GMail Drive shell extension: GMailFS has been around for Linux for a few months, but this is the first Windows port I’ve seen.
Holy Cow, this works well. Double-click installer, very professionally done. I installed it at the office, dragged a few files into the drive, then installed it at home 30 minutes later and retrieved the files. Flawless.
GMail Drive is a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual filesystem around your Google GMail account, allowing you to use GMail as a storage medium.
GMail Drive creates a virtual filesystem on top of your Google GMail account and enables you to save and retrieve files stored on your GMail account directly from inside Windows Explorer. GMail Drive literally adds a new drive to your computer under the My Computer folder, where you can create new folders, copy and drag’n’drop files to.
I wonder if Google will put the kibosh on these things since they really take advantage of the service. Remember that the entire reason Google is giving you 1GB of space is to show you ads. You’re not gonna see any ads using this app.
This probably isn't new (in fact, one sharp Gadgetopia reader commented on it in April) but I just noticed it. As I was checking my GMail account tonight, I noticed something odd; at the bottom of the page it read "You are currently using 7 MB (0%) of your 2269…
A couple of interesting things about Google's GMail in this article: FIrst, and not all that surprising, is that GMail is running on Apple Xserve hardware, which is something I'd heard before (reported here earlier.) I'd be interested to find out if they're actually using OS X on them. Another cool…
Consumer watchdogs tear into Google's new e-mail service: If you don't know why critics are having a problem with this service, see this post. I would just say, "If you don't like it, don't use it," but the system scans incoming email as well. So I have to say, "If…
actually I believe they already have put the kibosh on it, as this is a direct violation of their "no building on top of" TOS agreement (http://gmail.google.com/gmail/help/termsofuse.html).
But it will be interesting to see if this opens the market more for remote harddrive services?
Keep in mind, too, that it kind of hoses your GMail account from the Web interface. There's a bunch of messages from "me" in there with the files that you're storing.
I don't know how much we actually need stuff like this. With the dropping prices for progressively smaller usb storage devices, the time required to upload to gmail and then download off it at a remote location just seems to be a hassle. But I guess someone out there wanted this and to each his/her own.
Abhimanyu, fedexing usb drives sounds like an interesting way of transporting data, but it sounds so much easier to use a remote harddrive... i think what this is really about is taking advantage (read: pillaging) of google's attempt to hijack the webmail market with a huge free storage container incentive. I have a decent web host for http://www.phool.org, but i don't have anything close to 1GB of storage, and I actually pay for that.
I'd settle for a file-system with search facility that actually works - Windows clearly can't manage this
Really mbCodeMonkey? I found the winxp file searching really useful.. It seems a lot easier to find files based on content than on any of my bsd boxes?
i kinda like the gmailfs thing. yeah, its not the most practialthing, but its still cool. "the man with the most toys dies happiest" or something like that. it's just another thing to have . and its god if you need to store a file and you have no CDs, etc., or forgot your flash drive.
not working for me in WinXp SP2 pro. Does google find a way out to block the door?
Apparently Google changed something which no longer allows GmailFS to work on Windows. Happened that way on Linux, anyways...
Still working fine for me. Win XP / SP2.
Is there ant waty to add 2 or more gmail drives in winXP
Well, I've been using it for about a week now, SP2 and all. The developers web page shows that it hasn't been working for upload recently, but its been great for me! Im currently working on loading more than one gmail drive. If i find a good answer, ill be back.
This is a great ideia. Works fine in Windows XP and will surely take place of some backups utilities I've been using. With the increasing of storage spacer offered by e-mail services, this kind of product will be commom. Visit : http://libgmail.sourceforge.net/ to get know-how you'll need to develop gmail based application. You must remember that Google may decide to banish this kind of programs because they don't let users see the adversitments. But... lets using it for now.
My install suddenly stopped working last night. How is it for everyone else? Did Google finally shut the door?
my install of gmailfs took a dump on me too. happened last week. this app was just the right thing for me. as i could have access to all of my favorite apps from any web-connected computer. helped me troubleshoot and repair other's boxes without a single disc in hand.
I am having problems with the app. too. It started Monday, I think. I am getting messages like "Unable to open the network connection profile". Any suggestions?
Suggestion: find another remote file hosting provider. I think Google finally shut this hole down.
Yup, its dead. Mine doesnt work now either. Its probably only a matter of time before someone is able to get around this. Then it will be a cat and mouse game.
Download latest version 1.03 if yours is suddenly broken-- fixed mine.
Sure enough, mine came back to life after installing the latest version.
I noticed this on the guy's site today:
"Google recently changed their login procedures again, which broke the tool's ability to connect to GMail. Version 1.0.3 once again allows you to access GMail.
Please be aware that support for this tool may suspend at any time if Google decides to block its use."
