14 DAY TRIAL // Mozilla has announced the second and final beta for its Thunderbird 5.0 email and messaging client. Mozilla Thunderbird 5.0 Beta 2 is a bug fixing release and it is very close to the upcoming final build. With Thunderbird 5.0, the dev team wants to align to the new Firefox/Gecko rapid release cycle and this means borrowing the version number as well.
"As part of Mozilla’s new rapid release development process the beta development channel has been updated with a new version of Thunderbird," Mozilla announced.
"For desktop users, if you previously installed a beta version of Thunderbird you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours," it explained.
"We highly encourage add-on developers to test their add-ons with the new version and mark them as compatible as soon as possible," it added.
If you've been using Thunderbird 5.0 Beta or a previous testing release, like Thunderbird 3.3, you should be automatically updated, otherwise you can grab it from the links below.
Mozilla Thunderbird 5.0 Beta 2 comes a couple of days after its intended release date of June 21, along with Firefox 5 final, and the security updates for older Firefox and Thunderbird versions.
The team is still aiming for a June 28 final release date for Thunderbird 5.0, though it may be couple of days late.
Thunderbird 5.0 comes with several new features, it's powered by the latest Gecko rendering engine, it introduces the new Add-on Manager, borrowed from Firefox 4, and other smaller changes.
It's also the first rapid development cycle release and Thunderbird 6.0 should be coming soon, hopefully in the Aurora channel.
Mozilla Thunderbird 5.0 Beta 2 for Windows is available for download here. Mozilla Thunderbird 5.0 Beta 2 for Mac is available for download here. Mozilla Thunderbird 5.0 Beta 2 for Linux is available for download here.