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How Gmail Happened (2014)

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Re: How Gmail Happened (2014)

#11

Post by derekp7 »

smnrchrds wrote: post #5
dang wrote: post #2

Discussed at the time: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7506270

The top comments on that thread discuss the importance of owning your email address by way of using a custom domain, so you can move to a new providers and not worry about losing contacts or missing emails. I fully agree with that. Back in 2014, both Outlook and Gmail had free family plans with custom domain capability, but have since removed those options. Is there a good low-cost option for custom domain email in 2…

One option would be to set up a micro VM at AWS, or Digital Ocean, etc. to host your mail server, with something like Squirrel Mail. Then set up your gmail account to allow forwarding for your other email address ("send mail as" in Settings / Accounts and Import), so that outbound mail from your private server can be forwarded through Google's servers (so you don't get blocked by everyone else).

This way, if Google mail goes away, you can pick up another free email provider to relay mail through in the future (assuming everyone else also allows "send mail as").

Re: How Gmail Happened (2014)

#12

Post by RandallBrown »

tomcam wrote: post #8
telesilla wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was their initial impetus for this? I'm curious what functionality they were trying achieve.

Interactive web pages-exactly what it’s used for in GMail. It was given the name XMLHttpRequest because it was a last-minute addition and the only way to get a feature into Internet Explorer that late in the product cycle was to make it XML-related. Which it obviously wasn’t, but that was how to get it approved. Source: Was a Microsoft employee at the time, though not on the IE team.

Back then most APIs (that I used) were in XML. It definitely seemed XML related.

Re: How Gmail Happened (2014)

#13

Post by johnchristopher »

tomcam wrote: post #8
telesilla wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was their initial impetus for this? I'm curious what functionality they were trying achieve.

Interactive web pages-exactly what it’s used for in GMail. It was given the name XMLHttpRequest because it was a last-minute addition and the only way to get a feature into Internet Explorer that late in the product cycle was to make it XML-related. Which it obviously wasn’t, but that was how to get it approved. Source: Was a Microsoft employee at the time, though not on the IE team.

I always wondered. What happened to the team behind start.com ? At the time I thought it could have been a golden brand and the realization was slick, I remember reading they had a lot of freedom to experiment.

Re: How Gmail Happened (2014)

#14

Post by perakojotgenije »

smnrchrds wrote: post #5
dang wrote: post #2

Discussed at the time: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7506270

The top comments on that thread discuss the importance of owning your email address by way of using a custom domain, so you can move to a new providers and not worry about losing contacts or missing emails. I fully agree with that. Back in 2014, both Outlook and Gmail had free family plans with custom domain capability, but have since removed those options. Is there a good low-cost option for custom domain email in 2…

mailbox.org - it allows you to have up to 25 aliases so you can use it with multiple domains

Re: How Gmail Happened (2014)

#15

Post by gdulli »

tomcam wrote: post #9
sandworm101 wrote: post #4

I was just reading something about all the defunct and abandoned google projects. So now "How Gmail Happened" reads to me like gmail too is done and gone, something that happened in the past but is no longer happening. I guess that day will come eventually. Maybe tomorrow? I never know what google is thinking when it comes to cancellations.

Nope. It’s now also a paid enterprise product (at consumer prices) so it probably pays for itself. I’ve been a customer since day 1 and think the $7/month or so it costs is ridiculously low. Also see this critically important comment regarding use of your own domain: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19566056

Let's be honest, it's also a big way they build data on you and show you targeted ads so I'm sure it pays for itself without direct revenue.

Re: How Gmail Happened (2014)

#16

Post by tomcam »

johnchristopher wrote: post #13
tomcam wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interactive web pages-exactly what it’s used for in GMail. It was given the name XMLHttpRequest because it was a last-minute addition and the only way to get a feature into Internet Explorer that late in the product cycle was to make it XML-related. Which it obviously wasn’t, but that was how to get it approved. Source: Was a Microsoft employee at the time, though not on the IE team.

I always wondered. What happened to the team behind start.com ? At the time I thought it could have been a golden brand and the realization was slick, I remember reading they had a lot of freedom to experiment.

Like Sidewalk, Mungo Park, and any number of initiatives it was managed into extinction by political ineptness.

Re: How Gmail Happened (2014)

#17

Post by roneythomas6 »

sandworm101 wrote: post #4

I was just reading something about all the defunct and abandoned google projects. So now "How Gmail Happened" reads to me like gmail too is done and gone, something that happened in the past but is no longer happening. I guess that day will come eventually. Maybe tomorrow? I never know what google is thinking when it comes to cancellations.

Nope that's never going to happen, Gmail is the cornerstone of G Suite. As of January 2017, G Suite has 4 million paying businesses, and 70 million G Suite for Education users.

Re: How Gmail Happened (2014)

#18

Post by jayalpha »

sandworm101 wrote: post #4

I was just reading something about all the defunct and abandoned google projects. So now "How Gmail Happened" reads to me like gmail too is done and gone, something that happened in the past but is no longer happening. I guess that day will come eventually. Maybe tomorrow? I never know what google is thinking when it comes to cancellations.

Gmail is likely there to stay. Nevertheless you should always use your own domain (is this still possible for free with Gmail?). I made the move and left Gmail for most things, except an Android account. Missing the most: Decent search

What is bad about Webmail in general: Webmail is not email. Public Wifi Spots, even Internet providers are more and more blocking ports.

Re: How Gmail Happened (2014)

#19

Post by mandeepj »

jayalpha wrote: post #18
sandworm101 wrote: post #4

I was just reading something about all the defunct and abandoned google projects. So now "How Gmail Happened" reads to me like gmail too is done and gone, something that happened in the past but is no longer happening. I guess that day will come eventually. Maybe tomorrow? I never know what google is thinking when it comes to cancellations.

Gmail is likely there to stay. Nevertheless you should always use your own domain (is this still possible for free with Gmail?). I made the move and left Gmail for most things, except an Android account. Missing the most: Decent search What is bad about Webmail in general: Webmail is not email. Public Wifi Spots, even Internet providers are more and more blocking ports.

Can you elaborate on Webmail? any email service opened via browser is - Webmail ?

Re: How Gmail Happened (2014)

#20

Post by neogodless »

jayalpha wrote: post #18
sandworm101 wrote: post #4

I was just reading something about all the defunct and abandoned google projects. So now "How Gmail Happened" reads to me like gmail too is done and gone, something that happened in the past but is no longer happening. I guess that day will come eventually. Maybe tomorrow? I never know what google is thinking when it comes to cancellations.

Gmail is likely there to stay. Nevertheless you should always use your own domain (is this still possible for free with Gmail?). I made the move and left Gmail for most things, except an Android account. Missing the most: Decent search What is bad about Webmail in general: Webmail is not email. Public Wifi Spots, even Internet providers are more and more blocking ports.

To the best of my understanding, there is no free option for a custom domain on the Gmail/Google platform. "Google Apps for Business" once has a free tier, but it was discontinued, and "G Suite" now starts at $6/month (per user.)
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