Snapshots

I just upgraded my Thunderbird email client to version 3. This version offers several enhancements including tabs, search, message archiving, among others. Emails are now loaded in separate tabs (just like Firefox) instead of windows, enabling users to quickly jump between them. It also now offers email search with search results displayed in a tab. It contains filtering and timeline tools to pinpoint exactly what email you’re looking for. Message archiving is also now supported. Instead of deleting emails you no longer need, you can now archive them into the new archive folder system. There is also the Smart Folders feature which merge special folders, like Inbox, from different accounts into a single Inbox folder. Of course, if you want to view these special folders separately, you can simply select the All Folders view and the folders are again split according to accounts automatically.

Unfortunately, the new version does not yet support Lightning, a calendar extension for thunderbird. After I upgraded, the Lightning add-on was disabled. This is one of the most important add-ons for me so without it I would have to stick with version 2. After searching the web for possible work around, I read that the nightly build of Lightning already worked without problem with version 3. When I tried it, I was also able to install the add-on and it worked without any problem. You can download the release I used from here. The page also contains the Google data provider add-on which you’ll need if you are using Lightning with your Google calendar.

Google Wave has been making a lot of buzz in the online world recently. According to Wikipedia, “it is a web-based service, computing platform, and communication protocol designed to merge email, instant messaging, wikis and social networking.” It’s an all-in-one application touted to change the way we communicate on the web.

Currently, it is only in limited preview and you need an invite to be able to use it. Curious that I am, I requested an invitation. I got one last Nov. 30. Using my existing Google account, I signed up immediately. It was quite easy and I was done in no time at all. After viewing some introductory videos, I got one big problem – I have no one to ‘wave’ to! No one in my contact list has Google wave! Well, Google allows you to invite 8 people so that you can start ‘waving’. But for now, I have to wait for my friends to signup.