Opera Acquires Fastmail.fm 78
mattcsn writes "Opera Software just bought email service provider Fastmail.fm. Here's hoping that Opera uses a light touch and keeps the email service as unchanged as possible. From the article: 'FastMail has included a FAQ, in which it says that users who wish to not transfer their accounts over to Opera have to go into settings and indicate just that. Not acting upon the email the company sent out to its users or actively accepting the transfer will result in Opera assuming control over the mailbox and the account registration details. As to the reason for selling, FastMail says the market was getting increasingly competitive and that Opera's expertise in web browsers and especially the mobile market would help the company grow and take on the next big challenges in running and building an email service.'"
Opera Software (Score:3, Insightful)
For once I actually think the service will stay as it is. Opera's business isn't offering mail services, but their web browser contain mail functionality, and Opera has a good track record of a good company. What it seems to be is that they're looking to have a specific email provider in the browser, and buying Fastmail.fm is great for that.
Re:in other news (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, I think I'll pass on giving a company that makes its money advertising access to all my private and business emails and stick with companies that make their money at offering email as a service. Tuffmail won't compromise your privacy because they'll go out of business if they do. Whereas Google owes you nothing.
I was a Fastmail.fm customer for years until their huge outage a couple years back. I switched to Tuffmail, and haven't looked back. Great service, rock solid reliability, never a lost email, no more than a few hours of downtime over the last several years.
I know of no other service that offers that kind of reliability for the very reasonable price Tuffmail charges.
Reliable, fast and standards compliant (Score:5, Insightful)
Amazingly clean, browser friendly interface along with superb IMAP support. That was why I originally subscribed to fastmail.fm and it went even better, not worse.
There is a huge level of expertise in fastmail.fm and I believe they use best of the technology but it has never been some "nerd" service, they used the ideas to make it more friendly to newbie user. Of course, there isn't a chance you can compete with free and brands like "Google", so it could never get into place where it deserved.
Hopefully, with Opera, it will be more known and used.
Re:in other news (Score:4, Insightful)
In other news, real geeks have their own root server with their own setup (including greylisting and amavisd with spamd and clamav).
Please hand in your geek card, appliance user! ;)
Opera is a good company.. done webmail before (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:in other news (Score:2, Insightful)
So Google is aware that certain World of Warcraft accounts have expired. Gosh. Maybe they'll tailor the web ads they can't show me to offer me the non-existent opportunity to buy online gold. w00t.
Anything that matters would be GPG encrypted. And nothing that matters goes to this account anyways.
Do you mean that you use your ISP's SMTP server? What about when you're on the road?
On the road == business. "Leisure travel" is for suckers. "Travel" and "Travail" are based on the same Latin root for damn good reason.
If I'm traveling on business, the only email I need to see is business email, and the business makes adequate provision for that.
Oh, you mean, "what if I have to see my PERSONAL email while I'm doing the Road Warrior thing?" The answer is "I never HAVE to see my personal email."
I feel a little bad for people who've chosen to tether themselves to connectivity. Email is a functional convenience. It's not socializing, it's not connectedness, it's not a network. And IT IS NOT A NECESSITY. Speaking strictly for myself, o'course.
No, I'm not antisocial. I just don't mistake "on-line" for "socializing".