Slashdot Mirror


GMail Getting RSS Aggregation Feature?

pramodbiligiri writes "Some blogs are saying that a few GMail users can see a "Web Clips" part at the top of their inbox, where you can subscribe to RSS feeds and view them. Evan Williams, formerly of Blogger.com has a screenshot More on this at Gmail Adding Feed Reading and Google inches closer to RSS"

124 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Next Week by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Slashdot integrates gmail into the main page!

  2. Two lines of code will turn any email to RSS by Flywheels+of+Fire · · Score: 5, Informative
    Why do you need gmail when the following simple piece code can do it?
    $rss_feed = file_get_contents('http://example1.com/feed.rss');
    mail('...@example2.com', 'RSS Feed from Example1.com', $rss_feed,
    'Content-Type: application/rss+xml');

    RSS On Slashdot: Iran captures three CIA agents

    1. Re:Two lines of code will turn any email to RSS by zeristor · · Score: 1

      What you witnessed is deja vu.
      That is a glitch in the Matrix.

    2. Re:Two lines of code will turn any email to RSS by kertong · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but the two lines of code require a php-capable webserver for you to run your code on. Last I checked, the average joe schmoe wouldn't be able to cut and paste 2 lines of code to save his life. Having a feature ready to go in gmail, versus having to write 10,000, 100, or even 2 lines of code yourself, is completely different.

      Why use hotmail/gmail/yahoomail at all? Just write your own webmail server.

      Everyone tries to downplay Google. Some people do it well, but some people just sound like whiners. "But, but.. superman can beat up batman!"

  3. Yup by mfh · · Score: 4, Informative

    I saw an RSS feed autodiscovered on my Gmail acct a while ago... maybe even as much as a couple months ago. Tried to subscribe but it wouldn't parse. Maybe that was a sign of the things to come.

    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
    1. Re:Yup by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative


      That's the RSS feed for your Gmail inbox. That's not what this is referring to, which is an RSS reader in Gmail.

      The URL for your gmail feed is:

      https://gmail.google.com/gmail/feed/atom

      Presumably it uses the persistant Gmail cookie to determine your account information.

    2. Re:Yup by aurumaeus · · Score: 2, Informative

      The RSS feed on Google has worked for a while. It just requires authentication, which it seems FIrefox doesn't handle well. It works perfectly on Safari. One more reason to get a Mac. :)

    3. Re:Yup by fanblade · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the URL, but it doesn't work with lektora in Firefox or IE. I might have to switch to sage now for Firefox.

    4. Re:Yup by Reality_X · · Score: 1

      HTTP authentication can be used to get your feed without logging into GMail. You'll need to use https, though.

    5. Re:Yup by JimRay · · Score: 1

      Presumably it uses the persistant Gmail cookie to determine your account information.

      Actually, you need to be using
      an aggregator that supports HTTP authentication.

      I subscribe to my Gmail Atom feed with NetNewsWire, works brilliantly.

      --
      My other computer is your Windows box
  4. so google news then? by learn+fast · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So, can they put up RSS feeds for Google News now?

    1. Re:so google news then? by -O.ster_66 · · Score: 1, Offtopic
      dont get your hopes up - i asked for this two years ago. and again a year ago. they actually "remembered" that i had requested it a year previous.

      oh well. maybe some day.

      --
      "You get all the fun of sitting still, being quiet, writing down numbers, paying attention...science has it all."
    2. Re:so google news then? by bigpat · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wouldn't this be counterproductive for google news? I mean presumably the RSS feeds go directly to the articles not to the google news page itself. So, whatever indirect benefit from aggregating news they are currently deriving from news.google.com would be even more indirect.

    3. Re:so google news then? by Linker3000 · · Score: 1

      It might be counterproductive, but it would let them catch up with MSN who let you have news search results in RSS format - eg:

      http://search.msn.co.uk/news/results.aspx?q=uk+vet erinary&format=rss&form=zznr

      --
      AT&ROFLMAO
    4. Re:so google news then? by psavo · · Score: 1

      They don't show ads on new, so they're not getting any of that now.

      Now, if they could feed 'feeds' to gmail, they could show ads there. A first report of rss-feeds in gmail said that they sometimes show ads (annotated) amids feeds.

      --
      fucktard is a tenderhearted description
    5. Re:so google news then? by bigpat · · Score: 1

      Thanks for that link. I like that it seems to be a customizable RSS feed for any search result you want.

      RSS seems like the right thing to do, like google providing free pop access for gmail, but it circumvents their advertising revenue model. If it doesn't become too successful, then it wouldn't threaten their advertising, though if it starting cutting into the bottom line they could throw ads into their RSS feeds I suppose.

    6. Re:so google news then? by learn+fast · · Score: 1

      What's Yahoo's incentive to give everyone free arbitrary financial data in csv format?

      Or, for that matter, what's the benefit of Google running the entirety of Google News? It doesn't have any advertising.

  5. And I ask... by wlan0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Who spends this much time on the webmail? If you're in your email long enough to read that, you probably are using an E-mail client and downloading using POP3.

    1. Re:And I ask... by Quai · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, try gmails ui and you will discover a web-ui that is better than most email-clients out there.

