GmailFS: Using a mail account as a filesystem

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Why let a 2 Gigabyte email account go to waste? GmailFS lets you use Gmail as a storage medium for a mountable filesystem.

Google’s Gmail webmail system [1] has been heralded as a new vision for Internet mail. A Gmail account comes with a full 2 GB of available file storage. According to the company, a Gmail account means you never have to throw away any messages. Of course, offering 2 GB of storage to a Linux user only opens the door for more innovation. It wasn’t long before the Linux community had a whole new use for this 2 GB storage space that was completely different from Google’s original intention. GmailFS, created by Richard Jones [2], uses the 2 GB Gmail storage space as a network-based, mountable Linux filesystem.