zeMail

I recently had the opportunity to test out zeMail, a webmail package written in Mason that offers a minimalist approach to handling emails. Despite its stripped-down implementation, zeMail is able to handle all the basic functionality of an IMAP mail client, including displaying folder and message contents, handling attachments, and allowing users to move, mark, and purge messages.

One feature of zeMail that particularly impressed me was its use of plain HTML and minimal JavaScript to reduce the click count - this means that the package will work seamlessly even with scripting disabled. Compared to more modern AJAX-enabled options, zeMail is designed to function anywhere that basic web functionality is supported.

Setting up zeMail was a straightforward process. All that's needed is to download and unpack the tarball, copy the directory lib/Zentus into the Perl inc. path, and add certain critical code snippets to your httpd.conf file. From there, you can simply install the necessary Perl modules from CPAN and create the necessary temporary directory - and you're ready to use zeMail!

In testing, I found that zeMail handles emails with aplomb, stripping out MIME and displaying attached images inline. The package is also able to handle the download of any additional attachments with ease. While zeMail may not win any awards for its feature-richness, for those who need a simple and effective email client that requires virtually no manpower to set up, it's an excellent option. And, with the recent release including the ability to support all basic forms of email, there's never been a better time to try zeMail out for yourself!