      --
      --
    2. Re:And I ask... by TrippTDF · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Not since I got gmail.

      I was paying $20 a year for Yahoo! Plus, and using POP3 at work and at home, but then I got gmail, and I liked the interface so much, I let my Y!+ expire.

      I'm on my gmail account all day long, checking in with other friends at work (ok, SLACKING OFF), and having an RSS feed at the top would be kind of cool.

      This is more proof that Google has a lot more in store for gmail, as well as other services.

    3. Re:And I ask... by huhwhatduck · · Score: 1

      I too liked Google's interface enough to keep it open. I constantly have a tab open in Firefox for it. Plus I have Sage running on the side, which is kind of pointless for the Gmail feed, but it would be kind of nice to have the RSS at the top. Still a good point about the POP3. I just hope those of us who would be interested don't find that we get overwhelmed by useless tiny bits that become way too much.

    4. Re:And I ask... by jbarr · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No, no, no. This comes up all the time. For me, a Web-based email account is essential because I can access it from anywhere I have Web access. And Gmail's UI is more like a "real client" than most, so the need for a dedicated client is really eliminated.

      Gmail is an excellent example of a Web-enabled app that really make the Web experience pleasant and productive.

      -Jim
      GmailTips.com

      --
      My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
    5. Re:And I ask... by Scuff · · Score: 1

      actually, I'd rather use thunderbird for both easier usability and the ability to have multiple mailboxes accessible at the same time. (including my gmail account via POP)

    6. Re:And I ask... by LiENUS · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Gmail is turning in to a lot more than email. Using the labels and filters I have my logs emailed to my Gmail account nightly and automatically sort them according to where they came from. Since I archive and keep all emails if I need logs from a certain day I just search and find it. Since I'm checking Gmail several times a day if I could have rss aggregated in as well I could put something like slashdot in and be able to check slashdot while I'm reading through the daily logs. In addition to checking logs I also submit class assignments through Gmail. All of the stuff I do in Gmail means I spend a lot of time in it.

    7. Re:And I ask... by stoanhart · · Score: 1

      Here here! I can't believe how google managed to take a good system like email and enhance it in sooooooo many ways. I still use POP3 for backup putposes, and becasue I have to have a client open for work e-mail, but for the most part, it's the g-mail interface for me!

    8. Re:And I ask... by mindpixel · · Score: 1

      I agree. I live in gmail. It goes where I go. Soon, it will handle spreadsheets and presentations and then someone will make a distro that has mysql/apache/php and boots to firefox and microsoft will shrink down to Borland size and sell only development tools no one sane will use.

    9. Re:And I ask... by FinalCut · · Score: 1

      I actually use Gmail as my primary email location for a few reasons.

      1. I really like the conversation view. The fact that it pulls my replies in makes keeping track of everything that has been said pretty handy.

      2. I check mail at home and at work and on the road. Now, I can manage it all in one place with a fairly elegant interface.

      3. I forward all my email that isn't work related to my gmail account. Using labels, filters and search I don't really need to worry about identifying where each mail was destined for. Gmail takes care of that for me.

      4. 2gb is a ton of space. sure it just gives me a place to clutter. but it makes it easier for me to store attachemnts that I may want to view again in the future without having to clutter my harddrive (and have it availble at home/work/road).

      5. I only have to have one application open to browse the web and read email. I keep EditPlus open for coding (or Eclipse) and my browser open. Not having a dedicated email client running as well reduces my memory usage and processor load (albiet barely).

      6. I use the sage firefox plugin for RSS feeds (again staying in my browser and no need for a rss or email client for tracking feeds). Though technically I should use something more centralized - I am not feeling confident those central services will remain free.

      Boy I guess that is more than a couple reasons. But all in all thats why I use Gmail. I have had webmail access before (squirrel, horde, etc) but never really cared for them. Gmail pulls it off better (but it still needs work; fortunately there is Greasemonkey (ff plugin) which adds a delete button) so I use it.

      I have thunderbird installed and mess with it on occasion, even to download my Gmail - just to try out its features. Its threaded view is pretty close to Gmails except I can't order a threaded view by date - as soon as I do that the grouping is lost.

    10. Re:And I ask... by Aeiri · · Score: 1

      Soon, it will handle spreadsheets and presentations and then someone will make a distro that has mysql/apache/php and boots to firefox and microsoft will shrink down to Borland size and sell only development tools no one sane will use.

      So THAT'S how they are making Google OS...

    11. Re:And I ask... by Aeiri · · Score: 1

      What if GMail supported retrieving POP and IMAP email as well?

      That would be my only client, then.

    12. Re:And I ask... by Aeiri · · Score: 1

      I can't believe how google managed to take a good system like email and enhance it in sooooooo many ways.

      The UI is not just good for nerds, either.

      I gave one of my GMail invites to an aunt of mine that isn't very computer literate, and she's thanked me so many times for it because she likes it much better than her work email or Yahoo.

    13. Re:And I ask... by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "Who spends this much time on the webmail?"

      When I was out of town and at an internet cafe....

