Knowing Fedora (Core 6), I won’t see Thunderbird 2.0 anytime soon, so I decided to get it via upstream. Some initial comments.
No x86_64?
Thunderbird only says Linux i686. In fact, its a 32-bit binary, as opposed to what Fedora provides in 64-bit form.file thunderbird-bin
thunderbird-bin: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked (uses shared libs), for GNU/Linux 2.2.5, stripped
file /usr/lib64/thunderbird-1.5.0.10/thunderbird-bin
/usr/lib64/thunderbird-1.5.0.10/thunderbird-bin: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked (uses shared libs), for GNU/Linux 2.6.9, stripped
Running it
Just copy it to /usr/lib/thunderbird, and it currently runs via /usr/lib/thunderbird/thunderbird. /usr/bin/thunderbird clearly needs to be edited to allow for using Thunderbird 2.0. A good way to get it going:mv /usr/bin/thunderbird /usr/bin/thunderbird-1.5
ln -s /usr/lib/thunderbird/thunderbird /usr/bin/thunderbird
Extensions
Some of them that I use, don’t work. QuickQuote (to select part of a message, and hit reply, and only that gets quoted, ala Evolution), Remove Duplicate Messages, Sync On Arrival (important when using IMAP). I am confident that we’ll see them very soon.
New stuff
The new visual interface is very slick. It looks rather professional, and I am thrilled by it.
New mail notification that pops up, looks a little like AVG scanning your email on Windows, but it actually shows useful information, and will be a productivity boost. I notice that it also doesn’t only appear in the workspace Thunderbird is running in, but in the current active workspace. This may become a nuisance when in the zone for work, and you’re getting mail every 10 minutes.
Compacting folders? I can select an option to do it automatically from now on. Yet another dialog that won’t bug me on occassion.
When Thunderbird detects new messages in the folder, it normally dispalys such a folder differently. On mouse overs now work wonders, as it shows summaries of what the new messages are.
Google Support
Gmail support within the accounts field, means I’ll actually be reading my GMail accounts a lot more. Its interesting to have Google integration built right in, because getting the Google Calendar syncing to Thunderbird 2 is also not a problem.
Gmail support is such that your mail gets POP-ed down by default, but its also kept on the server. You sort of get the best of both worlds. What obviously doesn’t work, is label support – you tend to get a lot of messages in your Inbox. Then comes the problem of also archiving your messages offline. Its not streamlined, say like IMAP, which is something Google should really consider enabling.
In conclusion…
I’ll play with this a lot more, as I use Thunderbird on Linux and OS X for daily use. I prefer the regular theme now, over the CrossOver theme on the Mac. I dearly miss Sync on Arrival. And I just got annoyed by the new message notification pop-up, as it came up while I was typing this entry! (You can disable it in Preferences, if need be.)
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