Indeed, I got a Gmail account when it was invitation only, and back then it didn't really seem particularly sinister. It was also very useful compared with the

Indeed, I got a Gmail account when it was invitation only, and back then it didn't really seem particularly sinister. It was also very useful compared with the other services which were available (the excellent spam filtering was notable). Although I'd rather not I still use it mainly because the Inbox application is excellent and it is useful to be able to search my email archives. I have other accounts as well, of course.