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On 7/19/2012 7:43 AM, neandr wrote:<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:50081D21.4060804@gmx.de" type="cite">Following
all the postings about the recent Mozilla TB announcement I
missing a discussion about the "Big Picture" Mozilla has in mind.
<br>
<br>
First let me state: I'm a Thunderbird fan, working with 'it' since
the Netscape days, also in one of the big international IT
companies (instead of using OL!). So I hope we'll have a bright
future with a Mozilla mail product.
<br>
<br>
Things are changing, communication has more facets these days, the
internet communication methods offer much more possibilities. Has
Thunderbird changed / evolved to meet those requirements?
<br>
<br>
We have seen Raindrop some times ago. Visit those project pages
today: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://mozillalabs.com/en-US/raindrop/">https://mozillalabs.com/en-US/raindrop/</a>
<br>
"This project is considered inactive."
<br>
<br>
I remember there have been other discussions to enhance
Thunderbird for newer communications methods. Any news on that?
Not really?
<br>
<br>
Can we expect a move to an implementation of the other methods of
communications into Firefox (see Raindrop)? How will react Mozilla
to support the Social Connections ? Will they leave it others
(Android)? How about Boot2Gecko? Will it offer mail, Social
Connections, etc ?
<br>
<br>
So, what is Mozillas "Big Picture", the discussion behind the
scene? My feeling: the statement was not the complete story!
<br>
<br>
Günter
<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Let me summarize the big picture as I see it (caveat: I am an
observer, not an insider) from what I think is the Mozilla viewpoint
("wearing my Mozilla teeshirt"):<br>
<br>
1) Mozilla gave it their best shot, within the means that they
thought they could afford, to let Thunderbird become the "Firefox of
the email world" (the MoMo effort) and that effort has largely
failed.<br>
<br>
2) Mozilla is very clear that their mission is to protect the
internet from bad things as they see it (save the internet from
Mozevil), and they do that through compelling products (products
that are Mozawesome). In the world of email and the desktop (which
is how Mozilla defines Thunderbird, a "desktop email client") there
is neither a Mozevil to fight (since IMAP is an open, widely
distributed standard) nor do they have a compelling Mozawesome
product offering. <i>So there is no battle worth fighting here</i>.<br>
<br>
3) In the "bigger picture", the battle that <i>is</i> worth
fighting is the battle for mobile. So they ask themselves, could the
Thunderbird code be morphed into becoming the primary base for a
future mobile-based communication client? Their answer is no, and
instead we have a new effort (Gaia EMail or GEM as I call it) that
is starting from a fresh code base. The Mozawesome future is that
GEM and its siblings would be the basis of future communications,
running in a Gaia environment that could run on any platform.<br>
<br>
4) So what do we (the guys who actually have to pay for these
Mozilla teeshirts) do now? We can't just abandon this thing called
Thunderbird, as it would be Mozevil to just abandon 20 million users
and leave them stuck with an insecure email client over time. So we
will spend as little as we can to maintain the product securely.<br>
<br>
From everything that I know and can guess, if I was the guy or gal
paying for the teeshirts, <i>I would come to the same conclusion
that they did, and make the same decision</i>. But really the
issue is not whether we agree with the decision or not, the people
with the responsibility to make the decision have made it, and we
are not going to change it, so we need to adapt.<br>
<br>
But most mornings, I am not wearing my Mozilla teeshirt, and at
heart am more of a product/business guy. What gets me excited is not
the Mozawesome future, but business models where people can earn a
living while doing what they love in a community where they have
some security. That's a whole nuther discussion, but let me just say
that I still find Thunderbird as a product engaging, and hope that
we can figure out ways to work together, as a community, for the
benefit of the world at large as well as for our own good.<br>
<br>
rkent<br>
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