GMail (Google Mail)

[Wayne Luke]

"Reading" is a bit far fetched. A machine will be going through the email looking for potential keywords. No human will actually sit and read my messages. Personally I would be more annoyed by the embedded advertisements than by their indexing mechanism.

Anything indexed can be used to violate privacy whether it is by machine or human.

Overall, sounds like a service I won't use.

[Chen]

Anything indexed can be used to violate privacy whether it is by machine or human.

And how do you know Hotmail or Yahoo! don't violate your privacy as we speak? It's not like the EULA of GMail will have a clause that says "by using this service you allow us to violate your privacy".

[Shining Arcanine]

Anything indexed can be used to violate privacy whether it is by machine or human.

Overall, sounds like a service I won't use.

Anything you don't want someone else to read should never be typed or written.

[Wayne Luke]

Anything you don't want someone else to read should never be typed or written.

That is actually kind of assinine. There is a need for private communication between one or more people. Now, I believe you shouldn't hold these communications on a third-party system whether it be run by Google, MSN, Yahoo, a hivemail installation or other. But some people would.

Even though I don't currently ban free emails from my sites, I will most likely ban Google's email service from the sites because of their indexing.

[Shining Arcanine]

It doesn't have to be indexed to be searched through, indexing merely accelerates the search, nothing more.

[Faruk]

uhh... this was announced March 31st, not April 1st.

Google's joke this year was something about building a lab on the moon.

AFAIK, it was April 1st in most of the world by that time...

But, I saw a statement from a Google rep saying "it is most definitely not a joke!" and I believe him... for now

[Wayne Luke]

And how do you know Hotmail or Yahoo! don't violate your privacy as we speak?

I don't... Which is why I don't read those services. However, I do say that I have more faith in Microsoft keeping my information safe and private than I do with Google.

However, the point remains if Microsoft said that Hotmail accounts would now feature targetted advertising based on the content of your emails, most of the people who laud this now would be up in arms, crying about big brother and the bemoaning the general havoc this would wreak on the world today.

However since the name on the door is Google instead of Microsoft, this is considered good?

[Chen]

However, the point remains if Microsoft said that Hotmail accounts would now feature targetted advertising based on the content of your emails, most of the people who laud this now would be up in arms, crying about big brother and the bemoaning the general havoc this would wreak on the world today.

I have a feeling people are applauding this new service because of the large storage space it offers. Obviously if Microsoft, Yahoo! or any other company were to include targeted ads in exchange for only 3MB people would get mad.

[cirisme]

However, I do say that I have more faith in Microsoft keeping my information safe and private than I do with Google.

Why? Not an attack just genuinely curious...

[Shining Arcanine]

I don't... Which is why I don't read those services. However, I do say that I have more faith in Microsoft keeping my information safe and private than I do with Google.

However, the point remains if Microsoft said that Hotmail accounts would now feature targetted advertising based on the content of your emails, most of the people who laud this now would be up in arms, crying about big brother and the bemoaning the general havoc this would wreak on the world today.

However since the name on the door is Google instead of Microsoft, this is considered good?

It is actually based on the emails you read most often however, many of the emails I read most often are of no use to targetted advertisement software.

By the way, I would also feel more safe with Microsoft, infact I would have expected this from Microsoft and not from Google.

[CeleronXT]

I don't... Which is why I don't read those services. However, I do say that I have more faith in Microsoft keeping my information safe and private than I do with Google.

However, the point remains if Microsoft said that Hotmail accounts would now feature targetted advertising based on the content of your emails, most of the people who laud this now would be up in arms, crying about big brother and the bemoaning the general havoc this would wreak on the world today.

However since the name on the door is Google instead of Microsoft, this is considered good?

1.)This is just Google's AdSense used slightly differently. We know how it works.

2.) Microsoft isn't offering 1000 MB of mail space to sweeten the deal.

3.) Google isn't going to initially have no ads, and then spring them on people after they've gotten settled in. Microsoft started without said ads (I assume there aren't any..), so springing them out now might raise a little alarm. But for Google it will have always been there. And they make it widely understood that it will be there.

[Sam FT]

http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~wesleyr3/hotmail.htm

Thought that this was funny.

[Wayne Luke]

Why? Not an attack just genuinely curious...

I have had a business relationship with Microsoft for over twenty years now through purchasing their software. Microsoft is in the business of selling software first and foremost and their primary focus is allaying the concerns of their customers. I don't have to participate in their surveys and other datamining if I don't want to.

Google on the other hand is in the business of data information mining and making that information available to others. It is my belief that at the very least their email service is just another way to gather information that can be sold to their partners. At the very least it will be used to aggregate statistics such as 35.6% of all users read their viagra email but only 14% read their ***** enlargement email. At the worst first you will start seeing targetted AdSense ads then later specialized emails based on the topics you discuss with others. As the market for advertising-based revenues continues to tighten, Google is not looking out for the end-user but their own financial well being. In other words, Google is only starting an email service because they see big money in the content you will be receiving through it.

[Chris Gwynne]

Great marketing by them to release it on March 31st. They don't have to pay a dime for advertising yet by the very next day the whole world is talking about GMail. Very clever.

[Bema Jinn]

What's all this about?

https://gmail.google.com/gmail/html/april.html

One of the 'G' devs/devs women's birthday?