Categories: Web

Thunderbird email client gets shelved, sort of

Eh, different Thunderbirds

Mozilla will no longer be releasing feature updates to its open-source email client Thunderbird, but instead will focus on products that provide a “source of innovation and of leadership in today’s internet life” – like Firefox smartphone OS.

The organisation won’t be abandoning Thunderbird completely, however. More than 20 million people happily use it every day. Mozilla do plan to release security and stability updates that support Thunderbird’s current state.

Mozilla appear to cite a poor contributor base as part of the reason for trimming back their efforts on Thunderbird,

“We’ve tried for years to build Thunderbird as a highly innovative offering, where it plays a role in moving modern Internet messaging to a more open, innovative space, and where there is a growing, more active contributor base. To date, we haven’t achieved this.”

Also, the rise of cloud-based email services like Gmail and Hotmail accessible anywhere and on any device means that Mozilla may want to change focus,

“We have seen the rising popularity of Web-based forms of communications representing email alternatives to a desktop solution. Given this, focusing on stability for Thunderbird and driving innovation through other offerings seems a natural choice.”

The Thunderbird development team has moved back under the larger Mozilla product umbrella, so hopefully we’ll be seeing more of this soon.

Albizu Garcia

Albizu Garcia is the Co-Founder and CEO of Gain -- a marketing technology company that automates the social media and content publishing workflow for agencies and social media managers, their clients and anyone working in teams.

View Comments

Recent Posts

US wants digital ID for patients, providers & payers

Trump says the system will be 'entirely opt-in,' but HHS is looking to encourage, require…

14 hours ago

Why a proactive approach to threat exposure pays dividends 

Over the past year, not only has the frequency of cyberattacks skyrocketed across all industries…

20 hours ago

What Triggered Trump’s Outburst Against Stephen Colbert?

My favorite English teacher got fired. It was during the pre-Late-Show era that Colbert helped…

2 days ago

Is the U.S. Orchestrating the Biggest IPO the World Has Ever Seen?

Placing stablecoins under the purview of the U.S. regulatory system and Treasury was just the…

2 days ago

Circular economy is not compatible with rentier capitalism: Club of Rome

Life-as-a-Subscription: Malthusians are trading rentier capitalism for a stakeholder capitalism-run circular economy where you'll still…

3 days ago

Pentagon looks to acquire generative AI for influence activities: RAND

With the Pentagon's acquisition of deepfake capabilities & history of assisting Hollywood, distinguishing PSYOPs will…

4 days ago