Ok we admit it, we love Open Source. Both Alex and I have been using Open Source-products for almost decade. I first installed Linux about 10 years ago, and have been a user ever since.

In this manner, I bring you the software of the day: RoundCube WebMail Project.

For a long time, I’ve been looking for a webmail that both looks good, is easy to set up, and have grown out of the alpha-status. RoundCube Webmail is the best looking and coolest webmail I’ve seen so far (check out these screenshots). RoundCube comes with Web 2.0 and AJAX support and the whole shebang. I particularly like the ability to drag you e-mails between different folders.

When I set up RoundCube for the first time, I was surprised how easy it was. You need a mySQL database as backend, and a webserver that supports PHP (I prefer Apache). If you have all of this running, the you just import the sql-file that comes with the package, and edit the config file, and you’re set. The entire installation takes less then 10 Minutes.

Even though the current release of RoundCube webmail is v0.1-beta2, it really runs fine. I’ve been using it for one of the companies I administrate now for about two months or so by now, and haven’t had any problem at all. I think this is the next big webmail, and I’m sure you will hear much about this project in the future.

I want to add a piece of advice to all of you guys before you run and install this software. Please use SSL for you webmail. If not, it’s really easy for other people to sniff your password and read your e-mail.

By the way, do I need to mention that RoundCube is our choice of WebMail for the company?