Recently I started using Gmail, Google's new, Web-based e-mail service, which is currently in pre-release. I have to say, so far, so good.
Gmail is available for free for individuals and small businesses, and can be used in conjunction with other e-mail software. I for example, am using it in conjunction with Mail on my Macintosh.
You need to get a Google account in order to use Gmail, either for a business or for yourself. It works with all major browsers, and has several key features, including a top-notch SPAM protection technology that Google developed.
I signed up to use it so I could get my e-mail when I travel. I don't like to read mail on a small screen (such as my cellphone), but when I travel with my laptop, I like being able to access my e-mail
Google is also promoting other other special features, like the ability to get your mail on your mobile phone, the ability to easily search any of your messages by keyword, and the ability to chat from within the Gmail application.
Like most Google products, Gmail has a plain vanilla, simple interface. A few things seem slightly counterintuitive. But it's is easy to get started and to use it. And for me, the power is in two aspects:
1) Simplified Web-based access to my e-mail
2) A powerful, comprehensive SPAM filter.
I wrote recently about how a SPAM filter (Spamfire) had helped me tone down the amount of Junk mail I received. Well, Gmail is another order of magnitude beyond what I was getting with Spamfire. It's like Google has declared war on SPAM. And those of us who use it, can now benefit.
Life is a whole heck of a lot quieter now with Gmail working for me in the background. There's really no need for me to go to Gmail to check what it's doing - Gmail simply cranks away in the background, "Frying the SPAM" as they refer to it, and, acting as our mail server. I continue to use my e-mail program, only with a lot fewer SPAM messages.
To find out more about Gmail and how you can get it, go to:
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