Gmail - Views of a User - IT Panel Article 2005

Google's own email system has been in beta test for more than a year, but by the time it is made available to everyone it may have acquired legendary status. Gmail's initial claim to fame was a gigabyte of storage, but there are other benefits which could leave you wondering how you ever managed without it. At the moment, access to Gmail is by invitation only, but anyone with a Gmail address will have a stash of invitations to pass on. It was more difficult last year, when Gmail invitations were allegedly changing hands for £40 on eBay.

Gmail's boast that you never need delete another email prompted Yahoo to play catch up and increase its storage to one gigabyte. Google went one better and doubled Gmail's to two. They even jokily claimed that they were working towards infinite storage space. And certainly when you look at your account, the more memory you use the more you seem to have at your disposal; could it be the internet's answer to the unlimited salad bar? But what exactly will you be storing on Gmail? Clearly emails, which are helpfully grouped by subject matter. And you may find yourself wanting to send yourself that skeleton argument so you can sneak into the host's study and access it at a dinner party. You could even keep a convenient copy of your unfinished novel which will one day earn you more royalties than John Grisham.

To find any particular message, you do a Google search of all your emails which, as you would expect, is fast and efficient. This system also means that you don't have to worry about setting up a multitude of folders, as all archived emails go into one box. Better still, you can attach labels to your emails. For example, you could label all emails relating to one case, and then call them all up in one handy group. The number of labels you can create is unlimited. If you prefer, you can attach stars to important emails. Gmail's way of handling contacts is also satisfyingly neat. You are able to type in useful gobbets of information - like who the person actually is - and these are visible when you view the list. Store as much or as little information about each individual as you like, and upon viewing a contact you'll see your most recent communications with them. Another big Gmail plus is the Notifier which sits on your screen and, as well as alerting you to every email you receive, tells you the sender's identity and displays the start of the message.

But what are the downsides? On Gmail's launch, Google was accused by privacy groups of "violating the implicit trust of an email service provider". The bone of contention is that all email is scanned for advertising purposes; a list of targeted adverts appears alongside your emails exactly as they do when you conduct a Google search. Although no one seriously thinks that Google are planning to misuse the information, there are fears that a court order could force them to employ its scanning system for law enforcement purposes. Meanwhile, Google claim that their system is "fully compliant with the law" and that they have only "the highest regard" for the privacy of users' information.

The Guardian claims that Gmail's most serious drawback is the lack of standard POP3 or IMAP mail support. Web-based mail services are okay for beginners and people who don't make much use of email - but serious users will find it horribly inefficient. This criticism does not seem to have found resonance with the actual users; indeed Jeremy Barnett, Chair of the Bar Council IT Panel, reports that the Pop3 server does work (albeit at times temperamentally) and that he is able to download to a Nokia handheld. Sometimes you will find that Gmail is unable to carry out a function - like sending an email - whereupon a little pop-up message appears starting with the word "Oops". A more minor quibble is that when you attach documents to an email, you are unable to double click the document to check it's the latest version, as you can in Outlook.

Changing your email feels like a big step. You will want to know that you are dumping your current provider for the right partner. My personal view is that you will not be disappointed as Gmail has so much to recommend it. A word of warning however. Google has just launched its own portal system bringing together all of its services on one cosy home page. This may now feel like too much intimacy. As with all primary relationships, proceed with care.

James Woolf