Recently by recommendation from several fellow OS X users, I’ve been told to try using Apple’s Mail over my current Gmail situation. Since Gmail has free POP3 support, Google makes it easy to use your email client of choice. However, I’m running into a different problem with my attempt to switch to Apple’s Mail; I’m addicted to Gmail.
After three attempts to switch, I just can’t. The way Gmail handles email has completely changed my view of email to the point where I can’t switch. It’s not that Gmail can be accessed anywhere, since I now have a laptop that can be used anywhere, it’s the features which are keeping me with Gmail.
Threaded conversations are a big thing for me. Sure, Apple Mail does have threading of conversations, but it’s just not the same. The way Gmail places all the messages in basically the same email, and provides a quick and easy way to see what you said last is pure genius. Doing it any other way just doesn’t make sense to me anymore.
Archiving is yet another feature I can’t get away from. Using Gmail now for over two years has brought me to the point where I can no longer delete an email. I don’t know what’s important and what needs to be thrown away. I’d rather just archive it all, then search for something if I find I need it later.
The way Gmail uses labels is yet another thing which is keeping me using Gmail. Google’s right when they say labels are better. Looking at my emails I see multiple messages which are tagged under several labels. It just makes sense to not have to choose between the friends and website folder when it fits under both. Going back to folders is just too difficult for me.
Finally, it’s the little things which are keeping me with Gmail. Those little links on the right side that say track package or add to calendar are the smartest things ever. It makes life easier. Instead of copying the UPS tracking number in my email, and then heading to UPS.com to paste it in to track, I can just click a simple link in the right side bar and Google handles it for me. It saves me a ton of time, and makes me smile whenever I can use one of those links.
When I stack up those advantages of Gmail against Apple Mail, I just don’t see a reason to switch. Maybe I’m oblivious to the goodness of Apple Mail, but when I have things like the Gmail Notifier running in my menu bar, Gmail acts just like Apple Mail, if not better. I’m sorry, but I’m just addicted to Gmail.
16 Comments
I agree. Gmail has completely changed the way I have looked at e-mail. It is the little things that count and Gmail rocks at those.
The only catch with using Gmail on OS X is the lack of being able to e-mail from programs (prime example: sending photos from iPhoto).
But I got around that by setting up an e-mail account Apple Mail just for that purpose. Works good enough for me!
Ronald, you hit the nail on the head here. Gmail has completely changed the way I think of email. The problem is Gmail is so intuitive. The archiving this is good. But by far for me the most addictive feature is the threading of email conversations as you stated. It’s totally genius. Oh yeah, and the tagging thing is sweet too.
I’m actually trying to do the opposite and trying to switch to Gmail. I just signed up for a Gmail hosted account and was accepted into the beta program, so now I have Gmail for my own domain name which is a pretty nifty. The next step I took was to consolidate all of my email addresses into one Gmail account. All of my email accounts now forwards to my Gmail account. Gmail even has a little known feature that let’s you choose your “Reply-to” e-mail, which is a godsend. The switch is almost complete, but now I need to make it work with my GTD system.
@Chanpory, I’m looking to do exactly the same. I’ve tried to switch, but moving 6000+ organised emails over to Gmail is a daunting task.
I’m one of them.
Don’t be sorry. Gmail IS awesome and I use it for all my email too. I just prefer using Apple’s email client and downloading and reading email offline. I know everything is moving into the browser with Web 2.0, but I think it’s quite necessary for it to. When I’m not at home and don’t have my laptop with me (that’s always, since I’m too scared something will happen to it!) I log in with my Gmail or Gmail Hosted account. When I’m at home, it’s so nice to just close the darned browser and let Apple Mail run in the dock. It integrates beautifully with iCal and Address Book, which then sync with my phone. i don’t think I’m missing out on anything other than the UPS tracking link. I’m used to using both folders and labels. Before I got my Mac I used Thunderbird and Gmail before that. Thunderbird is good combination of both. What I really like about Apple Mail though are the iTunes-like Smart Mailboxes. That’s something you don’t have on Gmail. And if I need to find an old email, I just search for it. And search offline is a lot faster and even works when I’m somewhere, where there’s no connectivity.
@ Chris: If you want to download all your old POP mail into Apple Mail, I would suggest activating “all mail” in the Gmail POP settings and leaving it on one night. By morning it should be done. That’s 6000 text files with a few images and attachments here and there. Not too much. I do 2gb in a night on my crappy little 256k connection.
