Google Gets the Message
Google launch Gmail, a free search-based email service.
Google have revealed that they are testing 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 says Larry Page, Google co-founder and
president. The idea that there could be a better way to handle email caught the
attention of a Google engineer who thought it might bee a good "20 percent time"
project.
"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."
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 a search facility, built on
Google search technology so people can 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. 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. 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
"cconversations" 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.
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