Talking with Ruben Bakker, author of Mailplane

I love Gmail, I started using it many years ago and have never looked back. In my opinion, Gmail does the best job catching and filtering spam. I get just as much spam as anyone else, my spam folder is full of entertaining emails but none of messages (ok, very few messages) end up in my inbox. The features are endless. But one of my favorite parts of Gmail is the fact that it’s a web-app. None of messages are ever downloaded to my computer taking up space, yet the interface is as robust and intuitive as any mail client I have tried. But there are disadvantages to this kind of setup. Advanced features such as HTML signatures, managing multiple accounts and drag-and-drop file attachments are sometimes more difficult using a web-app.

That’s where Mailplane comes to the rescue. Before I take up too much more time explaining why I started using the application, I asked the developer of Mailplane.app Ruben Bakker (@Mailplane), if he wouldn’t mind talking about his application.

Thanks for taking the time Ruben.

What is Mailplane?

Ruben: Mailplane is an email client for the Gmail web interface. It is a Mac-only application, and it works as a “site-specific” browser for Google Mail. In other words, you get the Gmail web interface plus full desktop integration. For instance, you can drag and drop files, folders, or photos to create email attachments. The attachments are reduced in size when possible: Pictures are converted to smaller JPEG files and folders are compressed to a ZIP file. Another example is email notifications. When you get new email, the user gets Growl and sound notifications. Plus the number of unread messages is prominently shown in the application icon in the menu bar. Another important feature is support for multiple Gmail accounts: It’s easy to switch between accounts as passwords are stored in the keychain. Support for multiple HTML signatures is quite popular, too.

How did you get started developing the application?

Ruben: I loved Mac programming. We had already a “family” iMac we shared, but in 2006 I bought my own MacBook. I played around, tried all tools and loved it. But, then I wanted to create something serious; something users would download and use. The Mailplane project started in summer 2006 on the island of Corsica, France.

Where did the idea of making a desktop version of Gmail come from?

Ruben: I used Email in many different applications (Outlook, Thunderbird, Mail.app and more) for business and private use. But, I never felt happy with these solutions. My inbox was a mess and there was never enough space on the server. Then came Gmail and I absolutely loved it: Enough space, threaded conversations, the “Archive” idea, labels instead of folders and access from any computer. However, I missed some desktop feature traditional applications offered. It was a pain to send attachments and new email notifications required a separate application. I see many advantages in using a web application, but it still needs to be integrated into the Mac experience. This is why I started the Mailplane project.

In March 2007 I published the first version and asked for 200 private users. I never anticipated the response: The 200 seats were taken in just one hour - the same day I already had 1000 users on the waiting list. This was the start of the adventure, which finally led in founding a business and quitting my day job.

What do you enjoy most about being a developer in general?

Ruben: I love to create software; I enjoy the freedom of an indie developer. No boss, no company politics, no fixed hours or schedule, no long meetings, and very little paperwork.

Working on Mac software is great. XCode, Interface Builder, Instruments are great tools and the Mac is a joy to use. As an indie developer, I wear many different hats: I’m the programmer, supporter, marketing person, and accountant.

In the beginning it was rather difficult to make decisions, there’s nobody to blame but you.

Also, I need to actively stay in touch with other persons or I get isolated soon.

How do you go about promoting your products?

Ruben: Try to make the Mailplane users happy, by improving the product and by giving them good support. This hopefully leads to positive word-of-mouth marketing.

Of course it’s important to be on the Apple’s download page, to be on the different download pages and to get product reviews, too.

Finally, I constantly try to improve the website and the store.

What are the some of the difficulties of developing an application in which features are part of another organization’s services and/or technologies?

Ruben: Google constantly improves Gmail and Mailplane needs to keep up with these changes. Sometimes, there are Gmail bugs that look like Mailplane problems, which lead to support requests. But, it’s not that bad and there are very positive aspects too.

For one, Mailplane only stores some configuration data - the emails are all handled by Gmail and stored on their servers. No sleepless nights, here :)

Are you working on any other projects besides Mailplane?

Ruben: Yes, I am working on a second product. But, it’s still secret :)

My thanks again to Ruben Bakker for taking the time.

Ruben and Mailplane can be found at http://mailplaneapp.com/ and @Mailplane on Twitter.

I hate flying

Traveling by air is the biggest pain in the ass, it’s not just my imagination. I’m a cynic, I admit that, but airports, airplanes and the airlines annoy me just as much as cellular and insurance companies. Actually more considering I have to go through the traveling “process” more often. Although I do believe that some of the reasons many flight attendants and airline employees are less than a joy to work with is aggravation from their companies making the rules of conduct. But in my opinion that excuse quickly runs out.

