Strip Thunderbird to the bone
Oceanwatcher
of software that want to be everything to everyone. Why? Well, it is
really a problem of bloat. Stuffing too many functions into the same
problem.
So I really wish that someone could bring out the knife and separate
the different pieces of Thunderbird from each other. Thunderbird needs
pruning. Not more main functions.
I want Thunderbird to remain as a MAIL program. Not an RSS reader. I
am using a really good RSS reader, so I am not using the one included
in Thunderbird. Please take it out and make it a plug-in. That way, I
do not need to install it and do not need to worry about any updates
for it or bugs in it.
If it is not worth making it as a plug-in, it is definitely not worth
including in the core program!
The calendar: I really understand people that want a calendar. But do
not include it in the core of Thunderbird. I really prefer it as a
freestanding program that has a really well functioning API that
allows it to be used by any program that I have on my computer.
Addressbook: This is also one of my headaches. I have lost count of
how many programs that need some kind of addressbook. Could you please
take it out of Thundebird and make it a freestanding addressbook that
is the best addressbook in the world? Again, with a strong API, this
could then be used by ALL programs on my computer and encourage others
to remove addressbooks from their products so I only end up having to
maintain one... I am sure a lot of people has a lot more addresses
than me (1600+), and when you have this many it becomes a real mess to
keep everything up to date.
I really would love to see the programming team concentrating their
efforts on making a good e-mail program. And then have a separate
group work on the different other applications. I think this would
move each part forward with much greater speed.
I use Thunderbird for all mail today. But there are only a couple of
small features that keep me from jumping over to The Bat and hopefully
they are going to be fixed soon. The question is if Thunderbird will
develop enough in the meantime to keep up with The Bat. The feature I
love most on The Bat is the template features. You can have three
different templates for each person in your addressbook, group etc.
And they do not have any RSS reader. Or calendar right now. There has
been some talk of a calendar, but I hope they just make it as a plug-
in.
I think the weakest point of Thunderbird today is the addressbook. It
should have the possibility to transfer addresses from Outlook without
loosing any information. My addressbook is the most important tool for
finding work. I need to have a really solid addressbook. So today, I
use Outlook just as an addressbook. I use Thunderbird for mail. Not
ideal, but much needed.
Another good reason to have the addressbook as a freestanding
application is that it would make it easier for others to make
alternative addressbooks. Maybe Mozilla are not the best at making
addressbooks? I need to have my addressbook synced with Plaxo and with
my mobile phone. That is done easy with Outlook....
Give me applications that do only one thing and do it well!
Joshua Cranmer
> I have a big problem on my computer right now. I have different pieces
> of software that want to be everything to everyone. Why? Well, it is
> really a problem of bloat. Stuffing too many functions into the same
> problem.
>
> So I really wish that someone could bring out the knife and separate
> the different pieces of Thunderbird from each other. Thunderbird needs
> pruning. Not more main functions.
>
> I want Thunderbird to remain as a MAIL program. Not an RSS reader. I
> am using a really good RSS reader, so I am not using the one included
> in Thunderbird. Please take it out and make it a plug-in. That way, I
> do not need to install it and do not need to worry about any updates
> for it or bugs in it.
Some of the newcomers to TB are working on drastically improving RSS
support for TB 3.
> The calendar: I really understand people that want a calendar. But do
> not include it in the core of Thunderbird. I really prefer it as a
> freestanding program that has a really well functioning API that
> allows it to be used by any program that I have on my computer.
IIUC, the current idea is to have two builds of Thunderbird, one with
Lightning integrated and one without. So you can still have a
calendar-less TB.
> Addressbook: This is also one of my headaches. I have lost count of
> how many programs that need some kind of addressbook. Could you please
> take it out of Thundebird and make it a freestanding addressbook that
> is the best addressbook in the world? Again, with a strong API, this
> could then be used by ALL programs on my computer and encourage others
> to remove addressbooks from their products so I only end up having to
> maintain one... I am sure a lot of people has a lot more addresses
> than me (1600+), and when you have this many it becomes a real mess to
> keep everything up to date.
If you really need to keep everything synchronized, use an LDAP server.
Most address books should be able to handle one.
> I think the weakest point of Thunderbird today is the addressbook. It
> should have the possibility to transfer addresses from Outlook without
> loosing any information. My addressbook is the most important tool for
> finding work. I need to have a really solid addressbook. So today, I
> use Outlook just as an addressbook. I use Thunderbird for mail. Not
> ideal, but much needed.
I promise you, the address book is getting a /serious/ overhaul in TB 3,
including such wonderful features as a real database backend (no more
mork crap), a simple-to-understand architecture, and a UI overhaul.
> Another good reason to have the addressbook as a freestanding
> application is that it would make it easier for others to make
> alternative addressbooks. Maybe Mozilla are not the best at making
> addressbooks? I need to have my addressbook synced with Plaxo and with
> my mobile phone. That is done easy with Outlook....
For Windows at least, TB has some palm sync capabilities; there is an
RFE to make it work with ActiveSync as well.
You seem to have glossed over the traditional, last-minute "oh hell,
I'll through this in", poorly-supported feature of email clients: Usenet
and NNTP support. Even that's getting an overhaul in TB 3.