Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Geek Speak => Topic started by: latebind on 13/05/2010 11:56:35
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I used google mail for the first time last week, and honestly I have no idea what the hype is. It lost some of my mails after i clicked on them and is so hard to use and so confusing that I just left it and went back to hotmail.
Now I am no computer newbie, I have been programming software for 10 years, so its not a 'user' issue in my eyes.
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I think it's great. I've been using mine for years, and find it reliable and easy to use - far better than hotmail/yahoo.
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IMO the only downside to google mail are the content-based adverts which remind me that Google "reads" my email.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googlemail#Privacy
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I used google mail for the first time last week, and honestly I have no idea what the hype is. It lost some of my mails after i clicked on them and is so hard to use and so confusing that I just left it and went back to hotmail.
Now I am no computer newbie, I have been programming software for 10 years, so its not a 'user' issue in my eyes.
Are you running it web based, or are you using it as a POP3 server?
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I used google mail for the first time last week, and honestly I have no idea what the hype is. It lost some of my mails after i clicked on them and is so hard to use and so confusing that I just left it and went back to hotmail.
Now I am no computer newbie, I have been programming software for 10 years, so its not a 'user' issue in my eyes.
Are you running it web based, or are you using it as a POP3 server?
I'm just using the web version - gmail.com
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just btw there should be at least 10 mails in my inbox, but after I click on a new mail to read it then it disappears from the inbox, and I cannot for the life of me figure out where it went...
I love google, I think google are great, except for their mail system, I can categorically say I do not like it.
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When you exit the view of a single mail - you arent clicking where is says Inbox X are you? This removes the tag inbox from the mail and it can only be subsequently read in 'all mail'. you can reach 'all mail' in the lhs side frame which has compose, inbox, (buzz) etc. Halfway down it has (at least on mine) '6 more' with down arrow - after clickign arrow and selecting 'all mail' you should see your archieved emails that no longer appear in inbox, you can move these back to inbox.
I really like gmail - as for privacy issues, I no longer use email for anything I would not want read by an automated device. this is tragic - but spam traps, inline advertising etc must all 'read' contents of email. The adverts above this quick reply box are for Google Mail and Aps - everything we do is monitored. it is the next big challenge for the internet.
Matthew
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When you exit the view of a single mail - you arent clicking where is says Inbox X are you? This removes the tag inbox from the mail and it can only be subsequently read in 'all mail'. you can reach 'all mail' in the lhs side frame which has compose, inbox, (buzz) etc. Halfway down it has (at least on mine) '6 more' with down arrow - after clickign arrow and selecting 'all mail' you should see your archieved emails that no longer appear in inbox, you can move these back to inbox.
I really like gmail - as for privacy issues, I no longer use email for anything I would not want read by an automated device. this is tragic - but spam traps, inline advertising etc must all 'read' contents of email. The adverts above this quick reply box are for Google Mail and Aps - everything we do is monitored. it is the next big challenge for the internet.
Matthew
Hi Matthew
Thanks for that, I think we are getting closer to finding out the issue here.
Yes i did click on the X next to inbox, I realize now that it moves it out of the inbox whereas I thought it was just supposed to close the message.
Now that the above issue is solved, we are faced with yet a new one, gmail informs me that the mail has been moved to the archive, yet when I click on the archive to view it, my mail is not there!
I have no idea where the 'all mail' option is, because I cannot find it, and once again my message is nowhere to be found!! hahaha that is not the way to build an email application, sorry guys I know there are lots of u who love gmail, but I have a passion for usability because my job revolves around it (programming applications) and I just feel that the user-friendliness of gmail is about 2/10 compared to google which I would rate at least 9/10, or even hotmail which I would rate 7/10.
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OK!! I found the 'all mail' option.
They seem to have hidden it very well under the guise of '6 more', so its not visible all the time which it should be, yet 'personal' and 'travel' are always visible and I dont need them. Once again usability is an issue....
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I use all three of the free mail that you mentioned - yahoo, hotmail and gmail. all have their own pros and cons. I have tried to rationalise why I prefer gmail - and cannot. i use tags all the time in gmail and thus the problem you had wasnt an issue for me, but objectively I agree it is very bad implementation; perhaps that is why it stayed in beta so long. the simplicity of google and gmail was its initial 'selling' point; but in becoming more complex it has suceeded only in certain areas. google scholar is superb whereas buzz and chat are needless complications. i guess that new functions are always added to further improve the experience for seasoned users, and that sometimes the perspective of the new user is lost.
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It's very customiseable though - you can drag "All mail" out into the mail list, rather than the "x more" list, and drag personal & travel down.
I find labels to be much more useful than hotmail's folders though (unless hotmail have changed that?). Being able to tag an email with multiple labels is far more useful than categorising it into a certain folder.
The one thing I do have issues with is the contacts - it's a bit buggy.
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Oh! And there's a forgotten attachment detector, and the ability to undo sending - both of these are worth their weight in gold.
