Post by: enigma487 on June 17, 2004, 10:49:03 AM
Post by: couchmonkey on June 17, 2004, 11:03:47 AM
YAY for competition!
Post by: mouse_clicker on June 17, 2004, 11:47:20 AM
Post by: MysticGohan24 on June 17, 2004, 12:01:36 PM
Post by: ruby_onix on June 17, 2004, 12:45:20 PM
Webmail can be checked from any computer, so it's great for people on-the-go, and it's also great if your household has more computer users than available e-mail accounts.
Here's Google's press release about it.
Google's entry into the market blows the crap out of almost every feature offered by any of their rivals (most of which have been constantly scaling back their services, for seveal years now, unless you join their deluxe "pay service", and G-mail looks to blow away even their "paid" versions too).
But, G-mail's still just in a "testing phase" right now, so only a very-limited number of people were allowed to sign up for it. So, it seems that some of those lucky people are willing to sell thier G-mail accounts on eBay.
Post by: Jale on June 17, 2004, 12:58:17 PM
Post by: Berny on June 17, 2004, 01:57:37 PM
At least Yahoo tries to be great. G-MAIL IS TEH ROXORZ!
Post by: MysticGohan24 on June 17, 2004, 02:08:13 PM
Or are they simply love pissing the competition off? lol
If it's great I'll join up with it.
Post by: Berny on June 17, 2004, 02:12:34 PM
Post by: Ian Sane on June 17, 2004, 02:14:08 PM
Plus it's such a huge pain to tell all your friends to change their address books for you. Half of them forget and you spend all your time checking two email accounts.
Post by: Grey Ninja on June 17, 2004, 03:11:51 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Jale
It does indeed look good, but think how many servers and stuff they will need to offer that much to every user. Wow. Deep Thought, the city-sized supercomputer from the Hitchiker series springs to mind.
Google doesn't like to talk about their hardware. But they have a huge staff of Computer Scientists, and a LOT of PhDs.
It's known that Google has a huge server farm running Linux though. Each PC has a pair of 120GB hard drives I believe, and Google has thrown out a few numbers now and then, saying that they have tens of thousands of computers. However, most believe this to be inaccurate, as they obviously have a LOT of computing power at their fingertips. It's thought that they probably have servers numbering in the HUNDREDS of thousands.
What's really most amazing about Google though is how well they manage their server farm. When it comes time to update their boxen, they ripple the updates through the machines in a way that makes any sysadmin cream his pants. It's just a marvel of the world that it all actually works I tell ya.
Post by: Molobert on June 17, 2004, 06:44:03 PM
Is there any way to redirect email from one address to another (for free)? If so, I'll switch to Gmail when it comes out, otherwise I'll stick with Yahoo.
Post by: Shift Key on June 17, 2004, 07:46:51 PM
G-Mail looks nice, but I'm happy with 100MB and 10MB messages. They should definitely win over some Hotmail fans though. They make their money back by sending e-mails to you from companies, a sort of solicited spam. I wonder if it possible to block those emails at all...
molobert: Under Mail Options should be a link to "POP Access and Forwarding" or something similar. Click that, and type in the address you want to forward all messages from your Yahoo account. Easy
Post by: KDR_11k on June 17, 2004, 11:48:41 PM
Article 1
Article 2
Post by: evil intentions on June 18, 2004, 08:03:09 AM
I had a hotmail account as my first email address, and it sucked. I had to make sure I deleted my emails after reading them so I wouldn't run out of space in my inbox.
Post by: Berny on June 18, 2004, 10:28:22 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: evil intentions
I had a hotmail account as my first email address, and it sucked. I had to make sure I deleted my emails after reading them so I wouldn't run out of space in my inbox.
*shudders* ugh...Oh yes. Hotmail is horrific. I'm still shocked they haven't upped their storage size. Do they even CARE any more?
Post by: evil intentions on June 18, 2004, 07:57:57 PM
Post by: Jale on June 19, 2004, 12:32:51 AM
Plus I don't get that many emails to warrant a bigger acount.
Post by: Shift Key on June 19, 2004, 12:50:45 AM
QuoteErm, you can use MSN without a Hotmail account, all you need to do is sign up for a Passport.
The only reason that I have hotmail is because then I can use msn messenger.
Post by: Jale on June 19, 2004, 12:54:11 AM
Post by: Caillan on June 19, 2004, 01:23:40 AM
When I used Hotmail, it actually blocked most messages sent by my friends, and let through the crap spammers sent me. This isn't an exageration, about 80% of my friend's messages were blocked! No wI just use it for the messanger.
