Installing Thunderbird on Ubuntu Hardy Heron

Thunderbird is one of the most versatile email clients currently available. With add ons, plug ins and themes, you can customize Thunderbird without ever having to code a line. But, if you're into coding, it's easy to develop and share your useful add-on creations with the community at large.

Thunderbird comes preloaded on most Ubuntu downloads and CDs. But if for some reason you need to reinstall Thunderbird, it's a simple process. The basic install of Thunderbird is just the email client. For functions like calendar, syncing with Remember the Milk, or changing the appearance of Thunderbird, you'll need to download add-ons and themes.

To download Thunderbird using the GUI, go to the official Mozilla Thunderbird page.

The website will automatically recognize your operating system to offer the correct version of Thunderbird for your OS. Click the big green button labeled Download Thunderbird.

When the download box appears, if you're installing immediately, select Open with Archive Manager. If you're downloading for a future install, select Save File. Click Ok. Download will take about one minute, depending on your connection speed.

Open your command terminal and use the following commands to compile and install:

cd/ name/of/file/where/thunderbird/extracted

./configure

make

su enter password at prompt

make

install

Close the command terminal.

Open your Command Terminal and type the following commands:

sudo apt-get update - This command updates your repository list.

sudu apt-get install thunderbird - This command downloads and installs the latest version of Thunderbird from the repository.

Typically, there is no reason to worry about updating Thunderbird. Your update manager will check the repositories for updates at the frequency you've designated. Updates, patches and bug fixes will be downloaded and installed with your other updates.

Like most Mozilla applications, you have the option to download nightly builds. These updates require installation by hand, and often require tweaking to work correctly, which is why they're only recommended for Thunderbird and Linux power users.