[email composed 5 messages back] There is a lot I don't know about Google, and considering it's complexity I agree that some aspects may be unknowable. But it is not going to drop Gmail soon. Although it may not be as much of a money maker as it was when ads were more prominent, it is the main way for drawing people into the Google pantheon, aside from maybe the search service itself. In fact, many people conflate Gmail and Google because of this. I think many (though maybe not most) of Google's decisions are generated at least in part because of public appearance - for instance, many of it's services were cut a few years back when Page & Brin took a more executive role again, because (according to them) the company was getting 'cluttered'. At the time I was a little disappointed, as some of my favorite projects were Google's quirkiest (GOOG-411, for instance) and therefore at the top of the list to be cut. But I could see what the reasoning behind it was. And Reader had already been cut before now, when they removed social sharing so that it would not compete with Google Plus (Google seems touchy about social things; both Buzz and Wave were cut, for reasons that were predictable if not acceptable at the time). Now, there are many things Google does that could be considered evil (or at least heading that way; all that foofaraw with Verizon?), but not providing service previously provided for free is not one of them. It is merely annoying, or at worst (if all your workflow is locked into the service) frustrating/infuriating.
As for opening Gmail, didn't they try that with Gears when that was still a thing? I don't recall. -Arlo James Barnes
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