Filter looks at the day's top technology news through snapshots and analysis of what the world's media outlets are covering. Washingtonpost.com's new Mon.-Fri. feature is penned by technology reporter Cynthia L. Webb. If a technology story breaks, a company falters or triumphs, or there's a new trend in technology, Filter wants you to know about it.
My Filter column on Friday about Google's Gmail service produced a slew of responses, mostly from ardent Gmail fans and users. Thanks to all who took the time to write in on Friday and over the weekend.
* First, uber-Googler Peggy McKenna of Malden, Mass., sent me a Gmail invitation so I could try out the service. Thanks, Peggy.
* "The conversation format is clean, the spam blocker is superb, and my friends have been sending me pictures like crazy - something that they just couldn't do with my Hotmail account," Jen Doubrava, Cleveland, Ohio
* "Seeing what ads come up for a particular message is like cracking open some kind of techno-geek fortune cookie." -- Tom Atwell, La Jolla, Calif.
* "The other night, I imported about 1000 old, archived e-mails into Gmail. Prior to doing this, the only way to extract out information was to do a manual search on my home PC -- didn't do me any good when I wasn't at home!" Jim Barr, Anderson, S.C.
* "After you use it, you realize why Gmail is so good! Even my corporate account has a 3MB limit! I have bid adieu to my Hotmail account forever." – Kartik Budhraja, Singapore
And some of the less glowing notices...
* "Yet another Webmail service? Why? And which is more pathetic, thinking that Google itself is anything more than an only barely adequate search tool with an unnecessarily boring interface, or thinking that since Google is now hip, being associated with it will somehow make one hip too?" Bruce Cannon, Crockett, Calif.
* "I haven't used my Gmail account enough to play with all the bells and whistles. The storage is great, but so far it doesn't have that one killer app or anything that will make me go through the hassle of switching over completely from Yahoo." Ranjit Survanshi, Boston
Filter is designed for hard-core techies, news junkies and technology professionals alike. Have suggestions, cool links or interesting tales to share? Send your tips and feedback to cindyDOTwebbATwashingtonpost.com. (Yes, those spammers have been having a lot of fun with my e-mail address lately.)
