Gmail: Google's approach to email

We had an great idea to create a print magazine featuring fiction, poetry, photography and interviews with new and emerging writers & artists -- thus 34thParallel Magazine was born. But we had one big problem--we live on different continents! But, using Gmail as our working office we receive submissions, edit copy, contact authors and successfully collaborate using Google Docs. It's great to be able to simultaneously edit text and chat at the same time. The unlimited space allows us to receive, send, and save, photos, pdfs and magazine layouts. Gmail has made it possible for us to create a print magazine in virtual space, even though we've never worked in the same room. To date we've received hundreds of submissions and published work from almost 100 authors on 6 different continents! Our magazine would still be a dream without Gmail!



Trace Sheridan & Martin Chipperfield, Publishers and Editors of 34thParallel Magazine
Southern California & South Australia

Labels: mail on the go

Gmail has more than once saved projects that I've been working on. My university limits student email size to about 1.5 MB, which our reports always (and I mean ALWAYS) run over. So, we've found that the easiest way to transfer these files is by using Gmail! Nearly everyone has one (and a lot of people forward their university emails to their Gmail accounts, myself included), and you don't really have to worry about running out of space. It also makes it great for when you're looking up a piece of code that you know you wrote last semester, but you know got deleted off the school's servers. You know that as long as it passed through Gmail at some point, and you haven't deleted it, it's still there!



Greg Miller, Aerospace Engineering Undergraduate Student
Boulder, CO

Labels: mail on the go

Living in the Canadian Arctic is tough for many reasons, one of which is the slow-as-molasses internet connection. Every computer-user is used to watching in agony as screens fail to load. The little green bars in the bottom-right hand side of the screen can be our worst enemies and many a temper has been lost frantically clicking the "refresh" button, in hopes that a faster connection will have magically appeared in the last two seconds. More often that not, frustration results as information disappears, especially when that information is in a personal or professional email. Dealing with the dial-up has helped me grow to love Gmail's Basic HTML option. Why wait forever for the little "Loading .." sign to not come through on its promise? Instead, choose to go back to the basics, and enjoy your email much faster. Sure, you don't get all the fancy add-ons to Gmail (which are super-sweet, by the way! New colors for my labels? You know I love it). But, when you are in a pinch, and you need to know if there's a little (1) waiting in your inbox, the Basic version does just fine.



Andrew Stuhl, Volunteer Teacher
Inuvik, Canada

Labels: mail on the go

I love that Gmail is universal and I have been easily been able to use it whether I was in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Mexico, Costa Rica or while spending time in any of the airports in between.



Bob White, English teacher
Costa Rica (previously Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, USA)

Labels: mail on the go

I needed to reference emails sent to me two years ago for specific information. The information consisted of vague bits and pieces in a long series of emails exchanged between multiple parties over several months. Because of Gmail I was able to type three words into the search field and pull up the information within seconds. Without the sheer storage capacity and efficient search engine at that precise moment in time, I could not have retrieved the information in time that eventually yielded me my dream job (i.e. my current job). I'm not sure where I would be without Gmail! I rank its overall importance to my life above my car, but slightly below my toothbrush. Probably above my girlfriend (but don't tell her that).



Eric, Federal Contractor
Virginia

Labels: mail on the go

Gmail has been our lifeline while traveling over 8,000 miles in our motor-home. We have stayed in touch family and conducted our business by way of Gmail...



Richard Gordon, Retired
Dawson, AL

Labels: mail on the go

This Christmas I traveled out of Hong Kong and I made use of Gmail's POP3 function to retrieve my emails from my five different email addresses - some of which are from my business email addresses. I was extremely pleased to find that I can access, receive, reply or send an email on any available computer and still make it look like it is originating from my professional email address...



Lynda Shen, Proofreader
Hong Kong

Labels: mail on the go

I love the way that way I have everything all at my fingertips from around the world with Gmail. I can travel anywhere and get email and contacts from any computer, or from any wireless phone. I used to hate going from work to home, and needing to email some people from my home account, not knowing the email, as it was stored locally on my home machine. Now, I can just log into Gmail and have it all at my fingertips.



