Mailplane 2.1.4 released
Friday, January 29, 2010
- NEW: AppleScript/OutgoingMessage property for picture optimization: optimizeAttachments.
- FIX: Command-L and other keyboard shortcuts/buttons didn't work anymore (caused by Gmail changes).
- FIX: Apply/Remove label didn't filter with the current search text when re-opened.
- FIX: HTML signature above quoted text didn't work with the "Default Text Styling" lab feature.
- FIX: Under some circumstances the drag and drop message didn't disappear.
- FIX: iPhoto plugin removal didn't completely restore to the previous state
- FIX: Separate window and print window didn't always have a title.
- FIX: Drag/Drop to app icon didn't always optimize pictures.
AppleMatters: Problems Solved
Bakari Chavanu published a very nice review about Mailplane and another application called Webnote. Both apps solved some problems he was experiencing. With Mailplane he solved these:
Before I downloaded and started using Mailplane, checking my Gmail accounts was nothing short of a pain. I tried having selected emails in my accounts forwarded to my desktop Apple Mail client, but I ended up not liking that approach simply because I wanted to keep my Google accounts separate from my MobileMe accounts.
Checking Gmail online was also not a joy because I couldn’t use shortcut keystrokes and the awesome time-saving SteerMouse plug-in to quickly navigate email messages in the online client.
“Real Uses” blog: Interview about Mailplane
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Michael A. Crane interviewed me about Mailplane: How the project got started, what the product is all about, and developer life in general. Check out the interview on his blog.
Engadget: 10 outdated elements of desktop operating systems
Monday, January 25, 2010
Paul Miller wrote a very interesting and inspiring editorial on the shortcoming of todays operating systems. It's a great read, and Mailplane seems to help solve these OS problems:
I'm gonna go a little crazy here and say that we're not necessarily going to leave the desktop behind and dive into some glorious world of just needing a web browser. In fact, when I think about some of my favorite applications, they're the exact reversal of that trend. Mailplane puts my Gmail in a familiar, functional desktop context, Tweetie makes managing Twitter a casual, persistent activity instead of a chore, and iPhoto manages my social photo sharing folders for me so I don't have to stare at endless web forms and upload dialogues to get stuff on Flickr.
Gmail now serves better ads
Thursday, January 21, 2010
I found this blog post on the offical Gmail blog:
Ever since we launched Gmail, we've tried to show relevant and unobtrusive ads. We're always trying to improve our algorithms to show better, more useful ads.
When you open a message in Gmail, you often see ads related to that email. Let's say you're looking at a confirmation email from a hotel in Chicago. Next to your email, you might see ads about flights to Chicago.
But sometimes, there aren't any good ads to match to a particular message. From now on, you'll sometimes see ads matched to another recent email instead. For example, let's say you're looking at a message from a friend wishing you a happy birthday. If there aren't any good ads for birthdays, you might see the Chicago flight ads related to your last email instead.
To show these ads, our systems don't need to store any extra information -- Gmail just picks a different recent email to match. The process is entirely automated: no humans are involved in selecting ads, and no email or personal information is shared with advertisers.
Tip: If you prefer to hide your ads, check out this custom style sheet.
MacOnlySource Review: Excellent Alternative to OSX Mail
Monday, January 18, 2010
Today, MacOnlySource reviewed Mailplane. Their verdict: Mailplane is unequivocally a “Must Have App”!
Mailplane 2.1.3 released
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Important news
- A Gmail/WebKit problem (the repeating chat box) caused Mailplane and Safari to hang and crash. This Mailplane version solves the problem. More info...
- Gmail now uses https by default. When you use "Offline Gmail" the change can lead to sync problems. More info...
Translation news
- NEW: Thanks to Juan Juan Antonio Vermejo the Spanish translation is back!
- NEW: The Italian translation is back. Kudos to Monica Cainarca.
- UPDATED: Simplified and Traditional Chinese thanks to Jim Chiu
Bug fixes
- NEW: Mailplane is now available for Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard. Each version will check for the correct OSX version at startup.
- FIX: File > Insert > File in separate window didn't work.
- FIX: Display problems, when the "Gmail Text Size" was missing in the preference file.
- FIX: Duplicating Gmail chat box issue (hang/crash at startup): Included WebKit nightly to fix this problem.
- FIX: Crash when attaching files and using Adobe Flash 10.1 beta 2.
- FIX: Preferences > Accounts > Signature wasn't always saved.
- FIX: The "sign-in" link in Google Docs sidebar didn't work for Google Apps accounts. (You still get 404, but that's a temporary Gmail problem. Please use View > Reload Page to get back to your inbox).
- FIX: Mail > Insert > Email Address didn't work with incomplete address book entries (no name, for instance)
- FIX: Mail > Insert > Email Address didn't refresh when Address book was changed
Default https access for Gmail
Gmail now encrypts all the network traffic by default:
We are currently rolling out default https for everyone. If you've previously set your own https preference from Gmail Settings, nothing will change for your account. If you trust the security of your network and don't want default https turned on for performance reasons, you can turn it off at any time by choosing "Don't always use https" from the Settings menu. Gmail will still always encrypt the login page to protect your password. Google Apps users whose admins have not already defaulted their entire domains to https will have the same option.
