I won't delve into all of the previously-existing features (we've been there before), but I'll highlight a couple that have really been tempting me. It is possible, right now, to drag a message to create a link to it in another app.

I'm hoping this is a step towards an architecture that will allow any task management app (or other note-taking/productivity apps) to do the same, in the way Mail's AppleScript dictionary makes possible. It's not a new concept to Mail.app users, but it's been something that many people who've switched to Postbox (or are thinking about it) have sorely missed. Whichever you prefer, if your task manager is one of these, you can now turn emails in Postbox directly into tasks (with a link back to the original message in the notes). The consensus that came out of the early battle between these two prominent apps was - to put it (too) simply - that Things (a 2009 Macworld Best in Show winner) was the simpler, more elegant one, and OmniFocus (a 2008 Best in Show winner) was the complex, more powerful one. We've covered both Things and OmniFocus quite a bit in the past.

If you've ever explored productivity apps on the Mac, you've probably at least tried one of these to-do list apps before. Most important (to me), the most recent release (1.1.2) has added integration features for task managers Things and OmniFocus. There's even a way to instantly transfer photos to iPhoto, making it easy to save all of those travel pictures your mom decided to send. Since the last time we mentioned it, Postbox (which is Mozilla-powered) has continued to become more Mac-like, with system-wide Address Book sync, notification integration with iCal, Spotlight indexing, and more drag and drop features. With better task management, great search features, tabbed views, a plugin architecture and more, Postbox has always struck me as a serious challenger. It would be bittersweet to part with everything I've built there, but it would be a welcome change if it were a step up. See, I love my setup, but everything that I really like about Mail has been added by plugins, and those plugins require a certain performance and stability sacrifice. I recall telling the rest of TUAW that - if its stated goals were achieved - it had the potential to take over my Mail.app setup.

Based on the details in the first announcement and my trial run, I was very intrigued. The first time I heard about Postbox, it was a relatively new email client for the Mac.

Omnifocus trial