[lit-ideas] Re: okay, one last time

On 12/30/06, Phil Enns <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


Paul Stone wrote:

"I find myself not responding to a lot of stuff that I would like to
simply
because I don't feel comfortable with the constraints that gmail puts on
my
responses (no spell check, can't readily compose in fits and starts,
coming
back to what I've started, their folder capabilities are basically
non-existent etc.)"

Are there different versions of gmail?  I use gmail occasionally and it
has
spellcheck and a save/draft function.  Instead of folders, gmail uses
labels, which I am not yet comfortable with.

I don't know if Andreas has suggestions for dealing with this
unsubscribing
business, but I enjoy Paul's contributions and hope he perseveres.


Sincerely,

Phil Enns
Glen Haven, NS



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Paul, Phil,

For what it's worth, I have switched  entirely to Gmail. I access Gmail
through my browser,  where I have Gmail bookmarked and included in my
toolbar list of programs for easy access. On the notebook I am using just
now the browser is Firefox 2.0 (a free download for anyone who wants it) and
Gmail is the home page, so every time I restart the browser, Gmail is the
first thing that appears.

Spellcheck is, as Phil points out, available. Google Help (button is top of
the thread, right hand corner) says,

---------



How do I use spell check? It's easy to check your spelling while composing
Gmail messages. Here's how:

  1. Click 'Check spelling' along the top of the message you're
  composing.
  2. Click the misspelled word (highlighted in yellow) to see Gmail's
  suggestions for similar words.
  3. Select a suggested word from the list to replace the misspelled
  word.
  4. Click 'Done' along the top of the message to continue composing, or
  click 'Send' to send your message.

Gmail's spellchecker operates in the same language you've selected for your
interface. If you compose a message in a language other than your interface
language, you can check the spelling of that message, too -- just click the
arrow next to 'Check spelling' to select the appropriate language. *This
feature is not available in Gmail's basic HTML view.

---------------*
You probably don't need to worry about  "basic HTML view." The standard view
works just fine in the following list of supported browsers.


  - IE 5.5+ (download:
Windows<http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.asp>)

  - Netscape 7.1+ (download:
Windows<http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp>
  Mac <http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp>
Linux<http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp>)

  - Mozilla 1.4+ (download:
Windows<http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/>
  Mac <http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/>
Linux<http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/>)

  - Firefox 0.8+ (download: Windows<http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/>
  Mac <http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/>
Linux<http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/>)

  - Safari 1.3+ (download: Mac <http://www.apple.com/safari/download/>)

You will only have problems is you are using an older browser, e.g.,


  - IE 4.0+
  - Netscape 4.07+
  - Opera 6.03+

--------------------

I wasn't sure myself how I would like not having folders. Now I am a convert
to tags, the system Gmail uses instead.

Tags can be used just like folders. In fact, if you assign only one tag per
message  the difference is only verbal. You can create filters that assign
tags automatically in just the same way that you can set up your current
mail program to sort messages for you. The beauty of tags, however, is that
a message can have more than one. Each message becomes, in effect, like a
library catalog card that can be found using any of the tags assigned to it.
(I could, for example, tag this message with both "lit-ideas" and "Paul
Stone" and find it either way. So what? You say. Well, suppose I have
private conversations with Paul as well as those that appear on lit-ideas.
They can be tagged just "Paul Stone." Then, some time in the future, when I
can't remember if that message I got from Paul was via lit-ideas or not,  I
just click on "Paul Stone" in my tag list and I get all messages from Paul.)

To me, however, the tags are a minor feature. What has really sold me on
Gmail are (1) access to my mail from any computer on the Internet, anywhere
in the world and (2) the fact that Gmail gives me three gigabytes of storage
where everything I send is stored until I deliberately get rid of it.

(1) means to me that even if my computer were to crash or be stolen while I'
am traveling, I can still get to my email, from my hotel or an Internet
cafe.

(2)the storage means that I don't lose mail stored on my hard disk if my
hard disk crashes. In effect, my local hard disk is just my local backup in
the unlikely case that  Gmail's servers go down.

I should also note that (2) has saved me a lot of trouble on those occasions
when I have done work for one of my clients on my laptop, then get back to
my office am sitting in front of my office computer and realize that I left
the laptop at home and didn't transfer the workfile to my flash memory stick
before rushing out the door. I just fire up Gmail, search for messages sent
to the client in question and, there it is, the file I sent, still attached
to the message.

And, no, I do not work for Gmail. I'm just a very happy user.

John

--------------


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