And pretty sneakily, too. When reading a Forrester Research report which pointed out that more and more people rely on webmail (as opposed to the e-mail provided by their ISP) as their primary e-mail, I suddenly realized I had long since made the transition without really being aware of it. I think it was back in 2002 that I last used my personal e-mail account(s) with a client-side e-mail application. Moreover, it has been over 5 years since I’ve used the ISP account for anything. Even when accessing my domains’ e-mails, I use webmail.
And why not? Using a desktop e-mail client, you’re often tied to one machine. Webmail, instead, moves with you wherever you go and is available from any machine, anywhere in the world. Nothing disappears when your laptop breaks. It’s not tied to your broadband provider. It doesn’t change when you switch employers. It’s not affected by academic affiliations. And the most critical aspect, usability, has advanced in leaps and bounds in the past years.
The next question is when will it go mobile without asking me?
