Attention Gmail people...

[Oddysee]

Does anyone still have Gmail beta keys? A really close RL friend of mine has been trying to get one for ages, and I remembered some peeps here had keys... Think you could hook me up?





Tm

[Mumon]

Sure, just have him email me at poxsonm@gmail.com with the words... "Oddysee sent me" and I'll know it's your friend... or someone else that's reading the forms and just tring to be funny... but anyways you could always email me first and let me know his name so I'll be expecting it. (I have to have his current email address to invite him though, and it's best if he emails me to get that to me)

[Tarryk]

Considering that this will eventually be out of beta, and beta accounts aren't likely to get free accounts unless they're making it an entirely free service (I'm not sure about those details, haven't read into it in detail)....

What's the point? I mean, an email account with nearly unlimited space. That's great. But people are flipping over it and desperately begging everyone for "invites". For a while I thought it was some new email/http game.

It's just an email account.

I have the feeling that at this point, I haven't gotten through. Or perhaps I'm mistaken. So I gotta say it once more.

It's... an email account.

I'm just having a hard time grasping the demand for this thing, especially in a limited beta stage.

[Cowtipper]

If you look carefully, you will notice that there are a number of services on Google's website are beta. They are known for having products that have very, very long beta cycles. Long beta cycles is becoming very common with software these days

gmail is just an e-mail service, that's true. It was also one of the only services to provide the 1 gig storage at the time. Pretty much everyone else was 10 meg storage limit e-mail addresses. So you have a portable e-mail account that you do not have to delete anything with.

Add to that the fact that gmail comes with built in spam filtering tools which aren't half bad. Plus, the service has the search engine as the backbone and allows you to search through all your e-mail crap.

The only thing I don't like is that their technology looks at the content of your e-mail. Privacy watchgroups are hounding on Google because they do not worry about a user's privacy. Watch out for google toolbar if you have it. Whether you want it to or not, it'll update itself. They are also not big on third party programs for their gmail service, which was shown when third party 'new e-mail' alert programs were blocked from using gmail's service.

There was also the exclusive thing about the beta testing, where you had to be invited in the beginning. The invites were rare enough that people tried to auction them off and stuff. Now people have so many of them they don't know what to do with 'em. Plus, you can't get more until you get rid of the ones you have.

Personally, I don't like the service. I prefer my personal domain one, even if I get a spam e-mail every once in a while. If it becomes a big deal, then I can use built in filtering for any number of free e-mail clients which will also display the e-mails in text based format so I don't have to worry about being tracked or any bugs getting through.

[Boinky]

Apart from Tarryk's point of it just being an e-mail address - yeah big whoop I agree, I am worried about what Google likes to do so no gmail for me thanks. I probably get my info/habits scanned enough as it is without willingly walking into a giant scanner to see everything I do.

[Mumon]

Personal domain are by far more profesional yes.

If I recieved a business card from someone and it read "DJ TomBoy for all your CountryWestern Music needs, Email: something@hotmail.com" that I would be less impressed with it than the exact same card with @CWM.com or something. I would be even more impressed if I then went to CWM.com (I have no idea if that is a site or not) and it turned out to be a website about Country Western Music.

But for just an email address for personal use, I find Google to be great (as long as it remains free).

[Oddysee]

she just likes to try new stuff out... She used to write for Got Frag? (CS online thingy) but she switched to some other site now... Makes me look like a non geek, hobby wise ^^

But she's my best friend, and as such, I didn't ask questions... Just helped her out... S'what friends do...







Tm

[Cowtipper]

For future reference, there is a website to post offers/accept offers for gmail invites. Check out http://www.gmailswap.com.

One interesting request was for people to make 'haiku's for gmail' in order to get their invite. It turned out rather interesting

[Boinky]

Well personally if somebody who called themselves "DJ Tomboy" approached me in any way I'd likely not be impressed. And isn't the CWM of CWM.com short for Cows With Mumons?

[Mumon]

Actualy I went to CWM.com today just out of morid wondering (I prayed that it was not about Country Western Music... and my prayers had been answered)... What I found was some TV show production group that has helped produce such things as that Seventies Show.

Anyways, unless you are bored I don't suggest going there. But if you are bored I suggest instead of going there to fix your bordom to instead go out and get Fable. Yup. Going to go play that now that I just got home from work and finished checking my email.

Off to play my nice shinny new game.