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On 14/07/2015 11:32, Benjamin Kerensa wrote:
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr"><b></b>People are not moving to Gmail because it is
free and easier they are moving to it because mobile which is
why Firefox is so focused on mobile.... Unless Thunderbird comes
up with a mobile client I think at some point usage will see a
decline.One of Thunderbird's likely largest user bases is Linux
and I can tell you there are a few major distros with millions
of users considering other mail clients.<br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
I think people use Gmail not merely because of it suits mobile usage
patterns but *also* because it is free and easy. It is enough for
most email use cases nowadays. The fact is that any desktop mail
client is now something of a niche. But this need not be a problem:
It's still a big niche in absolute terms, even if it is a minority
of email usage. Desktop mail clients do have a future.<br>
<br>
BUT... I agree that mobile is also a necessity. In my opinion,
desktop mail clients have a future <b>as part of</b> a desktop/<b></b>mobile/web
integrated ecosystem. Thus I agree that Thunderbird needs a mobile
offering so that people can transparently see their Thunderbird
experience on any device.<br>
<br>
This potentially offers some monetisation opportunities. Free
Thunderbird desktop but pay-for mobile client or pay-for
synchronisation facilities. Maybe.<br>
<br>
<br>
On 14/07/2015 14:14, Benjamin Kerensa wrote:<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAGOdq5nthDv=2UU2SC1PYeG4ighcT=gPOJTLGVj4Aywr=yT4xg@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">Money and licensing aside this will *likely* impact
Thunderbird's user base<br>
significantly.<br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
That raises a good question: What percentage of TB users are on
Windows, Mac, and Linux? Do we know?<br>
<br>
It is sad that Thunderbird might not continue to be the default mail
client on some Linux distributions but don't Linux users choose
their own software in the same way that Windows users do!? Sure,
most users use what comes with the operating system but, if
anything, I'd have expected Linux users to be more likely to choose
their own software than would Windows or Mac users.<br>
<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAGOdq5nthDv=2UU2SC1PYeG4ighcT=gPOJTLGVj4Aywr=yT4xg@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_extra">
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div>So I do know if you follow Ubuntu Convergence but in a
nutshell Ubuntu has been</div>
<div>planning to merge desktop and mobile. In this case apps
that are not great on</div>
<div>mobile will likely not survive as default apps.<br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
As an aside, this seems like an odd strategy to me. A good desktop
app will not generally make a good mobile app due to differing UI
requirements and usage pattern differences, and a good mobile client
will not generally make a good desktop client for similar reasons.
Therefore it seems to me that forcing convergence is a policy for
the sake of it, essentially an artificial goal that will inevitably
select for mediocrity rather then for excellence.<br>
<br>
Furthermore, isn't it very similar to the mistake that Microsoft
made with Windows 8? In that case, the beta testers clearly told
Microsoft about the mistake they were making but no one at Microsoft
was listening until it was released and died.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Mark Rousell
PGP public key: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.signal100.com/markr/pgp">http://www.signal100.com/markr/pgp</a>
Key ID: C9C5C162
</pre>
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