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    14. Re:And I ask... by Jarlsberg · · Score: 1

      Well said. I was a dedicated Outlook user until I got a Gmail account. I've been using tons of email clients over the years (Eudora, The Bat, Outlook Express, Outlook, Agent, Thunderbird etc. etc. You name it, I've tried it, but I eventually settled with Outlook), but Gmail is the tops. Its UI is great and searching for old mails is a snap. The crowning feature is its storage capacity and its transportability. Wherever I am, I can always access my email, and not just the last ten days worth of email, but every mail I've ever received (since I opened my account, that is).

    15. Re:And I ask... by shokk · · Score: 1

      I love the Google Mail interface for reading mail, but as a feed reader it just won't cut it. I would rather use something like FeedOnFeeds in frame mode for best text density. I even use a republish patch to reuse the feed reader to publish select links. Since everyone from CNN to Sourceforge uses RSS feeds to distribute articles, I never ever have to go randomly browsing for content. Either it's in the reader or it isn't published yet.

      --
      "Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master."
    16. Re:And I ask... by lucason · · Score: 1

      Welcome to the world of DSL!

      Those of us that don't use dialups actually don't care that we are spending that much time in our webmail.

      In fact I uninstalled evolution on my machine, and removed thunderbird from my wifes and now we only use the gmail web interface.

      Who cares about pop3 when they have a webmail GUI that's better than any client I've ever used.


      And you know what else? POP3 was perfect for downloading texts that took seconds to download and minutes to read. With all the powerpoint-joke-E.Card-chainletter crap out there POP3 is just a way to spend minutes downloading crap you will delete in seconds. So what's the point.

    17. Re:And I ask... by sketerpot · · Score: 1

      It already supports POP3, but not IMAP unless they've changed it lately.

    18. Re:And I ask... by jbarr · · Score: 1
      Your tips suck. Seriously.

      Find out how much space you have left on your GMail account? What's next, a tip about using the decimal numbering system?
      It's regrettable that you feel that way. While I do agree with you that the "How much space do I have left" tip is pretty lame, please don't forget that many of my tips come as answers to people's inquiries. Yes, this one is painfully obvious, but because I actually had to point it out to a couple people, I felt a tip was in order. As new and improved features surface, and as I come up with better ways to use Gmail, rest assured that I'll add more tips that have more substance.

      Thanks for visiting Gmail Tips!

      -Jim
      GmailTips.com
      --
      My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
    19. Re:And I ask... by Aeiri · · Score: 1

      It already supports POP3, but not IMAP unless they've changed it lately.

      No, I mean retreiving email.

      It loads your email at blah@popemail.com or blah@imapemail into GMail through the web interface.

      And no, that's not "Pope Mail", that's "POP Email".

    20. Re:And I ask... by Agret · · Score: 1

      I have my gmail inbox open from when I start my computer to when I shut it down. It's the best web ui ever created (Except slashdot ;) ;) kudos points?)

      --
      Have you metaroderated recently?
  6. Google has mastered internet marketing... by 0x461FAB0BD7D2 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There is nothing more powerful than offering exclusive services to those at the top of the blogosphere and watching the news, and the hype, trickle down to other sites. This builds up anticipation for the service, and when they deliver it is an epiphany.

    It's not only that Gmail's services are better. It knows how to market them online.

    1. Re:Google has mastered internet marketing... by stefano+marese · · Score: 1

      yes, completely my point of view! i'm using gmail since a couple of months and it'd be very nice to have a couple of rss feeds included in the service.

      btw, do you know bandnews.org? they aggregate music news and feed them as RSS. also nice.

      gmail should give everybody the possibility to choose their newsfeeds.

  7. Re:can't get in by damieng · · Score: 1

    I've been accessing gMail for all my mail solidly for the last couple of months.

    I've not seen any server messages within the last few days. That doesn't mean there aren't any but it's worth investigating your own end too.

    [)amien

    --
    [)amien
  8. Imagine the possibilities! by aftk2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I mean, think about it - with Google already supporting RSS feeds for mail messages, now we'll actually be able to get our GMail mail through web clips. Imagine - being able to get Google Mail through Google Mail - Revolutionary!

    Er, wait a minute...

    --
    concrete5: a cms made for marketing, but strong enough for geeks.
    1. Re:Imagine the possibilities! by fyrewulff · · Score: 1

      Actually, I wonder if they do any checking for that, or else: *inbox retrieves feeds of inbox *gmail sends update that you recieved an update *inbox retrieves this update *the update of the update is sent to the update *Google's servers melt down due to Slashdot users intentionally making Googles' code do an infinite loop.

      --
      "We need to get over this notion, that, for Apple to win... Microsoft must lose." - Steve Jobs, 1997
    2. Re:Imagine the possibilities! by dchallender · · Score: 1

      Indeed, I did not get the web clip link but firefox came up with live bookmark auto detect when I was on my gmail page, although live bookmark add failed: So I parsed the page to find the link, copied it and pasted it into an atom reader (firefox sage plugin) and all was fine - though its a bit limited in the info and to do anything useful with long / threaded mails you need to go to gmail web page anyway. Still its a nice way to check mail status without bothering with a gmail notifying app, and hopefully it will get better.

  9. Cleaner Interface by IAmTheDave · · Score: 4, Interesting

    While I love GMail's functionality, I think it could probably use a UI overhaul if they are going to start adding content blocks or make GMail a portal of any sort.

