VIRB

When you use a web based email client on a regular basis
(Gmail), it can get quite annoying having to go to the
appropriate tab (if you use tabs), in the appropriate
browser, to check whether or not you've got new e-mails. It
would be super nice if I could have an application that I
could use to check my gmail account. Well... If you have a
Mac with OS X Leopard installed, you are in luck. The
solution is a great little application called "Fluid".

What is Fluid

Fluid is an application that allows you to create SSBs for
the sites you frequent. What is an SSB? According to Wikipedia, "A Si
te Specific Browser (SSB) is a software application that
is dedicated to accessing pages from a single source (site)
on a computer network such as the Internet or a private
intranet. SSBs typically simplify the more complex functions
of a web browser by excluding the menus, toolbars and
browser chrome associated with functions that are external
to the workings of a single site."

How Does it Work?

In this example, I'm going to show you how to make Gmail a
stand-alone application. First, download the free
application at fluidapp.com and add it to
your applications directory. Once you've done this, open
it.

In the "URL" field, type in the URL you would go to to
manage your application. In this case, I would type in
"http://www.gmail.com". In the "Name" field, give this
application a meaningful name, as this will be the name
you'll see in the dock, finder, etc. You can choose a
location you'd like for this new application to sit,
however, "Applications" is selected by default. This seems
like the most logical spot for it, but feel free to put it
wherever you like. Now, the "Icon" field is a great
feature. You can, by default, select the "Use Website
Favicon" option, but I'd recommend against it. Why? Well,
favicons are very small (16 x 16 px), and scale terribly in
the Dock, Expose, and Finder. So, select the "Other..."
feature which will allow you to pick an icon from your
computer.

"That's no good" you may say. "I don't have icons an
icon for this application." Never fear, Flickr is here.
There is a special fluid
group on Flickr that will allow you to view and download
icon sets specifically made for Fluid. From this group you
should be able to find the icon for which you are looking.
Once found, save it to your computer, and then go back to
Fluid, choose "Other...", find the icon you've just saved,
and click "Open". Your done, click "Create", and you've
just created a stand alone application that was once a
website you had to visit in your browser. You'll get a
confirmation message that let's you know you've successfully
created a new application, and from here you can either
"Reveal in Finder", do nothing by clicking "OK", or launch
the application ("Launch Now").

What I like about having my Gmail as a stand alone
application is the fact that I am now notified when I have
new email. I'm not annoyed with some crazy pop-up every
time someone sends me an email. It's subtle and perfect,
and functions just like OS X Mail: through the Dock, or when
cmd-tab-ing through your open applications (below).

Since installing Fluid,
I've added 5 additional stand-alone applications that would
normally be an extra tab in my browser. These apps get used
everyday, and are now a permanent part of my dock. Thanks
to Fluid, getting stuff
done on my Mac got much, much easier.

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