Gmail

look
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri 25 Mar, 2005 19.52

:) lol..... im nice... anyone with a free invite to g-mail about! :D
User avatar
Pete
Posts: 7628
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 13.36
Location: Dundee

Lee wrote:I don't get GMail, quite a few people have offered me an account but I've said no. I have my own address, and as long as I can send, receive and read email, I don't care. What's so special about these GMail accounts?
it's webmail interface is second to none. and lables are fab.

mine is also my primary account. i shall not be inviting look
"He has to be larger than bacon"
cwathen
Posts: 1330
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 17.28

I don't get GMail, quite a few people have offered me an account but I've said no. I have my own address, and as long as I can send, receive and read email, I don't care. What's so special about these GMail accounts?
I like it because it's so innovative - and stays that way through continuing to innovative before other operators have caught up with what they were doing before. It started off as a webmail service which gave you 1GB of capacity for free - something which is still unmatched.

It's interface has continued to develop and is now pretty much the best webmail interface there is - simple yet functional and powerful, as opposed to graphics-laiden yet clunky and ineffective. And the 1GB capacity is now a thing of the past - they now provide 2.5GB (and counting) of storage capacity, even though no other operator managed to catch up with their original 1GB for free.

Aswell as that, they've developed a basic HTML-only version of their user interface, which means that Gmail can now be accessed from pretty much any browser, including mobile phones, another huge advantage over other email services.

Until Gmail I was always a stalwart who proudly ran Eudora E-Mail and would always proclaim that it's not a proper email account if you use it through a website, but Gmail has changed my viewpoint somewhat. I can't imagine using anything else now.
Lee
Posts: 297
Joined: Mon 12 Jul, 2004 15.49

Well I've been invited just now, so I shall sign up if it is that good.
Chris
Posts: 845
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 19.03
Location: Surrey

What's so special about these GMail accounts?
They scan your emails for keywords which they then use for advertising, that's what. And did I forget to mention the clause in the T&Cs - when you delete an email under their system it doesn't disappear forever.

Also, Google operate a number of other sites, and they can potentially build up a profile of you and your usage of your Google account under their single signin policy. Remember that story in the press a while ago where they managed to bust some criminals using Orkut, a Google run site.

Another thing that bugs me about Gmail - why do they feel the need to hide the originating IP address of the person's computer? They do have a bit of an odd set-up.
Envelope-to:
Received: from wproxy.gmail.com ([64.233.184.203])
by mx14.global.net.uk with esmtp (Exim 4.42)
id 1E72Nw-000IFZ-Q4
for ; Mon, 22 Aug 2005 03:50:25 +0100
Received: by wproxy.gmail.com with SMTP id i2so935197wra
for <@>; Sun, 21 Aug 2005 19:50:04 -0700 (PDT)
DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws;
s=beta; d=gmail.com;
h=received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:mime-version:content-type;
b=EMUONjte39vmTserGZBIwdMLsqhhegdukzjEKcW1PPQqL+kkue5Cd7NJdZKy6k7j4fW6KbHHR4+
Received: by 10.54.57.10 with SMTP id f10mr3519115wra;
Sun, 21 Aug 2005 19:29:45 -0700 (PDT)
Received: by 10.54.54.66 with HTTP; Sun, 21 Aug 2005 19:29:41 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID:
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 03:29:41 +0100
From: [email protected]
To:
Subject:
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed;
boundary="----=_Part_745_32269442.1124677781592"
X-Envelope-From:
babyben
Posts: 394
Joined: Fri 25 Mar, 2005 14.34

Also, Gmail has an outstanding Spam filter.. that is one of the main advantages for me.

I normally use it through Thunderbird, but I still love the quickness and simpleness of the web interface.
Jamez
Banned
Posts: 2587
Joined: Sun 30 May, 2004 23.02
Location: Bristol

Chris wrote:
What's so special about these GMail accounts?
They scan your emails for keywords which they then use for advertising, that's what. And did I forget to mention the clause in the T&Cs - when you delete an email under their system it doesn't disappear forever.

Also, Google operate a number of other sites, and they can potentially build up a profile of you and your usage of your Google account under their single signin policy. Remember that story in the press a while ago where they managed to bust some criminals using Orkut, a Google run site.

Another thing that bugs me about Gmail - why do they feel the need to hide the originating IP address of the person's computer? They do have a bit of an odd set-up.
Envelope-to:
Received: from wproxy.gmail.com ([64.233.184.203])
by mx14.global.net.uk with esmtp (Exim 4.42)
id 1E72Nw-000IFZ-Q4
for ; Mon, 22 Aug 2005 03:50:25 +0100
Received: by wproxy.gmail.com with SMTP id i2so935197wra
for <@>; Sun, 21 Aug 2005 19:50:04 -0700 (PDT)
DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws;
s=beta; d=gmail.com;
h=received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:mime-version:content-type;
b=EMUONjte39vmTserGZBIwdMLsqhhegdukzjEKcW1PPQqL+kkue5Cd7NJdZKy6k7j4fW6KbHHR4+
Received: by 10.54.57.10 with SMTP id f10mr3519115wra;
Sun, 21 Aug 2005 19:29:45 -0700 (PDT)
Received: by 10.54.54.66 with HTTP; Sun, 21 Aug 2005 19:29:41 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID:
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 03:29:41 +0100
From: [email protected]
To:
Subject:
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed;
boundary="----=_Part_745_32269442.1124677781592"
X-Envelope-From:
Well if you're a law abiding net user that doesn't store many megabytes of child porn on your account, there's nothing to worry about.
johnnyboy
Posts: 838
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 14.57
Location: The Home of the Stottie

Jamez wrote:Well if you're a law abiding net user that doesn't store many megabytes of child porn on your account, there's nothing to worry about.
True, but what if they order Google to turn over the names of people with certain political persuasions?

It's all very well and good saying if you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to worry about, but what if you think something is right and justifiable and your "Government" doesn't.

Don't sleepwalk into giving away your privacy.
Jamez
Banned
Posts: 2587
Joined: Sun 30 May, 2004 23.02
Location: Bristol

I can hardly be put in jail for being on the BNP mailing list.
johnnyboy
Posts: 838
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 14.57
Location: The Home of the Stottie

Jamez wrote:I can hardly be put in jail for being on the BNP mailing list.
Not now, maybe. In many European countries though, you can be harassed by the authorities or even jailed if you have a certain point of view.

For example, the BNP would be classed as "holocaust deniers" in Germany. Holocaust denial is a sentencable offence in Germany.
Jamez
Banned
Posts: 2587
Joined: Sun 30 May, 2004 23.02
Location: Bristol

HAHA!

Oh I'd love to see the UK Government try and harrass me! bring it on!
Please Respond