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Show HN: Mimestream, a native macOS email client for Gmail

mimestream.com

31–40 of 289 posts

Re: Show HN: Mimestream, a native macOS email client for Gmail

#31
post #5

This looks amazing. I am so glad that you kept it as close to the native Mail experience as possible. My only question relates to payment. This is an app that I would gladly pay a solid price to own (in the ballpark of $50?). I would _much_ prefer that over a subscription model. Because the site mentions eventual payment, but doesn't specify a pricing model, would you be willing to elaborate on your intentions?

Thanks! So, I don't know exactly what the pricing model will be yet, but I definitely hear your feedback on this topic, and I'm looking at pretty much every option :) My intention is to build a sustainable long-term business, and deliver a continuous/regular stream of updates (e.g. see the Release Notes at https://mimestream.com/releases), so the pricing model will need to support that goal.

Re: Show HN: Mimestream, a native macOS email client for Gmail

#33
post #2

Hi HN! In the past, I spent over 7 years working on Apple Mail, and today I am really excited to share a new email client I'm building: Mimestream, a native macOS email client for Gmail. Mimestream is written in Swift, and uses AppKit+SwiftUI for a clean, stock appearance. It's designed to be fast, lightweight, and use a minimal amount of disk space. Mimestream's advantages over using the Gmail web interface includes…

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Re: Show HN: Mimestream, a native macOS email client for Gmail

#34
post #29

The application itself looks absolutely amazing, and the authors should be commended for it. That said, the FAQ mentions that the for-profit model is designed to avoid ads in the client and to "take a strong stance on privacy", which is a little bit disingenuous given that the client exclusively relies on an email service provided by the world's largest advertiser and email data miner. Yes, Mimestream itself isn't us…

Google also provides the account contents to the US military intelligence community on demand without a warrant via the PRISM program, so it is impossible to use this program as it exists right now and have private email. Here’s hoping you can use it with an actually private email service in the future.

Yeah, the intention isn't to claim that Mimestream somehow makes using Gmail more secure, but rather that it doesn't suck your data onto an additional server, like a lot of email clients tend to do these days.

I would like to add support for IMAP and JMAP in the future, which should broaden the scope of services you can use this with!

Re: Show HN: Mimestream, a native macOS email client for Gmail

#35
post #22

I have been using the gmail web app exclusively for one reason: I use the following Chrome Plugin to convert Markdown to HTML emails: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/markdown-here/?hl=... Did you ever consider adding a Markdown to HTML email option? This is especially helpful when sending formatted code around!

This is doable via a shell script (+ pandoc):

  # 1. Put markdown on clipboard
  
  # 2. Convert to hex
  out=$(pbpaste | pandoc -f markdown -t html -s | hexdump -ve '1/1 "%.2x"')
  
  # 3. Convert to an applescript data class
  osascript -e "set the clipboard to «data HTML${out}»"

  # 4. Paste rich HTML
You can use something like Alfred or Keyboard Maestro to trigger that script with a keyboard shortcut.

Re: Show HN: Mimestream, a native macOS email client for Gmail

#36
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google also provides the account contents to the US military intelligence community on demand without a warrant via the PRISM program, so it is impossible to use this program as it exists right now and have private email. Here’s hoping you can use it with an actually private email service in the future.

Yeah, the intention isn't to claim that Mimestream somehow makes using Gmail more secure, but rather that it doesn't suck your data onto an additional server, like a lot of email clients tend to do these days. I would like to add support for IMAP and JMAP in the future, which should broaden the scope of services you can use this with!

I think you have your priorities inverted.

I would much rather have my emails sucked into some developer’s private server than sit on the server of a large multinational that provides them to the federal police and national military without warning, notice, just cause, due process, or meaningful judicial oversight.

Doing gmail-first is the error, and is an endorsement of a society without privacy or the rule of law.

You have produced an espionage-only email client.

We can’t just go about our lives, pretending gmail is okay because it’s popular. Using gmail and building in its ecosystem is an explicit endorsement of gmail which is part of an illegal military spying program.

They aren’t different things, as much as I imagine we’d all like them to be. To endorse gmail is to endorse illegal military spying, and is to endorse a society without privacy.

Re: Show HN: Mimestream, a native macOS email client for Gmail

#38

To the author : There are times where I would like my mail to be delivered at specific periods of time in the day rather than disturbing with any new email. Or perhaps a snooze button for specific period of time. Do you have any intention of such features? Besides, the application is great. Good work.

Thanks! I've heard this request before in a few different forms, and I have it on the backlog. In the meantime, one option is to just quit the application, and you'll stop receiving any new mail notifications.

Re: Show HN: Mimestream, a native macOS email client for Gmail

#39
post #9

I've been using the beta for a while and I'm happy to see it land here on HN. The two things I love most about Mimestream are: 1. It's wicked fast (seriously) 2. It has Gmail style shortcuts The only thing I wish it had was a generic IMAP support for some of my other accounts. Either way I've been liking it!

Thanks! IMAP account support is something I would really like to add (and Mimestream already uses IMAP for some specific operations where it is a better fit), but from past experience I know that it is complicated ;) I'm also really keen on adding support for JMAP and Office 365 I the future.

Support for both Gmail and Office 365 with their own proprietary APIs would be a knockout feature. Also I really appreciate the fact you don't use any intermediary servers, which has held me back from using some other macOS email clients.
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