Thunderbird 2.0 E-Mail Client Goes Gold

Mozilla has just released a new major upgrade to its popular stand-alone e-mail client, Thunderbird.

Key new features include message tagging, message history, and a new function to search for content within messages, among numerous other enhancements.

The major new features, according to a Mozilla spokesperson, are:

-- Message tagging -- users can organize emails by assigning tags like "From Mom" or "Weekend Projects" to easily track and search for information; users can choose from default tags -- such as Important, Personal, To-Do, Later, and Work -- or create their own custom tags; users can also add as many tags as they want to a message

-- Message history – Thunderbird 2 offers message history navigation similar to Web browsing history navigation; users can move backward and forward through their messages and easily browse through their message history

-- Search -- the find-as-you-type pane speeds up searches within displayed messages, and a quick search feature starts showing search results as soon as users begin typing search terms; additionally, Thunderbird 2 saves users time by allowing the storing of searches as folders and facilitating the rerun of saved searches by clicking on the saved search folder in the folder pane

-- Easy access to Web mail services -- Thunderbird 2 lets users integrate and access popular Web mail services simply by entering their user names and passwords

-- Customization -- users can customize Thunderbird 2 with hundreds of free add-ons that change the look, feel, and functionality of the email client to suit their tastes; users can also create their own message templates to save time

Other Thunderbird 2 enhancements, according to the spokesperson, include:

-- Visual theme -- Thunderbird 2's theme and user interface have been updated to improve usability and maximize screen real estate

-- Advanced folder views -- customize the folder pane to show favorite, unread or recent folders

-- Updates to the extension system -- the extension system has been updated to provide enhanced security and to allow for easier localization of extensions