About three years ago, I was still bouncing between OS 9 and X machines, and finding my primary mail app, Eudora, going down the tubes. They were charging for every bug fix, and those fixes only seemed to make the app worse. Desperate for a change, I poked around message boards seeing if anyone could suggest a mail program that met my needs (setting different accounts to different ports, OS 9 and X compatibility, etc).

Someone suggested Powermail, an app I had never heard of. But, after a day long trial run, I found it did everything I needed, and a lot more. Needless to say, I owe that someone a beer (If he or she is reading this, you can contact me to collect).

Powermail soon became the most indispensable program in my life, and now that I've upgraded to the newest version (now that I'm OSX only, as the newest one doesn't jive with classic), I'm pleased to report that it's gotten even better.

It's core remains the same, which is a very good thing. It still remains the most solid and flexible email program I've used. My email needs can sometimes get a little esoteric, and it's great to use a program with enough variables to get as esoteric as your life sometimes is. The trend in Macintosh applications seems to be stripping away the variables (look at their own email app), it's nice to see an program that continues to let the user fully customize to suit his or her needs to a tee.

Powermail's search capabilities, already mind-boggling fast, seem to be even faster. You'll never say "I think I have that in an email somewhere," ever again. Because, you'll know in a half second. It makes someone like me, with very questionable organization skills, and who hasn't given his inbox a good cleaning since Clinton was President, seem on the ball, together, and collected. None of which are true. You got to love an app that's a better worker than you are, and continues to impress your boss, when he probably should have canned you years ago.

The interface has been streamlined and beautified. Previously, no one could accuse Powermail of being a "good looking" app, in fact, it was a little ugly. But, the face lift has done the old boy wonders. It's not the Brad Pitt of email applications, but it isn't the Phyllis Diller anymore, either. It's now pretty pleasant to look at, although if you have a hang-up about hunter orange, it will probably still make you shudder.

They've also beefed up the spam filtering, and it seems to work pretty well. If still not enough, there's an optional integration SpamSieve. Personally, spam isn't such a problem that I need a separate app the battle it, and Powermail's filters work well enough. It has, like many email programs, added a (in my opinion) superfluous "spam" folder. I really have no idea why people find dragging junk mail from a spam folder to the trash preferable that dragging it from your inbox to trash. To me, it's the same process with a different name. Powermail, with it's flexibility, allows you to bypass the spam folder. But, I wish it would let me delete the folder, entirely.

It's still lacking a spell checker. I use Spell Catcher, and I guess it integrates with Apple's spell check, so I guess it's not that big of a problem. Still, for 50 bones, a spell check would be a nice addition.

So there you have it, lengthy as it is. But, as valuable as this program is to me, I could write more. Yes, I had a problem with my upgrade order (I guess the contact form of their site wasn't working), but they smoothed it over. Support may be a bit slow, but in all honesty, I haven't needed any. If email is important to you, this application should be important to you, because I truly believe there isn’t a better one for the Macintosh. Yes, there are plenty of free options. But, Powermail is a tried and true example of you getting what you pay for.