Do you use Gmail? Are you happy with it?

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Hi there,



You may have seen my previous post regarding .Mac and my thoughts on moving to Gmail and saving some money. Well, my account is up at the end of this month and I decided to not renew it, moving all my IMAP folders to my Gmail account.



I've been using Gmail now for a week (only) and I'm really starting to think whether I am doing the right thing. It's free I know, but I'm starting to pick holes in the way it works (like tha "All Mail" folder always showing as if there are other emails unread), how it integrates with Apple Mail (which is understandably not as good as the way .Mac Mail does), and now the prospect of spending £59 ($99) on .Mac is starting to appeal again to me.



So I just wanted to know how everyone else feels about Gmail, .Mac Mail and any advice on what I should do. I don't really use any of the other .Mac services, but I'm beginning to realise that it's all pretty much a case of "you get what you pay for"...



Thoughts?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    I liked gmail a lot I've been using it for at least 4 years now, but to be honest with you because I use quite a few computers and platforms I've never integrated it with apple mail.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    hitesthitest Posts: 16member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ecking View Post


    I liked gmail a lot I've been using it for at least 4 years now, but to be honest with you because I use quite a few computers and platforms I've never integrated it with apple mail.



    I love Gmail and IMAP, it synchronizes all of my mail across all of my Linux boxes and my Macbook. I also very much appreciate having 6.5 GB of storage. I'm sold, I'll never go back to using POP mail.
  • Reply 3 of 12
    I use both extensively through Apple Mail. I use Dotmac as my primary and Gmail as my secondary email address. I don't see any difference whatsoever with regard to "integration".
  • Reply 4 of 12
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    my only issue with gmail is the way it works with safari, now with 3.1 the new version works great. but before that i had to use the old version but overall it's the bomb

    how is .mac better i have both but forward from .mac
  • Reply 5 of 12
    jowie74jowie74 Posts: 540member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hitest View Post


    I love Gmail and IMAP, it synchronizes all of my mail across all of my Linux boxes and my Macbook. I also very much appreciate having 6.5 GB of storage. I'm sold, I'll never go back to using POP mail.



    Indeed, IMAP is much better than POP. But is Google's IMAP as good as .Macs? Maybe it's a bit different in the UK.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    jowie74jowie74 Posts: 540member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tonton View Post


    I use both extensively through Apple Mail. I use Dotmac as my primary and Gmail as my secondary email address. I don't see any difference whatsoever with regard to "integration".



    Maybe it's different in the UK, but here are the problems...



    1. Email address - although the domain is gmail, in the UK you have to use @googlemail.com when signing up to things or the return address doesn't work. So straight away the address is long-winded.



    2. You can create more IMAP folders, but in effect they are only "labels" in Google terms. This means you may move items between folders or delete them, but they are only really archived. Then there's the [Google Mail] folder which appears, with an "All Mail" folder. This makes no sense! What's in it? I delete emails but they show up as unread in this folder. Bizarre. Then there's "Bin" which is even weirder, since some emails I throw away appear here, some appear in the Trash in my Apple Mail folder. I can't work out what the rule is but it appears to be pretty random.



    3. When using Outlook on the PC, if you delete a Google email, it goes... *poof* never to return. There seems to be no ability to mark for deletion and then delete when you are sure.



    One thing I *do* like about Gmail is the ability to filter the emails as they come in, rather than on .Mac where there are no server-side filters. You have to wait for the email to come in, then it gets filtered locally, and *then* resynchronised with the server. That's a bit sucky.
  • Reply 7 of 12
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    safari messes up with gmail 1 or 2 (old or new version)

    old version autofill in for addresses doesn't work

    new version shift key puts text in subject line



    get with the program SAFARI
  • Reply 8 of 12
    I love Gmail! I've been using it almost since the beginning. I like the IMAP features, it syncs great with my phone (Moto Q 9c) and the calendar syncs nicely with iCal. I have no complains really. Also the gmail search feature has proven to quite handy.
  • Reply 9 of 12
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DJmastamind View Post


    I love Gmail! I've been using it almost since the beginning. I like the IMAP features, it syncs great with my phone (Moto Q 9c) and the calendar syncs nicely with iCal. I have no complains really. Also the gmail search feature has proven to quite handy.



    do you use firefox or safari, it works great with FF and IE but now both old and new versions have their quirks even with simple text.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    jowie74jowie74 Posts: 540member
    Hmmm I was thinking more of how Gmail works in Apple Mail - I find (quite unsurprisingly but still annoyingly) .Mac Mail works much better with Apple Mail than Gmail... In fact the same is true of Outlook on the PC too.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jowie74 View Post


    Hmmm I was thinking more of how Gmail works in Apple Mail - I find (quite unsurprisingly but still annoyingly) .Mac Mail works much better with Apple Mail than Gmail... In fact the same is true of Outlook on the PC too.



    I believe GMail's nonstandard IMAP implementation may be to blame.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    I also Gmail, I am new to it though but I can leave it open on a frest tab in firefox and it automatically updates with refreshing the page, I love the spotlight feature on it, although I'm not a hardcore emailer I think it would fit most people's needs.
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