How can I get Mail.app notifications without keeping it running? I like getting Growl notifications for incoming emails in Mail.app, but I'd prefer not to have to keep Mail.app running to see them. Is there a setting or third party tool for this?
If you're just using Gmail (like OP), then you can use the program Gmail Notifr. It lives in your menubar, and checks Gmail at a specified interval, it also supports Growl notifications.