It’s not free
Cos you’re reading the ads which are generating cash.
I don’t mind, because they’re text ads rather than really irritating Flash aminations (El Reg take note??).
I think Guy has a point – I also use MacMail, which is POP3, and it sends a mail when the mailbox starts to get full. It’s not rocket science.
By default POP3 does’t delete with gmail – but it does know that it’s been downloaded so you don’t get it again. That’s part of the point with it …
One thing that annoys me, as a developer, is that I can’t send and receive certain attachments but it’s not that big a deal, really.