Gmail: First Impressions

I have had Gmail for about 24 hours now and here are some of my first impressions:

The good news:
- This is the best web-based email system by a large margin (Compared to the systems I have used)
- The "conversation" approach to grouping emails together is great. I hate it when I get a reply email from someone and they didn't include the original message with that email... well this solves that problem
- The concept of "labeling" emails is really not that different than "folders"... it is just semantics to me
- As expected the search functionality simply rocks... there are a ton of great searching options that I am sure will become more valuable as I load more content into this account
- Shortcut keys are potentially great, but they will take some getting used to
- There are a TON of cool features that I learned about from other users. For example, if you sign up for gmail using the following approach for a username: FirstName.LastName@gmail.com you won't need to worry about people forgetting the . in the name. So messages intended for John.Doe@gmail.com will get there even if they are sent to JohnDoe@gmail.com Also, the system supports "Plusing"... So when I signup for a site and I don't want to give them a real name, I can give them John.Doe+SPAM@gmail.com, and then set up a filter to trash any messages sent to that account.
- Find all the best tricks of the trade at: Gmail Gems

The bad news:
- There is no support for RSS/Atom feeds... this would be AWESOME
- Gmail has the 90%+ solution in place but to really take the world by storm the Gmail team needs to make switching to gmail easier.
- Gmail should build a tool to extract messages from hotmail, yahoo! and other email systems to make the switching process easier
- Gmail should be able to pull all my contacts from my other accounts automatically and then email all of these contacts at once letting them know I have switched to Gmail... again lowering switching costs
- Currently there is no support for forwarding or POP3
- There is no client for gmail. I know the point of Gmail is that it is web-based, but if Google came out with a client to use when I am offline (on flights, etc.) then I would seriously consider dropping outlook. (Of course I would then need to be able to sync all this data)

Now onto the whole thing about having ads and links next to your messages. Currently there are both sponsored links (ads) and related webpage links next to your email. I have found related links on all my email messages (This may be because all my email is from MIT and there appears to be a ton of related links to MIT) but I don't have ads on all my email.

For the times I have gotten ads they haven't bothered me at all... and actually one time I found them useful. A group of my friends and I are headed out on a graduation trip in May and we have been trading emails about golfing down in the area... and the ad for the message actually caught my eye as relevant.

As I continue to learn about the application I will keep you posted.