The Unread for Mac

From SchartWorks Productions:

I have lots of applications with lots of BIG windows and only one monitor. I wanted a quick way to see if I had any new mail in Mail without actually wasting the .35 seconds required to make the Dock spring up or to command+tab to Mail only to have my hopes dashed by not finding a little red badge on the Mail icon. I tried a Konfabulator widget that had a floating window that displayed if and how many unread emails you have, but try as I might I just don't have the taste for floating windows, I value my screen real eastate and no matter where I put the darned things they eventually (or immediately) get in my way.

It's frustrating, I know, but I'm here to help!

That nice, compact, warm and fuzzy menu bar is (almost) always there, why not take advantage of that? And so I have. The Unread will display a menu bar status item representing the number of unread emails (if any) you have in your accounts in Mail. The title is highly customizable for each of four situations:

1. An error has occurred.
2. Mail is not running.
3. You have no unread messages.
4. You do have unread messages.

The can be set to whatever you want for each situation. It's a simple, small, effective and -- in my opinion -- a useful little tool. Give it a shot.