Feedback I recently sent to Gmail

[libertango]

Anyway... OK, guys, I dig the 1000MB of storage. I dig having
Google's search engine being able to search that potential archive.

But to make that storage useful *today*, and not years from now, I
really think your next step should be to develop ways to import --
*and export* -- archives from other programs into and out of Gmail.

My e-mail archives go back to 1996. They take up about 200MB of space
-- easily fitting Gmail's 1000MB. But they're in Eudora, and I can't
import them in. More than that, Eudora's search routines are clumsy
and slow. Making my e-mail "google-able" was a big attraction for me
of Gmail.

I also emphasize the ability to *export* because, in my years in the
computer business (since 1980), how much a vendor will let you *back
out* or unsubscribe from their service shows just how confident they
are of their product. Microsoft, back in the days when they were
trying to catch up to Lotus, WordPerfect, and Borland, clearly learned
this lesson in how they built their filters into Word, Excel, and
Access.

Here's a suggestion list for programs to support for imp/exp filters:
Outlook, Entourage, Eudora, Pegasus. Online services and competing
free e-mail services should be supported as well -- Hotmail,
Mailblocks, Lycos, Yahoo, AOL. For that matter, there's a *huge*
captive audience in the US military, who has a web-based program for
the Army called "AKO" (and I just sent an invite to an Army buddy of
mine).

So, I hope you get the basic idea. I'll bet it's among your Most
Requested Features, but hey... here's one more vote in the ballot box.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours,

-- Hal O'Brien

Comments

[daveon.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that would be handy for me to having not really played with my gmail account yet.

BTW: Are you guys free this weekend? And do you facny meeting up?

[hal-obrien.livejournal.com]

This weekend sounds fine to me. I'm still a bit limited in mobility due to the broken leg, but getting better all the time. OTOH, I work Saturday through to 6PM; Sunday is the only day Ulrika and I both have off together; and my mother is currently visiting us, to help out with the gimp :)

So, let me run it by the troops, and see what the consensus is.

[daveon.livejournal.com]

Ah yes - well, Sunday would work perhaps for a spot of lunch if we can find somewhere "friendly" to damaged limbs. Drop me an email - the work account is easier for me to get out here: david dot oneill at teleca dot com - cheers!

[hal-obrien.livejournal.com]

Dave, I sent you an e-mail to that address from my Gmail account, and I haven't heard anything back.

Anyway, tonight there's going to be a fannish get-together at Judy Fu's Snappy Dragon. It starts at 8-ish. Art Widner is in town for the art car parade and display at the Fremont Fair, and it's always good to see Art. The address is 8917 Roosevelt Way NE, and Luke McGuff (aka holyoutlaw) is organizing, and plans to start 8-ish.

Or... If you want to skip that entirely, and just do something tomorrow, that's cool, too. But I've asked Ulrika to say we'll be three tonight (herself, me, and my mom who's in town to help with the gimp :) , possibly four (you).