The list
Google Gmail
Gmail is a web-based application provided free by Google and features over 7GB of storage space.
This service is funded by ads and, given Google's policy of using contextually appropriate advertising, it somewhat ironically produced a link to a trial of Microsoft Outlook during testing. However, business users can work with Google or third-party partners to get a more business-friendly version dubbed Premier Edition for US$50 per seat, per year.
The Gmail interface is not complicated in itself, but the fact that it sits inside a web browser automatically exposes the user to many additional buttons and menus irrelevant to the email client. Conversely, a web-based email service offers great convenience to travellers who may not always have access to the same computer.
A calendar service is also offered — linked to your email account. Like Outlook, calendars can be viewed by day, week and month, and can be shared with friends. The calendar opens as a separate web page to the email interface.
There is little argument it has a user-friendly interface and many handy extras, but what about the basics? Messages sent to a test Gmail account were a disaster. Message titles and the first part of the message body displayed fine when listed in the inbox, but all hell broke loose when a message was opened.
The message body was stored in an attachment (three copies of this were found) and had to be opened in order to read the message. The Email Standards Project notes that Gmail cannot handle CSS in headers. Messages sent by Enex using Outlook were mutilated to the point of uselessness due to HTML/CSS formatting used in message templates.
Provided that there is no need to converse with colleagues using CSS, Gmail may otherwise serve you well. It has a search function and important emails can be marked with stars or customised labels to enhance search routines. Gmail also has a built-in chat program and anti-spam filter.
While Gmail might be a convenient tool for personal use, we would not recommend it for business purposes. For example, businesses will have less control over the Google mail servers than they would their own internal servers, so cannot apply corporate policies to employee mailboxes.
You can, however, get Gmail addresses customised to your domain name, and a number of large educational institutions in Australia and New Zealand have taken this approach to providing email addresses to thousands of students.
(Credit: Michael Palamountain/ZDNet.com.au)
(Credit: Michael Palamountain/ZDNet.com.au)






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