HoTMaiL vs GMail - bring it on!

wolveso wrote:

Where's your privacy once a set of "legitimate marketers" are allowed by Hotmail / MSN to send you spam? It's only not spam when it's explicitly requested.

In my mind, here's the bottom line: It's FREE e-mail. Don't like the ads? DONT'T USE IT!!!

Besides my work e-mail, I have my Comcast e-mail that came with my high-speed hook-up (I access both of these with Outlook, which I like very much). I also have my own mail server (behind a router and hardware firewall as well as software firewall -- runs qMail over Linux, by the way), but you don't need to go to that extream to avoid ads. So you see, there are many options.

No one forces you to use Hotmail, gMail, or any particular e-mail service.

Knute wrote:

GMAIL = INVASION OF PRIVACY, TARGETED ADS

Targetted ads do not invade your privacy as you agree to them in the TOS agreement.

By the way, this is something that I expected from Microsoft and wanted Microsoft to do...

JBottero wrote:

In my mind, here's the bottom line: It's FREE e-mail. Don't like the ads? DONT'T USE IT!!!
...
No one forces you to use Hotmail, gMail, or any particular e-mail service.

I don't like Hotmail *in general*. I don't mind advertisements, you get what you pay for. I personally use Gmail, because I like it better as a free webmail package. Of course though, that's just what it is - free webmail.. so there's an inevitable trade off when compared to someone like you who's running a mail server on Linux. Like you say - don't like it? Don't use it!

Shining Arcanine wrote:

Targetted ads do not invade your privacy as you agree to them in the TOS agreement.

Ah yes, the TOS! Now, that and the click-through EULA are a huge can-o-worms...

Shining Arcanine wrote:

By the way, this is something that I expected from Microsoft and wanted Microsoft to do...

Actually, I think this is less invasive than banner ads...

Knute wrote:

GMAIL = INVASION OF PRIVACY, TARGETED ADS

~ Knute

ps - I thought we already covered this whole GMAIL thing. I love HOTMAIL, I even ponied up $20 for a larger inbox. I also like the fact that I can check my POP mail accounts in one user interface.

My thought is GMAIL will go the way of the DODO as soon as they go public and some sensible board members decide that giving away 1GB of space does not make financial sense.

Actually, it is not an invasion of privacy because:

1. You agree to it.

2. No living being reads your email, just the computer, of which it was transmitted through to begin with.

lars wrote:

That could change.

Microsoft adopts IronPort anti-spam "whitelist"

"WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) said on Wednesday it has adopted an e-mail "whitelist" program by IronPort Systems Inc. that will allow legitimate marketers to thread the gauntlet of spam filters protecting its inboxes. Microsoft's Hotmail and MSN e-mail services, which together claim 170 million regular users, will require marketers to put money up front if they wish to ensure their messages aren't mistaken for unwanted spam."

Nice word - "marketers".

/Lars.

My only question is what is the difference between a legimate marketer and a spammer...

JBottero wrote:

Honestly. If you need a gig (!!!) to store your web-based e-mail, you need to learn to archive, or just LET GO of the old stuff. 20 MB is fine, though I must say the gMail GUI is a lot cleaner than HotMail. As for me? I just run my own e-mail server so I don't use either.

Also, I think there is a very real possibility that people will simply use gMail as free storage space for application files, and other binary attachments. This of course opens up the wherez possibilities, which I think need to be seriously considered. There are going to be corporate liabilities with this much storage.

-- Jake

I have all 3. I have a hotmail account, a gmail account and an email at my website (200MB, could be 1GB if I wanted it to be).

I was going to offer someone from the Channel9 team an invitation to gmail so he/she can compare and contrast gmail and hotmail to send information to MSN but I don't have any referrals. ^_^;;

If you want to compare Hotmail and Gmail, you can get 
an Gmail account from Ebay for about $3.  And you can 
use www.GTransfer.com to transfer your hotmail to gmail 
online.  The service is $4.95.  After that you can 
compare them side by side.  Not bad for an experiment 
under $10

Knute wrote:

I wonder how much GMAIL paid O'Reilly to write that piece? "Tim we'll give you a $100,000 to dispell the growing concerns over our new highly anticipated service"....


If you guys want to blindly believe that this type of privacy intrusion is ok, that's fine. Just keep following the shepherds like sheep....

~ Knute

Privacy and email in the same sentence?  And a free web based email service at that? 

I've always though of email as being the digital equivalent of a post card.

I dont see why everyone is targeting Google for their email practices. Pull up the TOS from the big name webmail providers and compare. You will find a ton of similarities. The only thing i think Google is doing different is they told you they are scanning through your emails for keywords for advertising purposes. Dont think for one second that Yahoo and Hotmail have never scanned through emails for keywords for one reason or another.

Oooh, google scans for keywords. So what. The government is scanning emails too, but google is advertising, the government isnt.    

It's easy to get a free GMail account these days. Infact; I've got 2 invites just collecting cyberdust. The first two to email me will get them.

Update: all gone.

/Lars.

For the record; I'm a non-smoker and I hate the smell. But you don't need to start any new thread about it.

metaphor22 wrote:

If you want to compare Hotmail and Gmail, you can get 
an Gmail account from Ebay for about $3.  And you can 
use www.GTransfer.com to transfer your hotmail to gmail 
online.  The service is $4.95.  After that you can 
compare them side by side.  Not bad for an experiment 
under $10

Selling referrals is a violation of the TOS agreement.

GMail has 1GB wow (I don't need that much)
Yahoo used to be 6mb now it 100mb for free with small graphics ads and free pop forwarding (100mb is alright for me)

It was £3.49/mo now it £1.99/mo for 100MB and £3.49/mo for a 1GB Lycos mailbox (still only 10mb on the free one shame its it) I think lycos is a rip off my self Yahoo on the other hand is better then ever it used to be 6mb for free mailbox but now it 100mb (for free) Yahoo has got 2GB mailbox for £11.99 a year that under £1/mo compare that to the Lycos 1GB mailbox which costs £3.49/mo