    That said, how cool would it be to have a full AJAX client in Gmail that returned search results from the web/images/video, maintained my open inbox, let me read RSS, watch video clips, IM or IRC... a man can dream...

    --
    Excuse my speling.
    Making The Bar Project
    1. Re:Cleaner Interface by aftk2 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Pst. I've got an app that lets me use GMail, search, read RSS, watch video, play games, and do tons of other internet stuff. It's got tabs, so you can maintain one area's state while you work with another. It's awesome.

      Look at it here. But don't tell anyone!@#!

      --
      concrete5: a cms made for marketing, but strong enough for geeks.
    2. Re:Cleaner Interface by rdwald · · Score: 1

      I've got one like that too, but mine's cross-platform, open-source, and highly extendable: take a look

    3. Re:Cleaner Interface by IAmTheDave · · Score: 1

      yeah yeah... funny. i'm writing this from firefox, of course.

      --
      Excuse my speling.
      Making The Bar Project
    4. Re:Cleaner Interface by awful · · Score: 1

      That's true, but you have to carry your box with you.

  10. Re:Again with Google!?! by Uptown+Joe · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Google: "my ass" http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie =UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2005-07,GGLD:en&q=my+ass

  11. Re:Google and Slashdot really are merging! by terrygao · · Score: 1

    not merging, more like forking :P

  12. It's coming... by jbarr · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...I don't have it on my account yet, but when I do, I'll post all the details on my GmailTips.com site.

    This will be very nice addition. I just hope that Gmail doesn't become bogged down with extras. My wish is that all of these kinds of extras be togglable through Settings...

    --
    My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
    1. Re:It's coming... by Oori · · Score: 1

      I like your Sig. My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." My father always said, "I wish there were a thousand like you, problem is, there are 2 million!"

  13. Carp by mfh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Google and Slashdot really are merging!

    More carp. Slashdot supported Google a long time ago, before it was even a relevant/functional search option... only a budding infrastructure.... only a fresh idea. I keep seeing the bashing of Google posts on Slashdot and I have to wonder why? Why do you care if Slashdot covers the most relevant search engine in the world? Isn't anything Google does NEWS FOR NERDS, STUFF THAT MATTERS?

    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
  14. Simple piece of code by Pope+is+a+nazi · · Score: 1

    Yeah this guy is right. You can turn any email account to be RSS compliant without needing gmail. It shouldn't be google this, google that and google everthing.

    1. Re:Simple piece of code by Moofie · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, stupid Google, whose free services are well designed and useful...they MUST be up to something.

      Whatever dude.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
  15. Ooohh... Google by nyri · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is 21st Google article in this month and third today. What is it with Google that every sigle thing they do has to be reported on slashdot?

    I'm not the only one with complains about what is put on the front page. How about moderation system to the articles on fron page/in sections. If a article is moderated enough down it will drop from the front page to the section and if it is still moderated it might drop out of the system all together. Articles could also rise from the section to the front page.

    This would solve Roland Piquepaille, Google, and Dupes in a single strike.

    1. Re:Ooohh... Google by NightWulf · · Score: 1
      Your idea is a sound one, and one that would work quite well. The reason it won't be enacted is because:

      A)It's TOO smart to do.

      B)You would be giving too much power to us peons.

      C)Then Timothy, Roland and the rest of the ensemble couldn't pay/get paid to put up articles which are basically plugs and advertisements. After all...there's money to be made!

    2. Re:Ooohh... Google by toolshed7 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Do you have a 2 button mouse or one with a scroll or maybe you got a crazy one button mouse?Instead of complaining like a nancy, I usally just scroll paste the articles....It is crazy....but it is just me. Almost forgot...the up and down errors work as well...give it a try.

      --


      Deserving got nothing to do with it.....shuffle
    3. Re:Ooohh... Google by garcia · · Score: 1

      How about they just add a Google section and post all this stuff under it and people can filter it out if they see fit?

    4. Re:Ooohh... Google by SkinnyPapa · · Score: 1

      Almost forgot...the up and down errors work as well...give it a try.

      Just as I suspected, you're using IE!

    5. Re:Ooohh... Google by Wieland · · Score: 1

      What... MS patented the up and down arrow keys, too? So that's where the Mozilla developers stole the idea from. They can expect a cease-and-desist letter any time now!

    6. Re:Ooohh... Google by SkinnyPapa · · Score: 1

      I don't like explaining jokes, maybe I should have bolded "errors".
      Maybe using Firefox/Mozilla for too long made you forget about IE's annoying habit of opening a dialog box every 10 minutes with some sort of warning or notifying you you've made an illegal operation and the police is on their way.

    7. Re:Ooohh... Google by Wieland · · Score: 1

      Sorry, I hadn't noticed the "errors" in great-grandparent.

  16. Why the hate? by varun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I really don't understand why people are cribbing about /.'s coverage of Google. Google *is* one of the fastest innovating companies out there, coupled with being one whose products are widely used. They are a revolutionary company in many respects.

