Lost Gmail Emails and the Future of Web Apps

brajesh writes "Recently some people lost all their Gmail emails and contacts. The problem seems to be contained and fixed, but this incident shows how far are we in terms of moving all communication online on services like Gmail for your domain(beta). Will it ever be possible to do away with desktop solutions like Outlook and Thunderbird? Given the nature of the internet, will it ever be possible to truly move to an 'online desktop'?"

Simple answer: YES.

[dada21]

I use Gmail for Domains and love it -- we've even been moving customers over to it and they love it.

I still use a POP3 e-mail app to download e-mails for archival purposes or to better format them for printing. I also use POP3 to get my e-mails to my cell phone/PDA (HPC Trinity P3600, best product ever) and it works fine.

I am ready to move to a virtual online desktop TODAY. Anything I need to backup I will -- everything else I'd rather pay someone else to host for me. While graphics design and high-data jobs require me to work locally, almost everything else works just fine remotely. I can see Wordpress evolving to the point that it could compete with Word locally, and I already use Google Spreadsheet for all my spreadsheet work (I've actually removed my office suite entirely as of last week).

As long as it works over my T-Mobile EDGE connection (bigger than a thin client), it is fine with me. Those days are quickly coming that I won't care what OS I am running as long as my browser is compatible with my online desktop.

well

[SuperStretchy]

Personally I don't want any email stored on my computer. Granted, I have enough space for it, but with different breeds of viruses and what not, I'd rather not make provision for them to occupy a single sector.

As to the contacts and emails being lost... Backup, backup, backup! GMail has an export feature.

Re:This is not about 'potential'...

[motek]

...whatever you mean by that. This is about control over my stuff. Or rather perception of control. I am a control freak. Almost. And I am not alone. I had an issue with using software like Outlook in the first place (file format and such) because I may lose access to my archive. Now someone is trying to convince me to give up yet more control. Thanks, but no, thanks. My willingness to trade this control for release from my responsibilities (for taking care of my stuff) only goes that far.

I hope and expect the on-line desktop to be as successful as Java-station (or whatever it was called).

-m-

Yes ... and no. Need synchronization.

[LoudMusic]

I think it's absolutely possible. But I think a synchronizing system like .Mac uses makes more sense. In the event that you are unable to connect to the internet service (you're down / they're down / ...) you still have everything from your last synchronization. And this also provides even more backups of your important data.

You can still do your own backups.

[Kadin2048]

The nice thing about GMail is that having your email on the server, and having it on your desktop, are not mutually exclusive. It's trivial, if you know what you're doing, to set up your GMail account so that it's always backed up to a local machine. There are even step by step [blogspot.com] instructions for doing it. You just set up a POP connection and suck down your entire mailfile, and then set up your local mailreader to download the new ones periodically.

Google rightly doesn't make any QoS promises, because it's giving you a free service. However, it's a pretty good bang for the (lack of) buck; and it doesn't preclude you from doing things to protect your data on your end. Until Google came along, I don't think most free webmail services let you have this level of desktop/web-service cooperation. (Though I think Yahoo's mail does POP access now. Not sure about Hotmail.)

Re:This is not about 'potential'...

[avdp]

You haven't said anything that's incorrect, but everything you said applies to your own PC/Server/whatever at home...

Failures/outages happen at home too, and when they happen (for most people, which don't maintain a backups) it's a lot more catastrophic than gmail (or other web service) being down for a little bit. So you had an unforeseen and untimely outage of your web-based email service, well, it could have just as easily have been an unforeseen and untimely failure of your PC. And I suspect it would have taken you more than a couple of hours that get it back up, and possibly without any data.

Other than outages, generally access is enhanced by these web-based services. Ever been NOT at home and needed to lookup something from your inbox? Well, it's pretty hard if all your email are in outlook/thunderbird on your PC at home... And I do realize that many people on Slashdot probably run their own webmail and imap server on their basement server farm (me included), but again I am talking for most people here.

Re:This is not about 'potential'...

[SuperStretchy]

For the obscenely paranoid (or maybe not given this event), one could have a stand-alone box completely removed from any working environment (VM?) and use a pop app to download the messages yet leave them on the server- a tactic that I've employed in the past with other services. This way you have a copy on that server that can't infect those around it (viruses wouldn't be launched and super-high security measures would be dealt upon the inbox). Even going so far as to convert everything to text only and strip attachments... Now this wouldn't be restorable to GMail, but it would be a semi-inefficient way to back things up. Hmm... how about a server with multiple clients and then you charge to back up their webmail for them?!? Sounds like an easy way to do nothing and get paid for it.

Re:This is not about 'potential'...

[cloudmaster]

Number of users for whom I've lost email: 0
Number of users for whom Google has lost email: >0

You forget, those people who run "enterprise" systems - they're just people who go home sometimes, and when they're home, they don't forget how to run a proper system. My mail servers are faster, though, and will remain that way until Google starts offering dedicated machines with gigabit connectivity to my workstation. Maybe you can't manage to figure out how to automate backups, and maybe you think that working for a big company somehow makes people smarter (even though I presently work for a huge company), but the fact remains - the ISP in my basement is more reliable than Google, in terms of reliability that matter to me. I don't have the *capacity*, but that is 100% irrelevant. I also don't have several layers of clueless management and CYA forms to fill out. :)

Lots of people who read and post to the dot here aren't your average "just know enough to be dangerous" home sysadmins. Some of us actually know what we're doing.

When the "what if" clause strikes...

[HalfOfOne]

A lot of people are bandying about this "illusion of control" argument, and it's a valid one to make. Still, so far the comments are missing a really important nuance.

When I have a catastrophic failure, either at work or at home, I stay up all day and night to get the thing working again. I call in the tapes from offsite, I start a new server build while I'm waiting, and I try to minimize the downtime as much as possible. It's my job/posterior on the line, so minutes are important.

Now, put the shoe on the other foot. I'm a sysadmin at Google taking care of someone's free mailbox. Think I'm going to skip the Christmas party just to get your mailbox back? Yeah sure, I care about the company's PR, but only so much. If it were a Google employee's mailbox, then maybe. The level of effort and sense of urgency is a lot less when it's not your foot in the fire.

just a thought,
jb