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Mailplane developer Ruben Bakker says:
I really love Gmail. It is superior to Outlook and MS Exchange I experience at work: The Outlook Webclient is a joke, I get more spam than normal messages and server space is so limited I constantly must delete messages. But Google Mail beats .mac and OSX Mail.app, too: Mail.app has no conversations, an inferior search, stores everything locally and simply feels less productive than Gmail. With Gmail I can search, read and compose my message from everywhere: Home, Work, Mac, Linux, Windows and even my handset.
But I missed quite a few features that Mail.app and other traditional mail clients offer. Gmail with its browser interface just didn't reach my desktop. For example uploading an attachment involved too many steps: Exporting the image from iPhoto, somehow resizing the picture and then attaching it by using the "Choose file" button.
Last summer, on vacation on the beautiful Island of Corsica, I started to write an iPhoto plugin that was able to automate all manual steps needed to attach a picture to a Gmail message. A few weeks later I gave it to my friends. From their needs and ideas grew Mailplane: A full fledged mail client for Google Mail and Mac OS X.
A desktop app for a webapp?
More and more useful applications are web applications. With some good reasons:
• They can be accessed from everywhere. More and more people use several computers at once, e.g. work, home, internet cafe, etc.
• Collaboration is built in.
• Updates are performed centrally, no need to install new desktop releases.
• Data is stored on the server, which is often much more secure than doing it locally.
• Mac users can use webapps, too! In the old days most applications were for "Windows" only.
But when a webapp is confined to the browser, desktop integration is very much limited. I believe that specialized applications interfacing web applications are needed to make them useful and accessible. iTunes is such an application. Connecting the Music Store to your music library and iPod. iTunes in Safari or Firefox wouldn't cut it, would it?
Why is it called Mailplane? I liked the word, the beauty and power of airplanes and the history behind these specialized aircrafts. It was about time they could fly again. This time on your Mac.
Mailplane features:
Attach files
Drag 'n' drop your files and folders to Mailplane and watch them being attached to the message and automatically uploaded.
Send optimized Photos
Pictures get automatically resized and optimized to reduce the size of your message.
Instantly send Screenshots
Screenshots Need to send a Screenshot? With one click you grab a portion of your screen and attach it to your message.
Send Pictures from iPhoto
Mailplane comes with an iPhoto plugin that makes sending picture attachments so easy: select any pictures in iPhoto and then press the email button. That's it.
Store Passwords in Keychain
Accounts Add as many Gmail accounts (or Google apps for your domain accounts) as you want and switch between them without restarting Mailplane. And there is no need to enter passwords every two weeks, either. Mailplane stores them safely in the Mac keychain.
Download
Download attachments and then reveal them in Finder. If the attachment is a photo or even a ZIP file containing pictures, then you can directly import them to iPhoto.
Get Notified
Mailplane lets you know when new mail arrives. By playing a sound, by showing the number of unread messages in the application icon and by the Growl notification system. Plus: Monitor all your accounts with the accounts drawer or the status item.
More Stuff:
Full control of Google Mail with your keyboard, by using Mac keystrokes. Access the flexible and customizable toolbar.
Send Mail from address book, Safari or any application showing "mailto" urls and more.
Talk with your Buddies
If somebody wants to talk, Mailplane shows a Growl notification. The brand-new Google Talk Gadget (displayed inside a separate window) offers some nice features like video and photo preview.
Requirements for the beta are:
Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and a Gmail or a "Google Apps" account.
Mailplane is currently a private beta, but will soon be released as $24.95 demoware. There will also be a "family option" for an additional $8 that allows installation on up to 5 computers.
For more information, visit:
http://mailplaneapp.com/
Tags: Software Updates ď Internet ď
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