Mozilla Thunderbird is a very popular desktop email client. Thunderbird email software was recently updated by its developers, Mozilla, to version 3. The update brought many new features and notable changes like better email account integration and configuration options, global search option, etc.

The next version of Thunderbird will be version 3.1 and the first alpha release, codenamed “Lanikai Alpha 1” confirms this. Mozilla has asked interested users to test the new alpha release version of the email client and give their opinion. The developer has also warned anyone from installing the email client in a productive environment as it is an alpha version that can contain bugs and other performance issues.

The most notable changes, according to the release notes, in Thunderbird 3.1 alpha are as follows:

• Several improvements to IMAP.
• Several fixes for Smart Folders, message filters, and attachment handling.
• Several design improvements and corrections to the user interface.
• Download Manager is now accessible as a menu item (Tools > Saved Files).
• Stability and memory improvements.

Bugzilla lists a total of 147 bug fixes and changes in Thunderbird 3.1 alpha of which 2 have been rated as blockers (highest rating) and 14 as critical. Several of the critical bugs fix issues when updating from Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 3. Others fix crashes and fix other issues.

If you are interested in trying out Thunderbird 3.1 alpha then you can download the email client from the official Mozilla Messaging website.

Before installing, make sure your computer meets the system requirements. Please note that Lanikai Alpha 1 no longer supports versions of Windows prior to Windows 2000 (e.g. Windows 95, 98, ME, and NT) and Mac OS X versions prior to 10.4 Tiger. Linux requirements have also changed. Do make sure that compatibility mode for unsupported Windows platforms is disabled for the Thunderbird executable in Windows.