Mozilla Thunderbird 0.2 Released

An anonymous reader writes "Mozilla Thunderbird 0.2 is out! For those who haven't heard about it yet, Mozilla Thunderbird is mozilla.org's new standalone mail client and sister product to Mozilla Firebird. According to MozillaZine's article on the release, new features include 'a redesigned Options dialogue, spell checker improvements, enhancements to the default theme and better performance and stability'. More information can be found at the Mozilla Thunderbird Project Page and in the release notes (which include the important information that a clean install is vital). Builds are available for Windows (7.3Mb), Mac OS (11.1Mb) and Linux (9.5Mb) or you can download the source (29.1Mb) and build it yourself for extra geek points."

Comments

One feature I want...

[chrisgeleven]

Exchange server support. Unfortunately I must use it at work and at school, which also means I must use Outlook.

Re:One feature I want...

[deek]

I second this, in a very big way. Proper exchange connectivity is the only thing that's preventing me from running Linux permanently at work.

Sure, I can use the Ximian connector for Exchange, but I don't want to pay for something that I only use at work (and work will not pay for it, because they don't support Linux desktops). Plus, I don't think it supports full exchange functionality.

IMAP doesn't cut it either. It'll allow me to view email on Exchange, but the contacts and appointments and tasks and mail filter aren't available.

I really ought to try coding it myself. Just never enough hours in the week.

Re:One feature I want...

[Aadain2001]

There's a reason it costs money: it is NOT an easy project! If it was something that just took some time, there would have been a plugin already. Also, it requires access to a working Exchange Server, which isn't exactly cheap or easy to get working in the first place.

The better solution is to develope a sane, open protocol that ANY developer could use, including Microsoft. Then would could have all the alternative programs (you know, mostly OSS) start using it and to start pressuring for more interoperablility from MS. Yes, I know, that's a long shot. But if we do all the work for them, they are more inclined to use it. Anyway, that's my two cents.

Nice guide to Thunderbird

[n0nsensical]

English
Norwegian
It's from Norway, it must be good.

If you want a little speed boost

[Anonymous Coward]

Check out the unofficial processor optimized builds, available in a variety of flavors.

Re:If you want a little speed boost

[Anonymous Coward]

If you are running Gentoo Linux, all your software is custom-compiled and optimized for your hardware.

Don't you mean: "If you are running Gentoo Linux, all your software is currently being compiled and optimized for your hardware." ?

I upgraded...

[grasshoppa]

...but I still don't have any friends. :( ( no emails magically appeared )

Re:I upgraded...

[Timesprout]

Add a Hotmail account and you will suddenly find your popularity with sex crazed nymphettes has increased tremendously.

Convert your friends now!

[blogologue]

We're running a series of Thunderbird articles, the latest article explains how to migrate from other clients. Send this link to your friends!

Re:Why?

[cubal]

Phoenix is now Firebird. The Moz suite is being broken up into Firebird, Thunderbird, and so on.

In the future you won't d/l the Moz suite, you'll d/l the Firebird browser, and the Thunderbird mail client if you, and so on and so forth... all components will be separate.

Re:Thank you for the explination

[cloudless.net]

Thunderbird and Firebird are just the codenames for the development project. The final products will be integrated into Mozilla 1.6 Suite and called Mozilla Browser and Mozilla Mail.

Re:I'd Love too, but....

[Popsikle]

Thunderbird can import. Messages and Settings. When I switched I moved my stuff over from OE. There are netscape/mozilla options too.

Tools...Import...Mail
Tools...Import...Settings

Something I've been wondering

[revividus]

I haven't seen it referenced in the moz dev plan, but does anyone know if there are plans to make the HTML Composer in Mozilla into a stand-alone app? Or the IRC client?

They could call them, oh, I don't know, Hummingbird and Lovebird.