If you're in the states, it can send sms messages too. It's worth looking through the labs to see what extras you can add.
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Like all software, once you find the pigeon holes it all becomes second nature.
I use Yahoo and it's original web face. I got use to it and for the last 15 years it is great for what I need... The spam sometimes grabs a few mistakes but the majority of the time it is just fine.
I also have GMail because it works great with up/download Cell phone's phone directory manipulation and there is an option for informing me to update the Directory it too.
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just btw there should be at least 10 mails in my inbox, but after I click on a new mail to read it then it disappears from the inbox, and I cannot for the life of me figure out where it went...
I love google, I think google are great, except for their mail system, I can categorically say I do not like it.
That charateristic help reduce the screen clutter
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just btw there should be at least 10 mails in my inbox, but after I click on a new mail to read it then it disappears from the inbox, and I cannot for the life of me figure out where it went...
I love google, I think google are great, except for their mail system, I can categorically say I do not like it.
That charateristic help reduce the screen clutter
HAHA LOL!
There is a very fine line between reducing clutter and inducing confusion :)
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I think its alright, a bit buggy though.
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I use the gmail service for everything. I love the gmail documents.
[O8)]
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Try the "trash can" and look at your configuration. Becuase it could automatically delete after viewing as the setting???
That shouldn't happen and never has in my gmail box.
weird!
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Gmail is great. What took me a bit o getting used to was the lack of folders. Stars and labels seemed weird, but now it's 2nd nature.
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I've had reasonably good luck with GMAIL (after I got it configured as I like it). It takes a bit of used to the way it formats reply chains on the online version.
But, I do 99.9% of my work with the Evolution POP client. The biggest thing was convincing GMAIL to allow me to do my own SPAM filtering locally.
At least in the past Yahoo considered POP as a deluxe feature and wanted to charge for it... and thus I've virtually stopped using their services.
I do worry about the intrusiveness of the major web companies (Yahoo, Microsoft, Google), and will eventually set up my own mail server.
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It is hard to fault Gmail, it is a nice mail client, with a very good spam filter.
The thing is to remember that email is the equivalent of a postcard, and can be read by almost anybody in the loop, from your ISP, the mail forwarders, the recipient server, the guy next to you in the internet cafe if you are on wireless. At least Gmail is upfront about reading your mail, and putting an advert above the mail. Better is that it is now encrypted from them to you if you are using the web client, and if you are using a POP connection you really should turn on encryption for it.
I use a few webmail providers, and most of my mail is via Gmail nowdays.
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I absolutely love Gmail..I use yahoo also.. but Gmail is my favorite.. it is extremely simple and self explanatory..I like most all applications especially label in favorites etc..., stared mail etc... It is terrific.... I am baffled that anyone could have a hard time using it at all. I have very rarely had issues and when I did it was my own silly self, not setting my settings and simply reading.. I also love the Gmail search mail feature.. makes finding specific mails easy... I love it!
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I also love the Gmail search mail feature.. makes finding specific mails easy... I love it!
Uhhh... I never thought about that... I wonder if that feature is "hackable"? Obviously everything in your e-mail is stored in a searchable format in a database with a simple associated identity field.
The wonderful world of information.
Google now has one of the best spell checkers I've ever seen. Undoubtedly it is built from reading the web, e-mails, and click practices of people. But, I have no doubt they are harvesting other information too.
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in the past Yahoo considered POP as a deluxe feature and wanted to charge for it... and thus I've virtually stopped using their services.
If you are using the free Yahoo email note that although the login is encrypted the transmission of your emails isn't.
... http://getsatisfaction.com/yahoo/topics/full_ssl_support_in_yahoo_mail_when
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I also love the Gmail search mail feature.. makes finding specific mails easy... I love it!
Uhhh... I never thought about that... I wonder if that feature is "hackable"? Obviously everything in your e-mail is stored in a searchable format in a database with a simple associated identity field.
The wonderful world of information.
Google now has one of the best spell checkers I've ever seen. Undoubtedly it is built from reading the web, e-mails, and click practices of people. But, I have no doubt they are harvesting other information too.
I doubt it but I have no Idea about hacking etc.. I assumed most everything was hackable these days if someone really was good at it..LOL
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I used to think Gmail was great. I opened a couple of gmails on my computer, for family members, and then I went through so much hassle with the capchas and the security questions that I don't use Gamil any more.
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I think Google works pretty well if you only want to have an Email. of course they are getting better. I've used gmail for a couple of years now. I just used for personal stuff. I also have msn but I think when it comes to jobs and personal corresponding it's better to have something more simple.
I have to say from my standpoint. google mail is not WOW but it's OK
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I luff Gmail too. I have been using it for 6 years now and it's my main email. Like Ben has mentioned before it has a number of very useful features and especially the feature to undo-send an email for a period of time (30 seconds in my case)in case you forget something or just plain change your mind.