Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: We Make DIY Upgrading Easy! Maximize your Apple MacBook / MacBook Pro. Up to 8.0GB Memory, up to 1.0TB HD & More. Easy Guide + Free, Detailed Installation Videos. Click here

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Will Mac OS X Mail End Email Diversity?

Charles Moore - 2001.03.19 - Tip Jar

One of the features in Mac OS X that I haven't seen discussed a great deal by commentators and reviewers is Mac OS X Mail - the email client built into Apple's new operating system.

Apple calls email a "killer app." However, one wonders whether it what it is going to kill will not be the present rich diversity of choice among third-party Mac email clients.

If it does, that would be a shame. I like having a lot of software choices. I'm a heavy user of email, and have about 20 email accounts, which I manage using four different email client applications - Eudora Light, Eudora 5.0.1, Nisus Email, and SweetMail.

Each of these products has particular strengths and shortcomings, which suits them to different email tasks. I could get along with just one email client, but I wouldn't want to.

I'm not suggesting that OS X Mail isn't a good email client. I haven't really used it in service, but I did play with it enough in the OS X Public Beta to determine that it is a very nice email application. My son, who has already switched to the final version of OS X, says Mail is now even more polished and capable, and he has decided to use it instead of PowerMail and SweetMail, which had been his previous favorites.

If that tends to be the trend followed by most OS X users, it doesn't augur well for the future of third-party Mac email software.

Currently, SweetMail, Eudora, Mulberry, and Fizzila all have beta OS X native email software versions available, and there may be others that I haven't heard of yet.

Of course, one upside to this is that fewer Mac users will be lured into entrusting their email to Microsoft because Outlook Express is bundled with the Mac OS. I'm assuming that OE is still shipping with OS X on the included OS 9.1 CD, but no longer will it be "the" email client that comes with new Macs (once OS X starts shipping with new Macs). Mail is a much better email client than Outlook Express.

Being a plain text email advocate, Apple's blurb, "Send email that goes beyond words," does not exactly warm the cockles of my heart. Apple says, "Mail enables you to communicate in ways you've always wished you could - quickly, easily and elegantly. Add sound, pictures, and movies to your messages and - if you choose - decorate your words in picturesque fonts and bright colors." Guess they all have broadband in Cupertino.

Mail has borrowed and enhanced Eudora 5's on the fly spell checking. When you type in a word Mail doesn't recognize, the program underlines the questionable word. Simply control-click on it, and a popup menu appears offering you correct spellings to choose from. That's very cool.

With Mail, you can also drop attachments directly into your messages. Just drag a sound file, image or movie to the body of your message, and that's it. It's loaded. Your enclosure is ready for sending. Also cool.

Not as cool, in my estimation is this Microsoftian wrinkle: when you start typing in a recipient's name, Mail offers matching addresses from your AddressBook. Press the tab key to pick the one you want, and your email is addressed. Thanks, but I'd rather pick from a menu.

Mail's AddressBook also gives you digital cards on which to store your contacts' pictures, home and office street addresses, phone numbers, and other personal information (such as their birthdays and website URLs).

For some reason, Apple has decided to call Mail's filters "Rules," which seems like gratuitous revisionism.

Will I use Mail when I finally switch to OS X? Probably, at least for some of my email accounts. There is a certain logic and indisputable convenience to having an email client integrated into the OS.

However, I'm not likely to give up on the slick convenience of Nisus Email's quick send feature, and I'm pretty attached to some of the things Eudora has to offer. On the other hand, I expect the time is coming to say goodbye to Eudora Light, my faithful email servant since I started using the Internet.

It will be interesting to see whether OS X Mail will break the thrall Claris Emailer, a contemporary of Eudora Light that never appealed to me, has for some Mac users. Perhaps, but a friend of mine who is running OS X on his new TiBook is still using Emailer. Go figure.

For more information, visit Apple's Mac OS X Mail page.

Charles Moore has been a freelance journalist since 1987 and began writing for Mac websites in May 1998. His The Road Warrior column is a regular feature on MacOpinion, and he is a news editor and columnist at Applelinks.com. If you find his articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.

Recent Miscellaneous Ramblings

WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
Google Chrome Mac Preview Has Made a Convert, 11.02. Officially a developer preview, Google's Chrome has finally made it to Intel-based Macs. It's fast, elegant, and could be your next browser.
Fixing a Narcoleptic PowerBook G4, the Future of Tiger Support, Spam Filtering, and More, 10.28. Also installing Leopard, disappearing features, portable Thunderbird, and web page design issues.
2 Wireless Alternatives to Apple's Magic Mouse, 10.27. Whether you prefer buttons to buttonless, are still using Mac OS X 10.4, or don't like Bluetooth, Targus has mice to consider.
More in the Miscellaneous Ramblings index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Miscellaneous Ramblings ©1999-2009 by Charles W. Moore. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.