    I *do* want to hear about the first email service to give me "unlimited" storage. I *do* want to hear about satellite images on maps (I need the landmarks. I'm horrible with directions :-P ). I *do* want to hear about uber-cool features such as Suggest (albeit not really useful, it's still fascinating for any web hacker).

    Google, to me, is a company that is a break from the norm - both technologically and business-wise. It's refreshing and intruiging. And I'd like hear from someone who can argue (rationally) against the fact that they have had a huge impact on the WWW.

    1. Re:Why the hate? by astrashe · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't hate google -- I use their various services a couple of hundred times a day. They're a great company.

      I'm a little worried about the hype surrounding them, though. I'm not so much worried about anything google has done, or said they plan to do, as about the hype. People keep speculating about how google will be a platform, and how great it will be when they keep all of your data on their servers, and anyone with a web browser can get at it.

      The problem with that is that it's a big step backwards from microsoft, freedom wise. The google guys seem like nice guys, and they have their famous "don't be evil" motto and all of that. But the point of all of the whole open source thing is freedom -- it's having control over your own computer and your own data.

      There are two problems with Microsoft. The first, and most obvious one, is that they're jerks. They spread fud, they've tried to kill off startups by announcing vaporware in the past, they twist hardware manufacturer's arms, threaten, and bully people.

      But there's another problem -- the structure of the commercial software system isn't good. Microsoft abuses it's power -- but would it be ok if another corporate culture were administering that power in a less abusive way? Isn't an open source world still preferable?

      Google is a like a good and just king. They don't bully people, they don't make threats, they don't throw their weight around. But they are slowly and surely consolidating a lot of control over the flow of information, generally speaking, in the world. That's scary as hell. They've never done anything that makes me think that they have evil designs. But it's still scary.

      What's going to happen when the current management dies or retires? What if they get kicked out? Jobs got kicked out of Apple?

      I don't mean to suggest that we should be terrified of google, or that we should think of them as a negative force in the world. But a more sophisticated inquiry into what's happening and what the long term consequences of it might be is certainly appropriate.

      In particular, whiz-bang "gee, google came out with a new free-beer gadget that I love!" articles don't help much. I don't know that they hurt that much, but they don't help.

    2. Re:Why the hate? by Mr_Silver · · Score: 1
      I really don't understand why people are cribbing about /.'s coverage of Google. Google *is* one of the fastest innovating companies out there, coupled with being one whose products are widely used. They are a revolutionary company in many respects.

      It has nothing to do with Google but more to do with the fact that there have been 21 articles in 3 days. If you had the same volume about Linus and Bitkeeper, the RIAA, Sony's PSP, Microsoft and anything else you would still get the same complaints.

      If the Slashdot editors removed the dead "Apache" section and replaced it with a "Google" one then those people who don't want to see it can get them removed.

      The whole point of being able to filter things out is for you to hide frequently re-ocurring topics on Slashdot that are of no interest to you. With the volume of articles it has had recently, I think it is fair to say that Google falls into the category of "frequently occurring", however, since you can't do anything to filter them out - then people start to (rightfully) complain.

      --
      Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
    3. Re:Why the hate? by XMyth · · Score: 1

      It's Slashdot man. Something HAS to be bitched about.

    4. Re:Why the hate? by Moofie · · Score: 1

      "I'm a little worried about the hype surrounding them, though."

      So, uh, ignore it.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    5. Re:Why the hate? by RedWizzard · · Score: 1

      You seem to be saying we should be wary of Google purely because of what they might become. Isn't that a rather paranoid view?

  17. Re:Google and Slashdot really are merging! by nametaken · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, you think that's scary? I just noticed this. I dunno how long this has been around, but I think someone has a sense of humor.

  18. Great feature, but... by pseudolus · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can't help but feel sorry for the 3 people in this country who still don't have a Gmail account. If only there were some other way for them to get news on the web...

    --
    Anything is possible given sufficient time and money.
    1. Re:Great feature, but... by Neurotoxic666 · · Score: 1

      I can't help but feel sorry for the 3 people in this country who still don't have a Gmail account.

      Let's flood their inbox with gmail invites. =D

      --
      You are more than the sum of what you consume. Desire is not an occupation.
  19. Re:RSS Assregation link by Jurph · · Score: 1

    I think you meant "TMI" and not "TM".

    Dude, you are one sick puppy.

  20. What?! by KipCas · · Score: 5, Funny

    There are 3 people left on earth who don't have a Gmail account?! Time to put those invites back on ebay.

    --
    Turk: Let's play Steak. J.D.: What? Turk: Steak. The 1st person to finish their steak is the winner of Steak. -Scrubs
    1. Re:What?! by Feyr · · Score: 1

      you mean, like me? don't have one, don't want one. keep your invites in your google page

    2. Re:What?! by SEE · · Score: 1

      But, seriously, there are over nine hundred thousand invites out there free for the taking.

    3. Re:What?! by Saeger · · Score: 1

      Indeed. And every couple weeks I spend the 60 seconds or so that it takes to submit all 50 of my new invites to the gmail spooler. Seems like a lot of Chinese are grabbing my invites. Guess that makes sense.

      --
      Power to the Peaceful
    4. Re:What?! by KipCas · · Score: 1

      Mental note...spread sarcasm thicker.

