14 DAY TRIAL // Mozilla has released the first beta version of the upcoming Mozilla Thunderbird 3.1 codenamed "Lanikai," Beta 1. The biggest update in 3.1 is the move to the Gecko 1.9.2. rendering engine, the latest iteration also used in Firefox 3.6. Other than that, all of the changes focus on existing features and are mostly bug or stability fixes. Though it is labeled as a beta, Thunderbird 3.1 Beta 1 is still at a pretty experimental stage.
"Lanikai Beta 1, available now for download, is built on top of the Gecko 1.9.2 platform. While this milestone is considered to be stable, it is intended for developers and members of our testing community to use for evaluation and feedback. Users of this latest alpha version of Thunderbird should not expect all of their add-ons to work properly with this milestone," Mozilla announced.
These are the biggest updates in Mozilla Thunderbird 3.1 Beta 1: · Several fixes to improve upgrading from Thunderbird 2. · Several fixes for auto complete, tabs, and activity manager. · Several design improvements and corrections to the interface. · Stability and memory improvements.
Another notable change is to the add-ons system, any add-on must now be coming either over a secure HTTPS connection or be digitally signed in order to be able to install it. There's a full list of notable bug fixes here, but, by and large, there isn't anything particularly exciting about the latest beta. You should definitely update if you're using an Alpha version, but, otherwise, you're not missing all that much, except if you really must be on the cutting edge.
On the flipside, there is quite a list of known issues, for all platforms, though most aren't that serious. Notably, the Kaspersky Anti-Spam Extension is disabled in Beta 1 as it is incompatible, but the next version of the add-on should come with support for the new email client. There are also several issues if you're upgrading from Thunderbird 2 or switching back and forth between the old and the new version.
Mozilla Thunderbird 3.1 "Lanikai" Beta 1 for Windows is available for download here. Mozilla Thunderbird 3.1 "Lanikai" Beta 1 for Mac is available for download here. Mozilla Thunderbird 3.1 "Lanikai" Beta 1 for Linux is available for download here.