Alright

[focitrixilous P]

With Microsoft confused as to the devlopment state of Outlook Express, This could be a golden oppertunity for the open source community to gain a significant foothold, because Microsoft might finally be fixing their bugs. I know it sounds crazy, but why else would they push everything back so far?

Quick, tiny review

[rnelsonee]

I just wanted to pipe in. I'm a Windows user (I know, kill me), but like most people on this site, I hate Outlook and Outlook Express. Vehemently. So I've been using Netscape 4.x's aging email client, Communicator. This post is geared for those who are still using it. Since Thunderbird is by the Mozilla folk, it behaves and looks a lot like Communicator. So if you're using Communicator but hate the fact that a) it can't render some HTML email that your stupid drone friends sends you, and b) all links open in Netscape 4.x, which is almost archaic now, I'd suggest you download Thunderbird and give it a try. You'll be able to import you Address Book and old emails/folders. Not your mail filters though, which pissed me off at first. So I re-did several hundred of them. But then I found Thunderbird's great junk-mail filter. It works great. The other neat-o factor is that you can apply filters to flag messages as Personal/Work/Whatever, and it color codes the emails! Very cool. Anywho, if you like Communicator, try Thunderbird. Especially as it gets more stable...

Why do I think of Steve Martin...

[Quarters]

running around going, "THE NEW PHONEBOOKS ARE HERE!! THE NEW PHONEBOOKS ARE HERE!!" whenever I see someone make an excited news post about a 0.1 rev to a *mail client*?

Re:What about my hotmail?

[heavyVoid]

YES!!! there are ways to reading HOTMAIL from any pop3 email client (yes, even from linux!!!) take a look at:

http://hotwayd.sourceforge.net

Re:Two questions

[JPrice]

With regard to your first question, Thunderbird keeps your mail folders/preferences separate from its installation directory. To install Tb0.2 you just need to delete your existing Thunderbird directory and put the new one in it's place. You can check out the installation instructions here.

With regards to your second question, generally speaking "bouncing" is something that only mail servers can do. What Thunderbird can do is identify spam and filter it to a "Junk" folder (or just delete it right away).

Palm Desktop and Thunderbird

[Enzo1977]

Why is it so difficult to get Thunderbird to import an entire address book from the Palm Desktop? Do I really have to be bothered to export every single name in my Palm address book to a Vcard or Address Archive, and then import them individually into Thunderbird? The day Thunderbird can import my entire palm address book will prove to me its effectiveness over any previous mozilla/netscape mail client I've used in the past. Has anyone else tried this process? Ever notice how the values get jumbled? Mr. A's phone numbers are showing up in the home address line, Mr X's E-mail address appears in the work phone line, etc. Its such an inconvenience it would be more effective if I just manually entered each address, but I won't, and I refuse to, because I own a computer, and not a rolodex that I have to fill out by hand.

Of course you get it.

[Compact Dick]

You're being Overly Critical, aren't you? :-) Speaking for myself, I use Free Open Source software because I don't want to "pirate" the programs you mentioned. Also known as keeping your conscience clean. I'm also doing my best to move people away from Windows and Office, but only where appropriate. I have realistic expectations - I don't want them to end up hating OSS apps cos they didn't fit their needs.

Having said that, you'll notice from my earlier post I'm not happy about the code bloat and huge memory footprint. The tolerance is there, but because of other reasons such as trustworthiness.

A personal note: while I do applaud your efforts to negate the bias around here, I'd be more impressed if you adopted a more neutral attitude. Thanks!

Cheers,
CD

Re:The release notes don't mention ...

[seaton carew]

Is there a setting to check all imap folders

Why yes. Yes, there is!
Just put this in your user.js file in the profile folder:

// Check for new mail in ALL imap folders
user_pref("mail.check_all_imap_folders_for_new", true);

Note that the prefs file can be tricky to find. On XP, it's usually in
C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\default\%random%.slt
Information for other operating systems here
Remember to quit Thunderbird first, otherwise it'll overwrite your changes.