      --
      Turk: Let's play Steak. J.D.: What? Turk: Steak. The 1st person to finish their steak is the winner of Steak. -Scrubs
    5. Re:What?! by SEE · · Score: 1

      No need, I got it. Thus the "But seriously". It was just the highest-rated post that mentioned invites, so it was the ideal host for my comment parasite.

  21. Someday... by Eskimore_ · · Score: 5, Funny

    Someday the term 'Internet access' will be replaced with 'Google access'.

    Google is the idea Pinky and The Brain should have had.

    1. Re:Someday... by jd · · Score: 4, Funny

      Shhh! That's why they stopped making the cartoons. Brain did take over the world. Just don't let others know.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    2. Re:Someday... by Myrmi · · Score: 1

      "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
      "Sure, Brain, but where are we going to find a duck and a hose at this hour?"

      --
      "I think everyone is an agnostic but just doesn't know" - Frazz
  22. Cool, now you can add mozdex.com results to gmail by cybrthng · · Score: 1

    http://www.mozdex.com/opensearch :)

  23. How about some basic features? by LordJezo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sure, RSS is nice, but how about adding in something basic like distribution lists so I don't have put all the contacts in for each email list I send out?

    1. Re:How about some basic features? by alexo · · Score: 2, Interesting


      Or IMAP?

    2. Re:How about some basic features? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Until then, there is a work around. Make a new contact like this: blah@blah.com>,,> ,<blah3@blah3.com

      exlude the leading and trailing < >

    3. Re:How about some basic features? by rbarreira · · Score: 1

      Why don't you suggest that to them?

      --

      The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
    4. Re:How about some basic features? by wuzfuzzy · · Score: 1

      AHHHH! its becuase if you do that you can trick gmail into thinking its, a single contact when actually it's multiple... I love the idea.. but it fails to send to this new contact without first hand editing the beging and end of the contact when u compose a new email

  24. Concentrate on more important features first by alexo · · Score: 4, Insightful


    Bells and whistles are nice but how about adding IMAP compatibility and more configurable filtering (Sieve scripts perhaps?).

  25. Cool service by Eternally+optimistic · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can aggregate everyone's email now and read it as news? Sure is more interesting than just mine.

    --
    What keeps me going is my inertia.
  26. Make Love by kristopher · · Score: 1

    I often wonder to myself if I were to figure out a way to make love to google, would Slashdot cover it..

    1. Re:Make Love by kristopher · · Score: 1

      I said making love, not hot passionate sex. ;)

  27. Pissing and Moaning by Xarius · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Everyone no doubt has set up an elaborate shell script to automatically comment on google stories, bemoaning the amount of news about google on slashdot.

    Don't see any else whinging about the amount of Linux coverage, or OSS coverage.

    Everyone's looking for the new "big company" to make snarky comments about.

    --
    C17H21NO4
  28. Re:can't get in by syrinx · · Score: 1

    Hmm.. I've gotten the errors in different locations (work and home), on different computers.. if other people aren't having problems, the common factor is my account, I guess. Hope there's nothing wrong with it, since I've been using it for all my non-work email for almost a year. (I back stuff up locally, too, but I still don't want to have problems with it!)

    --
    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
  29. not what i'm looking for by undertow3886 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Let me know when they provide RSS feeds for tracking shipments. The thing they just added for searching for tracking numbers is a step in the right direction, though.

    --
    Sick of people knocking on Gentoo's greatness in completely unrelated .sigs? Me too!
  30. Does Gmail have a full release date yet? by eigerface · · Score: 1
    I use Google every day, but I haven't seen any sign up link yet. Right now, it's still in evaluation/limited release, and they haven't issued a firm, full release date yet.

    (And IMHO, it's dancing periously close to being vaporware!)

    1. Re:Does Gmail have a full release date yet? by JaF893 · · Score: 1

      I use Google every day, but I haven't seen any sign up link yet. Right now, it's still in evaluation/limited release, and they haven't issued a firm, full release date yet.

      But anybody who wants one can get one - thats not exactly Vaporware.

    2. Re:Does Gmail have a full release date yet? by rathehun · · Score: 2, Interesting
      From Wikipediia :
      Vaporware (or vapourware) is software or hardware which is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge, either with or without a protracted development cycle. The term implies deception, or at least a negligent degree of optimism; that is, it implies that the announcer knows that product development is in too early a stage to support responsible statements about its completion date, feature set, or even feasibility.

      Now, as far as I know, GMail is available, last time I checked worked as advertised and was available to almost anybody who wanted one. (If you are one of the three people on this earth who doesn't have one, email me, I'll send you one immediately.).

      Also, be aware of the fact that to qualify as being vaporware, the provider of the service needs to announc these features. Not Slashdot. Not someone over at blogspot. Google.

      R.

    3. Re:Does Gmail have a full release date yet? by eigerface · · Score: 1
      Agreed. The term vaporware was inaccurate, and inappropriate.

      As for being available to anyone, not true according to the Gmail "About" FAQ.

      "We're currently only offering Gmail as part of a preview release and limited test. We don't have details on when Gmail will be made more widely available, as that depends in part on the results of the test."

      (If you are one of the three people on this earth who doesn't have one, email me, I'll send you one immediately.)