Tip: Mailplane has its own security setting: Use a secure connection (https) under Preferences > Accounts. If turned on it'll open Gmail with the https protocol, even if the Gmail setting isn't set to use https. The Mailplane preference was introduced in 2007, before Gmail had the https setting. It is always turned on by default, too. There's a good chance you always used https in the past.
Important information for "Offline Gmail" users: If your can't sync anymore, it's because of the https settings change. Check out this help page for the solution.
Solution for the Gmail/WebKit issue causing crashes
Monday, January 11, 2010
A recent Gmail update crashes Mailplane, Safari, and other WebKit based applications. The Gmail help forum has a couple of threads concerning this problem and it is now listed on the Gmail known issues page. Not all Gmail accounts seem to be affected, but those who are, experience a duplicating chat box that lead to a crash.
Solution: If you affected by this Gmail bug, consider using the 2.1.3 preview version. It contains the latest WebKit nightly build, which solves the issue.
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Using ScreenSteps with Mailplane
Monday, December 21, 2009
ScreenSteps is a great application for creating step-by-step documentation and knowledge bases. It makes it easy to capture screenshots, annotate them with text and arrows, add text and explanation and finally export the complete article in different formats like PDF or HTML.
The latest version now neatly integrates with Mailplane. With the push of button a complete PDF document is exported and easily attached to an email message:
New Gmail lab feature: Mark unread from here
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
If you are subscribed to mailing lists with long conversations, then this new lab feature comes in handy:
Clicking this option on a message tells Gmail that you want that message to be the first one you see when you reopen the thread later, with all messages after it open for easy reading. So, when you leave partway through reading a long thread, figuring out where to start reading again is easy.
Mailplane 2.1.2 released
Friday, December 11, 2009
Fixes/Changes:
- NEW: The Russian translation is back! Thanks to Igor Terekhov!
- UPDATED: French translation by Michel Tribet.
- UPDATED: Romanian translation by Ovi Pascui
- NEW: mailplane:// URLs now automatically switch accounts if needed.
- NEW: http://mail.google.com URLs can now be opened in Mailplane (for example with choosy). They work the same as mailplane URLs.
- CHANGED: File > New and File > New Separate do not require keyboard shortcuts anymore.
- CHANGED: Fallback on "Basic attachment feature" when Flash or Google Gears isn't working.
- CHANGED: Mail > Insert > Email Address...: You can now double click the group to insert all members of an address group.
- CHANGED: Error dialog when downloads are in progress
- FIX: Unchecked Preferences > Advanced > Enable Google Gears with installed Google Gears could cause loading delays or hangs.
- FIX: Command-L didn't work anymore (Gmail changes)
- FIX: Possible crash when attaching files from a network drive
- FIX: Rare crash on Mac OS X 10.4.11 (Tiger)
- FIX: Picasa > Email didn't work.
- FIX: AppleScript "directlySend" property on OutgoingMessage didn't work with attachments.
- FIX: Mail > Goto menu items wrote a 'g' character into an open chat panel.
- FIX: Download windows wasn't shown when the download cancellation message was shown.
- FIX: Gmail signatures not replaced with HTML signature when "Default text styling" lab feature was enabled.
- FIX: class conflict warnings when ClickToFlash is installed.
- FIX: URL drag and drop (from Safari address bar, for instance) didn't work under Snow Leopard
- FIX: Crash when using Mail > Insert > File...Command-Option-F.
- FIX: Sets focus to the body text to prevent keyboard shortcut problems.
- FIX: BCC field was focused with Auto-BCC field.
- FIX: Auto-BCC didn't work with name in email address: Ruben Bakker <ruben@mailplaneapp.com>
- FIX: Possible crash when Mailplane was minimized
- FIX: Help > Mailplane Help > Know Issues didn't show anything
Offline Gmail graduates from Labs
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
"Offline Gmail" is no longer a lab feature - it's now part of the official Gmail offering:
Almost a year ago, we launched Offline Gmail in Gmail Labs. By installing Offline Gmail, you're able to use the normal Gmail interface to read and write mail, search, and organize, even when there's no internet connection. And Flaky Connection mode speeds up Gmail when your connection is slow or unreliable.
Tip: To get started with "Offline Gmail" and Mailplane, please check out the how to article.
New Gmail Lab Feature: Default text styling
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
A new lab feature lets us define the default font and format for the "rich text" emails we write:
If you like to use a specific text style for your messages, you've had to change the font every time you're about to start typing out an email. Now, you can turn on default text styling from the Labs tab, then go to Settings and set your preferences just once.
Offline Gmail: Bye bye Google Gears? Hello HTML5?
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
I found different interesting news stories this morning. It looks like Google will slowly switching over to HTML5 for browser extensions like Offline support:
The Google spokesman wrote to clarify in a follow-up e-mail, "We're continuing to support Gears so that nothing breaks for sites that use it. But we expect developers to use HTML5 for these features moving forward as it's a standards-based approach that will be available across all browsers."
If Offline Gmail is ported to HTML5 then this is terrific news for Snow Leopard users. WebKit already has a pretty complete HTML5 implementation. In fact: Offline Gmail on the iPhone is already powered by it.
