Back in the day, there was a popular fantasy television series called Buffy the Vampire Slayer that garnered something of a following. One of the main characters on that series had an evil twin who, when things got a bit slow, would say in a sulky voice, "Bored now." That's sort of how I feel when I look at some of the E-mail packages that are trying to compete with that 50-ton gorilla that lives out in Redmond, Seattle.

Now let me first say I love communicating via E-mail. I find it fantastic that you can send somebody a message nearly instantaneously, get an answer nearly as quickly (as quickly as the party in question feels like answering), and have a record of the entire correspondence for as long as you need it. (Assuming, of course, that your hard drive was backed up when your system crashed. But that's the subject of another blog post.) For someone who grew up in a time when written communications demanded a postage stamp and several days of waiting, E-mail is up there next to sliced bread and shoelaces.

However, it has to be admitted that, as far as E-mail is concerned, we're in something of a rut. Every package out there has basically the same setup: a list of folders, a list of the messages in each folder, and a preview pane so that you can view a message without actually opening it. And then there are those useful features such as the ability to receive E-mail from several accounts, the ability to search your messages, the ability to organize your folders, etc., etc. Good stuff. Very useful. But with the onslaught of spam and the overwhelming amount of E-mail that most of us now get with our morning latte, new ideas are badly needed.

This is reflected in the reaction of those of us who use the apps. Back in February 2006, we published a review roundup of the most popular Web browsers in which four writers defended their favorites against all comers. And boy, did they ever--the reviews were filled with statements like: "The techno-elite may prefer to browse the Web in a package that doesn't include the Microsoft brand name, but they're the exception." And, "Let's cut to the chase: Firefox lets you 'stick it to the Man.' And you know who that is, right?"

On the other hand, the writers in our latest review roundup, "Beyond Outlook: Five Alternative E-Mail Apps," offer cogent, reasoned, and detailed motives for why they chose their particular E-mail packages. And there are very good reasons, including extensions and themes (Thunderbird), scripting languages (PocoMail), personalities (Eudora), advanced sorting (Pegasus Mail), and automation (The Bat!). But there's nothing there that would cause the sort of loyalty that a favorite browser generates.

And there won't be, until the next generation of really groundbreaking communications products hits the market. One reason Firefox succeeded was because it took a great existing idea like tabs and incorporated it into an innovative design--along with a philosophy that told its users, "We'll give you the basics. You build it the way you want." Google is trying to do the same with products like Google Calendar and Google Gadgets, both of which take new (but existing) technologies and use them in new and highly inventive ways.

Somewhere there's an individual or a company that can look at the process of sending and receiving E-mail and come up with a new way of dealing with written communications that will blow us all away. Meanwhile, if we want to deal with somebody other than Microsoft, there are some solid and, yes, interesting products out there. And who knows--the next version of one of these could introduce a feature that will make all the difference.

What do you think? Are you happy with your current E-mail app, or are you looking for something more? Let us know...