(Reminder, for those who don't know GMail: GMail is the new e-mail service from Google, which gives you 1 GB (1000 MB) space, and both Web and POP3 access, for free. For now, it is in Beta, and only available through invitations - but these invitations are widely available.)

I had some initial surprises with GMail, specifically POP3, which I want to post here, to alert others.

(1) I ran the automatic confirmation (which downloads an executable), and it created an account (Outlook Express) automatically. However, when I tried to access the e-mail, the password was not accepted.

Solution: It seems that the automatic configuration doesn't enable POP3 on the server. It has to be enabled separately on the Web page.

(2) As noted in other threads, GMail uses non-standard port numbers. For manual configuration, you should take care of this.

(3) Another non-standard behaviour: It is interesting to note that the option "keep on server", of the e-mail client, is not respected. Rather, there is a setting on the Web-site, to keep messages on the server. An interesting alternative is to "archive" messages when the are picked up. Pressumably, GMail will do the equivalent of moving the message to an "archive" folder.

Note that I consider none of the above as bugs or flaws; only as points to be aware of.