I just dreamed this up the other day, and I needed an excuse to try out VectorDesigner. Anyway, it's a new interface for mail.app using coverflow. Obviously it's missing a lot still, but it's only supposed to show the main concept. What do you guys think, could it work? or is it too much eye candy. I wanted it to emulate going through snail mail. When you want to throw something out, you just drag the envelope to the trash, if you want to flag it, drag it to the flag section etc. (If it wasn't obvious, icons and such are just placeholders. And the second window should be titled Compose, or they should both be titled Mail. Icons in the compose window represent send, attach, and more options.)
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New mail interface idea.
- Thread starter Ryan Considine
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Yeah,
In all seriousness though I would love to share the idea with any developers. I did include the images in a Mail feedback submission to apple. I don't need credit, I just want to use the software. I should probably learn some programming.
In all seriousness though I would love to share the idea with any developers. I did include the images in a Mail feedback submission to apple. I don't need credit, I just want to use the software. I should probably learn some programming.
that looks very nice. Would love to see it in action one day!
Although I have to ask, what about multiple inboxes, folders, etc? Will there be a way to support this with your concept?
Although I have to ask, what about multiple inboxes, folders, etc? Will there be a way to support this with your concept?
I'm sure that more items could be added to the left side. The icons would just shrink, almost like the dock. You could add anything you wanted. the names could even pop out like they do in the dock: similar to how the sidebar worked in tiger when you made in just wide enough for the icons.
I don't want to be nasty but it looks totally and utterly useless to me. I have over 2500 items in my inbox and 10s of thousands across other mailboxes. How would this scale? How do I see the subject/to/from etc of other items other than the selected one (to choose that another item without going through all of them in sequence)? How do I sort? Search? Basically I'd hate to see this!
Are you thinking of this as a standalone coverflow version of Mail.app or just the addition of a simplified interface to the program as an option?
The only real way this is going to work, is if the Coverflow content shows only the Subject (Like Shown)the sender/recipient and the date received/sent since there may be various RE: messages with the same subject.
And maybe have the keyboard be some kind of switch action button between view mentioned above, and the view of the actual message, and back.
But overall, great concept.
And maybe have the keyboard be some kind of switch action button between view mentioned above, and the view of the actual message, and back.
But overall, great concept.
Agreed, most definitely, it would have to be an option, just as coverflow is in any other application.
To answer the question about the multiple threads with the same subject, I would like to see them combined into one conversation like gmail does, so you're never searching for a single message, just the messages with the same subject that links them together.
There should be a search bar too. It could go at the top with the "view selection" thing that itunes and finder have, where you can choose coverflow or list. Perhaps reply, reply all and forward are still up there too, but I like that to delete something you drag it to the trash on the left, or other folders on the left side. You know how you love good old mac drag and drop.
Just to clarify, there should be subjects and from lines on all of the envelopes, I just didn't go into detail there. Not that this would make it useable for your situation. Coverflow would have to be an option, and as you said utterly useless to someone who receives and manages as much email as you do.
Well I would love to see this implemented as an option. Vertical coverflow sounds like it would work great in Mail. I agree that it would have to sort messages by subject line (Gmail) as you said. It would get too overwhelming otherwise. Maybe in 10.7? I hope coverflow hasn't gone out of style by then.
Edit: With multitouch this would be pretty sweet. All those huge easy-to-hit buttons on the side.
Edit: With multitouch this would be pretty sweet. All those huge easy-to-hit buttons on the side.