Yeah, I check my gmail via a web interface. I have tons of filters, many labels and I love everything about it. I just can’t use gmail via POP.. I’ve tried though.
I fucking HATE gmail.
Oh I found you through the-diet list btw.
Anyway as I was saying. I was a gmail lover for a long long long time… I had gmail, I also belonged to their myspace like community called orkut.
After having gmail for four years, one day I go to log in and get the message that my password was incorrect. I tried and tried, no luck. I wondered if I changed my password a few months ago and forgot, since I always used the notifier that logged me in automatically. So I decided to do the password recovery thing… when I put in the info it replied saying there was NO SUCH ACCOUNT BY THAT NAME. WTF?!
I followed every angle I could find on their support page, no matter what I did I couldn’t seem to get into my gmail account. Worse than that, it was as though my account never even existed!!
I emailed their support, giving the information they asked for. I was sent a mail asking for other info, which I also sent to them. Every time I sent them info they mailed me back asking for MORE info… going back as far as asking for the original link from the mail I got inviting me to gmail in the beginning.
Thankfully I found it, and sent it to them. This is the response I got:
Hello,
Thank you for your reply.
We have investigated this issue, but because the results were
inconclusive, we’re not able to provide further assistance.
Gmail takes the privacy and security of our users very seriously. For this
reason, we can’t reveal any further information about this account.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and thank you for
your cooperation.
Sincerely,
The Google Team
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was freaking OUT. I even phoned googles headquarters and told the receptionist what happened. She gave me an email with a password to send all the info to, and NOBODY replied.
So that was that.
My gmail account = GONE
My orkut account = GONE
I lost all the information that was in the account, and not a damn soul would help me.
All I can figure is that someone hacked my gmail and got me deleted somehow from everything google that the account was associated with. Not only could I not get my account back but they wouldn’t tell me what happened to it or anything.
Gmail is great — when you have it — but don’t expect any help from Google if something fucks up because as I was told by the person at headquarters, gmail is a free service and therefor they owe us nothing in the way of support.
I will never, EVER use gmail again… I simply have no trust in them.
I feel for you, Breigh. The EXACT same thing happened to me with Hotmail. Imagine 6 years of emails, email ids of old friends from various places and schools, an MSN Messenger login… ALL GONE. I hate MSN to this day for denying me entry back into my own world.
I didn’t know gmail was out for 4 years Breigh. I thought it started in 2004.
Hehehehe.
Yeah sorry I meant two years, that’s what I get for writing when I’m half asleep
Regardless, four years, two years… in the end I still ended up losing everything that was in that account and google were total idiots about it.
Your absolutely right gmail is the best email source.
By the way I just went out and bought a 2gig white macbook.
Do you have any idea why the black is 200 bucks more expensive then the white and it has the same stats.
Congratulations on the MacBook purchase! The most agreed upon reason for the black being most expensive is Apple is testing the waters. They wanted to offer a black notebook, but didn’t want to have tons of the black ones laying around if no one bought them. So, they charged a little more to help keep their costs down if it was a failure.
I’ve been using Apple Mail for quite some time and was always telling people to use it instead of Entourage because of memory, interface, integration, etc. However, when the hard drive on my computer died (again), I gave up. I’ve got backups of Apple Mail messages and other data, but it just made me think that I should try to keep as much of my life online as possible. The service is what’s important, not the computer or software. You get the same interface every time and on almost every computer. GMail GUI is in some aspects even better looking and more usable than the Mail app. In short, GMail and all things online is the new goal for me.
Sorry to hear that online mail accounts have vanished for some people, but you should give it another try - shit happens. Makes me think of opening another gmail or yahoo account and have gmail forward every message there for backup. Why not? It’s free.
For those who travel and feel the need to read or compose email in offline mode, I guess there’s no substitute for mail software. But for me when there is no internet, computer is not appealing and I just don’t use it.
For those who’ve got thousands of messages, that they want to transfer, I’d say one thing - forget it altogether. Those mails are just not important (you realise this after your HD fails a few times). How many times do you look at messages from 6 years ago? If there are important ones, send them over to GMail, others just forget or burn to DVD and then forget.
Andrei R,
Just wondering how you fared with forwarding Gmail messages to second Gmail account as backup.
Wow a gmail addict support thread..I think its hilarious that I’ve been to a few of your blogs, gmail probably appeals to the heavily internet obsessed for example - I bet some of you, like me, just leave gmail open in a Firefox tab, while working in other tabs, i love doing it that way but it shows you as away from chat, which i hate, because what what if one of my friends wanted to talk to me? What if both of them wanted to?
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