Want to get 1GB of free email space?

[indyan]

Google plans to use its search technology and a large amount of data storage to launch a free e-mail service that lets customers keep about 1GB of messages, the Internet search giant announced Wednesday.

The service, called Gmail, will let each user hold on to about 500,000 pages of e-mail and search through those messages using the familiar Google search interface, the company said in a statement. They will also be able to organize their messages in "conversations" that group a message together with all replies to it, much like Internet newsgroups organize messages into threads, said Wayne Rosing, vice president of engineering at Google, in Mountain View, Calif.

1.http://gmail.google.com/gmail/help/about.html


2.http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5184090.html

3.http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/03/31/HNgooglemail_1.html

So what do u guys think .I have already subscribed to the newsletter.And yes it is not an April Fools day prank.

 

[squiz]

I have subscribed, it's is unbelievable.

 

[Nirav85]

does it cost

 

[barmyarmy]

Originally posted by amir51@Apr 3 2004, 06:14 PM
does it cost

Google plans to use its search technology and a large amount of data storage to launch a free e-mail service

<_< :mellow: <_<

 

[jeromedascorp]

: : good one with the quotes! its better than being rude and saying "read the topic!!"
I registered too. Hopefully they'll send me sumthin soon.

 

[indyan]

Well in case some of u get confused I want to make it clear that the service hasn't been started yet.It has been made available to a lucky few people about beata testing.
However if u subscribe at the link I gave u they will send u the info when it has been started.
Here's the official press release,from Official Press Release

Originally posted by Google Press Release
Google Gets the Message, Launches Gmail

User Complaint About Existing Services Leads Google to Create Search-Based Webmail

Search is Number Two Online Activity ? Email is Number One; "Heck, Yeah," Say Google Founders

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - April 1, 2004 UTC - Amidst rampant media speculation, Google Inc. today announced it is testing a preview release of Gmail ? a free search-based webmail service with a storage capacity of up to eight billion bits of information, the equivalent of 500,000 pages of email. Per user.

The inspiration for Gmail came from a Google user complaining about the poor quality of existing email services, recalled Larry Page, Google co-founder and president, Products. "She kvetched about spending all her time filing messages or trying to find them," Page said. "And when she's not doing that, she has to delete email like crazy to stay under the obligatory four megabyte limit. So she asked, 'Can't you people fix this?'"

The idea that there could be a better way to handle email caught the attention of a Google engineer who thought it might be a good "20 percent time" project. (Google requires engineers to spend a day a week on projects that interest them, unrelated to their day jobs). Millions of M&Ms later, Gmail was born.

"If a Google user has a problem with email, 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."

Added Page, "Gmail solves all of my communication needs. It's fast and easy and has all the storage I need. And I can use it from anywhere. I love it!"

Today, a handful of users will begin testing the preview version of Gmail. 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. Key features of Gmail include:
Search: Built on Google search technology, Gmail enables people to quickly search every email they've ever sent or received. Using keywords or advanced search features, Gmail users can find what they need, when they need it.


Storage: Google believes people should be able to hold onto their mail forever. 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.


Speed: Gmail makes using email faster and more efficient by eliminating the need to file messages into folders, and by automatically organizing individual emails into meaningful "conversations" that show messages in the context of all the replies sent in response to them. And it turns annoying spam e-mail messages into the equivalent of canned meat.

According to Page and Brin, Google will make the preview test version of Gmail available to a small number of email aficionados. With luck, Gmail will prove popular to them ? and to the original user who sparked the idea.

Those interested in learning more about Gmail can visit http://gmail.google.com.

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program, which is the largest and fastest growing in the industry, provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

 

[electioneering]

It is only for 1000 select users,isnt it ?

 

[wackojacko]

only for the testing period

 

[indyan]

Some more links you may want to see:-

1.http://www.google-watch.org/email.html

2.http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/80/tec...echsupport.html

3.http://www.clickz.com/experts/search/strat...cle.php/3305651

4.http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconva...ews/8325125.htm

I found an interesting description og Gmail on the net.

It seems to be a case of "We can offer you free
accommodation, but on these terms:

1) Although you will be living in a huge suite with a lovely view, it
will always remain our hotel.

2) Being our hotel, we are at liberty to walk in any time we like and
inspect your possessions.

3) After we inspect your possessions, we'll decorate your room with
whatever we think appropriate based on paid advertisers.

4) The only books, newspapers and TV programs you can watch are
provided by our advertisers, and we will keep waving these under your
nose.

5) You never have to bother cleaning your room as it will never fill
up. This helps us to build a better idea of how your mind works."

 

[indyan]

Lycos: We're first with 1GB e-mail

European Web portal giant Lycos has followed Google and Yahoo into the race to provide e-mail users with massive amounts of storage, and it claims to be beating these rivals already.
Lycos announced Tuesday that it is upgrading its service to give consumers 1GB of e-mail storage. But unlike some rival services being developed, the Lycos service is not free. Users will have to pay a monthly fee of 3.4 pounds ($6.01).

Google caused considerable excitement last month when it announced that it was developing a free service called Gmail and that it would give all users of this service 1GB of storage space--far more than the 2MB offered by MSN's Hotmail, for example. But the plans also alarmed some people, because Google said it intends to scan e-mail messages for keywords and insert targeted advertisements into the messages.

Last week, YahooYahoo jumped into the fray, revealing it would provide users with 100MB of free e-mail space and "virtually unlimited space" for paying customers.

Lycos' new service is already available. In a somewhat labored swipe at Google and Yahoo, Lycos was keen to point out that this makes it the first major e-mail specialist to offer a 1GB service. Google's Gmail is still in a test phase. Additionally, Spymac, a Web-hosting company for Macintosh aficionados, has announced a free 1GB service, but it is much less well-known.

"We will be interested to see when our competitors can offer the service that we already provide with a sustainable business model to underpin it. But size is not all that matters," said Alex Kovach, Lycos's European vice president.

Graeme Wearden of ZDNet UK reported from London.

 

[nikhilverma]

Wow!!! now that's one GigaGoogle : : : :

 

[squiz]

One of my mates has got GMail

 

[indyan]

Here's something I read in another forum.I dunno if it's a joke(or URBAN LEGEND as Andrew would call it)or fact


source: cnn.com


According to people working on the Hotmail service, Microsoft has recently committed itself to purchasing 35 million terabytes of server storage, enough to give each and every Hotmail user 1 Terabyte of storage.


According to computer science experts, this would allow for 500 million mail messages. This is enough to have approximately 2700 new messages a day, every day, for 500 years.

When asked why any user would need 1 terabyte of storage, Microsoft's Chief Software Architect Bill Gates said "It's 1000 times more than Google. That's why."

Industry experts say the arms race of e-mail storage could prove detrimental to the industry.

"Soon we'll be seeing 10 TB storage, and then 50 Petabyte storage. Within a few years, e-mail storage will exceed the amount of data that has been created in the history of the universe," says CNN senior technologist Sue Kroll.

Gates insists that the move is necessary. "How many times have you tried to send a backup image of your 500 computer network to yourself via e-mail, only to have it bounce back? Now that won't be a problem."

 

[squiz]

That's a bit too much, 100mb would be great i reckon

 

[ricky123]

:mellow: it doesnt matter how much space they give us ,but how much uploads they allow us in emails ,like now it is 3 mb , if they even allow 10 mb
it will be great :P