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Why do you use Mail?

OldCorpse

OldCorpse

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 7, 2005
1,758
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I've been on OS X since 2005. I have never ever used Mail. I simply connect directly to GMail. I'm happy with the GMail interface. I like the way it works. I never used any email client. Soon I'll be using SL (I'll be buying a mini). I thought this might be an opportunity to get acquainted with the various apps in OS X that I have never used.

So...

Can you please tell me, why do you use Mail, rather than do the direct web access to f.ex. GMail. TIA!
 
Its just quicker for me....I can open it up and have two of my email accounts there. And if I get an email when I'm on my computer, it brings it to my attention. I wish they had support for old Exchange 2003, but I can live without it.
 
I don’t like everything to run out of the browser. I think native apps tend to be more smooth and powerful, and I like the dock badges and Growl notifications (although I’m sure you can get the Growl notifications with Gmail Notifier or something). More big plusses would be offline access and Spotlight integration (both within global Spotlight and searching within Mail). I know Google is the search king, but I think searching within Mail is much more responsive and versatile than Gmail’s interface.

Just in general, I’m not a big web apps guy.
 
I used to just keep a browser window open to Gmail, but i grew tired of mistakenly closing that tab or having multiple tabs open for different email accounts.

One day i figured...why not just use Mail, it's there. :D
 
I figured why not? Since I had a .me account anyways I threw it in and haven't gone back.

Nothing like "omg its the best ever", but it works well and its efficient for me.
 
For me there are a couple of reasons.
-Letterbox while it worked was an awesome plugin
-I like how it looks
-iAlertU just in case I leave my computer somewhere
-I can see all three email accounts at once
 
It's integrated with the whole operating system, and I have access to all of my email accounts in one place.

When I ran linux, I used Opera Mail for its integration with the browser. I like system wide integration even more.
 
Love the feedback, please keep it coming!!

Thank you to each and every one of you who responded so far. Keep it coming! A few reactions I had while reading these... just from the perspective of my needs:

zap2 said:
Its just quicker for me....I can open it up and have two of my email accounts there. And if I get an email when I'm on my computer, it brings it to my attention. I wish they had support for old Exchange 2003, but I can live without it.
Click to expand...

Speed - I have a Google Notifier on my menu bar at all times... not sure how Mail is faster. Notification - again, Google Notifier, I can set it to how I want to be notified... not sure how Mail notifications are better.

devburke said:
I don’t like everything to run out of the browser. I think native apps tend to be more smooth and powerful, and I like the dock badges and Growl notifications (although I’m sure you can get the Growl notifications with Gmail Notifier or something). More big plusses would be offline access and Spotlight integration (both within global Spotlight and searching within Mail). I know Google is the search king, but I think searching within Mail is much more responsive and versatile than Gmail’s interface.

Just in general, I’m not a big web apps guy.
Click to expand...

Offline access - not important to me. I'm quite happy with the Gmail search function, never felt the need for more, so not sure how a more versatile Spotlight search would help me (again, all this from my perspective).

MSTRKRFT said:
For me there are a couple of reasons.
-Letterbox while it worked was an awesome plugin
-I like how it looks
-iAlertU just in case I leave my computer somewhere
-I can see all three email accounts at once
Click to expand...

I'll have to check out Letterbox (prolly they'll fix it for SL). I like the GMail look. I only use two email accounts, both GMail, and can have both active.

It's fascinating how everyone uses Mail. I'm looking to learn from you folks, and perhaps find some way to fit it into my needs. Love the feedback, please keep it coming!!!
 
I have several email addresses, and only half of them are on gmail. I probably only use the webmail version once a month, if that. I recently switched from Entourage to Mail, but I've always used a client.
 
Multiple Accounts

If you have multiple accounts, do you have separate inboxes or does it all get dumped/consolidated into one?
 
Also it seamlessly integrates with OS X, to email something just drag it to the Mail icon in the Dock and there is a new email with the attachment ready to be completed by you.
The address book works perfectly to add new contacts and search for the recipients fast and easy, it aslo learns what is the most recent one you use when you start typing the first letters the most used one will appear and works great!
Also if you have groups of recipients in your Address Book you can simply type the group name and there you go with a quick email to all the people in the group.

And you can reply/forward to an email with a different email account if you have them set up.

When sending pictures, you can adjust the picture size to the right size you want it to be.
 
It' like comparing a web-based Google Docs with a desktop word processor. The desktop version compares more power, features, etc.

You get more features/options/control in Mail (if you set your account up right). Dock Badges are also convenient - I don't have to constantly check Gmail.com to see if I got new email. Also, I can have multiply messages open to clarify something or compose.
 
I have more than one email account, and dont want to have a tab open for each on a web browser. Using Mail means you can have several accounts, don't have to keep refreshing a webpage, and don't even need to open the app to know you've got an email (alerts you form the dock). Also the integration with the Address Book app, and Calender.
 
ManhattanPrjct said:
So, if I have two gmail accounts, they are in one inbox, yahoo is separate, mobileme is separate?
Click to expand...

each has its inbox, and there is a main Inbox that shows all of them.
Also if you set them up IMAP they will sync with the server and all the folder structure you create for them.

Other feature is the creation of Folders to store your emails.

Also you have Mailbox behavior to set up Rules, etc...
 
ManhattanPrjct said:
So, if I have two gmail accounts, they are in one inbox, yahoo is separate, mobileme is separate?
Click to expand...

They are all separate. You can view all 4 as one combined inbox, or view their individual inboxes. It will look like this:

INBOX
Gmail 1
Gmail 2
Yahoo
MobileMe
 
McGiord said:
each has its inbox, and there is a main Inbox that shows all of them.
Also if you set them up IMAP they will sync with the server and all the folder structure you create for them.

Other feature is the creation of Folders to store your emails.

Also you have Mailbox behavior to set up Rules, etc...
Click to expand...

This is great - thank you!

Only now do I have enough email accounts to make the constant checking of web-based accounts tiresome.

I wish Mail could prompt you for a password when it starts (just for security purposes).
 
I use Mail for both my university's email account and a gmail account. I like mail for a few reasons... First being that it automatically downloads emails so I don't have to log in to the web-based interface. I'm kinda an email junkie so I need the instant gratification :D

Also, the storage space is limited only by your computer's hard drive - gmail is pretty big, but my university email is limited to 500 MB so emails are automatically deleted as the old make room for the new. This may not be a problem for some, but I like the fact that I can search for emails from 2006 if need be :) It's come in handy on several occasions for me.
 
Why don't you just set up Mail with your Gmail account and see how you like it. It seems to me that you're wanting everyone to tell you why they like it, but in the end, it needs to do want you want it to do. It doesn't take but 1 minute to set it up.
 
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