Getting an Account
Ah yes, the tricky part. A visit to the Gmail main page will reveal a log in screen, some Gmail information, and a few About Google buttons. Notably lacking is the ability to sign up for an account. So now you ask, "How do I sign up?" Short Answer: You don't. Long Answer: You need to be invited. Gmail is currently on an invitation-only basis. Every once and a while, current users of Gmail will get a chance to invite a limited number of friends, family, and mortal enemies to join Gmail.

If you want a Gmail account but don't know anyone with an account, you have to result to begging random people on the internet. One organized place to do this is Gmail Swap, at http://www.gmailswap.com. At Gmail Swap you can request an account, and some nice user will (hopefully) give you an invite, although a bribe will always help. Google has stated that Gmail will go public, but hasn't announced when that will be.

Conclusion
Gmail is a great addition to the web mail community. With new features like labels and archiving, Gmail will, at the very least, force its competitors to improve. It also works beautifully as an email system, and will only get better as it rises out of its beta status. Although some users will not find Gmail contains anything worthy of a switch from their current email, everybody should sign-up if they are blessed with an invite, even if it is only to secure their username for the future.

OUR RATING: 4 of 5

For more than 20 years, David Gewirtz, the author of Where Have All The Emails Gone? and The Flexible Enterprise, has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com.