Eudora is an Internet veteran. It's been around since 1988. And now QUALCOMM has announced that the email client will move to open source. Via Mozilla of course. And starting with the upcoming version designed for Windows and Mac OS X.

"I'm excited for Eudora to be returning to the open source community," said Steve Dorner, vice president of technology for QUALCOMM's Eudora Group. "Using the Mozilla Thunderbird technology platform as a basis for future versions of Eudora will provide some key infrastructure that the existing versions lacked, such as a cross-platform code base and a world-class display engine. Making it open source will bring more developers to bear on Eudora than ever before."

"We're pleased to welcome Eudora and its millions of users to the world of open source," said Frank Hecker, executive director of the Mozilla Foundation. "This effort should further enrich the Thunderbird technology platform and provide users of both products with an even richer email experience."

QUALCOMM additionally revealed that, with the release of open source Eudora using Mozilla Thunderbird technology platform, it will no longer commercialize the current versions. Open source Eudora is scheduled for market debut in the first half of 2007.