[Update - November 12, 2011] 
Just Released
- Thunderbird 3.6.24 – November 8th
- Thunderbird 8 – November 8th
- Thunderbird 10 Earlybird (10.0a2) – November 11th
Coming Soon
To Be Announced
- Thunderbird 9 Beta (9.0b1)
December 20th
- Thunderbird 9 Final Release
- Thunderbird 10 Beta (10.0b1)*
- Thunderbird 11 Earlybird (10.0a2)*
Future Releases
January 31st, 2012
- Thunderbird 10 Final Release
- Thunderbird 11 Beta (11.0b1)*
- Thunderbird 12 Earlybird (12.0a2)*
Thunderbird Build Channels
- Daily — Thunderbird 11
- Earlybird — Thunderbird 10
- Beta — Thunderbird 9
- Release — Thunderbird 8
* As part of the new Rapid Release Schedule, dates listed for Earlybird and Beta builds reflect when the code merge is to begin. The actual release to that particular channel may vary by several days.
What Is Thunderbird?
Thunderbird is a FREE open-source and cross-platform mail client. It is free, and was created by Mozilla.org, the original creators of the Netscape browser and Firefox.
My mail client seems fine to me. Why use Thunderbird?
The article, Why you should use Thunderbird, provides many reasons why you should use Thunderbird instead of other mail clients.
What Features Does Thunderbird Offer?
Thunderbird has many built-in features such as:
- Supports IMAP and POP mail protocols, as well as HTML mail formatting.
- Can be used with AOL Mail
- RSS capabilities
- Junk Mail Filters & Anti-Phishing Protection
- Advance security features including, S/MIME, digital signing, message encryption, support for certificates and security devices.
- Automatic Updates
- Customization with extensions and themes (just like Firefox)
- Powerful Quick Search
- and more!
Is it hard to switch to Thunderbird?
No! Simple and intuitive, yet fully featured, Thunderbird has all the functions you’re used to. Setup’s a Snap! Thunderbird takes just a few minutes to download over a slow connection and seconds over a fast connection. The installer gets you set up quickly, and the new Easy Transition system imports all of your settings – e-mail account user names and passwords and sent/saved messages from Outlook/Outlook Express and other mail clients – so you can start e-mailing right away.
Some parts of this post were originally published on the mozilla.org website. Used with permission:
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