Post by: mouse_clicker on June 19, 2004, 01:25:31 AM
Quote
That's the 7th stupidest thing I've ever done.
I'd be very interested to know what the 4th stupidest thing you've ever done is.
Post by: Caillan on June 19, 2004, 01:30:32 AM
Post by: evil intentions on June 19, 2004, 10:12:32 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: Caillan
When I used Hotmail, it actually blocked most messages sent by my friends, and let through the crap spammers sent me. This isn't an exageration, about 80% of my friend's messages were blocked! No wI just use it for the messanger.
Yeah that used to happen to me when my friends got new email addresses. It sent all of the emails that I got that aren't in my address book into my junk mail which I never checked. It sucked.
Post by: Berny on June 19, 2004, 02:05:21 PM
Post by: manunited4eva22 on June 20, 2004, 01:18:09 PM
Post by: Syl on June 20, 2004, 05:39:33 PM
95 more megs than i'll ever need.
Post by: KDR_11k on June 21, 2004, 02:49:38 AM
Post by: Chode2234 on June 21, 2004, 08:19:57 AM
I will tell you what though, their IPO is going to go through the roof! Any predictions on the stock price on their IPO on the closing bell?
Post by: Berny on June 21, 2004, 02:35:52 PM
Post by: Grey Ninja on June 21, 2004, 03:07:16 PM
I just find it incredible that so many places are banning gmail when it's not even out yet. Especially when google doesn't really even do anything that other email dudes don't do.
Post by: Berny on June 21, 2004, 03:25:41 PM
"email dudes"
Post by: mouse_clicker on June 21, 2004, 03:36:46 PM
Post by: Grey Ninja on June 21, 2004, 03:45:19 PM
Post by: Berny on June 21, 2004, 03:50:16 PM
Post by: Grey Ninja on June 21, 2004, 04:13:50 PM
I don't know for sure that Hotmail is blocked or not... I haven't tested it yet myself. But I just kinda got ahold of a gmail account myself. (Thank you kind sir), and I am getting to work on mass mailing like... 3 or 4 people. I'll tell ya how it goes.
Post by: Berny on June 21, 2004, 04:48:20 PM
Okay thanks. I hope I can still do that cause most of my friends are stuck with (and on unfortunately) hotmail. I'm trying to convert them all, but it's a slow and painful process. Their just too attached to their precious 2MB.
Post by: Infernal Monkey on June 21, 2004, 05:42:44 PM
Post by: evil intentions on June 21, 2004, 07:49:28 PM
Post by: King of Twitch on June 21, 2004, 11:20:56 PM
Post by: ruby_onix on June 22, 2004, 01:25:49 AM
Quote
I thought ruby_onix said gmail WAS hotmail and yahoo...
Nah. It's like Hotmail and Yahoo. In that it's "webmail", meaning that it's an internet website that gives you access to e-mail functions (e-mail and "the internet" are different from each other).
Quote
If G-mail is going to scan emails and place ads that way, I wouldn't trust it.
AFAIK, that's not how Gmail works.
In theory, what they're supposed to do, is let you use Gmail like any other webmail system. But they ask you to never bother deleting any of your emails. And then, instead of asking you to sort your emails into tidy folders, they ask you to leave them in a big messy pile.
Then, lets say you have a bunch of Nintendo newsletters, and you wanna look at what an old one said, you just do a Google-style search on your giant unsorted e-mail pile for "Nintendo newsletter", and it brings up anything that matches your search
At the same time, since you just searched for "Nintendo newsletter", Gmail will pull up some text-based ads that seem to match what you requested. Like, if I search "Nintendo newsletter" on Google's normal internet search, there are some remarkably-unobtrusive ads on the right side of the screen, for "How to Write a Newsletter" and "Email Newsletter Guide".
I don't think it pokes into the actual contents of your emails, to find out that say, I really wanted to know something about F-Zero.
They encourage you to make a huge disorganized mess out of your e-mail storage, so you have a reason to use the search feature, which is what tells them what it is that you like.
However, as with any webmail system (like Hotmail or Yahoo), you are trusting someone (and their website) with your emails, so there's always some potential for abuse.
Post by: Berny on June 22, 2004, 04:58:56 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: ruby_onix
I don't think it pokes into the actual contents of your emails, to find out that say, I really wanted to know something about F-Zero.
