State of the Thunder #8

Welcome back to the latest State of the Thunder! In this recording, we're eating frogs (metaphorically) and checking in on our roadmap progress, sharing our tips and tricks for Thunderbird development tools, and talking about the hows and whys of our fundraising campaigns. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this latest State of the Thunder, we're discussing the upcoming yearly ESR, 140.0, which is due out June 24, 2025. We explain our numbering convention and our different channels, which comes from Firefox, and the difference between ESR, Release, Beta, and Daily. Find out why we're encouraging to use the monthly Release channel, but how this won't take anything away from ESR. Learn more about what channel is right for you (especially if you use add-ons), how to help us with using Beta and Daily, and how to safely move between ESR and Release. And as always, we finish with a community shoutout! Resources: What Train is It Now: http://whattrainisitnow.comMonthly Release Channel Blog Post: https://blog.thunderbird.net/2025/03/thunderbird-release-channel-update/Choosing a Release Channel: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/choosing-thunderbird-release-channelTesting Beta Support Article: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/thunderbird-betaTesting Daily Support Article: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/thunderbird-dailyRelease Channel Support Article (with info on safely downgrading): https://support.mozilla.org/kb/thunderbird-releaseAdd-on Compatibility Add-on: https://addons.thunderbird.net/thunderbird/addon/addon-compatibility-check/tilorenz's Calendar grid patch: https://phabricator.services.mozilla.com/D251992 ★ Support this podcast ★

We're back with another State of the Thunder! In Volume 6, we're discussing the complexities bringing the monthly Release channel to snap and flatpak, increasing accessibility for assistive technologies, our relationship with Mozilla, why building Thunderbird is hard (and how we're trying to make it less so), and more!  ★ Support this podcast ★

In the fifth volume of State of the Thunder, we're focusing on priorities. How do we begin on a priority roadmap project? How do we decide what to release and when to release it? And how do we adjust priorities for the benefit of our users? Additionally, we have news about Thunderbird Sync (!), what MZLA is doing to improve the open ecosystem, and updates on Thunderbird Pro and the mobile apps. ★ Support this podcast ★

Previously on State of the Thunder, we talked about how we created our desktop roadmap for 2025 and 2026. In this installment, we're diving into how we prioritize work on the desktop app and how we're trying to get better at completing our high-priority items. If you've ever wondered, "When is that feature going to land?" this State of the Thunder is worth listening to! ★ Support this podcast ★

In the latest State of the Thunder, we're talking all about our mobile apps, currently on Android and coming soon to mobile. Sr. Manager of Mobile Engineering Philipp Kewisch leads the discussion on the the roadmap, responding to frequently requested features, and our predictions for the iOS Alpha. ★ Support this podcast ★

In our second State of the Thunder, we expand on the purpose of these meetings and go back to our roadmap. From there, we talk about bugs and stability, discussing how to tackle the backlogs of bugs in Bugzilla and whether Thunderbird is more or less stable now than in years past.We also chat about how to improve collaboration between MZLA and the Thunderbird Council, and finish with technical discussion on the address book's SQLite database and the Thunderbird CLI. ★ Support this podcast ★

In our inaugural State of the Thunder, Alessandro Castellani, Director of Desktop and Mobile apps, leads a discussion on the 2025 desktop roadmap with members of the Thunderbird team and Council. Beyond features, the chat covers our users, our values, and our commitment to working in the open. ★ Support this podcast ★

The Thunderbird team has resumed our monthly Community Office Hours sessions, and the most recent was an open forum Q&A that focused largely on K-9 Mail and Thunderbird for Android. We also answered some of your questions about Thunderbird for Desktop, including Exchange support (it's coming)! Here's a lightly edited version of that session for you to listen to. If you have questions for us to answer in a future Office Hours sessions, just send an email to [email protected]. 00:00 Intro02:00 Exchange Support for Android?03:22 Add-ons For Android? 06:30 Upgrade Path From K-9 Mail?12:06 Android: CalDAV and CardDAV?16:11 Mozilla Sync & Thunderbird for Android?22:06 Exchange Support on Desktop?24:35 Proper Threaded & Conversations View?30:55 Full Sender Name Column?33:03 What About Thunderbird Webmail? ★ Support this podcast ★

The Thunderbird team is a remote-first, globally distributed group, so it made perfect sense to devote an episode to Remote Work! Join Heather, Chris, and Jason for some useful tips and tricks to make your daily remote work more enjoyable and more productive. We also include tips from ThunderCast listeners Pedro and Mike, who emailed us at [email protected]. (You can do the same if something's on your mind.)Plus: An inside look at the upcoming Thunderbird Send service, some fascinating origin stories, and geeky Raspberry Pi solutions for weather and BBQ. Software & Articles We Mentioned:Cherrytreedraw.ioSynergyThe Pomodoro TechniqueWorking on Distributed Teams at MozillaContribute To Thunderbird Without Knowing How To Code(00:00) - Intro (01:05) - Meet Heather (02:10) - Heather’s Origin Story (04:40) - Your notes can help everyone! (06:38) - Meet Chris (07:37) - Chris’s Origin Story (11:30) - Geeking out (20:45) - Thunderbird 115 Updates & Flatpak (22:04) - Thunderbird Send explainer (31:48) - Remote Work Tips & Tricks (51:44) - Community Voice: Tip from Pedro (55:53) - Community Voice: Tip from Mike (58:32) - Outro ★ Support this podcast ★