I work whith Mozilla Thunderbird and its relly fantastic, better than outlook

I agree. I've been using the "birds" for quite some time and I really enjoy them. One of my favorite features of the TB is the "blocking of remote images" in the advanced options. This is a really great way to remove all those annoying ads and a good way to decrease spam as sometimes they can verify your email if you view the message via tagging your email addy in their image. Perty nutty, but TB gots the goods on them ;)

I've been using Thunderbird for several weeks now, what can I say, love at first install. Within the first day, Outlook and Outlook Express were forever removed from my computer, IE also long abandoned, thanks to Firebird. Needless to say that all computing frustrations have been obsolete since then.

I've been using it for almost a year and it just plain rules. When you use it in conjunction with a spam filter like Popfile you will get just about zero spam. The extensions and themes are great and you don't have to worry about getting e-mail viruses and all that other crap.

Humm I will have to try POPfile ( http://popfile.sourceforge.net/ )

Yes, Thunderbird is kewl, but if you haven't seen Outlook 2003, I would suggest you at least give it a look, I think many open sourcers (were they to come down off their collective high-horses for a moment) would commend MS on this new version for some of the decisions they made. I still contend that open source suffers two shortcomings:

1) Women work at software companies - women are not involved in anywhere near the same ratio in open source projects. This is significant in ways that I shouldn't have to describe.

2) Open source projects are often defined/shaped by abstract, academic methodologies and philosophies that are utterly disconnected from the market of potential users. Because of this, I have yet to see something truly, remarkably novel come from the community. I recently read a wired article about how the linuxworld offerings are sporting desktops that "look very windows." The author suggests this is to lure customers away from MS - I suggest is is indicative of a community driven by engineers and analysts and academes with little or no input from artists, markets, marketers or women. I mean, what open source project has the cash on hand to commission focus groups or market studies or create R&D departments?

I can't tell you how many open source advocates I've heard make disparaging comments about users for being so stupid in general - and especially with respect to their decision to purchase MS products. I am expected to believe that these same folks care what users REALLY want when designing their wares? From my experience, they are more interested in their methodologies and ideologies to descend to the stupid user.

Really what is the male to female ratio of the software workers that Microsoft is hiring in India to replace their local US workers? What is the male to female ratio of the H-1b and L-1 Visa workers that Microsoft is importing rather than take advantage of laid off US tech workers?

I am sorry but the claim that Open Source software is sexist is one of the stupidest things I have heard this year.

2. No the Mozilla project has a very defined goal. Make quality software and they did.

I don't think you have ever installed and use a new Linux package. Check out Redhat Linux I am impressed with the user interface design and I am a professional graphic designer.

I am talking about a email client that is much better than what Microsoft is offering.

I actually have to use Outlook 2002 at work and there is weekly patches and virus updates to try and patch the constant flow of security holes and Trojans. I actually think that we are wasting time and money by using this crappy program.

sigh

I'm not suggesting open source is sexist. Reread and be edified. I'm suggesting that women are generally not engineers. The SATs and GREs back me up on this one. I'm suggesting that women work at proprietary firms because the employment rolls of such firms is generally not so stacked toward the analysts - they have account executives, project managers, sales managers, marketers, etc. These people provide great benifits - I know, I'm a partner in a development firm.

"No the Mozilla project has a very defined goal. Make quality software and they did."

Look, this isn't really a response to my commentary. It isn't really a substantive comment at all. I suggested that open source projects tend to find their motivation moreso in the ideological, philosophical and methodological aspirations of the developers than any kind of real market-driven research - the open source projects just don't have the budget - hell they don't have a budget.

"I don't think you have ever installed and use a new Linux package. Check out Redhat Linux I am impressed with the user interface design and I am a professional graphic designer."

I got my first internet access in 1990 through a bourne shell account on an AT&T System V Unix machine at Bradley University. I installed my first linux install in the form of the slackware distribution on my 386dx40 back in 93. I'm the Chief Creative Officer of an interactive marketing and development firm. I'm not the most knowledgeable geek around, but I'm ain't no hapless n00b either, k?

"I am talking about a email client that is much better than what Microsoft is offering."

So you say.

"I actually have to use Outlook 2002 at work and there is weekly patches and virus updates to try and patch the constant flow of security holes and Trojans. I actually think that we are wasting time and money by using this crappy program."

I said Outlook 2003.

I have been a part of a woman based tech networking organization for the past couple years and there are several software developers and engineers as a part of the group. They would be quite offended by your assumptions.

A MS Office 2003 CD would cost me over $400. Buy me a copy and I would try it. Thunderbird and OpenOffice.org would set me back nothing. Actually the Mozilla Foundation is funded by IBM, Sun, Redhat, Oracle and end users. But they do not need a traditional budget because Open Source projects are not bound by the commercial paradigm

Find me a email virus that targets Thunderbird and I would reconsider.

