In many cases, the end of the year gives you time to step back and take stock of the last 12 months. This is when many of us take a hard look at what worked and what did not, complete performance reviews, and formulate plans for the coming year. For me, it is all of those things plus a time when I u...
It may not be
certain any longer whether or not Google will complete an IPO this year, but it
now looks certain to be entering the free e-mail market.
Offering better
anti-spam software than Yahoo Mail and Hotmail and other rivals, and throwing in
1GB of storage, Google is aiming - once the preview has been tweaked - to launch
"Gmail" later this year.
"Unlike other free webmail services, Gmail is
built on the idea that users should never have to file or delete a message, or
struggle to find an email they've sent or received," Larry Page, Google
co-founder and president, told the Financial
Times (FT).
The FT comments:
"This is Google's latest step in its push away from being a mere search
engine towards taking on the world's biggest Internet portals, following moves
into news and Froogle, a comparative shopping tool."
"If a Google user has a problem with e-mail, well, so do we," said Google
co-founder and president of technology, Sergey Brin. "And while developing Gmail
was a bit more complicated than we anticipated, we're pleased to be able to
offer it to the user who asked for it."
"Put in real-world terms, Gmail's one gigabyte of free storage could hold the
equivalent of a pick-up truck filled with books, where Yahoo's four free
megabytes could not quite handle the complete works of William
Shakespeare."
"Google has long exhibited a quirky sense of humor about itself and its
technology. One example of this is Pigeon Rank, a page on Google,
which claims its search results are compiled using large numbers of trained
pigeons. Then there is the recent job listing for the
Google Copernicus Center, which claims the company is hiring staff for a new
lunar hosting and research center, to be opened in 2007.
Skeptics also note that the press release announcing the service on Business Wire is dated
March 31 at 7:05 p.m., which is also just past midnight GMT."
So far, Google has been declining to comment further on Gmail, referring
all questions to the company's official press release
announcing the service.
Among the clues that awake suspicion in many, though, is this, from the Gmail
FAQ (italics
ours):
Is Gmail available in other
languages?
During this testing period, the
Gmail interface is only available in English. However, we're committed to making
Gmail available to as many people in as many languages as possible. And Gmail
accounts can already be used to read and send email in most languages (even
Klingon).
Nonetheless Reuters
is reporting Google's vice president of products, Jonathan Rosenberg, as saying:
"Gmail is not a hoax...We are very serious about Gmail."
About Jeremy Geelan Jeremy Geelan is President & COO of Cloud Expo, Inc. and Conference Chair of the worldwide Cloud Expo series. He appears regularly at conferences and trade shows, speaking to technology audiences both in North America and overseas. He is executive producer and presenter of Cloud Expo's "Power Panels" on SYS-CON.TV.
Reader Feedback: Page 1 of 2
#26
Denise Rodda commented on 7 Apr 2005
You guys are geniuses. You're taking e-mail to a whole new level. 2 Gigs of storage?!?! Oh yeah! Can't wait to get in on that. I anticipate a future cost for the service, keep us posted.....
#25
Ronald coupe commented on 4 Apr 2005
You emil download site is confused.
Try for an hous to simply download Gmail.....NO SUCCESS.
No idea how you work.
Gave up.
#24
Raymond Hilerio commented on 1 Mar 2005
Why can't I get a gmail address? I have a friend in New Jersey who has.
hey thiz iz a request from me if any one has a gmail invite please send it to me i need it if u give 1 g mail invite to me god will give u thousands to u send me an invite on ahmad143khan@hotmail.com as soon as possible
#22
Mohammed Anas Aadil. Tangulwadi commented on 27 Sep 2004
I also have a beta account. It isn't a joke, they are serious about it. if they can get the privacy groups happy...
I like the addwords accually, they are helpfull when they work, and I even have fournd some good sites via the program.
Being it is beta, to only feture is teh storage. It stipped down naked right now.
#20
sam eatherly commented on 23 Apr 2004
BRING IT ON!! CANT WAIT TO GET OFF HOTMAIL.
#19
John commented on 19 Apr 2004
I've been beta testing GMail for Google. It's only by invite for now.
#18
Scott Wilson commented on 19 Apr 2004
Well, after waiting 15+ days and still not up, seemed too good to be true to start with. Must have been a sad April Fools Day prank!!!!!
#17
Rolf commented on 17 Apr 2004
Very scary! From a dataprotection stand point of view! If I use G-Mail and I agree to the terms of usage, then I agree that the mail I send and receive will get scanned; but what about people, who send me e-mails and they don''t agree to getting their e-mails scanned? I would not feel comfortable at all sending a private e-mail to a friend knowing he uses G-Mail, because I know, my e-mail won''t be private any more... VERY SCARY!!!
I think that g-mail will be great!! But when is it coming out to the public t be used??
#15
john commented on 3 Apr 2004
There is a commericial playing on HBO for G-Mail at 3:00 am everyday next week.
#14
Scott Wilson commented on 3 Apr 2004
Umm, "GMail"... I use MSN9 and have had tons of problems. There support sucks, if this is real (1April press release) I will be the first one at the door. Relyablity and support is where I will be looking. Take note apathetic MSN!