Brandon, Consultant
Illinois

Labels: mail on the go

I spent my last year of college doing internships in Veterinary Hospitals. It was a really really busy year and I had little time for family or friends! The last four months of the internship were spent in Spain....then, not only was I away from everyone I knew, I was also in a different country, with a different language! Thanks to Gmail, I was able to stay in touch with those I love, especially with my boyfriend. I sent photos from my work and from all the places I visited, and received photos from everyone back home. And now...I have all those memories stored in my account....just a click away!!! And more....I'm a veterinarian thanks to Gmail!! While I was away from home, I completed my final graduation thesis, always safely stored, and accessible all over the globe. I remember I actually worked on my thesis at the Barcelona Airport....without a laptop of my own!!!



Marta Cipriano, Veterinarian
Lisbon, Portugal

Labels: mail on the go

When I had to travel to London on business recently, I had to get a passport for the first time in my life. The backlog at the State Department made me worry about losing it--how long would it take to replace it? So, just in case, I scanned the passport into a JPG and then emailed the file to myself. I left for London secure in the knowledge that I could produce an image of my passport from anywhere with web access.



Karen Wester Newton, Publishing System Manager
Rockville, MD, USA

Labels: mail on the go

I use Gmail as an email "hub". All my email accounts forward to my Gmail account, and I can send mail from any account I want with Gmail. Since I've signed up for Gmail, it's made my life so much simpler because now I only have to check one place for email, and I can send from any of my needed addresses. Gmail is easy, fast, and fun. Especially with Keyboard Shortcuts.



Nicholas Jensen
Grants Pass Oregon

Labels: mail on the go

Our business relies on email-based orders. When our internet service provider went down today, we could not get email from our clients nor send them email. Fortunately, we use Gmail as a backup. Within only a few minutes, our staff, which is spread through 3 states, was able to communicate and notify clients that they could contact us via Gmail. I would estimate Gmail saved us several thousand dollars in lost orders today alone. Awesome!



Dean Rotbart, Publisher
Beverly Hills

Labels: mail on the go

While working on a very hot item for production, our company server decided to start stripping out attachments and I had one unhappy client on my hands. I directed them to my Gmail account and was able to retrieve the files and continue with production. In fact, after I left for the day, I was notified of more changes. So, I retrieved the file at the juice and coffee bar of my local gym and was able to complete and forward to final production.



Scott Sparks, Client Services Rep
Bixby, Oklahoma

Labels: mail on the go

I am Indian and do not know Spanish. I applied for a PhD position in Spain and I was asked to fill and submit an application form for that. The irony is that I do not know anything in Spanish and the forms were completely in Spanish. So I used Gmail chat with 3 of my friends from various parts of the globe. One of my friend knows Spanish while another one corrected my documents and the third one verified it. Wow! It was fun. Gmail could store all our chats and I could easily copy and fill the forms. Moreover, it is unique that the chat was inbuilt and does not disconnect like other download-needed chat systems. I filled it in and sent it for grant application successfully! Let it be brainstorming, fun with friends or attachments to be sent in a jiffy, Gmail is the best! Thanks for being a part in my life.



S. Kalyanasundaram, Scientific Researcher
New Delhi, India

Labels: mail on the go

As a journalist, I'm always trying to find new sources, and usually it's an active, time-consuming process on my part. The ads that are placed inside the compose cell of my email account, tailored as they are to my subjects, have more than once provided me with a new organization or interviewee for an article. That's cool!



French Clements, Freelance Writer
Lee, MA

Labels: mail on the go

I use Gmail and Google Docs to write my wedding ceremonies. Once a wedding is booked, we swap ideas for the custom ceremonies online via Docs, and on a couple of occasions when brides have forgotten their vows, I have been able to access them and print them out at the wedding location. Saved the day!



Debi Ashe, Minister
New Hampshire

Labels: mail on the go

I have done a lot of travel in the last year, 14 countries in 12 months! I have missed my family, my pets and my home but it was strangely comforting to me that wherever I went my Gmail Inbox was the same. I used Chat to stay in touch with my nearest and dearest. It's funny, Gmail's interface became the interior of an online virtual home that never changed.



Patrick, Adventurer
Washington D.C.

Labels: mail on the go

A friend and I exchange music files of us singing and playing guitar and we layer over each others tunes with our own harmonies and send them back! Jamming across the hemispheres!



Lesley, CEO of YoYoDyne Industries
Australia

Labels: mail on the go