Google GmailGoogle Gmail is a web based email offering from Google that is changing the way we use and store email. Gmail besides offering free massive storage (Over 5 Gigabytes) automatically sorts and displays messages along with their replies. Most ISPs and email providers encourage you to download email to your local computer for storage and archiving. They do this by either limiting the storage on the sever, or by supporting POP3 only access which by default moves mail off the server onto the client. Only the more experienced users know how to leave their email on the server when using a POP3 Client. Google by contrast offers such massive amounts of storage that it encourages the opposite. This could mean that many people start to move their local email onto the network making it accessible from anywhere. It also eliminates the archiving problem that is common for home and small business users, as the mail is automatically archived. Using Goggle's search technology means that lost or misplaced emails and creating myriads of folders to organize email becomes a think of the past as email becomes available through a simple search. Getting A Gmail AccountYou can create an email account here. This email account can also be used for accessing other Google services like Picasa, Web history etc. Google Email AddressesThere are two email domain names in use by Google for email, they are the normal gmail.com, and the googlemail.com (UK and Europe). Although Google users in Europe will have to register a googlemail.com address they can still use the gmail.com address as mail to the user@gmail.com is sent to user@googlemail.com and vice versa. Access MethodsAlthough Google mail is normally accessed via a web browser it can also be accessed from traditional desktop clients like outlook express using both POP3 and Imap4 access protocols.
Gmail Offline Without an Email ClientEven tough you access Gmail via a web browser you can still use it offline. Gmail will copy email to your computer and so you can read and reply to email offline. When you go online the mailboxes are synchronised and email sent. It is enabled under settings>offline and require gears to work.
Using Gmail to Retrieve Email from Another MailboxGmail can access other mailboxes using either the POP3 protocol or IMAP4 and place that email in your Google Mailbox. This means that it is possible to use Google Gmail to access email from multiple mailboxes and/or use Gmail simply as an email client for another email account/address. See Access other email account mailboxes using Gmail. Ads in EmailGoogle make money from Gmail by placing context based ads in the email messages just like you see on this web page. Although this can be seen as a massive privacy issue Google maintain that email is kept totally confidential. From a big brother perspective it has always been possible for anyone at any of the ISPs and other nodes on the Internet to monitor email, and so in my opinion Google ad placement is not really a concern. If you want to keep your email confidential then you need to encrypt it. However email encryption is not without its own set of problems. Gmail NotifierThis is a small application that you download and install on your PC which automatically (every 2 minutes) checks your inbox for new messages. It appears as a icon in the system tray and will display a small snip of the the new message like this:
Gmail On Your Mobile PhoneGmail is very popular for mobile clients due to the fact that Google own the Android operating system that is used on many smart phones and tablets. Using Gmail Overview VideoHere is a good video Introducing Gmail and basic usage. Related Articles and resources:
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