Sorry, Ruby, but that is incorrect. I just tested it out. There's this one line that I always include in an email to someone and I searched the first couple of words of the line and every email I sent and received from that person came up. Gmail searches do indeed look through the bodies of your mail.
Post by: KDR_11k on June 22, 2004, 06:14:10 AM
Post by: Chode2234 on June 22, 2004, 08:25:54 AM
Also, about hotmail blocking gmail, its a fasle rumor that was floating around yesterday, I saw something on slashdot about it (I'm too lazy to put in a link). So it should work and will work with any email. There is a lot of anticipation and rumor floating around. Apparently there are email fanboys, much like nintendo fanboys, spreading rumors and causing controversy.
Why hasn't hotmail responded in anyway by increasing storage or anything? I can't wait to dump my hotmail account.
3rd point: They haven't issued there stock yet, so they are completley privately held but are expected to do an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of common stock this fall, that is why they are doing all this stuff so it shoots through the roof thus making anyone at google instant millionaires. On the plus side after they "go public" they will have to disclose much more information about their operation and I am very curious how they process everything and how many servers they have etc.
I think this is officially my longest PGC post ever, maybe that mean I need and end boss month avitar.
Post by: Berny on June 22, 2004, 09:56:28 AM
I honestly don't know why hotmail has done nothing. It's just stupid. They are going to lose a lot of users once Gmail goes out of beta testing if they don't up their storage limit.
And yes, you now MUST get an end boss avatar or "you will fail at games."
EDIT: I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but I just sent a gmail to my hotmail account and it's right there in my inbox. The rumors are false. I'm only slightly less mad at M$ now. Don't get me wrong though; I'm still seething.
Post by: KDR_11k on June 22, 2004, 10:21:10 AM
Post by: Chode2234 on June 22, 2004, 10:40:24 AM
Not that I ever really talk about that movie, but it is possible...
Also I trust google with my emails more than I would trust microsoft with my credit card numbers and all that other crap they track via passport. Its interesting how valuable information has become in our day and age, Marx and Engle were so right..... not that I'm communist but it makes and interesting read.....
Post by: Grey Ninja on June 22, 2004, 02:45:38 PM
And I'm sorry, but I just want no part of that. I happen to like gmail, and I honestly don't care if they deliver relevant ads to my inbox.
Post by: Ian Sane on June 22, 2004, 02:57:18 PM
Today: Canada. Tommorrow: Alaska, Greenland, and those two French islands off the coast of Newfoundland. MOO HOO HA HA!
I don't care about the scanning that much...yet. It's the "relevant" ads the turn me off. NO ADS are relevant to me. If I want to know about something I look it the f*ck up. And I see no need to search my emails. Sorting by date or sender is more than good enough for me.
Post by: Berny on June 22, 2004, 03:29:30 PM
I have nothing to hide, so I'm REALLY not worried.Ian: Google has to make money off this SOME way. The "relevant ads" are not at all obtrusive. No more than a google search's ads. In fact, they are in exactly the same place. And although YOU don't need to search your email, some people use their email to send important information that needs to be located immediately and their jobs may even depend upon their finding that information. Granted, if you want to look professional it's best not to have a web based email address, but hey, it's cheap and has massive storage.
Post by: KDR_11k on June 23, 2004, 10:44:50 PM
2. Spam filters don't store personally identifiable data (they don't know who marked the mail spam, they just scan it, learn from it and delete it.
3. Spam filters can be disabled.
Post by: manunited4eva22 on June 24, 2004, 06:26:44 AM
Post by: mouse_clicker on June 24, 2004, 09:23:48 AM
Post by: Chode2234 on June 25, 2004, 10:55:15 AM
Post by: manunited4eva22 on June 25, 2004, 01:22:52 PM
There is a sad truth to computers that many people don't realize. Businesses may say, well we will reach 1 Petaflop in x years, but that is a commercially known computer. What is a fact is that the government has a great deal of knowledge hiring companies who shut their mouth and build extremely expensive supercomputers, ranging fro 1-3 billion dollars. As a reference, most don't cost more than 300 million (I'm talking about number 1 on the list of most powerful).
In fact, not too long ago, the government released some information to Intel Corp about effective ways to do 3 cores on 1 die, no not the other way around. There is a lot of stuff that gets put in the black budget, and spying is definately 1 of them.
If I had to estimate the total power of computers just in the US owned by the government for spying purposes, it would be in the neighborhood of 100 tflops total. That is probably about 6 or 7 grid massively smp supercomputers, all designed with 64bit-512bit cores, designed for breaking codes and scanning messages.
