I've been a PowerMail and SpamSieve user for 3 years now, ever since I moved from OS 9 and Claris Emailer. When I switched to OS X, the Mail program was woefully inadequate. It has improved tremendously since then, and I recently decided to make the switch. Here's why.
OS X Mail advantages, in rough order of importance to me: 1. Display speed. PowerMail is very slow when displaying a list of messages. Even on my new 1.5GHz Powerbook. 2. Keyboard navigation of messages. PowerMail's algorithm of which message to select after deleting messages is bizarre and annoying. 3. Much better Apple Address Book integration. PowerMail doesn't stay in sync, and it doesn't open addresses in AAB like it's supposed to. 4. Handling of network absence. If the network is down, it behaves gracefully, instead of putting up a dialog box per account every time it checks for new mail. 5. Better IMAP support. I started using an IMAP server for the first time, and PowerMail wouldn't remain connected. 6. Threaded messages. Very cool. 7. Spotlight, when it ships. I'm guessing it will be several months before PowerMail is Spotlight searchable. 8. I'm already paying for OS X Mail, so I no longer have to pay for PowerMail and SpamSieve. PowerMail advantages: 1. Different signature for each account. 2. Different column preferences for each view. 3. Message priorities. Mail has message colors, but they're not easy to use. 4. Faster searching. Mail is slower, but still very usable. I have about 7000 messages. I've enjoyed using PowerMail, but because Mail has caught up with PowerMail (and exceeded it in some cases) it's time to move on. Dan
