Mailplane is a standalone Mac OS X e-mail client that integrates the Apple and Gmail experiences. For six years, Mailplane has been putting the Gmail experience into a proper app with functionality like drag-and-drop attachments, program icons in the dock and tab switcher, and integration with Mac OS X contacts. The latest version 3 release boosts the program one large step forward, with a completely redesigned interface, attachment previews, and compatibility with Mountain Lion's Notification Center.

With version 3, Mailplane has done a bit more than refuel and de-ice the wings. Aside from the redesigned GUI, the app now also supports Gmail's new compose mode and lets users preview attachments with Quicklook. New plug-ins such as an e-mail notifier (AwayFind) and an email scheduler (RightInbox) join the scheduling tool Boomerang and the organizational plug-in Taskforce as additional weapons for your Gmail arsenal. You can also seamlessly switch between 10 accounts using tabs, and Gmail and Google Calendar can be managed in a single app.

Mailplane costs $25, but the trial offers a full-featured version of the software for two weeks. Users who have purchased previous versions of Mailplane have the option of upgrading to v3 at 20% off, and users who purchased v2 after October 1, 2012, will receive the v3 update for ... [Read more]

Jagex is rebuilding RuneScape on a Web foundation, opting for HTML5 and its ilk rather than Java.

RuneScape, a popular massive online swords-and-sorcery game, is at last dumping Java and becoming a Web app.

Jagex Games Studio released the first RuneScape 3 beta yesterday, embracing HTML5 and related Web standards that offer programmers a more modern option for writing software that runs on a variety of operating systems.

About time, I say. Java had some potential years ago, and it still has its place elsewhere in the computing world. But as a way to extend a browser's abilities, it's history. If the plague of Java security vulnerabilities weren't enough to convince you otherwise, the trend away from browser plug-ins should be.

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Twitter's music program has opened its doors.

You don't have to be the host of "American Idol" to use Twitter Music anymore.

A little more than a month after CNET broke the news that Twitter was working on a stand-alone music discovery app and a week after that app was rolled out to an invite-only group of celebrities and others -- including Ryan Seacrest -- the general public can now get its hands on the music discovery app.

Twitter officially unveiled #music on Thursday during "Good Morning America." The company later provided more details about the service in a blog post, saying people can download the iOS app via Apple's App Store or access the Web version at music.twitter.com. Twitter noted early Thursday that the app will first be available in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, and that the Web version will be rolling out over the next few hours.

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