Two recent attention-getting projects are using Python, and thankfully, that’s not the part that’s getting the attention.

• Chandler is Mitch Kapor’s rethinking of the email interface. It has attracted a star roster of people, and is using Python, wxPython, and ZODB as foundation technologies.
• The Humane Environment is Jef Raskin’s rethinking of the GUI (although from what I’ve been able to read about it, it’s a rethinking of text editing; I’m guessing there will be more). Again, Python is back there somewhere, but it isn’t the point of the project.

It’s good to see two such ambitious projects undertaken by such seasoned professionals choosing Python as an implementation detail. Too many Python projects are about Python rather than about something else. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, Python needs to be more in the background for it to make the next leap in popularity. These projects are good signs of things to come.