billso.com

As I’ve mentioned in other billso.com articles, I’ve used Gmail for a few years. My first account started with a gigabyte of free storage. Every now and then, Google adds to my storage quota without charging me a penny. 

Two weeks ago, Gmail added video chat to its services. In short, Google video chat works very well in Gmail. Just install a small Google program. The additional setup is minimal. Mailplane, a customized Mac web browser that supports multiple Gmail accounts, also supports the video chat feature.

David Carr wrote a brief article for today’s New York Times called Google Seduces with Utility. Carr also likes the easy setup, and the price is hard to beat: it’s free.

I don’t mind customer lock-in when the services and products work well.

See Google’s blog post, Say hello to Gmail voice and video chat, for more details. 

Related pages and articles on billso.com and other sites

• Email and spam
• 9 July 2008: Is email in danger from microblogging?
• 1 July 2008: Mailplane - A Mac Browser for Gmail
• 22 February 2008: Customer lock-in