The Gmail Killer

June 2, 2004 10:27 AM

Aventure Media is the Gmail killer. No more waiting for Gmail to be released, Aventure Media is already offering 2GB of storage. [via theregister]
posted by banished (51 comments total)

Not on my web browser, they're not. I get a boring splash screen and nothing else.
posted by jaded at 10:29 AM on June 2, 2004

Woops, I suppose it would have been nice to include the link where you can sign up.
posted by banished at 10:29 AM on June 2, 2004

I wish someone would make a webmail program as good as oddpost that would work on a Mac.
posted by dobbs at 10:48 AM on June 2, 2004

We knew how Google planned to pay for their service - by providing ads. What exactly is the 3. ???? that will lead these guys to 4. Profit!!!?
posted by jacquilynne at 10:48 AM on June 2, 2004

But...but...it's not google so I don't trust it.

For the amount of "independently minded" individuals that claim to hang out here, you'd think brand loyalty to Google, Apple, etc. wouldn't be so prevalent.
posted by BlueTrain at 10:49 AM on June 2, 2004

The difference is, I can remember gmail. I can't remember, um, adventure.com, no, eventure.com, nope, venture.com, no that's not it dammit.
posted by Outlawyr at 10:55 AM on June 2, 2004

I wonder why the signup page says that it's 1:57pm GMT. Oddly enough, that's what time it is here in New York.
posted by Vidiot at 10:57 AM on June 2, 2004

You know, it's pretty easy to say that something you don't own, or have never tried is overrated.

Google mail is good. Not because of the storage space, but because of the interface. I've said it before, it's not just the best webmail out there, it's the best web app out there.

Why do I doubt that AdventureMail has a nerd dreamteam of PhD's, UI experts, and programmers working on their product? Google, the company, has attracted the best and brightest to work on all their products.

Geekcred isn't just fluff, there are reasons behind it.
posted by danny the boy at 10:57 AM on June 2, 2004

Also, there doesn't seem to be a privacy policy in their TOS.
posted by Vidiot at 10:58 AM on June 2, 2004

That oddpost faq is a perennial favorite. I believe I may give it a try while I wait for gmail or its killer to trickle down to the proletatariat. Thanks for the tickler.
posted by cairnish at 11:03 AM on June 2, 2004

All I know is I signed up and sent a one shot to the new e-mail address and the test mail bounced back with an unknown host. Very impressive.
posted by kodas at 11:08 AM on June 2, 2004

I just signed up and my computer hasn't imploded yet.

There aren't any ads inside, but there is also no privacy notice or anything about that in the very standard you-better-not-send-spam TOS (which you see once you sign up). It looks like it supports POP accounts too.

It's a very simple, boring layout inside. Everything seems pretty beta, though -- descriptions of things that don't exist, drop-down menus with no options, etc.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 11:08 AM on June 2, 2004

danny the boy: You know, it's pretty easy to say that something you don't own, or have never tried is overrated.

Um, how can something that is presented with such extreme hyperbole and exaggeration not be overrated? It's not only the best webmail out there, it brews a mean porter and pays your bills as well!

Why do I doubt that AdventureMail has a nerd dreamteam of PhD's, UI experts, and programmers working on their product? Google, the company, has attracted the best and brightest to work on all their products.

Quite interesting given that Microsoft has perhaps the deepest talent tank in the business. And yet, very few people take seriously the claim that the current MS vaporware is going to be the best thing out there.

Geekcred isn't just fluff, there are reasons behind it.

Herd mentality being the biggest one.

*Mooooo!*
posted by KirkJobSluder at 11:11 AM on June 2, 2004

Yeah, my whole one comment wondering how they planned to pay for it, in comparison with Google, was an overwhelming display of Google loyalism, BlueTrain.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:12 AM on June 2, 2004

Hey thanks, Dobbs! I am in love with Oddpost and I have been looking for a nice web-based IMAP client for a while now. V. much appreciated.
posted by shoepal at 11:15 AM on June 2, 2004

Incidentally, it's Hivemail with a new front-end.
posted by Vidiot at 11:15 AM on June 2, 2004

I don't understand the attraction behind storing thousands of messages online, under TOS that give Google (or whomever) the rights to sift through it all. Can someone explain it to me?

I prefer to download my mail to a local machine where it's safe from the prying eyes of marketers trying to figure out which demographic slice I belong to.
posted by aladfar at 11:27 AM on June 2, 2004

because of the interface. I've said it before, it's not just the best webmail out there, it's the best web app out there.

*shrug* You may claim the interface is wonderful, but considering the gmail is at this time one big circle jerk, many of us who arn't into circle jerks wouldn't know.
posted by rough ashlar at 11:31 AM on June 2, 2004

signed up. was able to send an email out, but my reply back didn't (as of yet) show up in aventuremail.
posted by danOstuporStar at 11:31 AM on June 2, 2004

Hopelessly, unusuably buggy.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 11:31 AM on June 2, 2004

I'm actually having a lovely glass of Google Porter as we speak, while my Gmail client renovates the guest room and prepares a six course dinner of pheasant, ptarmigan and roaste beeste over leeks and okra for myself and my Gfriends.

