MacFreePOPs is one of two utilities that allow Mail.app users to access email from web-based services like Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and more.

MacFreePOPs 2.0, just released, adds two nice new features of the mix.

It now includes an auto-updater, which means that users no longer need to go through the hassle of manually updating the separate plugins for each individual web service. It also checks for updates to the main MacFreePOPs application and the underlying freepopsd engine which powers the plugins:

It is now also “half-universal”. That is to say, parts of the app are now compiled as universal binaries, although the main app is still needs Rosetta to run on Intel Macs. The developer is appealing for donations from happy users to cover the USD 500 cost of new software needed to update the whole app. There is more on this in the app’s readme file.

A new reset/uninstall command is also included.

This update narrows the gap between MacFreePOPs (donation-ware, more complicated) and MailForward (shareware, easier to use).

[Thanks, Gary!]mail.app, apple mail, webmail, hotmail, yahoo, aol, squirrelmail, gmail, plugins, email

Webmailer is a System Preferences pane that offers a quick and easy way to set a variety of webmail clients as the default handler for composing new messages from mailto: links.

Gmail users already have options to achieve this, but this new utility makes the same feature available for users of a range of web-based services including .Mac, SquirrelMail, AOL, Hotmail, Horde, Roundcube and Yahoo!

After installing the preference pane, all you have to do is select webmailer as the default client and then select one of the preset webmail services:

The readme contains detailed instruction on how to create customised links for other webmail services.

The developer created Webmailer to ease a terrible affliction:

Ever click on a mailto: link, only to scream in frustration as Apple Mail opens yet again? The curse of the webmail user is that there is no way to get around this problem. That is, until now.

Webmailer comes in a Tiger and a Panther version due to the different ways in which default emailers are handed by the two systems.

Get the right one for you from the developer’s web site .

UPDATE: Works with Joyent too! See the comments.mail.app, apple mail, plugins, system preference, webmail, gmail, dotmac, .mac, yahoo, horde, squirrelmail, hotmail, email, mailto:

MacFreePOPs is a stand-alone app which allows you to use Mail.app with web-based mail services like Yahoo, hotmail, Gmail, AOL and SquirrelMail.

An updated version (1.6) has been released. It includes a more recent version of FreePOPs (0.0.97), an English localisation, a better log window, detailed plug-in information and an improved on-line update system.

MailForward is another utility that does the same job. It is easier to use, but it costs money.

MacFreePOPs is donation-ware and is available from the project’s web site .macfreepops, yahoo!, gmail, AOL, hotmail, squirrelmail, plugin, mail.app, apple mail

Roundcube is “a browser-based multilingual IMAP client with an application-like user interface”.

Written in PHP and requiring a MySQL database, it is still in Alpa but already offers a rich set of features including multilingual capabilities, full support for MIME and HTML messages, attachments, multiple sender identities, an address book with “find-as-you-type” address book integration, built-in caching for fast mailbox access and external SMTP server support.

And it looks good. It is fully skinnable through XHTML and CSS 2, but there are no prizes for guessing which mail client is the inspiration behind its default skin:

One blogger is cheeky enough to suggest that,

The interface looks quite similar to Apple Mail, but the best part is that you don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t need to spend a fortune on a Mac to get that great interface and it goes where ever you go.

When the planned features are included, it will give SquirrelMail a run for its money as my webmail client of choice.

You can read more about it, check out some screenshots, download the latest build (it’s free) and find installation guides on the Roundcube web site.