I have to stop using Gmail :(

Regular readers know that I'm a Google devotee. Between Gmail and Google Apps, I spend more time accessing Google servers than any other place on the Net. Since I forward my other school accounts to Gmail, I can use the slick Gmail interface with all of my mail. Better yet, for a mere $10 a month, I have unlimited data service with Verizon, so I can access the mobile version of Gmail (as well as read-only versions of my Google Docs/Spreadsheets) on my LG EnV. Sweet! Long live Gmail, right?

Wrong. Since a huge chunk of my emails are work-related and since we're rolling out archiving this summer to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Gmail won't cut the mustard. In fact, it could be argued that by using Gmail to correspond with staff and students, I'm breaking the law. So goodbye, Gmail.

The biggest loss for me is actually in the mobile realm. Our webmail interface for the archived email services don't have a mobile version. On my computer, I can use POP/SMTP or IMAP with my Apple Mail client and the archiving works no problem (I don't like Apple Mail as much as I like Gmail, but it will do and my emails are available offline as an added bonus). However, I use Gmail on my phone all the time for work. My users like to be able to get me anytime, anywhere, and I prefer the flexible schedule that this sort of connectivity allows me to maintain.

So where does that leave me? It leaves me in Blackberry-land. The EnV has to go and I'm going to need to upgrade to a Blackberry to ensure that my emails are archived appropriately. An iPhone would do the trick, too, but AT&T service out here in the boonies stinks. Besides, I'm a QWERTY guy; onscreen keyboards don't do much for me.

Oh well, I guess I had to join the Crackberry crowd eventually. Now I can be a real IT guy!