      Many Thanks. Check your inbox.

      - Parent Poster

    4. Re:Does Gmail have a full release date yet? by david614 · · Score: 1

      If you want a gmail account but don't have one, reply to this message and I will give you one of my invitations. D

      --
      ELITISM: It's always lonely at the top. Uninvited company is rarely welcome.
    5. Re:Does Gmail have a full release date yet? by eigerface · · Score: 1
      Thank you for your reply to my Slashdot post. I truly did not know until now that Gmail accounts were only available by referral. If that is indeed true, and you are willing to send me that referral, thanks again.

      Alex

      eigerface
      eigerface@dslextreme.com

  31. All this Google stuff! by mrRay720 · · Score: 1

    Google web search, desktop search, maps, images, videos, usenet, shopping, mail, RSS, whatever etc etc...

    Maybe we should all save ourselves some time and only take note of what Google ISN'T doing.

  32. Another Google thread... how bout Yahoo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yahoo has been doing amazing stuff with a lot of their sites. My Yahoo Search, Groups, Yahoo 360, Yahoo news just got a makeover. They've had RSS on My Yahoo for a long time now.

    Seriously, why is Slashdot focused only on Google when Yahoo is also doing all of these great things to their site? Is it just Google stardom that's gotten to you guys?

  33. no problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    Gmail does allow sending and receiving of rar and zip attachments. You just can't send or receive zipped or rar'd executable code.

    That's a big difference. You can send zips and rars as long as there's no executable code in them. I think that's pretty reasonable.

  34. nothing to do with RSS by pezzonovante1 · · Score: 1, Informative

    did anyone look at the screenshot? this has nothing to do with RSS....it has to do with google's new video distribution service.

    1. Re:nothing to do with RSS by OsirisX11 · · Score: 1

      uhhh... yeah...it does... this is gmail being an aggregator..not the atom gmail feed...different feature.

  35. Could you be any less specific? by Otto · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    I'm a little worried about the hype surrounding them, though. I'm not so much worried about anything google has done, or said they plan to do, as about the hype. People keep speculating about how google will be a platform, and how great it will be when they keep all of your data on their servers, and anyone with a web browser can get at it.

    The problem with that is that it's a big step backwards from microsoft, freedom wise. The google guys seem like nice guys, and they have their famous "don't be evil" motto and all of that. But the point of all of the whole open source thing is freedom -- it's having control over your own computer and your own data.

    So what, exactly, has Google done or appeared to do or might be planning to do that takes said freedom away from you? I mean, if you don't want them to store your data, then don't put your data there. You don't *have* to use Google's services.

    I guess I'm just not entirely sure what you're really complaining about here.

    Google is a like a good and just king. They don't bully people, they don't make threats, they don't throw their weight around. But they are slowly and surely consolidating a lot of control over the flow of information, generally speaking, in the world. That's scary as hell. They've never done anything that makes me think that they have evil designs. But it's still scary.

    So, Google is scary because they sat down, wrote software that let them get a whole bunch of information, and then wrote a bunch of software to provide that information to other people in various ways/means/formats.

    I have only one word, and that word is: what-the-fuck? Okay, so yeah, they've got a lot of data. So what? Why is that scary *at all*?

    Most of what they do is as an aggregation source. They get data from all sorts of places, sort it, collate it, apply various transformations and such to it, and then present it in useful formats. They are not a content producer, they are a content aggregator. They're probably the *best* content aggregator out there, and certainly they're the largest. But I still fail to understand why having a lot of information and the power to process that information is potentially "bad" in any way.

    What's going to happen when the current management dies or retires? What if they get kicked out? Jobs got kicked out of Apple?

    I don't mean to suggest that we should be terrified of google, or that we should think of them as a negative force in the world. But a more sophisticated inquiry into what's happening and what the long term consequences of it might be is certainly appropriate.

    What, exactly, could Google do that is so god-awful scary? I'm asking for speculation here, because while it's one thing to be paranoid, it's another to be paranoid with a just reason. I don't see any just reason here, because I don't see that they have any world-dominating possibilities, myself. Yes, yes, information is power, but that's a bullshit throwaway line... *Control* of information is power, and Google doesn't really control shit in that respect. They aggregate information, they don't produce it.

    In particular, whiz-bang "gee, google came out with a new free-beer gadget that I love!" articles don't help much. I don't know that they hurt that much, but they don't help.

    They certainly help me find out about Google's new whiz-bang gadgetry. Because hey, they produce some cool stuff that I use a lot. So yeah, I'd say that these articles are quite helpful.
    --
    - Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
  36. Re:Cool, now you can add mozdex.com results to gma by Wieland · · Score: 1

    Actually, Google comes up with "about 706,000" results for Anonymous Coward...

  37. It's the choice that's what matters... by jbarr · · Score: 1

    You see, that's the beauty of the choices we have. For you, a standalone email client is best. For me, a Web-based client that is always accessible wherever I have Web access is more desirable.

    I would ccertainly love to always have access to a full-featured, all-in-one email client, but with Gmail, I can manage my email at home, work, in a training class, at my friend's house, etc. I'm not tied down to a single installation. Yes, I could put definitely Portable Thunderbird on a USB Memory thingy (in fact, I have), but unfortunatly, it doesn't cut it at work due to firewall issues. Yes, I could MAKE it work at work, but it's just plain easier to log onto my Gmail account.