"I have been a part of a woman based tech networking organization for the past couple years and there are several software developers and engineers as a part of the group. They would be quite offended by your assumptions."

You've got to be kidding. I'm not assuming anything. Look at the ratios of female to male CS or EE graduates from any major university. Look at the disparity of math scores between males and females on the SAT. I'm not making this stuff up. It's no slight on women to suggest that their talents and abilities, while just as profound as men's talents and abilities are nonetheless different.

"Actually the Mozilla Foundation is funded by IBM, Sun, Redhat, Oracle and end users. But they do not need a traditional budget because Open Source projects are not bound by the commercial paradigm"

Do you not see the fundamental contradiction in the two above sentences? Do you imagine open source software is going to precipitate the coming of some kind of communist revolution? Open source only exists by merit of the "commercial paradigm."

Follow me on this: There are essentially two types of people who have the disposable resources (in this case time to code) to participate in open source projects:

1) Highschool and potentially middle school students who have vast amounts of free time, owing to their not having to work for a living. I don't include college students (although I'm sure many participate) because one would hope that a college student is too busy studying.

2) Programmers who have day jobs coding for proprietary software firms to pay their bills so they have time to code.

Neither of these classes of contributors would be available sans the "commercial paradigm." In other words, no proprietary software, no open source software.

Look, I like your blog, its clever and entertaining and not a bad design either, but I would be remiss were I not to posit to someone with such obvious skill that while open source is cool and interesting, it's not a religion, nor a savior. I think it even has its rightful place in the pantheon of development methodologies, but not as a surrogate for proprietary software.

By the way, my firm uses a network of freelancers around the US. I assume by the tenor of your comments on your blog that you are fluent in the open source development tools (php, mod-perl, etc.) Given the little I've seen of your work, it is clear you are quite proficient with these tools, so should you be interested in potentially receiving some freelance gigs from us, drop me an email.

Oh, and it was fun debating. :)

do you got any idea how to attach new themes correctly? if i do that, either nothing changes or the toolbar disappears.

Check out ( http://texturizer.net/thunderbird/themes.html#intro )

Geez... If you don't like Thunderbird and OpenSource, why bother making comments?

I have worked in this industry since the 1970s. I started building my own computers. I'm certified in MS. It's junk. I use linux at home and windows on my laptop because I like games, and mostly they will not run correctly under Lines (wine and other emus).

However, I have to say that TB is the BEST thing to come along in AGES. As for women in the workforce... what the hell has that to do with this? Nothing.

The guy wanted to bitch about open source software development as a whole and was looking for a place to rant.

Help Request from a Non-Nerd.
Ijust started using TB and am grateful for the effective spam filter, but can you tell me how to attach my personal card to outgoing email? In Eudora it's called a "signature." I tried the pull down near the attachment icon but no card attaches. Saying "yes" to learn about a digital signature did not work either.

Tnx,
Jean

How to make a signature in Thunderbird
( http://www.nidelven-it.no/articles/introduction_to_thunderbird_3 )

Thunderbird, whether springing from abstract sexist sources or not, is a better email program than Microsoft Outlook, Eudora, or Nestcape Communicator...in my opinion (notice the in my opinion part if you disagree please do not slag me for it). The spell checker is first rate, multiple accounts, and the address book are all first rate. I'd actually like to come back to the address book, this is the only decent (again in my opinion) email client that allows you to have a single entry in your address book, with multiple email addresses, all the rest seem to require semi-duplicate entries with different email addys. And to top it all off as mentioned about the thing's free and contstantly being approved (if you can donate some cash reward these guys for thier efforts and give them what you can no matter how smal I am sure it will be appreciated). I'll never use outlook again

I don't think it is sexist. But I do think that it is Sexy sexy, sexy.

I been using thunderbird for a while now and find it to work a lot better then outlook express, the only problem I am haveing is setting the pop server to get my E-Mail from GMAIL.

"Comments: Review : Mozilla Thunderbird Email Client"

Isn't this the title of this blog??

Male - Female ratios, high school kids, sheesh give me a break. I showed this blog to my boss (a woman) and thought the comments quite funny.

I think Mal-3 lost the plot a bit :)

If mal-3 looks a little closer he/she?? may discover the amazing fact that many many commercialy employed programmers use open source to develop their ideas. IBM and many other companies encourage it. Linux did not get where it is on the back of high school kids.
And to the male female THING (this is SO un-important in the context of this blog) There are far more of us geeky guys (sorry :) ) than geeky girls :) This is a fact and is, good or bad, society at this time. This is changing though and many females now develop open source (including my Boss!!!!).

I just downloaded TB and I will let you know what I think soon!!

The site is called 8Bitjoystick.com. That is just the title of that window.

Well in my experiance there are people on the net that are bothered by the weirdest things and they will let you know with no end loudly.