Journalism Research and Random Meanderings

Thursday, April 01, 2004

Free e-mail with built-in spam 

The press release makes no mention of the ads built in to your 'free' e-mail messages: while detailing some of the capabilities;

Search: Built on Google search technology, Gmail enables people to quickly search every email they've ever sent or received. Using keywords or advanced search features, Gmail users can find what they need, when they need it.


Storage: Google believes people should be able to hold onto their mail forever. That's why Gmail comes with 1,000 megabytes (1 gigabyte) of free storage � more than 100 times what most other free webmail services offer.


Speed: Gmail makes using email faster and more efficient by eliminating the need to file messages into folders, and by automatically organizing individual emails into meaningful 'conversations' that show messages in the context of all the replies sent in response to them. And it turns annoying spam e-mail messages into the equivalent of canned meat. "

You have to read the FAQ: "On this page: About Gmail | Frequently asked questions | Interested in an account?"