Granted it can't process everything, but it can read a whole lot.
Back from conspiracy theories to Gmail now.
Post by: - NintendoFan - on June 25, 2004, 04:39:11 PM
I am a big fan of it already and I just got it a couple of days ago. I think it is far better then what Earthlink has to offer me and way beyond that of Hotmail. If you guys would like I can take a quick pic of it for you.
Post by: Uglydot on June 25, 2004, 05:57:05 PM
Post by: mouse_clicker on June 25, 2004, 07:33:40 PM
Post by: Grey Ninja on June 26, 2004, 08:40:17 AM
A couple things that really stood out to me are automatic server queries, and threaded discussions. I would post a screenshot of some new stuff, but I really don't want to have to edit the screenshot, and there's stuff I would rather not share with everyone here.E-Mail clients are well known for being much more fully featured than their webmail counterparts because of the robustness that you can put into a downloadable program. Some of the better mail clients have threaded discussions, which nest emails and their replies in a format similar to a message board. Google implements threaded discussions in a simple and elegant fashion. It's almost like having a stand alone mail app without the hassle.
Another thing I noticed was that gmail uses client scripting to query the mail server every so often to check if there's any new mail. I gave the source code for that a brief looking at, and I noticed that for Internet Explorer people, it uses the XMLHTTP ActiveXObject. I assumed from there that Mozilla users would use the XMLLHttpRequest object built in, and Opera users would likely use some other form of doing the same thing. (Perhaps a DOM Document).
Basically, what this means for the user is that you do NOT need to refresh your inbox to receive new mail. It will just appear in there when a new mail message is received. I can pretty much guarantee that this works on Mozilla/Mozilla forks and Internet Explorer. Opera/Konqueror/Safari users should probably give it a shot, but no promises.
As for the privacy thing, gmail is upfront with you when you sign up, and tell you all about how their system works. When you delete email, it may take a while for the email to be fully deleted from their systems, but it WILL be deleted eventually. The real difference between gmail and non-gmail is that you have no idea what microsoft or yahoo do with your email.
But regardless, I think it's a little bogus to be complaining about gmail's privacy. You agree to their terms when you sign up. They give you 1GB of space, and the fastest and bestest webmail interface I have ever seen. In return, they want to deliver ads to your inbox based on the scanned content of your email. As a consequence of the 1GB of space, it may take a while for emails to be deleted.
But personally, if their terms were to take a random sample of every 100 emails in your inbox, photocopy it a hundred times, send it around the office and laugh, I honestly don't care. I'm beyond the power of any insane US President or his merry men, as I am Canadian, and it's not like I am up to no good that often anyway. (And I use anonymous email accounts and spoofed IP addresses for such things anyways).
Short and sweet of it is that I love gmail. I think that it's just your standard knee jerk reaction that's generating such bad press.
Post by: Hostile Creation on June 26, 2004, 08:59:52 AM
Post by: - NintendoFan - on June 26, 2004, 09:08:18 AM
GMail Message
GMail Trash
Post by: MysticGohan24 on June 26, 2004, 09:36:23 AM
Post by: Uglydot on June 26, 2004, 08:50:03 PM
Post by: Berny on June 28, 2004, 07:20:36 AM
That can't be good. I have autologin on Camino, so it just doesn't even go to the homepage using that. I had to crack open Safari to get to gmail's homepage but when I logged in, nothin. Please tell me I'm not the only one really upset by this. I want this to be a big thing that effects lots of people cause that means they haven't frozen my account. I'll be REALLY mad if that's the case. Grrr. Mad. EDIT: Nevermind. Gmail is working again. All is right with the world.
Post by: ruby_onix on June 28, 2004, 10:59:17 PM
I was just checking my Hotmail account, and saw this little ad in the lower-left side of the screen.
Quote
Coming soon! MSN Hotmail Upgrade
- Summer: Virus cleaning of incoming email
- Fall: 250MB of storage for your Inbox
- Fall: Send/receive up to10MB of attachments
- Keep checking here to learn about it!
Very amusing.
Post by: Berny on June 29, 2004, 08:40:32 AM
Post by: KDR_11k on July 01, 2004, 11:34:48 AM
Post by: GoldShadow1 on July 05, 2004, 08:49:44 PM
Quote
and get rid of your hotmail or yahoo or whatever account.
How exactly do you cancel a Yahoo account anyway?
Post by: King of Twitch on July 05, 2004, 10:28:54 PM
