In the past two and half weeks many bugs got fixed and new features were added. The beta users were really terrific and sent valuable feedback, ideas and bug reports.

So it became time to invite more users to the beta program: The first 500 people on the waiting list have now been invited to test Mailplane.

If you don't have registered yet but would like to: the waiting list is here. You will get an invitation as soon as your number is called.

How do like to connect to your Gmail account? Choose with the new "Use secure connection (https)" option: Either http for super fast communication or https for maximum security.

I like to keep everyone informed about the progress we make in the private beta. When something major is accomplished, I will publish it on this blog.

As many people have asked for it, I feel this improvement needs to be mentioned: Mailplane now works successfully with both regular Gmail and "Google apps for your domain" accounts.

After MacNN published the news about Mailplane, all available private beta seats were taken in about one hour! The website is still under heavy load, and the waiting list gets filled quite fast.

This is great news because it shows the need for Gmail Mac desktop integration!

For all those who didn't make it into the private beta: Add yourself to the beta waiting list. As soon as Mailplane gets more stable, people on the waiting list will get invited to the beta.

Mailplane is a brand new Cocoa shareware application that integrates Gmail into your Mac desktop. Features include:

• Drag and drop files to create attachments.
• Auto resize photos when composing messages.
• iPhoto integration.
• Growl notifications
• And much more...

The complete feature list may be found at http://mailplaneapp.com.

Private beta registration is now open. Becoming a test pilot has never been easier. Just visit http://mailplaneapp.com/beta.