Hawk Wings » skins

Better Gmail 2: New features, new skins

Tim Gaden — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:09:14 +0000

Gina Trapani has released an update to her excellent Better Gmail 2 extension for Firefox.

This is the Better Gmail extension that works with the new Gmail interface.

The new version adds four new features: One Click Conversations (quick access to previous emails from a particular sender), Hide Invites Box, Google Reader Integration (in the Sidebar) and Rollover Highlight Messages (which highlights message rows as you mouse over them).

It also marks the return of skins. Users can now choose between a Blue Skin and a Grays and Blue Skin (screenshot below):

The updated version is available from Lifehacker or from the Mozilla Extension Repository . Needless to say, it is freeware.gmail, not apple mail, not mail.app, productivity, greasemonkey, firefox, skins, conversationsSimilar Posts:

Leopard Mail-like skin for Thunderbird

Tim Gaden — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:18:14 +0000

Reo-2007 has written a theme to give Thunderbird the “leopard Mail look”. This is the first Leopard Mail skin I’ve seen for Thunderbird, although others exist to give Mail.app the Tiger Mail and Panther Mail look.

If, for some reason, you have to use Thunderbird, it might as well look as much like Apple Mail as possible.

Reo-2007′s skin is a mixture of theme, extensions and customised CSS which combine to give the look of Leopard Mail as well as some of Leopard Mail’s new functionality, like Notes.

The overall effect is well done:

One extension provides the option to add Notes to emails, just like you can in Leopard Mail. When the Notes toolbar icon is clicked, a pop-up window appears:

The skin will only work on Thunderbird 2.0+. You can get it from Reo-2007′s page on DeviantART.thunderbird, mail.app, apple mail, leopard mail, skins, themes, email in general, notes Similar Posts:

Better Gmail 0.8 adds Mail.app skin and more

Tim Gaden — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 11:54:00 +0000

Gina Trapani at Lifehacker has done all Gmail users an enormous favour with her Better Gmail extension for Firefox.

She has taken some of the best Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail and rolled them into a more user-friendly extension that adds (among other things): coloured labels, a mind-bending array of extra keyboard shortcuts, a fixed font option, larger attachment icons, skins and more.

It almost converted me. Almost.

Now the latest version (0.8) adds even more goodies — bottom posting for replies, Google Reader integration, fixed conversation previews, and a Mail.app skin:

Each option can be enabled or not as you like from the extension’s preferences.

Needless to say, with the labels feature and the extra keyboard shortcuts that Better Gmail provides, it is not very difficult to hack up a very efficient “Getting Things Done” (GTD) system, which doesn’t have all the polish of the tailor-made GTDInbox (formerly GTDMail) extension , but not everyone needs that kind of power.

It also makes managing mailing lists the work of a new keystrokes and can filter work emails from personal emails quickly and easily.

I could go on and on.

Marriage is for life, we like to hope. Mail.app and me are forever (obviously), but — golly! — the occasional harmless flirt with Better Gmail is diverting! Try it out for yourself.gmail, mail.app, skins, email, labels, keyboard shortcuts, productivity, GTS, Getting things done, webmail, alluringSimilar Posts:

Another Apple Mail skin for Thunderbird

Tim Gaden — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 11:48:39 +0000

The next best thing to Mail.app is a copy of Thunderbird skinned to look like Mail. At least, that was clearly the case until GyazMail got IMAP support.

Another Apple Mail skin has appeared for Thunderbird, bringing the total to three.

This one, called “Apple Mail”, offers the Tiger Mail look.

The developer says it “makes your TB look and feel like the native Apple Mail software, that comes along wiht your shiny and flashy new Mac.”

Things start to fall apart a bit in the Compose window though:

The “Tiger Mail” theme offers Thunderbird users the same look.

CrossOver provides a Panther Mail look.

Take a look at both of them in an earlier Hawk Wings post and/or go grab Apple Mail from the Thunderbird Add-ons site.thunderbird, Mail.app, apple mail, skins, themes, panther mail, tiger mail, the sincerest form of flatterySimilar Posts:

Tiger Mail skin for Thunderbird updated

Tim Gaden — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:48:18 +0000

Toyo Snow has updated his Tiger Mail theme for Thunderbird, which aims to give it the look of OS 10.4′s Mail.app.

The new version (2.1) uses system fonts for cross-platform compatibility and will now highlight a selected header.

In keeping keeping with its attempts to reproduce the Mail 2.0 look, it now follows Mail.app’s default behaviour of bolding new messages.

A number of other small display glitches have been fixed.

The end result is not an exact match:

You can get the latest version from the Mozilla Thunderbird Add-ons site .thunderbird, mail.app, apple mail, mail 2.0, skins, themes, Tiger MailSimilar Posts: