it into your machine, turn on shortcuts in Gmail and, with the press of a single button, you can perform functions that you could already do before with the press of a single button. They include "Search," "Star," "Reply," "Reply All" as well as a few other useful items for thread management. Actions are color-coded to make them easier to find. The big problem: There is no "Send" shortcut. Because who would want that?

This invaluable USB-based time-saver is compatible with Macs and PCs and is available from Gboard for $20. Unless, as we implied at the beginning of this post, this is all just a big joke.