any opinions on att.net email vs gmail?

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Once you have your own domain, you can use gmail to host it. Their spam fighting is the best I have found. By far. I used to run my own mail severs but really it is a big headache and very little benefit. I sill have my own domain, my email address has not changed in over a decade, but gmail handles the mail for my domains.

http://www.google.com/enterprise/app...cts.html#gmail

Not free, but for me it was worth it. I have 2-factor auth set up with it, and etc. All with almost no work on my end.

Thanks Vyodr. That sounds perfect for me. Esp. since I've been pretty impressed with gmail so far. Could you tell me roughly how much they charge a month? And what a "2-factor auth" is? Thanks a lot for the info.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by bearstardiode

Thanks Vyodr. That sounds perfect for me. Esp. since I've been pretty impressed with gmail so far. Could you tell me roughly how much they charge a month? And what a "2-factor auth" is? Thanks a lot for the info.

2 Factor Authentication is a security feature that everyone should be using on their primary email. What it means is that even if your password is compromised, an attacker still can not access your email. Since most banks/etc let you use an email address to gain access to your account, you need to protect your email even better then you protect other accounts. It is the hub from which you can rebuild from in the event of the major breaches we hear about.

Here is some information: http://support.google.com/accounts/b...4118&ctx=topic

As for cost... not sure, I sign up years ago so I do not know their current price mode. Perhaps this page will help:

http://www.google.com/enterprise/app...s/pricing.html

I suggest you keep ownership of your domain completely separate from any other service. So if you buy web/email from company A, buy your domain from company B. That just protects you in the event that your relationship sours with company A. For example I have my email with Google, my web servers with Amazon and my domain names with Direct Nic.

[frahse]

I use several gmail accounts for personal mail, and several domains and the web host's mail handling services for my writing business.

Some years ago, I mixed personal and business mail on Yahoo's domains, but I didn't care for that arrangement. Part of that was Yahoo's fault.

But anyway, I like separate better.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

As for cost... not sure, I sign up years ago so I do not know their current price mode. Perhaps this page will help:

http://www.google.com/enterprise/app...s/pricing.html

The pricing link is for Google business apps. Do they not charge separately for domain hosting?

1and1 (www.1and1.com), which is where I host my domains (36 of them), has packages as low as $5 a month with intro offers even less. 1and1 is also a domain registrar, so it is easy to obtain new domain names, cancel unwanted ones, and renew those I want to keep.

The problem with greggbell .com is that most people will type gregbell rather than greggbell. Why not try to come up with something a bit more user friendly and that is available in multiple domains (.com, .net, etc.) and buy the various domains to keep others away.

The other thing to do is to be sure you also register logical variations on the name, by which I mean the names consumers might type to access your domain. For example, for my wordsnSync domains, I have wordsnsync and wordsinsync and I have the .com, .net., .org, and .us domains.

The expense is minimal (unless you go crazy like I did and have an excess of domains) but does act as protection.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by rhadin

The problem with greggbell .com is that most people will type gregbell rather than greggbell. Why not try to come up with something a bit more user friendly and that is available in multiple domains (.com, .net, etc.) and buy the various domains to keep others away.

You raise a very important point, and one which I was about to mention myself. Having a domain which is a common mis-spelling of another popular domain can be a nightmare. The domain I use for my software business is the normal spelling of a word that's "artistically mis-spelt" by a web design company that hosts the domain of what I believe is a popular music ensemble in the United States. I get a LOT of misdirected e-mail aimed at this music group as a result, and it's a real nuisance.

[ApK]

Gregg, pick a brand for yourself, even if you can't get get greggbell.com specifically. Consider GreggTheAuthor.com or BellBooks.com, or bearstardiode.com (whatever that is??) or similar. But makes sure it's something you can live with. Domains are cheap. You can have several. But best to pick one and only one to use for email and NEVER CHANGE IT AGAIN. ('til Internet 2.0, anyway.) Then you can point or forward that domain to virtually any email system that you want.
As far as the email service itself goes, I've been very happy with Gmail. I'm on the no-longer-available free Google Apps package, but I like it enough that I'd probably start paying if forced to, rather than switching.
Don't tell them I said that.

