How I solved my gmail problem
Thursday, December 14th, 2006
Gmail (www.gmail.com) seems all the rage these days. Google has so dominated the market as an alternative to Bill Gates, that folks seem to be streaming to it for all sorts of neat stuff, like Google Earth, or Google Desktop. So after seeing family and friends converting to gmail, and after having my Internet service changed for the umpteenth time (TCI, to At Home, to ATTBI, to Comcast, to Time Warner slash RoadRunner to …..) I decided enough was enough. With every new company, I’d have to change my email address. Annoying!
So I duly set up my gmail email to be my permanent email account. Here it is for your reference:
But then I encountered a problem that I never had with any of the other bigname Internet providers. It stems from the fact that I have two computers that I use in parallel. My laptop sits downstairs, and goes with me on consulting gigs. My desktop sits upstairs and is (thus far) stationary. Both use Outlook Express. After dutifully enabling the POP server on Gmail, I found that after I downloaded email on one machine (say the laptop), it would not download that same piece of mail again on the desktop. All other providers gave me ALL pieces of mail no matter what.
I searched Google’s page for a solution to the above, and even found a forum where others complained about the same problem but without finding a solution. Then, from a comment someone made on one of these forums, I had an idea. Google has become so rich and powerful that they give you gobs of server space for email, and they don’t seem to mind your having multiple email accounts. So I set up a second email account (I’m not telling you the name because you might be tempted to email me there which would spoil everything!) So every email that goes to the first account (jmdishman@gmail.com) remains on the server BUT IS ALSO FORWARDED TO THE SECOND ACCOUNT. Brilliant! Now my laptop only downloads from this second account and the desktop only from the first. Thus each incoming email gets sent to each machine once.
I know it sounds like overkill, but it works for me. So happy gmailing.