Gfail- What to do at such times?
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Gfail
Recently Gmail, Google's free online mail service, had gone bust due to "Unexpected side effects of some new code that tries to keep data geographically close to its owner caused another data center in Europe to become overloaded". This resulted in tremendous breakdown in the productivity of the internet crowd. Chances of such a thing happening again is next to nil, but it cannot be ruled out either. So what must one do if such a thing happens?



  • Use a desktop e-mail application:
    While Gmail couldn't be accessed via its online interface, it could still be viewed with desktop e-mail applications like Microsoft Outlook or the free Mozilla Thunderbird. These are softwares that download your e-mail messages to your hard-drive, so that you can view it even if you go offline.
    Gfail
    To use your Gmail e-mail account in Outlook, you must first make sure POP3 support is enabled in Gmail, and then you can add it to Outlook. For that login to your Gmail account and go to settings => Forwarding and POP/IMAP
    .
    1. Log in to your Gmail account.
    2. At the top of any Gmail page, click Settings.
    3. In the Mail Settings window, click Forwarding and POP.
    4. In the POP Download section, select Enable POP or all mail or Enable POP only for mail that arrives from now on.
    5. Click Save Settings.
    6. In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
    7. Click Add a new e-mail account, and then click Next.
    8. Click POP3, and then click Next.
    9. Under User Information, do the following:
      1. In the Your Name box, type your full name the way you want it to appear to other people.
      2. In the E-mail Address box, type your e-mail user name followed by @gmail.com.
    10. Under Server Information, do the following:
      1. In the Incoming mail server (POP3) box, type pop.gmail.com.
      2. In the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) box, type smtp.Gmail.com.
    11. Under Logon Information, do the following:
      1. In the User Name box, type your full e-mail address, including @gmail.com.
      2. In the Password box, type your password.
      3. Select the Remember password check box.Note You have the option to have Outlook remember your password by typing it in the Password box and selecting the Remember password check box. Having Outlook remember your password means that you won't have to type your password each time you access the account; however, it also means that the account is vulnerable to anyone who has access to your computer. Use strong passwords that combine upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Weak passwords don't mix these elements. Strong password: Y6dh!et5. Weak password: House27. Use a strong password that you can remember so that you don't have to write it down.
    12. Click More Settings.
    13. On the General tab, under Mail Account, type Gmail.
    14. Click the Outgoing Server tab, and then select the My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication check box.
    15. Select Use same settings as my incoming mail server.
    16. Click the Advanced tab, and then under Server Port Numbers for both Incoming server (POP3) and Outgoing server (SMTP), select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check boxes.
    17. Change the Outgoing server (SMTP) port number to 465.The Incoming server(POP3)port number should change automatically to 995 when you select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check box.
    18. Click OK.
    19. To verify that your account is working, click Test Account Settings. If there is missing or incorrect information, such as your password, you will be prompted to supply or correct it. Make sure your computer is connected to the Internet.
    20. Click Next, and then click Finish.
  • Use Google's own offline Gmail
    Google recently rolled out the feature for viewing mails offline. You could acess the mail by this wa also. Follow these steps to get started:
    1. Click Settings and click the Labs tab.
    2. Select Enable next to Offline Gmail.
    3. Click Save Changes.
    4. After your browser reloads, you'll see a new "Offline0.1" link in the upper righthand corner of your account, next to your username. Click this link to start the offline set up process and download Gears if you don't already have it.
  • Acess Gmail via Mobile
    Gmail can be accessed by mobile. So you may download the Gmail application from here, and access your mails easily.
  • Keep hard-copies of important mails
    This is the most tried and tested way. Any important mail in your account. Take a print out and stash it in your file and keep it away
These are my tips. With one of these methods you can access Gmail if any other method doesn't work. So share more thoughts with us. Comment!