#13
David commented on 2 Apr 2004
It''s so sad that people who pay lots of money to get rid of spam are now going to join a "free" service that analyzes your email contents to deliver more ads to you.
What a loser. But then, I suppose poor people need something, so while no business person would ever consider such rubbish, it does allow tricksters, hackers, fraudsters, criminals, pedophiles and others to hide behind yet another anonymous email system.
Go crime! Go fraud! Go spam! Go to heck...
#12
DieHotMail commented on 2 Apr 2004
Time for Microsoft to stop bullying consumers. Nowaday, I use hotmail as my spam prone email address. No longer I will use it as my main email address because they constantly bullying me into paying them.
Denise Rodda wrote: You guys are geniuses. You're taking e-mail to a whole new level. 2 Gigs of storage?!?! Oh yeah! Can't wait to get in on that. I anticipate a future cost for the service, keep us posted.....
ahmed wrote: hey thiz iz a request from me if any one has a gmail invite please send it to me i need it if u give 1 g mail invite to me god will give u thousands to u send me an invite on ahmad143khan@hotmail.com as soon as possible
dawonn wrote: I also have a beta account. It isn't a joke, they are serious about it. if they can get the privacy groups happy...
I like the addwords accually, they are helpfull when they work, and I even have fournd some good sites via the program.
Being it is beta, to only feture is teh storage. It stipped down naked right now.
Scott Wilson wrote: Well, after waiting 15+ days and still not up, seemed too good to be true to start with. Must have been a sad April Fools Day prank!!!!!
Rolf wrote: Very scary! From a dataprotection stand point of view! If I use G-Mail and I agree to the terms of usage, then I agree that the mail I send and receive will get scanned; but what about people, who send me e-mails and they don''t agree to getting their e-mails scanned? I would not feel comfortable at all sending a private e-mail to a friend knowing he uses G-Mail, because I know, my e-mail won''t be private any more... VERY SCARY!!!
Scott Wilson wrote: Umm, "GMail"... I use MSN9 and have had tons of problems. There support sucks, if this is real (1April press release) I will be the first one at the door. Relyablity and support is where I will be looking. Take note apathetic MSN!
David wrote: It''s so sad that people who pay lots of money to get rid of spam are now going to join a "free" service that analyzes your email contents to deliver more ads to you.
What a loser. But then, I suppose poor people need something, so while no business person would ever consider such rubbish, it does allow tricksters, hackers, fraudsters, criminals, pedophiles and others to hide behind yet another anonymous email system.
Go crime! Go fraud! Go spam! Go to heck...
DieHotMail wrote: Time for Microsoft to stop bullying consumers. Nowaday, I use hotmail as my spam prone email address. No longer I will use it as my main email address because they constantly bullying me into paying them.
Paul wrote: I have yet to find solid evidence that it is a hoax. The Klingon reference is real. Google search provides many interfaces using real and virtual languages, Klingon is one of them (http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/). Naturally, Google will provide a similar interface for email management. The Klingon language is a full-fledged invention, not just for entertainment in Star Trek. Go to http://www.kli.org/ for more info. http://www.kli.org/tlh/phrases.html has common phrases in Klingon.
SEE wrote: Well, from the press release:
"April 1, 2004 UTC"
"And it turns annoying spam e-mail messages into the equivalent of canned meat."
That the news services fell for this with that kind of giveaway line is priceless.
hannisen wrote: The press release states, and I quote, "That''s why Gmail comes with 1,000 megabytes (1 gigabyte) of free storage - more than 100 times what most other free webmail services offer". Sure, that statement is correct, but it''s also more than 500 times more than Hotmail, and companies usually state the biggest difference between them and the "other guys". Things like this makes me feel like it''s just a hoax. I promise I won''t be sad or angry if I''m proven wrong though.
Oh, and a final note, something that''s published on major news sites and/or printed in major newspapers doesn''t have to be true. It has happened before, it WILL happen again.
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Facebook sold off again Tuesday scrapping the bottom at $30.98 after Reuters reported that Scott Devitt, a research analyst at the IPO’s lead underwriter Morgan Stanley, unexpectedly cut his revenue estimates on the company during the roadshow leading up to it going public last Friday....
As a Silver Sponsor of Cloud Expo New York, CloudPassage is offering special passes to SYS-CON's 10th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 11–14, 2012, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York.
CloudPassage is the leading cloud server security provider, and c...
Private clouds solve many problems for enterprises and bring unique operational challenges along with them. There are dozens of companies of all sizes that will build you a private cloud and turn over the keys – then what? Trying to convert a traditional enterprise IT operations team t...
Cloud computing is becoming an integral part of every enterprise IT environment. With multiple cloud deployment models to choose from, understanding the essential components to any cloud solution will help ensure your success.
In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Ores...
The International Trade Commission’s six-member board of commissioners has issued an import ban against Motorola Mobility’s Android gear that the agency’s administrative law judge found in December infringes Microsoft’s patent on “generating meeting requests and group scheduling from a...
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