Mozilla has released the first beta of Thunderbird 5.0, its forthcoming multi-platform e-mail client. The beta makes a raft of changes, including the introduction of a new Addons Manager and extension management API. Plugins can now be loaded in RSS feeds by default, and an altered account creation wizard should provide better setup.
Tabs in the interface can be reordered and dragged to different windows. Some other changes include the display of attachment sizes, and the addition of a troubleshooting page for diagnosis and support. Particularly important for Mac users is support of 32- and 64-bit Universal builds, although at the same time, the beta is no longer compatible with PowerPC processors.
Windows, Mac and Linux versions of the beta are available. 24 language variants are available, ranging from English, French and Spanish through to less commonly supported ones such as Gaelic and Arabic. to download. Mozilla cautions that while the beta code should be stable, it’s meant for testing and feedback, and not all add-ons will function properly.
