Can I trust my mail completely to Google? (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

At this moment, for all my devices (iMac, Macbook Pro, iPhone and iPad), I am using a POP configuration.


Incoming: iCloud (being forwarded through Google)

Outgoing: Verizon (POP)


I don't have a specific reason for using Verizon as an outgoing SMTP, other than I simply set it up that way years ago.


As far as incoming is concerned...


I have an iCloud email and my Home Theater Forum account (which the latter is registered through Google Mail).


I use Google Mail because it has the best spam filter out there, and for mobile devices that don't have spam filters, I don't get all that spam.


The problem with this POP setup is that I can't use many of the new iOS mobile email clients which rely in IMAP alone.


So, I am thinking of just starting over and setting up my incoming and outgoing account with GMAIL, using their servers entirely. I will still forward iCloud mail through there.


My question is, is Google reliable server wise? Are there any problems with its servers going down?


Incoming, I have never had a problem. Outgoing, since up to this point I use Verizon as an SMTP, I just don't know.


Thanks, in advance, for the assistance.

 

[Sam Posten]

Their servers never go down, at least not yet. Trying to overlay POP on Webmail is the worst idea imagineable and I have no idea why so many folks get hung up on it. I get it, you want to be in control. Get a full POP mail host then and don't try to force fit that into tech that was only retrofitted to make it work for you.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Knew you would be the first to respond, Sam -- and I am glad you did.


I am a little lost in the second part of your post.


I need to get away from POP because a lot of the cool iOS mail apps don't support it. Yet, you are saying get a full POP mail host.


I probably got lost somewhere in your meaning.

 

[Sam Posten]

I'm saying it's futile to try to make a desktop mail app (like Apple Mail) work with gmail. Use the web app or the iOS Mail app. Or the Gmail app the way they are normally set to work. Trying to force full mail with synced folders is just a terrible idea. If you want a desktop mail account get one of those. Be reasonable, do it the way it was designed rather than making it the way you think it ought to work.

http://www.macstories.net/tutorials/how-to-configure-gmail-with-os-x-yosemite-mail/

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Now I remember why I couldn't do Google Mail.


Folders


Folders and a proper Desktop setup that translates over to my iOS devices is essential.


Using iCloud as an incoming server (with Google Mail forwarded to it), I can use synced FOLDERS.


I will look at your link when I have time, but something tells me I might not be able to switch over

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Hey Sam....


Can I simply keep my iCloud account as incoming, to preserve the folder structure and then remove VERIZON as the SMTP and replace it with Google SMTP, thus getting rid of the POP aspect.

 

[Sam Posten]

I dunno. I have no interest in running crazy stuff like that, I value simplicity over fine control. I embrace labels and filters and alerts and those do everything I could possibly need to do better than folders ever could. I do it the way Google wants it to be done and it works perfectly. Going outside that is certainly possible and Google does provide hooks to let people do so, but I wish they didn't and stuck to their guns. Either use it their way or not at all. =)

Which reminds me, your focus on 'trusting google' seems to be out of the ordinary compared to what others are worried about.

You are concerned about performance. That's really not even questioned. Gmail is the best in the world at what it does and nobody else is even close.

But what concerns people is just how much insight this gives google about you, personally. So far we have every reason to believe that Google have been good stewards of this information and even government snooping via Google's assistance has been minimal. Still, it's worth considering much more than the performance envelope which is untouchable.

 

[Sam Posten]

I should mention they did have one ten hour period where 10% of their users had issues connecting, so it's not 'never'. But it's still very very rare and never a complete shutdown.

 

[DaveF]

After about seven years with Gmail, I switched to Hover.com (my domain name provider). I was annoyed by google's worsening spam filtering; that Gmail doesn't play well with Apple Mail (with their weird folders and refusal to actually delete stuff); and I'm reducing my Google usage because I'm their product, not customer. But what pushed me over the edge was recurring problems with their two-factor authentication.

If you need better spam filtering than a mail service provides, you can add on a servuce like MailRoute.

I don't know why you want pop instead of IMAP. But my wife is the same way, and I still love her so, get a good mail provider and use pop.

 

[DaveF]

If you do want to use gmail, and you want to use your own domain name, you need to pay for Googke Apps.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I don't think I can do what I want to do.


iCloud is important to me because I can create folders with rules. Each individual HTF owner's email goes to its own folder. I create new folders to store email related to a particular event (such as an HTF meet)


However, I can't use iCloud as an SMTP because ALIAS is not supported on all email clients, and I need all my outgoing email to be from my Home Theater Forum Google account (we do have Google Apps).


I am going to experiment with simply switching the SMTP from Verizon (POP) to Google (iMAP) and see if it will work with email clients that will only work solely with iMAP.

 

[DaveF]

On further reading I'm confused further by your goals. You appear to be stacking multiple services to get some specific outcome for free. I wonder if you can get your desired result easier, by paying a little money for focused services.

The other difficulty is trying to maintain your historical folders on iCloud.

My wife is in a similar situation. She needs to preserve her iCloud folders, desktop folders and rules, and manage her iCloud storage usage. So she uses POP and iCloud and has a Mac.com email rather than using her professional domain name address.

Me, I only need home use, no longer care about folders, but use Mail apps, not webmail. So I switched to a hover.com to get IMAP, domain name, and no Google / Apple annoyances.

For you, I don't know what to recommend any suggestion I've got is disruptive to your business flow.

 

[Sam Posten]

Agreed, I can't make any recommendations.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I'm glad I can get my personal ISP mail, my iCloud mail (which I don't use) and my work's MS Exchange email all as an IMAP service through the Apple Mail app.

 

[Sam Posten]

Ron, check out Marco's IMAP alternative:
http://www.marco.org/2015/05/29/why-not-google

If IMAP / POP is valuable to you I recommend you pay for it rather than trying to do backflips fitting in mismatched technology to get it for free.