Asterisk wonders why people care about Gmail, Google's new web-based email service.

Part of the hype is, of course, the Google brand cult. If it's from Google, then it's got to be cool.

Another aspect is, undoubtedly, the fact (for now) you need to be invited. It's a well-known trick of marketing that by artificially restricting supply, you can spur demand.

Additionally, there is the herd mentality. The initial buzz was good and most people build on that — a bigger mailbox size? All the cognoscenti say it's a big deal, so it is!

But, most legitimately, I think it's what Gmail represents: the first hope for any significant improvements in web-based email since Microsoft bought Hotmail six years ago. The best thing since then has been the incrementally improved UI.

Gmail offers:

• email search
• threaded messages, like bulletin boards
• disk space an order of magnitude greater than its competitors

I agree — none of this is revolutionary stuff. But it's something and, hopefully, it'll get the ball rolling.

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