Hi, do you guys think there's market for a new free e-mail host? I've been using Gmail since 2004 but I'm not happy with the "conversations" idea. Also, I think there's a serious privacy issue with Google (but do other people care about that?). Anyway, I went looking for a better service, but I wasn't happy with a single one of the services that I tried. It seems like all either has too many ads, has a horrible interface or is slow/unreliable.

I'm a programmer and I've got enough money to be able to buy the hardware needed to supply quite a lot of people with more than enough space (100s of MiB is enough for most). Do you think it's realistic that I'm able to make it profitable (using a relatively limited amount of advertisements)?

Alternatively, I could start a disposable e-mail service (such as mailinator and dodgeit). It wouldn't require much hardware or effort to start with.

There is also market for a new company, specially for a new email service, free that is, yahoo mail and hotmail were the best and when gmail came most of us would not use it because we were happy, but gmail proved it wrong, at least to me because i like gmail better now, but if in the future, a new and better free email service comes arround, i will try it and perhaps i will change my personal and usual email adress, who knows, it is possible, very possible in fact.

Of course google has tons of security weaknesses, the gmail and google search engine, specially the last which is today the number one hacker's tool and friend, that is a fact, beleave it because it is the truth, you can even find passwords and weaknesses in websites, servers, networks and systems connected to the internet, nonetheless, i prefer the gmail and the google search engine to find whatever i want and to receive my email.

This post has been edited by Lyon2: Nov 12 2007, 08:27 PM

May i ask what do you mean about privacy issue?
I heard a rumor of google selling your "profile".
What i heard is that the easier way to someone create your profile is a search engine, you search what you like (basically) so google is selling your profile to other companies (aka spam), and the gmail is just the mine gold of google, since you search and they know exactly who you are.
I think this is just conspiracy, but i have to admit: "This makes sense"
Anyway, is this what you are talking about?

I dont understand how the conversations are security holes... I mean it's between you and the others that you're chatting with, not the whole world, well that's if you haven't spread your login information around anyway...

I have not tried Gmail but it sounds interesting. I am tired of yahoo and will give it a try. Have been with yahoo forever.