Most of these features are available even if you don't use Gmail though - the article's point wasn't about e-mail in general, just the invasiveness of Gmail.
My point was that people who use Gmail get more than a free mail service in return for their privacy.
The things that Gmail does best – search, spam filtering, scam warnings, simple attachments, innovative labs features like undo send – weren't offered by Schnail Mail, which invited you to trade your privacy for free postal mail alone.
Trading privacy for free mail alone would have little appeal to most. But Gmail offers more than that. A feature-matched physical mail equivalent to Gmail would make an ad-supported postal mail service far more compelling.
I suspect you'd also see more hands stay raised if you flipped the pitch to place the negatives up front ahead of a long list of potential benefits.
