Running web applications in web browsers is so 2007. The newest and greatest way to run web applications like GMail, BaseCamp, etc is to use Fluid to create a site-specific browser (SSB) for each application. While at first glance a site-specific browser sounds really stupid (it did to me at least), it's actually a great idea once you start using it. With a SSB, if your browser crashes (I find that Firefox, much as I love it, does crash a lot on the Mac) you lose everything in your other browser windows like that Mail message you were creating. If you use a SSB, you are protected from crashes in other windows. Also, you get a nice launcher icon. When I want to go to GMail, I just use the GMail application icon on my Desktop. It's a nice shortcut. If you are using a lot of web apps and you're on a Mac, give fluid a look.