Kiwi for Gmail

Take Gmail out of your web browser with this fast and friendly email app

If Gmail is your email service, you have probably encountered a familiar problem: the service was designed to be used in a browser, and using a desktop email client to access it means losing some of its power. Kiwi is designed to change that by delivering the full Gmail experience in a dedicated desktop app that’s less demanding than a browser, but as powerful as you want Gmail to be.

There are two versions of Kiwi: a stripped-down Lite version for single accounts, and a paid-for version, which supports up to six accounts, keyboard shortcuts, account themes and the ability to restrict notifications to messages flagged as important. The latter will also support third-party plug-ins, although it doesn’t currently do so.

The first thing you’ll notice is that Kiwi really looks like Gmail, and that’s the point: you don’t need to change how you do things. There are some differences, though. An icon in OS X’s menu bar enables you to see your unread message count and compose a new email. In the paid version, that covers all your accounts.

In addition to Gmail itself, Kiwi also supports Google Apps (so it works with corporate and educational Gmail accounts) and integrates Google Drive and Chat. The paid version also has a useful ‘zen button’ that turns off email notifications until the following day without affecting notifications from other apps in OS X.

If you’re happy using third-party email clients, Apple Mail or a pinned Safari tab to access Gmail then this might not be for you, but if you want the full browser-based Gmail experience without the browser bit, we think you’ll like Kiwi a lot. Gary Marshall Often I’ll have a desktop Mac and my MacBook Pro next to each other, with things like Twitter, news sites and email on the MacBook while I do work on the larger screen. However, I don’t want to have to reach for the MacBook to control it. That’s where Teleport (free, abyssoft.com) is helpful.

After installing it on two Macs, you specify their physical arrangement, much like you would for multiple displays in System Preferences. You can then move the pointer from the Mac whose input devices you’re using to the other one – or at least it seems that way; Teleport is actually transmitting your input to the other Mac over your network.

You can specify a modifier key to hold down to prevent the pointer accidentally being moved between Macs, or simply adjust the delay before the pointer is allowed to make the leap. Teleport also enables you to drag files from one Mac to another (which I use in place of OS X’s File Sharing feature), and it can sync the Clipboard’s contents, too.

Teleport is even able to transmit keyboard input to another Mac – whichever the pointer is on – and its preferences include an option to encrypt what is sent in case you’re using a shared network. Considering it’s free, Teleport is a delightfully effective way to comfortably use two Macs side by side if you can’t justify the cost of, or desk space for, a KVM switch.

Kiwi is fast, friendly, frees Gmail from the browser, and makes multiple accounts much easier to manage.