We love Mozilla products here at TechSmec.com even though in the back of our minds we can’t help feeling that their Microsoft equivalents are getting a raw deal in terms of press. Even with that love, the arrival of a new (or at least, slightly enhanced) version of Thunderbird, Mozilla’s email rival to Outlook, has left us a little underwhelmed.
In keeping with the fact that this is a ‘dot’ release and not a complete new version, most of the new features are under the hood. That being said, there is some fairly useful stuff there - you just won’t notice most of it in action.
Firstly Mozilla have streamlined and automated updates, just as they did with Firefox 1.5 last year. Thunderbird now automatically downloads small updates in the background and prompts users when they are ready for installation, rather that demanding a reinstall of the entire application. This was always one of Thunderbird’s more annoying features, so it’s good to see it resolved.
There’s a new built-in “phishing” detector helping protect users against email scams by flagging suspicious email messages. This is really just a tweak to the built in spam filter and probably just looks for banking related words in the email content.
Mozilla has added RSS and Podcasting support, although the implementation of this doesn’t seem particularly useful. We’ll be giving it a try in the next few days to see how it works.
Finally Thunderbird 1.5 boasts several refinements to email composition including “spell check as you type,” “auto save as draft” mail composition, and the ability to delete attachments from email.
Thunderbird 1.5 is available immediately as a free download from http://www.getthunderbird.com/.
January 13th, 2006
Research In Motion (RIM) today announced that Google Talk instant messaging and Google Local for mobile will be supported on the BlackBerry.
“Instant messaging and local content are two increasingly important areas of focus for mobile applications and we are very pleased to work with Google in extending these two popular Google services to BlackBerry users,” said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. “Google Talk for BlackBerry and Google Local for mobile will offer additional flexibility to BlackBerry customers in terms of how, when and where they stay in touch.”
“As mobile technology continues to converge, consumers are becoming increasingly more connected and require access to information at home, at work, and on the road,” said Deep Nishar, Director, Product Management, Google Inc. “By extending Google Talk and Google Local beyond the desktop, BlackBerry users will have greater access to the information they need regardless of where they are.”
Google Talk for BlackBerry, a version of the instant messaging application specifically designed for BlackBerry handsets, will allow users to send and receive instant text messages with other members of the Google Talk community, while on the go. Google Talk for BlackBerry extends the user experience of the popular desktop-based Google Talk instant messaging service to BlackBerry devices, allowing users to add, delete and rename contacts, know when their Friends are online and available, leave conversations and resume them later, copy conversation text into memory and even be notified when a message is being typed.
Google Talk for BlackBerry is easy and intuitive to use. After downloading Google Talk for BlackBerry, users can quickly sign in through their Gmail username and password, access their existing Google Talk contact lists, see which Google Talk Friends are online, and send and receive instant messages. The service is integrated with BlackBerry to allow for home screen notifications of new messages, integration of Google Talk instant messages in the BlackBerry Email inbox and quick access to the BlackBerry Calendar from Google Talk for meeting scheduling.
Additionally, users can now download Google Local for mobile, which enables BlackBerry users to view maps and satellite imagery, find local businesses and get driving directions on their BlackBerry handsets. Google Local for mobile provides draggable maps, directions and imagery, as well as a “click to call” feature. Google Local for mobile will store any addresses you have typed in or used for directions for quick and access to previous locations.
The satellite imagery viewing of Google Local for mobile allows users to zoom in on an image for a closer look at the terrain, zoom out for a grander perspective, or move the map in any direction. This interactive satellite view gives you a chance to explore and evaluate your locations in far greater detail.
Google Talk for BlackBerry is expected to be available in the Spring timeframe. Both applications will be free, subject to any data service rates applicable for downloading and using the applications with a limited data plan.
January 13th, 2006