    But not everyone has the need to have email access from anywhere, so in those cases, a standalone setup is more appropriate.

    --
    My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
  38. G-Mail drive by gtkuhn · · Score: 1

    There is a shell extension (for Windows) to integrate your gmail account as a drive. http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm

  39. Organization by EnronHaliburton2004 · · Score: 1

    Webmail provides a single, central location for all your email. It looks the same if you connect from home, it looks the same if you connect from work, it looks the same if you connect from your friends house.

    With pop3, I have one pile of of messages at home, a second pile at work. The messages are out of sync. You can leave the downloaded messages on the server, but there is no way to keep your Sent messages in sync. If I organize my mail folders at home, I need to duplicate this effort at work.

    This situation might get resolved with IMAP, but IMAP has it's own problems.

  40. Missing feature: Use my own email domain by EnronHaliburton2004 · · Score: 1

    I'd like to use Gmail as my mail client, but I don't want to use my @gmail.com email address.

    I have my own domains, with my own email addresses. I can bring them with me if I chose a different email provider.

    I forward the mail from the email address to my Yahoo account. Yahoo allows me to set the "From:" line to any email address that I control.

    Gmail does not offer me the option of sending email any of my other email domains.

    With Gmail, I can put my address in the 'Reply-To:' line, but many people & mail clients ignore that line. And having a "From:" line an a "Reply-To:" line looks like crap.

    1. Re:Missing feature: Use my own email domain by NaDrew · · Score: 1
      I'd like to use Gmail as my mail client, but I don't want to use my @gmail.com email address.

      I have my own domains, with my own email addresses. I can bring them with me if I chose a different email provider.

      Here you go. The only problem I've seen is slightly increased amounts of spam making it through Gmail's filter. I have to wonder if spammers have opened Gmail accounts and are poisoning the filters by marking their spam as good. It's still a whole lot less than I was getting without Gmail filtering, though.
      --
      Vista:XPSP2::ME:98SE
    2. Re:Missing feature: Use my own email domain by EnronHaliburton2004 · · Score: 1

      But Seth, I don't want POP. POP sucks if you check email from multiple locations.

      Now, if they had IMAP, I'd be very happy. But IMAP has it's own problems I hear.

      Really, I should just run my own server at home. But I don't have the time...

      You're's truly,

      Richard.

  41. And from there... by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1
    What clients were people using before they switched to Gmail? Don't get me wrong - I think it's pretty slick for a web application - but it feels pretty "underpowered" to me.

    I use Kmail (via Kontact) to access my company's IMAP server and my home IMAP server. It autocompletes addresses from my company's LDAP server. It tells me when the person I just got an email from is online with Jabber or AIM. It supports GPG. When I'm on the road, I can use Squirrelmail to access the same accounts and the same address books.

    Gmail is pretty nice for people who don't have their own servers. For people who do, though, is there any compelling reason to switch?

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  42. What if they cancelled the Gmail project by TigerTime · · Score: 1

    They are under no real obligation to keep it running and EVERYONE is using it as a stable permanent system.

    What if we all woke up tomorrow to find out that "when it went live" they decided to clear out all the email addresses and emails. Pure and utter pandemonium would ensue.

  43. it's about time... by Teja · · Score: 1

    It's about time that Google got into the whole RSS arena. Yahoo and MSN have had support for RSS for a while now, Yahoo with it's rss support for news, MSN with it's rss support for search results. Isn't it about time that Google also done the same? I've been anxious to hear of any news of google providing RSS feeds for it's news service.

    --
    - Teja
  44. counterproductive? by -O.ster_66 · · Score: 1
    not really...i see it as the same info in a different format. is google gaining anything by having visitors hit their news site? i don't know. so what if i had a link to each article in a feed? i don't see counter-productivity.

    i just liked the idea of a variety of sources in one feed.

    --
    "You get all the fun of sitting still, being quiet, writing down numbers, paying attention...science has it all."
  45. Stuff Google isn't doing by chuck.kahn · · Score: 1
    • Google Money
  46. Re:Again with Google!?! by AussieVamp2 · · Score: 1

    Google are anal probing now?

  47. Now, if they could fix their atom feed. by assassinator42 · · Score: 1

    I have gmail set up as a live bookmark in firefox. It would really be nice if, when I cliked a subject, it went right to that email.

  48. Neat! by jseale · · Score: 1

    Now all they have to do is add newsgroup access and they'd have a Thunderbird killer. I'm sure there's a bunch of folks out there that would rather do all this stuff using a web interface as opposed to a stand-alone application.

  49. Re:Screw this, We Want a google internet filesyste by FishermansEnemy · · Score: 1

    Interesting idea, but I don't know if I'd trust google that much with my files.

    I know they have that whole 'do no evil' thing going, but I really couldn't bring myself to hand over my files to them. At least with gmail I can still use GPG to keep my secrets. If I really needed on-line storage that badly then I would be prepared to pay a hosting service for the space and a water-tight contract.

    --
    -- If you think my attitude stinks, you should smell my fingers.