Pyne

Pyne is a newsreader/emailer application that operates offline and was programmed using Python and the GTK+ toolkit. The software was developed due to dissatisfaction with the existing graphical newsreaders available for Linux. However, other applications such as Pan and Knode began to surpass Pyne just a few months after the initial release. The older version, Pyne 0.6.9, runs on gtk1.2 and is considered to be outdated and not very impressive. However, Pyne 1.0.0 was created for gtk2.0 and has received positive reviews. Pyne 1.1.0 is the most up-to-date version, includes new features for gtk2.4+, and maintains compatibility with the previous version.

Pyne is open source and available under the GPL license. Key features of Pyne include threaded news reading and posting capabilities for offline use, support for SMTP sending and POP3 and IMAP4 collection of mail, and the ability to handle attachments and set up simple mail/news filtering. In addition to these features, Pyne allows for optional expiry of mail and news, making it useful for managing mailing lists. The graphical interface is also noteworthy, offering users a sleek and intuitive interface. The software additionally boasts support for MH mailboxes, the ability to import and export unix mailbox formats, and the external parsing of html messages using lynx-dump.

In order to utilize Pyne, users should have access to Python 2.x and PyGTK 2.x. A recent update to the software, Pyne Release 1.1.0, resolves some issues with start-up and integrates the new gtk.UIManager API. This allows for greater customization with menus and toolbars. Pyne Release 1.1.0 also replaces the option menu widgets with combo boxes, which has resulted in a slimmer, more streamlined code. All in all, Pyne is an innovative and user-friendly option for individuals who prefer offline news and email management on the Linux platform.