Outlook Free for One Year! But Will I Survive Gmail Outages?

 

It was just over a year ago that I kicked my multi-year Outlook habit.   It happened because of a horrible computer crash.  I have not gone back to Outlook and I've become completely accustomed or perhaps dependent on using gmail for GTD because all of the reasons in the video above.   So, today's Gmail outage created a horribly unproductive day.

According to SKFox blog, there isn't much you can do.   This one lasted at least a couple of hours and was very annoying.  SKFox suggests the following to keep you from banging cha cha on the keyboard:

• Use your email client like Outlook or Thunderbird to download your messages to your local machine with POP3 while keeping your gmail account unchanged. That way, even if gMail is inaccessible, you can get to your old email for reference. Of course, you have to do this once your account is up and running again.
• Visit the gMail Google group to at the least find others in your boat and get the latest updates.

Some users have reported success getting to their mail during outages by using any number of alternative links to gmail. Your mileage may vary, but here they are:

• Basic HTML version: https://mail.google.com/mail/h/
• Older version: http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=1

Today’s outage is a known issue, and I hope for all of your coming here from search engines, that it comes back up quickly for you.

Here's the link that Sonny Cloward pointed me to on Twitter about the outage (unfortunately, didn't see it because Twitter was having its own problems)

I don't use my email as a to do list, but I do have a lot of reference information in there, particularly what I haven't processed into a google doc (which was also giving me some issues).   Looks like I better figure out a way to download messages as an off line archive.

What are your best tips for being productive during a gmail outage?

Comments

[Sarah Stewart]

I'm a bit grumpy with gmail at the moment. I have had a few really important emails 'lost' including a job application and application for research funding. I don't know where they are going - maybe in the recipient's junk box. So lesson learned for me is to always check that the important emails have been received.

[Daniel]

I take Gmail outages as a sign from somewhere higher up that I need to take a break and get outside. It works quite nicely, actually.

[David Wilcox]

I have Google apps for your domain providing gmail and other services, and I'm wondering about paying $50 a year per user for the premium service. As it is just me that would be OK if it provided more reliability.

[Jordan Viator]

I'm not as avid a Gmail user asyou, seeing as though I rely on Outlook for work, but I do use it for personal email. Here's an article I came across a few days back on the "57 Habits of Highly Effective Gmail Users" - maybe it will give you some new ideas! file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/jviator/Desktop/57%20Habits%20of%20Highly%20Effective%20Gmail%20Users%20_%20College%20Degrees.htm

[Shaun Kester]

I think Jordan meant to link to this.

Thanks for linking to my site and I hope the outage was short for you. How long were you locked out?

[Michael Waugaman]

I for one would be keen to know if the paid for version is any more/less dependable.

I introduced Google Hosted Apps over a year ago and it immediately revolutionized the way the team worked together - particularly with the calendar. Even now we go thru long patches of just getting on with our jobs someone will suddenly learn something new and then share it with the team (like creating quick & easy surveys with the spreadsheet in gdocs).

Generally I find it easy to teach newbies how to find their way about tho' gsites are a bit of a challenge. Toughest thing is to teach users to be patient on those days when the service is a bit slow but most actual outages seem to occur during US's working hours, not Europe's :)