Considering a return to Fastmail. Has much changed?

blipblop · 7 Nov 2010, 10:26 PM

I've had a fastmail account since 2000 and happily used it till 2005 as a paying full member until free e-mail storage offerings progressed far passed that of Fastmail, and I eventually switched to Gmail, letting my Full membership downgrade to guest but still retaining it.

Times have changed and as I worry about Gmail's extended privacy grab these days, I wanted to rescan the landscape to see what alternatives there are out there. Surprisingly, it seems like Fastmail is still the only truly independent and quality provider, BUT like before, is woefully inadequate in the storage it provides for the price it asks.

Have there been any real other changes to Fastmail that would tip me in the direction of going through the hassle of migrating back? If its still the same old fastmail, then I'm just not prepared to spend $80-$100 bucks so I can have my 10 gigs of e-mail stored.

Merovingian · 7 Nov 2010, 11:13 PM

there has been huge increases in storage, bandwith, file storage, and file bandwith.

You can get your 10 gigs of email storage included in the Enhanced plan for $39.95 a year

William9 · 7 Nov 2010, 11:22 PM

I don't know what you mean by "truly independent ... ". Opera purchased FM earlier this year. You should read the privacy policy of the provider you are considering. I read that FM's privacy policy was revised before or about the time of its sale. There are several other excellent email services providers discussed in these fora, but a fee is required ranging from about $36 to $150+ per year for the super reliable, excellent customer service providers. However, the $36 provider, for example, comes with only 1 GB of storage for that low price, which will likely not satisfy your needs. You can't beat the free ones like Gmail and Yahoo! if you're looking for message storage at little or no cost.There have been a couple of FM outages recently, relatively brief. The recent news item that I thought was encouraging is that Opera has hired about 4 new employees to assist with FM development. That sounds great for the product.

blipblop · 7 Nov 2010, 11:48 PM

Wow, I had no idea they had been acquired. Makes sense.

Well, it seems like the excessive outages are still present, nonetheless. There was an incredible multi-day outage several years ago that was the last straw in putting me off from Fastmail, and I'm concerned to hear that there were a couple last week.

Just not acceptable for a paid-e-mail, when the free ones *rarely* have this issue. Not sure, but I think I'll hold off on Fastmail a bit longer.

With my guest account I am unable to look at the possible themes available. Is there a way to do so? I was hoping they'd have something nice and pretty (with rounded edges and such) like Gmail provides.

P.S. Has anyone seen GMX.com? Apparently there are a ton of bad reviews, but the interface is simply *oustanding*.

William9 · 8 Nov 2010, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blipblop

... There was an incredible multi-day outage several years ago that was the last straw in putting me off from Fastmail, and I'm concerned to hear that there were a couple last week. ....

That several day outage is when I decided not to renew my 2 paid FM accounts and search for a more reliable provider with better customer service for my own domain business email. I'm now paying a lot more, but I've achieved my goal.

hadaso · 8 Nov 2010, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blipblop

... it seems like the excessive outages are still present, nonetheless. ...

That's not true. There were some very short outages, and most people (such as me, having my mailbox constantly polled, often from several machines) haven't even noticed them. One of the reasons Opera was interested in acquiring FastMail was the technology developed after that multi-day outage several years ago to make sure it can never happen again.

Berenburger · 8 Nov 2010, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blipblop

Times have changed and as I worry about Gmail's extended privacy grab these days, I wanted to rescan the landscape to see what alternatives there are out there. Surprisingly, it seems like Fastmail is still the only truly independent and quality provider, BUT like before, is woefully inadequate in the storage it provides for the price it asks.

Prices for additional space are much lower now, but charged annually.

easemail · 8 Nov 2010, 11:59 AM

Agree with Hadaso that the outages haven't been that bad; You can research their downtime status for yourself and see what you think:

http://www.pingdom.com/reports/x8mbe...ww.fastmail.fm

7 Nov 2010, 10:26 PM	#1
blipblop Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 11	Considering a return to Fastmail. Has much changed? I've had a fastmail account since 2000 and happily used it till 2005 as a paying full member until free e-mail storage offerings progressed far passed that of Fastmail, and I eventually switched to Gmail, letting my Full membership downgrade to guest but still retaining it. Times have changed and as I worry about Gmail's extended privacy grab these days, I wanted to rescan the landscape to see what alternatives there are out there. Surprisingly, it seems like Fastmail is still the only truly independent and quality provider, BUT like before, is woefully inadequate in the storage it provides for the price it asks. Have there been any real other changes to Fastmail that would tip me in the direction of going through the hassle of migrating back? If its still the same old fastmail, then I'm just not prepared to spend $80-$100 bucks so I can have my 10 gigs of e-mail stored.

7 Nov 2010, 11:13 PM	#2
Merovingian Master of the @ Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 1,583	there has been huge increases in storage, bandwith, file storage, and file bandwith. You can get your 10 gigs of email storage included in the Enhanced plan for $39.95 a year

7 Nov 2010, 11:22 PM	#3
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	I don't know what you mean by "truly independent ... ". Opera purchased FM earlier this year. You should read the privacy policy of the provider you are considering. I read that FM's privacy policy was revised before or about the time of its sale. There are several other excellent email services providers discussed in these fora, but a fee is required ranging from about $36 to $150+ per year for the super reliable, excellent customer service providers. However, the $36 provider, for example, comes with only 1 GB of storage for that low price, which will likely not satisfy your needs. You can't beat the free ones like Gmail and Yahoo! if you're looking for message storage at little or no cost.There have been a couple of FM outages recently, relatively brief. The recent news item that I thought was encouraging is that Opera has hired about 4 new employees to assist with FM development. That sounds great for the product.

7 Nov 2010, 11:48 PM	#4
blipblop Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 11	Wow, I had no idea they had been acquired. Makes sense. Well, it seems like the excessive outages are still present, nonetheless. There was an incredible multi-day outage several years ago that was the last straw in putting me off from Fastmail, and I'm concerned to hear that there were a couple last week. Just not acceptable for a paid-e-mail, when the free ones rarely have this issue. Not sure, but I think I'll hold off on Fastmail a bit longer. With my guest account I am unable to look at the possible themes available. Is there a way to do so? I was hoping they'd have something nice and pretty (with rounded edges and such) like Gmail provides. P.S. Has anyone seen GMX.com? Apparently there are a ton of bad reviews, but the interface is simply oustanding.

8 Nov 2010, 11:59 AM	#8
easemail Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 75	Agree with Hadaso that the outages haven't been that bad; You can research their downtime status for yourself and see what you think: http://www.pingdom.com/reports/x8mbe...ww.fastmail.fm