Preview: Google's Gmail Beta

[Apoptosis]

I signed up for the Beta program on 4/1/2004, but I guess I wasn't picked. Go figure!

So far, so good! We're already loving Gmail and it's only been a few days since we started using it. Since we constantly hop back and forth between Linux and Windows boxes, Gmail is a godsend. We don't have to mess around with local pop3 e-mail clients. We can just open our browser – in Linux or Windows – and get immediate access to all of our e-mail. And, unlike Yahoo or Hotmail, we simply don't have to worry about running out of space. At this point we're only up to 39MB out of our 1GB total

Looks like it should be an interesting time with Gmail launches.

For the full article by Extreme Tech look no further

[roberdjp]

I, for one, don't understand the degree of controversy that's been surrounding GMail. The amount of space is obviously a godsend, though I haven't seen mention anywhere of how large an attachment can be sent at one time... As for the privacy issue, I am as privacy-concerned as anybody, but I don't understand the uproar. If you don't want your email scanned by Google's computer, then don't sign up for their email. If you want the space and don't want your email scanned by Google's computer, then encrypt it with a third-party application. Frankly, if you're enough of a privacy advocate to be overly worried about it in the first place, you're probably ALREADY encrypting your email....

[infinitevalence]

i know i for one will be using it when it comes out. I dont care so much abut the 1gb but some of the other features in that artical are vary nice, like conversations and auto lables.

[roberdjp]

Yeah, there's no doubt that I intend to use it (and presumably not encrypt my email ). Newer version of Outlook has the same search and grouping functionality that GMail is going to offer, but Hotmail (my current email provider) sure as hell doesn't.

There is just a huge value-add involved in GMail that is undoubtedly worth the "trade off" of ads targetted to things you're talking about. I mean... Ads are an annoyance most of the time, but the reason ads are targetted like that is that it makes it MUCH more likely it's actually an ad you're interested in seeing.

One other interesting side note about GMail was in an article on The Register yesterday -- the possibility of "Google Footing", as they call it. An interesting possibility, if you ask me. Here's the link to the article:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/06/google_footing/

[Apoptosis]

I think my primary use of Gmail will be for sending/getting large attachments. That way I wont fill up my other free boxes. That way privacy wont be an issue as my private e-mails wont go through it.

It's free for end users and google will make large sums of money from direct key word advertising. More power to them for coming up with an e-mail system that will make them hundred of millions of dollars.

[Bio-Hazard]

I got my name on the list for when the testing phase is over..........