14 DAY TRIAL // Along with Firefox 8, as expected, Thunderbird 8 has landed as well. Of course, again, as expected, there aren't that many new features, just some minor improvements. What is interesting about the new release though is that Mozilla is now plugging the Lightning 1.0 calendar add-on along with the official Thunderbird release.
The clue is in the version number, Thunderbird 8 is based on Gecko 8, the layout and rendering engine that powers Firefox 8 as well.
This means that any under-the-hood improvement in Firefox 8 is going to be found in Thunderbird as well, including memory performance improvements, for example.
Thunderbird 8 blocks add-ons installed by third parties
One big new feature inherited from Firefox is the ability to block add-ons installed by third parties. Granted, that's much less of a problem for Thunderbird, which doesn't have the reach of Firefox and is less appealing to anyone wanting to peddle their wares via unwanted add-ons.
Thunderbird specific features and improvements
That said, there are new things in Thunderbird 8 specific to the email client. For example, the accessibility of the attachment list has been improved. There are new shortcuts for Search and Find and Thunderbird 8 comes with the usual list of security and stability updates.
Lightning 1.0, the calendar add-on, is finally here
Notable with the release of Thunderbird 8 is that Mozilla takes the time to acknowledge and even boast about Lightning 1.0, the calendar add-on for Thunderbird that's been around for a few years.
There has been a lot of talk about building calendar features straight into Thunderbird, but, so far, they've been relegated to the separate Lightning add-on. With the 1.0 release, Mozilla is at least acknowledging that Lightning exists and that it's a solid option for Thunderbird users.
"Lightning gives users the ability to manage multiple calendars, create daily to do lists, invite friends and colleagues to events and meetings, and subscribe to publicly available calendars," Mozilla explains.
"With over a million active users, Lightning 1.0 is the calendar solution that users rely on to help them manage their daily lives at work and at home," it said.
Mozilla Thunderbird for Windows is available for download here. Mozilla Thunderbird for Mac is available for download here. Mozilla Thunderbird for Linux is available for download here.