Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Have Company

Time Warner company America Online is entering the free web email fray, though it would be available to people who are not currently its subscribers only by late next year.The service is expected to have features similar to those currently available with Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail, all with huge fan followings. The AOL email will have address book, filter for spam, signature, search and a folder manager. It is speculated that the free mail will be launched along with a new version of its instant messenger, AIM. There's also speculation that the move is part of AOL's plan to offer a wider range of free services and earn advertising revenue like Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo. The service could have a storage limit of 100 MB, far less than what its competitors currently provide. The free email service, called 'Email on the Web", is currently in beta. Source.

Gmail Notifier for Linux

Gmail Notifier is now available for Linux users. It is written in Python and provides an attractive and simple way to check for new mail messages. It definetly is alot easier than signing in everytime you want to know if you have email. This is a third party application and is still in relatively early developement. Read More.

Gmail Drive 1.04

Gmail Drive has been updated to 1.04. Uploaded files are now automatically archived to reduce inbox clutter.
Still not sure what a Gmail Drive is?
GMail Drive is a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual filesystem around your Google GMail account, allowing you to use GMail as a storage medium. GMail Drive creates a virtual filesystem on top of your Google GMail account and enables you to save and retrieve files stored on your GMail account directly from inside Windows Explorer. GMail Drive literally adds a new drive to your computer under the My Computer folder, where you can create new folders, copy and drag'n'drop files to.

Use Gmail to Filter a Different Email Address

Want to use your own domain email address and still have the great spam protection Gmail provides, free? If you already have a Gmail account, you're in luck. Shawn Hogan from DigitalPoint actually started filtering his various corporate email accounts through the gmail mail server. Shawn used many types of spam detection and filtering systems to block unwanted email but for some reason, he still receives 2000+ spam emails daily. This simply was not working. Shawn thought of the idea of using gmail to filter his email address. It works.

How does it work?
Forward all email to gmail, access the gmail email via POP in his client side email program, and send email from his corporate email addresses like he normally would. He doesn?t touch gmail.

Gmail Invite Distribution

Many people have been wondering why it's so hard to get a Gmail invitation. I recently found a short article which explains why Gmail is so limited and getting harder and harder to get an invite. From what I've read, the answer is simple, they don't have enough server space. They limit invitations based on the amount of space available. Every time they buy more space, they give out a round of more invites. This makes a lot of sense. Now one question pops up while considering these circumstances... Will Gmail ever as available as Hotmail? Maybe eventually, but I don't it's a possibility anytime soon. Google does have a lot of funds and maybe the power to do it. However, once they start, there's really no turning back. It's beyond just a huge responsibility.

What's Your Opinion on Gmail?

I'm putting together a collection of opinions, ideas, and suggestions based on Gmail. I will be including some in a guide I'm compiling titled, "The Ultimate Gmail Guide." If you would like your "voice heard" or have suggestions for the guide, submit your thoughts or email me at cyndicate+site@gmail.com and I will respond as soon as possible. Here's an example of what I'm looking for:

Gmail is Good
Since I started using Gmail, I no longer have to worry about emails not making it into my inbox due to space limits. The 1 GB of space is almost revolutionary. Another thing I really like about Gmail is the ability to easily organize emails. Thanks Google.
John - JohnDoe.com

Remember, even though it may upset or discourage some people, you're free to express your true opinion. It's usually for the readers' best interest anyways to be informed to help them make a good decision. You don't have to write all good stuff about Gmail. I actually would like to hear some of the negative feedback on Gmail. You can even mix it up with some of the good and bad.

Will Gmail dominate?

I recently came across an article on Gmail titled, "Gmail won't take over the world just yet." by Nettie Hartsock. In the article, Nettie makes a very good point when stating, "... [email] users are vested so to speak in their [current] e-mail addresses... That’s why it’s going to take a lot longer for Gmail to take accounts away." This can be very true. I too recieve and send emails on my old hotmail account, that doesn't mean I'll continue to open new relations and sign up for new things using the old account. I didn't hesitate to get a Gmail account. Gmail's ingenious marketing strategy makes it seem like it's almost a deal to switch over. And it really is. My Gmail account gives me a chance to start fresh with much better features and filters to help keep them organized.

Once people figure out all the features and learn how to use them, there's no stopping Gmail. And by the time Hotmail and Yahoo! include great features list this, it'll be too late. Gmail is growing rapidly with over 2.5 million accounts created already. You can average that out to over 10,000 sign-ups a day since April 1, 2004. This huge client base is only going to explode once Gmail has finished beta testing. I really think Yahoo! and MSN better step it up and get with the program real soon or Gmail will own the free web-based email world.