Google has made such liberal use of the “beta” moniker over the years that it has almost become a running gag with them. Generally, even years after a Google service has been deployed, it\'s still referred to as beta software. While it does good to remind users that they can tweak the service at any point and not to expect miracles, it\'s not something that inspires confidence in businesses and others looking for online services they can rely upon. Even if Gmail is rock-solid, who wants to use a “beta” product in a production environment?

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We have been happier with gmail and google than nearly all other new products. Those people do their homework. Now if they don't go out of control with this collection of personal data...

Beta or not, Gmail is hands down the best web-based email service you will find out there IMO.

I agree on that count, I don't give Google much praise but Gmail's "beta" smacked the crap out of Hotmail and Yahoo's official systems that have been in use for years.

I also seem to notice a hell of a lot less spam there than any other web based email I've ever used.