I recently counted all my email accounts, and I have close to 50. Of course I don’t use them all, but I certainly have more than one active account. The fact is, most people do, and it can be frustrating to manage all those emails and logins – not to mention social networks, a form of communication that is growing rapidly. So, why not to combine all those email accounts so that they can be accessed from one place?
As internet users gain more and more ways to communicate, they are looking for ways to centralize and bring things together. Fuser is one service that can help you keep your communications organized.
I first used Fuser about a year ago, and I must say I wasn’t impressed. I liked the concept, but the interface was frankly ugly and clunky, and I kept getting messages about my Java being out of date. In short, it was more trouble than it was worth. Recently, I decided to check back and see if anything had changed. It had, and it was definitely for the better. Fuser has a brand new interface that is far better than the old one, as well as some new features.
First, it should be understood that Fuser isn’t an email service, and it doesn’t provide you with a Fuser email address. For those of us overloaded with email accounts already, this is good news. Fuser is instead a communications dashboard that combines all your existing email addresses and social networking accounts together in one place. Signing up is extremely easy, as is adding all your accounts.
On your first login, you are greeted with a wizard that helps you add all your email and social networking accounts. It’s really easy, and you don’t have to worry about adding POP or IMAP settings for the most common email providers””Fuser does it for you. And for those of you who use email providers that don’t provide free POP or IMAP access, such as Yahoo or Hotmail, don’t worry about having to get a premium account; Fuser magically syncs them both ways with no problems.
Another interesting feature of Fuser is that it can synchronize folders across your email accounts. For example, if you create a folder in Fuser called “Family,” and you drag an email from Gmail and Yahoo into it, Fuser will automatically create a label called “Family” in Gmail and a “Family” folder in Yahoo and keep them in sync with each other. This feature might not appeal to everyone, but it is really useful for those who are serious about keeping everything centralized and in sync.
Also, Fuser has a built in conversation view, so if you’re a Gmail user, you won’t have to give up that feature if you start using Fuser.
In addition to your email accounts, you can also add your Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter accounts. The Twitter integration is one of my favorite Fuser features, and it has all the functions of the Twitter website. From Myspace and Facebook, Fuser syncs private messages and notifications. Unfortunately, you can’t see your news feed or post status updates””at least not yet.
In short, Fuser is a great way to bring all your email and social networking accounts together. It does just what it says it does, and does it well. While there are a few features I’d like to see and some small bugs here and there, Fuser shows a lot of promise. The Fuser team is very helpful and responsive, and they assure me many more great features are coming soon.
What about you? What features would you like to see? What services would you like to centralize?
Tagged: aggregator • email • Facebook • Gmail • Myspace • synchronize • Twitter
