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Why Not Bother Using Thunderbird 3?

by Mathdelane on December 15, 2009

Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

For quite sometime that I have been blogging, my POP3 email has always been my companion in communicating with my readers, newsletter subscribers and direct advertisers so basically, it’s that pretty important.

Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird

Being a fan of open source, I have tried Thunderbird twice not only because it handles POP3 emails very well but also because it can carry RSS feeds readily available for reading as I’m subscribed to a few frequently updated blogs so it helps me to be always in the know.

As time goes, my first and second trial runs that lasted for several months have not been very pleasing. At first it was but then in the latter part, it has failed to update RSS feeds automatically until I finally given up.

I’m sure that updating the program would help when needed but the extent to which these updates lead to ineffectiveness then that makes me think that I’d rather not update and wait for the bugs to fix itself but instead totally get rid of the whole thing.

I ended up using a separate RSS reader and settled altogether with Outlook Express and was happy with the move.

Now, here’s the reason why you don’t need to bother yourself with the new Thunderbird email client.

First thing is that the new email client opens new messages in tabs similar to the new Yahoo email web interface, quite cool but not for some people. The more you click mails, the more tabs will open which can lead to confusion.

Among the other troubles I’ve found were incompatibility issues with Mozilla Lightning as a calendar tool and Keyword Highlight add-on.

Third party email settings on Thunderbird are more confusing than Outlook Express or MS Outlook. I even found Incredimail more user-friendly.

Lastly, the fact that Thunderbird adds the capability to fetch RSS feeds from blogs/sites, I think they should have not added this functionality if they can’t even prove its worth so why not concentrate on things that matter the most—a great user experience and a friendly user interface.

If you’re Thunderbird fan then I’d love to hear from you on why you loved it and if you can convince me to switch back, the better.

Suggested for further reading:

  1. A Quick Look at IncrediMail Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes Email client users like me often find ways to enhance my email experience. Well, I’m not that so hard to please since I have long been using Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook and Thunderbird with the latter being my main email client for this blog....
  2. Why MSGTAG is Disappointing? Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes I was thinking of tracking down the emails I sent if the recipient actually receive and reads it. During the research, I came across this service better known as MSGTAG or message tags if I am to literally call it. This service offers both...
  3. The Fight Against Spam Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes Most of the time whenever I open my email, I usually come across some unsolicited messages flooding in my inbox folder. I sometimes try to open at least one of them out of curiosity but what exactly fascinates me is how did these emails...

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Arafat Hossain Piyada December 15, 2009 at 10:40 pm

Recently I give up Thunderbird. It unable to connect with my SMTP server. The same configuration work fine with Outlook. You are right, they have to concentrate on improving user interface than adding new feature every now and then.
Arafat Hossain Piyada´s last blog ..Download East-Tec Eraser 2010 worth $50 for Absolutely Free

Mathdelane December 17, 2009 at 1:57 am

I dropped Thunderbird for not delivering RSS feeds after sometime.

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