Many of the low-level suits of the airline companies, those on the phones and in the airports, have the same artificial sense of elitist entitlement as their “frequent flyer”, “advantage” and any of the other eye-roller titles the blood suckers give to the customers they hook.

It’s not difficult to notice so many of the simple improvements airlines can make to make the flight just a little bit more bearable. obvious size constraints aside, my being 6’ 3” I could use just a tad more leg room, but my comfort runs into profit margins as it would require a reduction of seats. What would that mean in the long run? Simply put, an easy excuse to raise the fairs even more. So let’s focus on what could be done with the tools we already have. The drink cart: does it have to be the same size as the aisle? Especially since most airlines no longer serve food on the average flight? If you look at the cart you will notice that the edges have a metal trim on every corner and edge. I find it odd that it’s such an armored device considering most other trims in the plane are plastic and rubber to cut weight.

Another thing you will notice are all the dings and dents. To me, that’s like the fear I get parking next to a beat up car in the parking lot. Whether it’s the driver or the car(t) it doesn’t matter, truth is, it’s probably a combination of the two. Get some foam or any kind of padding, and wrap that up. Everyone will thank the first airline that implements this because everyone at one time or another has been a victim of the cart, and it hurts.

But I do want to stress again that the carts do not have to be that heavy or wide. There are so many lighter and better maneuverable alternatives available. Look at any of the latest high-tech baby strollers. Those hold and house the safety of a helpless child, something anyone sane person cherish’s much more than a bag of peanuts and a Sprite.

The armrest needs to be wide enough to hold more than 2/3s of an adult elbow. I always think about the non-verbal struggle my brother and I would have on family vacations when we would fight for armrest real estate. One person would always be taking up the front half and the other would have the back. What’s even worse is the raw deal the middle seat gets having to share with both neighbors.

Can we give some love to the brave one that gets blocked in by not one but two passengers? The window seat experience would be just a little bit more bearable if the surface around the window frame were a padding similar to what’s around the drink cart. It can’t be a porous foam as that would cause just a bit more spreading of bacteria and germs. Though its not like we should really worry about that considering the close quarters passengers sit in, but we are trying to improve the situation. By having the padding sealed it would allow for quicker better cleaning.

I would like to hear suggestions others have, feel free to add to the list…

Sitting in Laguna Beach

Waiting in a manicure parlour watching my friend and his family pamper their nails. Dave’s wedding is tomorrow and he seems relatively relaxed, as he should be. His future wife to be is a sweet, laid back girl. So the three of us hopped on a plane and flew down to John Wayne Airport in Orange County.

Interesting side note, I guess flights are scheduled in such a way as to make sure planes abide by quiet hours after 10.

What is making me want to report on the awkward hilarity of the situation, are the faces. I think the guys are liking the treatment. There is a dense feeling of nervousness when we walked in, but people are feeling right at home now.

Shady Practices in the App Store

BNO News for the iPhone

I’m seeing a new trend in the App Store in iTunes that scares me a little. Charges and (sorta) hidden fees that come along with a paid app. I am limiting this to paid apps because I am under the system of belief that free apps have the right to charge for an added feature set. My first aggravation came along with an application my buddy recommended to me. BNO Breaking News. It was an app that he had found which solved the “I have an idea for an app” conundrum. I don’t why I call it a conundrum, but I’m keeping it. So continuing, he was ecstatic when he found his app for sale. BNO Breaking News is a real simple application that simply sends the user ‘push notifications’ to the user’s iPhone. I was pretty impressed with the idea and that he found an application that perfectly met his needs and expectations. He told me about it and without much hesitation I downloaded it while I was still on the phone with him.

The charges started with the application costing 1.99. Not a bug deal, but I see that number as a paid app that is viewed by the developer as semi-premium. Many of the applications that cost to download “paid applications” are .99. Little differences like a dollar make a big difference. I was not paying a close attention to the fine print in the description, but BNO’s plan was to offer the application at 1.99, with a trial period. To get more than one news update a day a subscription plan is required. For a year’s worth of news pushed to my iPhone it would cost a total of $13.97. In my opinion it’s just not that good of an application to call for a $14 price tag.

The part that really got me fired up enough to write a negative review for the app was that there was a change in the application in an update. Conveniently, BNO added an account button inside the application. There really is no real reason to enter the application otherwise. Just make sure push is enable in settings, and the app just sits there. I consider this bad design, and that’s being kind and rational. I look at this as a hidden charge which I refer to as an app store bait and switch. So, unfortunately there is an application on my phone which is useless. I am not willing to pay $13.97 to use this application, being under the impression that 1.99 was the real price. But with the faceless customer service and developer support that is the iTunes App Store, I think this kind of ethically challenged business practices will continue for sometime.

The combination of one-click, impulse buying together with faceless customer service, makes screwing customers easier developers. It’s just good business.