Alex Jones: Web Technologist, Barbecue Acolyte, Information Junkie, Austinite

Experimentin’ with Mail

Let’s get down to it, I like Thunderbird, having used it since it’s early beta period, but my will has been overcome by the siren song of Apple’s Mail.app. The loudest and clearest voice in the chorus emanates from Hawk Wings, a site dedicated to Mail, its plugins and tips that will improve the experience.

So, a week and a half ago I pulled Thunderbird from the Dock, forcing myself into full time usage. I like it. The shift isn’t drastic, and I don’t recommend that people change on a whim unless, like me, they like to tinker with apps, diving into the details that most people don’t think (nor care) about.

I do have one gripe so far: I lost a few of my outgoing messages as Mail didn’t detect the existing Sent folders, nor did it create a new one for its use. So, until I figured out that I could specify a folder to act as the Sent box, my messages went out, but were not copied to an archive for my later reference.
In an effort to sort all of this out for myself, and possibly provide a useful, though small resource for others, I’m writing up my experiences with Mail and documenting the changes I’ve made, the plugins I’ve installed or uninstalled and my general thoughts on the matter. There isn’t a lot of detail yet, but this entry will expand as time allows.

My Setup

OS: 10.4
Platform: Intel (MacBook Pro)
Mail Version: 2.1.1 (752.3) - at time of writing
Account Type: IMAP - this is important as it directly impacts some core functionality as all of my mail stays on the server.

Modifications

Configuration Changes

• I changed the mail icon, because, well, because I can!

Plugins

• Letterbox provides a three pane view for Mail, much like Outlooks layout.
• IMAP-IDLE adds the ability for Mail to communicate with the mailserver so it can be told when new mail has arrived instead of connecting with the server ever N minutes to check. Efficiency is a good thing.
• MailActOn makes it easy to set up simple or complex chains of commands available at the touch of a key. I haven’t put this to any real test yet, but I think it will be a core component of how I use Mail. Works with MailTags.
• MailTags provides the ability to assign keywords, priorities and other meta data to messages. Combine it with MailActOn for even more powerful capabilities.

Wishes

I’d be even happier if Mail would:

• automatically set up or detect and use an existing ‘Sent’ folder for my IMAP account, and
• allow me to define how long a message should be viewed before it is marked as ‘read’, allowing me to quickly arrow through messages to find the one I want without losing the unread status of the others, and
• allow me to dock the activity viewer, or provide a small status bar.

I’ll expand this as I learn more, and welcome any feedback, suggestions or questions that you may have!

Posted in OS X & Tagged: mail, OS X, software, thunderbird

kuler, Adobe’s New Color Chooser

kuler, from Adobe Labs “helps you explore, create and share color themes for your web pages, design projects and other creative work.” You can use the app on-line or download themes to be imported into CS2 applications. This looks like a very useful too and a promising distraction!

Posted in Design, Design & UI & Tagged: color, Design, web application, web design

Apple Delivers Speed Boost to Creative Suite

My copy of Adobe Creative Suite CS2 arrived last night (woohoo!), making me a very happy man. This morning, as I perused my feeds, I came across the great news (via John Nack, via JD on EP) that Apple’s release of the 10.4.8 system update includes significant improvements to Rosetta, the software that ensures older applications will continue to run on newer platforms (like my Intel-based notebook). These improvements, according to Macworld’s benchmarks, provide a 34% improvement for the CS2 suite on the MacBook Pro! The tests specifically relate to image manipulation, so that number actually matters. The same improvements had only a minor impact on non-graphics oriented applications like MS Word, which gained a tiny bump of 3%.

While this isn’t quite as good as Intel-native versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, et al, it is a much appreciated and unexpected improvement. Thanks Apple!

Posted in OS X & Tagged: apple, OS X, photoshop, software

Thousands of Joneses aim to break record

A bit later today, a gathering in Wales aims to “break a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people with the same surname”. And those people are Joneses. Sadly this is much too far away for Sarah and I to join, but I do hope that it will become a regular event, as I’m sure some other groups will try to take the crown down the line.

Time to beat those Norbergs!

Posted in General