Ohhhh... excuse me, it's hard to concentrate during the deep tissue massage... Gmail is soooo good at this... ahhhhhh.

I'm sorry, what were you saying?
posted by chicobangs at 11:33 AM on June 2, 2004

(That was sarcasm, by the way.)
posted by chicobangs at 11:35 AM on June 2, 2004

I just wish I could get me a nice glass of FilePile Zinfandel.
posted by Vidiot at 11:42 AM on June 2, 2004

from the reg article -- cocking a snook

i want to bring this term to america!
posted by birdherder at 11:44 AM on June 2, 2004

Hmmm. . . . do the math . . . .

Hard disk storage will cost them about $0.50 per gigabyte, so that's $1.00 per user.

They can probably garner $0.10 per account revenue per day from providing marketers access to the aventure user accounts, thereby profiting after day 10.

If people liked spam, this could really work!
posted by yesster at 11:46 AM on June 2, 2004

*shrug* You may claim the interface is wonderful, but considering the gmail is at this time one big circle jerk, many of us who arn't into circle jerks wouldn't know.

OMG, that's like totally lame that GMail didn't invite you to the prom this year, but I heard that AventureMail is like totally crushing on you!!! And you know GMail totally isn't cool with AventureMail. Maybe if you like pass aventuremail a note during second period, GMail will get like totally jealous and like HAVE to invite you to the prom!!!
posted by falconred at 11:48 AM on June 2, 2004

sent an email 30 minutes ago to the account and it hasn't shown up yet. messageinabottlemail.com
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 11:48 AM on June 2, 2004

So. . . . How are they making money?
posted by mr_roboto at 11:52 AM on June 2, 2004

Sent mail from the new account received the mail via another service within 30 seconds. Sent mail to the new adventure account. Three returned mailer daemons and one into the ether... no mail received on the new adventure account yet waiting approx an hour.
posted by kodas at 11:54 AM on June 2, 2004

Gmail's in beta, not in circlejerk. Look at the land rush for MeFi accounts whenever Matt opens up the gates for even an hour, and tell me you're not kvetching about not being in Club X from inside the (way more exclusive) Club Y.

Also, falconred, you are sew right omg lol kthxbi.
posted by chicobangs at 12:00 PM on June 2, 2004

Some reasons why skepticism is warranted:

1: Google services have became less and less impressive the more they are used, with the signal to noise ratio among queries becoming worse over time.

2: It is as yet unclear whether the Gmail business model is even legal in all states.

3: So far, the buz comes from early adopters. In general, the opinions of early adopters are not worth a bucket of warm spit in regards to mass adoption. Learned this the hard way after working on a project that spent 3 million dollars on a product. The early adopters asked to give advice loved it, unfortunately no one else did.

4: Too much of the hype is connected to the brand name rather than the service its self. "Google!" "1 gig!". Gmail may certainly be the best thing since sliced bread but simply repeating "but it's from Google!" is not very convincing.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 12:03 PM on June 2, 2004

Well, it's been about five minutes since I signed up for AventureMail and so far my computer seems to be behav
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:27 PM on June 2, 2004

I laughed
posted by Pretty_Generic at 12:35 PM on June 2, 2004

I will trade my brand new Aventuremail account for a Gmail account. No questions asked.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 12:36 PM on June 2, 2004

Quite interesting given that Microsoft has perhaps the deepest talent tank in the business. And yet, very few people take seriously the claim that the current MS vaporware is going to be the best thing out there.

Yeah, but Gmail isn't vaporware. It really, really does kick ass. I'm pretty anal about usability, and Gmail has it in spades.

BTW, I'm with Vidiot. I stopped my registration when I saw their total non-TOS. Sure, they won't scan your email to display ads, but there's nothing saying they won't provide whatever they want to 3rd-party advertisers who want to send you spam. Face it- these folks have to make money somehow. If they're not charging you for their service, they're selling ads, one way or another.
posted by mkultra at 12:44 PM on June 2, 2004

Worked okay for me, although I had an error with the first registration.
posted by Samizdata at 1:04 PM on June 2, 2004

I think the idea behind these multi-gig email services is the more email stored the more power. Information is power. It's not clear what that power is it may be direct marketing, or data mining, or trend spotting, or spam.. but it is a direct access to private information that otherwise would cost a fortune to obtain. Even if it's %80 spam they can do something with that, perhaps monitor which spams get the most responses then create products in more legitimate sales channels. Tons of opportunities when you start having millions of users. Microsoft and Yahoo have had this for a while but missed the 3. ??? part, Google is probably more able to exploit it 4. Profit
posted by stbalbach at 1:21 PM on June 2, 2004

The great thing about Gmail as far as I'm concerned is its speed. It's as fast - or faster - than all Google stuff. That ten second pause when using Hotmail or Yahoo Mail when you send or change folders or do anything? Not there in Gmail. It's instant. *That's* what's impressive. Searching an account with 100MB of emails in it? Just as quick. Forget the 1gb of hosting - that's a gimmick. It's fast fast fast.
posted by humuhumu at 1:40 PM on June 2, 2004

okay, another report here. This is definitely turning into emptyshell-ware.

