Vagabond’s Caravan

Today, I’ll write about Gmail, a free email service provided by Google.

Gmail does more than what an email does, a lot more. It’s known for it’s abundant storage of more than 2.7GB(and still growing) and advance interface.

Gmail is still in it’s BETA version, although two years had passed since it’s initial release on April 1, 2004. And hence a Gmail account can only be obtain thru invitations.

Many of my friends claimed that Gmail is slow as it takes quite a lot of time to do the “Loading…” and they rejected it soon after that, and return to the wrap of Hotmail.

What many don’t know about this is that Gmail makes intensive use of AJAX, which allow users to have a way more dynamic surfing experience. Once the slightly time consuming “Loading…” time passed, the browsing of emails would be very fast, as the pages will no longer need to be refresh.

Note: “Loading…” above indicated the loading time taken by Gmail to render the AJAX, it’s something like the startup of your computer, or an application on your computer.

For those who don’t like the AJAX, you can always change the rendering of your Gmail A/C into the standard HTML format, so it will loads like the usual email, eg. Hotmail.

Enough with the basics about Gmail, let’s proceed to the tools and addons available to unleash the full possibilities of Gmail.

So, what’s so cool about Gmail and how’re you going to make the most out of it? =)

The 2.7GB(and more) storage provided by Gmail is way too much for emails and there’s no way you’re able to fill ‘em up.

With the various tools available online, you can actually turn your Gmail into a virtual disk drive and store your files in it.

Gmail Drive Shell Extension(Add-On):

One of the best tool available is Gmail Drive, a free add-on that create a virtual drive on your computer, by which it will appear in your “My Computer” and you can eventually copy and paste your files into it. Those files would be hosted online, in your Gmail A/C, thus you can access those files on any computer which have the Gmail Drive Shell Extension(add-on) installed.

The installation is easy. Just download the file from here, unzip it, and run(install) it. You’ll then be able to notice a Gmail Drive in your My Computer, and thus configure the settings(of your Gmail A/C) and then you may start using it as an online storage. =D Simply drag and drop your files into it to upload and download! =)

Screeshot of Gmail Drive on My Computer: (Click to enlarge)

Xmail Hard Drive.Com:

Xmail Hard Drive is a way much easier way for users to convert their Gmail into a portable hard disk. Their website allowed Gmail users to access their respective Gmail A/C. When you’re logged in, you can start uploading files to your Gmail A/C for future access from any computer. It’s very cool and easy to use, and comes handy for people constantly on the move, or for sharing with friends(all you need to do is create a shared Gmail A/C so both of you can access it and starts to upload and download files!).

Image: Screenshot of Xmail Hard Drive in action.

Gmail Space(Firefox Extension):

This is so far the most user-friendly and my favourite tool for turning the Gmail into a virtual disk. All you need to do is go to this Firefox plugin download page, click on the “install now” link to automatically install the plugin into your Firefox! =) Restart your Firefox after that and you shall notice a welcome message from it. Proceed through some simple steps and your virtual disk should be ready. =)

Well, I think this post sucks, and I have a hard time explaining these stuffs in non-geeky(not-so-pro-techy-IT) lauguage, LoL. =)

But still, I hope you people will like it and feel free to comment ok? And ask if you have any question, or need any help with it. Oh yea, I have 98 Gmail invites to spare, so leave a comment here if you need one ya? =D

Best regards,
IngSiang