ApK

p.s. What I mean by "never change it" is pick one that you want to use for email and try not confuse people by doing "change of addresses." You can have several domains, and they can all route email to the same place, so even if you temporarily started using greggbell.net, and changed all your social sites, etc, you could eventually start using your ideal domain when you get it, but ALSO keep greggbell.net working, so you while the new address is on your website, book jackets, etc, the old address still works, too, and you don't have to notify anyone of the change unless you just feel like it.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

2 Factor Authentication is a security feature that everyone should be using on their primary email. What it means is that even if your password is compromised, an attacker still can not access your email. Since most banks/etc let you use an email address to gain access to your account, you need to protect your email even better then you protect other accounts. It is the hub from which you can rebuild from in the event of the major breaches we hear about.

Here is some information: http://support.google.com/accounts/b...4118&ctx=topic

As for cost... not sure, I sign up years ago so I do not know their current price mode. Perhaps this page will help:

http://www.google.com/enterprise/app...s/pricing.html

I suggest you keep ownership of your domain completely separate from any other service. So if you buy web/email from company A, buy your domain from company B. That just protects you in the event that your relationship sours with company A. For example I have my email with Google, my web servers with Amazon and my domain names with Direct Nic.

Thanks, Vydor, for all the really helpful stuff. I looked at the links. It seems like quite the hassle, but I'm sure it'll pay off down the road (in a lack of hassles). Thanks.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by frahse

I use several gmail accounts for personal mail, and several domains and the web host's mail handling services for my writing business.

Some years ago, I mixed personal and business mail on Yahoo's domains, but I didn't care for that arrangement. Part of that was Yahoo's fault.

But anyway, I like separate better.

Thanks, frahse. Yeah, I'm trying to keep this as simple as possible. Man, there's just so many options. I appreciate the input.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by rhadin

The pricing link is for Google business apps. Do they not charge separately for domain hosting?

1and1 (www.1and1.com), which is where I host my domains (36 of them), has packages as low as $5 a month with intro offers even less. 1and1 is also a domain registrar, so it is easy to obtain new domain names, cancel unwanted ones, and renew those I want to keep.

The problem with greggbell .com is that most people will type gregbell rather than greggbell. Why not try to come up with something a bit more user friendly and that is available in multiple domains (.com, .net, etc.) and buy the various domains to keep others away.

The other thing to do is to be sure you also register logical variations on the name, by which I mean the names consumers might type to access your domain. For example, for my wordsnSync domains, I have wordsnsync and wordsinsync and I have the .com, .net., .org, and .us domains.

The expense is minimal (unless you go crazy like I did and have an excess of domains) but does act as protection.

I thought about the similar names things. GregoryBell.com was taken. GregBell.com. I've got GreggBell.net but have been holding out for GreggBell.com. I thought GreggBell.com (considering the circumstances) was about as user-friendly as I could get.

And thanks for the 1+1 advice. I checked them out a while back, along with GoDaddy. Good to know you're having a good experience with them. I really appreciate the input. Thank you.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by ApK

Gregg, pick a brand for yourself, even if you can't get get greggbell.com specifically. Consider GreggTheAuthor.com or BellBooks.com, or bearstardiode.com (whatever that is??) or similar. But makes sure it's something you can live with. Domains are cheap. You can have several. But best to pick one and only one to use for email and NEVER CHANGE IT AGAIN. ('til Internet 2.0, anyway.) Then you can point or forward that domain to virtually any email system that you want.
As far as the email service itself goes, I've been very happy with Gmail. I'm on the no-longer-available free Google Apps package, but I like it enough that I'd probably start paying if forced to, rather than switching.
Don't tell them I said that.

ApK

p.s. What I mean by "never change it" is pick one that you want to use for email and try not confuse people by doing "change of addresses." You can have several domains, and they can all route email to the same place, so even if you temporarily started using greggbell.net, and changed all your social sites, etc, you could eventually start using your ideal domain when you get it, but ALSO keep greggbell.net working, so you while the new address is on your website, book jackets, etc, the old address still works, too, and you don't have to notify anyone of the change unless you just feel like it.

Thanks ApK. Yeah, you got me checking BellBooks.com (taken). (But I'm sure Bearstardiode.com is available. {Talk about user-friendly!}) I've seen where if somebody is looking for somebody like me and they type GregBell.com into a search engine, the engine comes back with 'Did you mean GreggBell.com?' Now I'm sure that's for really famous people and all, but I guess I am kind of grounded (stuck?) in the thinking that your name.com is the way to go. But I will definitely check out other domain names and see what I come up with. Awesome to know I can started with GreggBell.net and then switch gears if I come up with something better. Really appreciate the advice. Thanks a lot.