googlemail.com is on it's way

[acp26b]

CNN.com - Google to offer 1 gig of free...
"To finance the service, Google will display advertising links tied to the topics discussed within the e-mails. For instance, an e-mail inquiring about an upcoming concert might include an ad from a ticket agency."

Am I reading this right? Does this mean that it is going to be reading the e-mail my mom sends me about my dog, and attach dog food advertisements to it? If this is the case, I think this is on the edge of privacy invasion. I for one am a huge fan of google and will continue to use the search engine, but I am not so sure I am going to be using it as my main e-mail server, I think I will stick to something a little more secure.

[pwaring]

There's no way Google can afford to give 1Gb of storage away, unless it has a very small audience of beta testers. As for scanning your emails, even if it's done automatically and by a computer they could be on tricky legal ground (especially since anyone from any country will be able to use it). I also don't like the sound of:

"The backbone of Gmail is a powerful Google search engine that quickly recalls any message an account owner has ever sent or received."

I don't think I'll be signing up for an account with them, except maybe to test the service. Google has been going the wrong way and getting a tad bit too powerful as of late in my opinion. Although this made me chuckle:

"And Gmail accounts can already be used to read and send email in most languages (even Klingon)."

[MrLinus]

I don't think I'll be signing up for an account with them, except maybe to test the service. Google has been going the wrong way and getting a tad bit too powerful as of late in my opinion.

I have to agree. I'd have questions of privacy and the risk that attackers could use the search engine to gain access to the email. Until I see how Google seperates the two and ensures that users cannot go and search through others emails, I won't trust it.

[jenjen]

Yes, I'm sure this will stir up a lot of privacy concerns. Here's one guys point of view.
Why Gmail gives me the creeps


But can't one simply use PGP or zip up a text file, password protect it and attach it ?

Many folks are still thinking it's an april fools joke.. I can't blame them for that.
Google's Web mail no joke – April 2, 2004

news analysis Google's decision to begin testing an advertising-supported Web-based free e-mail service this week was so far out of character for the search engine giant that many people at first believed that the announcement was an April Fool's Day hoax.
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But Gmail carries substantial risks, analysts said, most notably closer scrutiny from privacy advocates uncomfortable with the company's plan to scan the content of e-mail messages in order to serve up targeted ads--a feature that some critics said clashed with the company's long-held business mantra: "Do no evil."

[alittlebitnumb]

I always assume e-mail is not private, and if one is so worried, use PGP or some other encryption. So if they look, so what.

As for the 1 gig of space, that is a little too good to be true. I can see it a haven for pirates.

[moxnix]

Originally posted here by alittlebitnumb
As for the 1 gig of space, that is a little too good to be true. I can see it a haven for pirates.

HO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF RUM.......
I wonder if Google will allow me to forward all my mail from other providers to their mail. I only use web based mail for web based activities anyway, so I am surely not concerned about the privacy issue. but it would be great to have everything forwardeed to one place, and not have to worry about running over any size limits.
It would be a heck of alot easier to delete the junk then.