Mozilla.org has announced the first release of Mozilla Thunderbird, a standalone e-mail client that’s a redesign of the Mozilla mail component. The cross-platform, standalone mail application uses the XUL user interface language.
It’s built for someone who uses Mozilla Phoenix (Mozilla.org’s Web browser) as their primary browser and wants a mail client based that “plays nice” with it, according to a note on the organization’s Web site. With Thunderbird, you can customize your toolbars and add user face extensions for specific features and enhancements. Extensions can be downloaded from the Mozilla.org site. What’s more, a number of downloadable themes are available that alter the appearance of the e-mail app.
Thunderbird offers an addressing sidebar for mail composing; it’s designed to simplify the addition of address book contacts to e-mails. Online help includes a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section, tips, tricks, and other data.
Phoenix, also known as Firebird, was updated to version 0.6 in May. The new version has a new look, a redesigned preferences window, and preliminary support for Mac OS X (as does Thunderbird).
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