Mozilla’s famed web browser, Firefox, has recently seen the release of its latest version, Firefox 6. Along with the new browser, Firefox has updated its counterpart email client, Thunderbird. The new Thunderbird 6 fixes several glitches that were seen in the previous version, making it a definite improvement for users. However, the new client is a bit lacking in new features.Several new features do make the version a worthwhile upgrade, however. Thunderbird has previously been able to import data from Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft’s personal information manager which includes its own email capabilities as well as several other features including a calendar, contact list, and built in web browser among others. The new Thunderbird 6, however, improves this capability.

The new version boasts noticeable improvements in speed and usability, in part due to its newly improved user interface. It also has better support for themes and can interface with Windows 7′s jumplists for convenience. These jumplists provide users with easy access, one-click links to commonly used files and websites.

Thunderbird 6 is created with Mozilla’s popular open source layout engine, Gecko 6. Gecko 6 runs on a wide variety of operating systems, ensuring that Thunderbird will be supported by nearly any machine. Gecko was pioneered by Netscape, the creator of the once-popular Netscape Navigator web browser. Updated over the years since the fading out of Navigator, Gecko is now the second most widely used layout engine among web browsing and email applications. Its well established and versatile programming API give Thunderbird 6 a high level of reliability.