Aware of the progressive loss of users compared to integrated solutions such as Gmail and Office365, Ryan Sipes, CEO of MZLA Technologies Corporation (in charge of developing Thunderbird), has revealed an ambitious roadmap: transform the classic email client into a complete ecosystem of open servicesThe new project, dubbed Thunderbird Pro, seeks to offer a comprehensive solution similar to Gmail or Office 365, but with one crucial difference: everything will be based on open source software.
And despite the great advances that Thunderbird has presented as an email client during the last months, its user base has shrunk over time, as many today opt for platforms that combine applications and services under one roof.
Examples like Gmail and Office365 offer a unified experience Captivating users seeking convenience and integration. However, these environments present significant limitations in terms of portability and compatibility, making them difficult to use with external clients or integrate with third-party tools.
Faced with this scenario, Mozilla plans to create its own open ecosystem, centered on Thunderbird as a gateway to a new generation of online services completely based on free software. The core of this transformation will be the Thundermail email service, accompanied by complementary tools such as Appointment, Send, and Assist.
Thundermail: The Heart of the New Thunderbird
In order to deal a setback to the current situation that Thunderbird is facing, Thundermail is introduced which will allow users to register their own addresses and mailboxes, replicating the functionality currently offered by Gmail or Outlook. The Thundermail prototype is builds on the Stalwart platform, a mail server developed in Rust and licensed under AGPL-3.0.
The lead developer of Stalwart is actively working on implementing essential features for Thundermail, including calendar and address book integration. The domains Thundermail.com and tb.pro have already been reserved, where you can sign up for future testing.
What does the Stalwart platform offer?
Stalwart is a robust and modern solution for mail serversIt integrates an SMTP server compatible with security extensions such as DANE, MTA-STS, TLS, DMARC, DKIM, SPF, and ARC, and mailboxes are accessible using standard protocols such as JMAP, IMAP4, and POP3.
Also, Stalwart includes a defense system against spam and phishingThis combines a Bayesian classifier, AI-powered analysis, DNSBL filters, and greylisting. This is complemented by a web-based administration interface, support for S/MIME and OpenPGP, full-text search, quotas, Sieve scripting, modern authentication (OpenID Connect and OAuth 2.0), and an architecture that's ready to scale and withstand failures.
The domains thundermail.com and tb.pro have already been registered, and the latter has a page available for those who wish to receive notifications about the launch of public testing.
Complementary Services
In addition to email, Thunderbird Pro will feature a suite of services designed to cover other key areas:
- Thunderbird Appointment: This will be an agenda management and meeting scheduling tool. It will allow users to share a link with other users so they can select a time compatible with the sender's calendar. Currently in beta, its code is written in Python and distributed under MPL-2.0.
- Thunderbird Send: It will offer end-to-end encrypted file sharing, taking up the original idea of ​​Firefox Send, but redesigned to avoid the security issues that led to that service's closure. This new version is written in TypeScript and will also be open source under MPL-2.0.
- Thunderbird Assist: It is presented as an AI-based intelligent assistant, developed in conjunction with the Flower AI team. The goal is to create a chatbot capable of responding to queries directly from the user's device. In the case of limited hardware, it will be possible to delegate calculations to the cloud using NVIDIA's private computing technologies, in a model similar to Apple's Private Cloud Compute. The code has not yet been released, but is in preparation.
It's worth mentioning that in its initial phase, Thunderbird Pro will offer these services free of charge to active members of its community. For other users, a paid access model is planned, although with the promise of later implementing public free tiers, which will include basic features with some restrictions, such as limited storage.
finally if you are interested in knowing more about it, you can check the details In the following link.