Nope, I am not referring to a car, a new superhero movie or a cheap wine. I am however talking about one of the better applications out there. It is cross platform meaning it is available for Linux, Windows and Mac computer operating systems. However, at this time it is not available for iPhones or Android devices but we never know what the future holds.
OK, what is it for? It is an exceptional email program. Thunderbird (rd.dblclx.com/1ejd3ax) was created by the people behind Mozilla’s Firefox browser. Both of which are under constant development now. Thunderbird developers took a break for a while but they are now back at it.
The current version, v.52.x has most of what Outlook has but one large difference, it is free. One caveat to mention here. If you are using Outlook for business with and Exchange Server do not consider using Thunderbird. At this point it will not work. But for users that have not bought Outlook or Office (in any of its many versions) I think Thunderbird will satisfy your email needs.
In my initial testing I found that it easily performed most of Outlook’s functions. It has many plugins which are also free to add and you do not need the Windows Store to them. The plugins give you added abilities you may not have, "out of the box." Plugins have various uses, from different dictionaries, change colors of backgrounds, add different scrollbars and one of my favorites, "Provider for Google Calendar." That addon/extension allows syncing between Google calendars and the calendar now built into Thunderbird. So, you are always up-to-date on your appointments. In older versions of Thunderbird is was much harder to make that happen.
Thunderbird has options that I prefer over other email applications. One of them is a view setting. It is called, "Unread Folders – Compact view." This gives you a one-line view of each email account (if you have multiple accounts as I do) but only the accounts that have email you have not read. To get it all you need to do is click the dropdown menu above your mail folders and choose it, easy.
Even though it uses more memory than Outlook it has run well for me. Thunderbird has also not slowed down my systems or locked up/frozen from time-to-time. This has occurred in Outlook for me…sometimes often. It also has an excellent spam filter that can learn as you go. It allowed me to install all of my email addresses including free Outlook.com, Hotmail (Hotmail has been replaced by Outlook.com), Gmail, personal domains and a friend tells me that iCloud addresses will also work. Consequently, I believe that most any email should work – other than some work accounts due to security.
I now enjoy Thunderbird on all of my personal systems. The only issue I have had is that I cannot us it on my work PC. The antivirus on that PC marks it as some sort of problem file and wipes out my passwords in Thunderbird. Not a biggie if you only have one account. To overcome the issue, you need to enter the account’s password when Thunderbird starts. However, when you have many email accounts it becomes unwieldy.
All around a great application! You should give Mozilla’s other application, the Firefox browser a shot too as it is also a cut above (rd.dblclx.com/2iHBvaX).
