Personally when i want to search my email i use the search facility in my email.. i rarely search google thinking i want to search my email..

but saying that if you download and install google desktop you can run searches with it that returns results from internet as well as from you machine.. and this includes your emails as it can read email files locally on your machine.. and as you mention it pools the local results at the top of the search.

Posted by tbm on Nov 28, 2007 at 07:17 AM UTC - 6 hrs

They do for me.. but then again I have Google Apps for Domains :-)

Google Desktop will do this for you if you use something other then gmail.

Posted by J.J. Merrick on Nov 28, 2007 at 07:20 AM UTC - 6 hrs

I agreet with TBM, however, I have to say that I have found the email-search in GMail severely insufficient. It seems like every other search that I do fails to turn up words that are clearly in Subject lines and From addresses. I feel like their default search is not comprehensive.

As a blogger, what would be kind of cool would be to have a "Matches on Your Blog" column on the right where the sponsored results are. This is not an ego thing. Sometimes, I will search for something in Google that I FORGOT that I blogged about a year ago and it would be nice to see those emphasized so that I could go back to what is more familiar to me.

Posted by Ben Nadel on Nov 28, 2007 at 07:28 AM UTC - 6 hrs

I knew about the desktop search, but I hadn't used it before.

@tbm - Well, when I'm looking for a specific email that I remember something from, I find the search there to be fine. What I was thinking about was, in my vast storage of emails I often send myself tips, tricks, and other useful information. So I was thinking it would be nice if those matches came up when I did a normal search, to remind me they are there.

@JJ - I've been thinking about going with Apps for Domains. How are you liking it?

@Ben - I like that idea, that /would/ be cool.

Posted by Sammy Larbi on Nov 28, 2007 at 08:19 AM UTC - 6 hrs

+1 on Apps for Domains.

I have shut down my hosted email server, and it's improved the quality of my life and the happiness of my "customers" (mostly friends & family) greatly.

Very reliable, accessible, and performant.

Oh, yeah, and Google Desktop searches your Gmail account as well.

Posted by Seth Bienek on Nov 28, 2007 at 08:22 AM UTC - 6 hrs

@Sammy Dude it was the best thing I could have ever done. Like Seth I too was running email for friends and family and I moved them all to Google Apps and yes my QoL has improved also :-)

Now that they have IMAP I can check it on my Treo which makes me even more happy.

We started using it at work as our corporate email and the amount of tech support I don't have to do now is wonderful.

Posted by J.J. Merrick on Nov 28, 2007 at 08:40 AM UTC - 6 hrs