HN Explorer

Google apps better than Apple apps?

7 points by Tamazy ↗ HN
Hello there,

I am what we could call an apple addict. I have a mac mini with two monitors, a macbook pro, an iphone that I sync on iCloud and my parents too. I use a lot of app, Calendar, Contacts, Plans, ... because they work without internet and each devices can sync with iCloud at any moment. For instance I share my calendar with my parents and it's really convenient. But let's talk about Mail.

I have many mailbox working with IMAP : university, personal, pseudo, gmail, trash, icloud

But except for my iCloud mailbox, this app is annoying : - I keep receiving spam even if I mark them. - When I use different flags on my computer, only one flag exists on iPhone. - I can't sync any mails on my iPhone sent by my computer. - I am obliged to delete one spam at a time, because when I delete a few amount of spams it doesn't work (they come back omg).

What about you ?

As my iphone doesn't work with iOS8 and Yoshemit is up, I'm thinking to move to a more efficient system and cheaper ... So do you think using Ubuntu + Android + Google Apps would be better ?

6 comments

[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 24.3 ms ] thread
cnbuff410
Android + google apps is definitely a very nice combination and I believe that's one of the biggest reason why there are a lot of people stick to Android years ago when it was not nearly as nice.

The nice thing about this combination is that, you can enjoy everything within browser eco system, therefore you are not locked by any sort of OS system. Be it Ubuntu or MacOS or ChromeOS or whatever, OS doesn't matter.

chrisBob
I have had a similar experience. I just moved from my alumni organization's pop mail to iCloud for my personal email. I immediately started getting a ton of spam, and even contacted apple support about it. I am not sure exactly what the issue is, but the spam messages are all forwarded from my alias @stockbridges.org and iCloud doesn't filter them at all as far as I can tell.

Most of my reason for moving was that I also just purchased an iPhone, and the integration seems much better. Apple's mail program on the mac had a lot of trouble with gmail. I actually contacted apple support about the spam (free since I just got a new phone), and they just told me to mark it and forward it to spam@icloud.com which doesn't seem to help. I think my next step will be to submit a bug report. I love apple, and my new iPhone5s, but the spam is a hassle.

chrisBob
I would also change the title to be mail specific. Gmail may be better, but I actually prefer the integration of pages, numbers... over the google alternatives which are browser only.
Someone
Browser only? The iOS store has Google Apps called Docs, Sheets, and Slides. AFAIK, they work offline, too.

Google gives me Sheets for Android, too (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and...). I would guess Docs and Slides exist there, too.

Edit: just realize that the complaint likely is about the absence of desktop versions of these programs. That indeed is something I would miss if I used Google's apps extensively.

df5t0rw
like cnbuff410 said : You don't have to change your OS for Ubuntu if your only problem is spam. But a switch to linux is mostly always a good option :)

If you want, Just open a google account (if you don't have one) and redirect everything via pop3 or by any other way to your gmail address to centralize everything. You will have all their anti-spam solution working for you ;) You can then sync all your device with the new address and use gmail for iOS on your IPhone.

fuzzywalrus
I don't see ditching all your Apple devices as a requirement, my buddy is a huge Google head but uses all Apple products.

I'm deep in the Apple eco-sytem, iPhone, MacBook Pro (work), Mac Pro (Home), iPod, and a mostly unused iPad. My relationship would be listed as complicated though. I'm not a huge fan of Google but I can't give up on Gmail, GChat, Google search and maps.

On my iPhone I use the Gmail app which is fantastic and I'd argue as good as mail. MacBook/Mac Pro Gmail + a notifier, Adium (IM client).

If you have a real beef with the OS, you can always install Ubuntu on a partition and give it whirl. There's no need jump ship in one swoop. Figure out what works best and run with it.