Mozilla has been very quiet about Thunderbird for some time now. Although the email client was never officially killed off, the organisation stopped actively developing it a number of years ago, now conceding that “there was a time when Thunderbird's future was uncertain”.
But now the software has a new home and a new owner. MZLA Technologies Corporation is a new, wholly owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation, and the move comes with the promise that the day-to-day operations of Thunderbird will not be affected
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Announcing Thunderbird's new home, Mozilla says that it “will still remain free and open source, with the same release schedule and people driving the project”. It also points out that the move will make it possible to collect funds through partnerships and non-charitable donations, and explore options that would not otherwise have been possible.
The change of hands doesn't mean that everything will change. The same people will be working on Thunderbird, and it will remain an open source project with a strong focus on privacy.
A new home
Mozilla is in a cheerful mood about the future of its baby. The organisation says that the move to MZLA Technologies Corporation will allow the project to “hire more easily, act more swiftly, and pursue ideas that were previously not possible”.
But the corporation is quick to point out that the focus of the software will remain the same. So, in short, Thunderbird's future is both safe and exciting. We're told that “more information about the future direction of Thunderbird will be shared in the coming months”, and for now we can only guess at what might be around the corner.
Via Ghacks
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