Signed up for 2 accounts at aventuremail. Sent two messages to both accounts. Have been waiting approx 2 hrs for both to show up. No mail daemon error, no bounce, just disappears into the ether.

Sending email from the accounts gives the ominous message "your message is being sent..." however, it never shows up in your sent items. Again, into the ether.

Also, their support link at the bottom of the page simply opens another email addressed to "[e-mail]".

awesome.
posted by Parannoyed at 1:50 PM on June 2, 2004

am i the only one who can't even get the link to work (in any browser)? it sounds like crap, but i wouldn't mind taking a look ...
posted by mrgrimm at 2:08 PM on June 2, 2004

There are currently too many users using the system. Please try again in a few minutes.

Seems like they have some issues to work out before google needs to worry.
posted by split atom at 3:22 PM on June 2, 2004

Is Aventuremail out of beta yet? I mean, if it's this buggy, maybe they're just field testing it now.

I couldn't find the word Beta anywhere (actually, a tour of the features would have been nice), but I'm willing to give them that as an out. It might not be finished yet.

If this is the launch, then -- lotsa luck. Gmail lives.
posted by chicobangs at 3:26 PM on June 2, 2004

Yes, they seem to have had their servers reamed with traffic. I'll give them a day and see what happens....
posted by Parannoyed at 3:56 PM on June 2, 2004

Aventure Mail Error
There are currently too many users using the system. Please try again in a few minutes.

Again. Hmm. You can try and send me mail at *myusername* at aventuremail.com, though, if you want.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:43 PM on June 2, 2004

Six hours and no email & now no access. Methinks the good folks at Aventure bit off a tad more than they can chew.

You know, those 2 gigs are going to go a loooong way when the host bounces back all of your incoming mail. BRILLIANT!
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 5:04 PM on June 2, 2004

Silly idea.

Any bozo can set up a mail system for a few thousand users, but having one that works for a gazillion, that has high uptime and very low message loss and backups is quite a different kettle of fish.

Hotmail and Yahoo developed the massive servers to do this over a period of time, Google already had the technology to build extremely large systems, but this isn't going to be something a few bright boys do in secret, you'd need to have a lot of those servers already working in a system and you'd need to have already raised some serious cash and talent.

But forget that -- why would you pick Adventure Mail's system over Google's? A gig is huge -- and you'd be pretty sure that if you had a gig of actual email (as opposed to a lot of attachments) that Google's going to let you keep doing it somehow. Who cares about the extra gig?

If someone's going to keep your email, they either need to be someone you are paying (like an ISP) or someone you trust to do a good job (like Microsoft, Yahoo and Google).

(What a great name -- Adventure Mail. Sounds like a hoax to me -- imagine the jokes: "Adventure Mail: Trying to get your mail is the adventure.")
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 8:12 PM on June 2, 2004

Nice splash screen, but that is all I can see. Whatever.
posted by dg at 9:38 PM on June 2, 2004

"gmail isn't the best webmail app out there, it's the best webapp period."

agreed. seamless that puppy is.. pry it from my dead hands!
posted by mrplab at 9:46 PM on June 2, 2004

It's just mail. Listen everybody, as much as I'd like to sell you on it so I can trade my last free invite for a FilePile account, it's just mail.
posted by NortonDC at 10:22 PM on June 2, 2004

I'm getting a 404 when I try to log in now. I wonder if they'll manage to scale this thing? (I hope so -- I was able to score my first name.)

The great thing about Gmail as far as I'm concerned is its speed. It's as fast - or faster - than all Google stuff. That ten second pause when using Hotmail or Yahoo Mail when you send or change folders or do anything? Not there in Gmail. It's instant. *That's* what's impressive. Searching an account with 100MB of emails in it? Just as quick. Forget the 1gb of hosting - that's a gimmick. It's fast fast fast.

My personal website is written in ASP/VBScript and runs on an Access database (don't laugh) -- it's pretty quick, too, but only because you're likely to be the only person looking at it when you visit. I haven't heard how many Gmail accounts are currently in use but I'm guessing you're using an application that's massively overbuilt for the relatively paltry number of lucky users it currently has. Google has a track record of building speedy applications, but let's reserve judgment about Gmail's speed until after they launch and millions of us proles are using it at once.

Also what Outlawyr said (look how many people on this page typed adventuremail.com by mistake).
posted by boredomjockey at 9:15 AM on June 3, 2004

Due to the massive amount of signups we are curently performing upgrades
Please re-visit in 24 hrs!

*sigh*
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 9:34 AM on June 3, 2004