Installing and or using Thunderbird

J

JohnJ

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Hello there. I am a complete newbie to Linux and Linux Mint. I have just installed Linux Mint onto my laptop and had a little (very little) fiddle. I would like to use Thunderbird and I see that a version of Thunderbird has already been installed onto my Mint. I had a look in Software manage and it appears that there are two versions of Thunderbird available - one that is already installed and another that asks me to install something called Thunderbird 'Flatpak (Flathub)'. Do I need to install this Flatpak version or can I just use the installed Thunderbird version? Is one 'better' than the other?
Thank you
 


G'day John, Welcome to Linux.org

I use Linux mint 21.3 (LM21.3) and I also use Thunderbird

When installing software, I usually use flatpaks simply because they include all the necessary dependencies. Their downloads are slightly bigger, but they operate flawlessly.

However, in the case of Thunderbird, I did not use the flatpak. I have no idea why I didn't, or probably it was the non flatpak version that came installed when I upgraded to LM21.3.

I can vouch for the one that is already installed. Updates come via the update manager. No problems whatsoever.

If on the other hand, you want to go with the flatpak, I am equally sure you will have zero problems. Updates occur in the same way.

If you click on menu...type in Thunderbird....right click on thunderbird and select 'add to panel'...it will place the t'bird icon in the panel for you....so to open t;bird in the future it just takes a single click on that icon.

WHich email provider are you using?....you will need your password for your email account to set t'bird up

T'bird will usually find your email details on the pc if it has been installed on it prior to now.

If you need a hand....just call out.

Just a heads up....antivirus and/or anti malware etc etc is not necessary in Linux Mint.
 
Just a heads up - if the OP wishes to install the flatpak, he should first uninstall the already installed version.

Cheers

Wiz
 
Condobloke said:
G'day John, Welcome to Linux.org

I use Linux mint 21.3 (LM21.3) and I also use Thunderbird

When installing software, I usually use flatpaks simply because they include all the necessary dependencies. Their downloads are slightly bigger, but they operate flawlessly.

However, in the case of Thunderbird, I did not use the flatpak. I have no idea why I didn't, or probably it was the non flatpak version that came installed when I upgraded to LM21.3.

I can vouch for the one that is already installed. Updates come via the update manager. No problems whatsoever.

If on the other hand, you want to go with the flatpak, I am equally sure you will have zero problems. Updates occur in the same way.

If you click on menu...type in Thunderbird....right click on thunderbird and select 'add to panel'...it will place the t'bird icon in the panel for you....so to open t;bird in the future it just takes a single click on that icon.

WHich email provider are you using?....you will need your password for your email account to set t'bird up

T'bird will usually find your email details on the pc if it has been installed on it prior to now.

If you need a hand....just call out.

Just a heads up....antivirus and/or anti malware etc etc is not necessary in Linux Mint.
Click to expand...
Many thanks Condobloke. OK. I am using Bigpond and have installed it in windows Outlook and also Thunderbird so the installation bit should be OK for me. Good to know about antivirus/anti malware. The other thing that I want to do is to image Minty and grub. I am familiar with Windows Restore and I use Acronis True Image. So I am thinking Timeshift for my files and Foxclone for Minty image. Should I open another post to get opinions on these two?
 
Crikey, another bloody Aussie?

Welcome aboard the HMAS linux.org . lol.

When you are finished your business here, you should swing over to Member Introductions and tell us a little of the JohnJ story.

Mention you're an Aussie, maybe they'll come out of the woodwork to say G'day.

Wiz
 
Onya John !!.......you are in good company here, mate
 
JohnJ said:
one that is already installed and another that asks me to install something called Thunderbird '
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forums, I would recommend you stick with the versions of applications pre-installed by the distribution compilers, they will have been tested and known to work with minimal problems..
wizardfromoz said:
Crikey, another bloody Aussie?
Click to expand...
you Antipodeans are getting everywhere...
 
We breed like cockroaches in the warm weather, Brian. But back to being on topic.

Been using Thunderbird for over 20 years now, always like it.

There, now I am on topic. ;)
 
wizardfromoz said:
Been using Thunderbird for over 20 years now,
Click to expand...
Me too, the only time I had a problem was one year on holiday in Europe [probably 15 or more years ago], only one of the Linux mail servers would work for me, and that was claws.
 
@JohnJ :-

Welcome to Linux.org!

I, too, have always used T-Bird, even back under XP before I went all-Linux in 2014. Never liked Outlook; it was untidy, and always prone to issues.....with T-Bird, it's always been plain sailing.

Along with assistance from a few others, I've developed an entire range of 'portable', self-contained applications that work very well for us here in 'Puppy' Linux (an original, Aussie-developed distro!)

For my final, annual re-install of XP in 2013, I took a totally different route. I'd recently discovered the delights of PortableApps.com, the Windows portable app website.....so instead of installing stuff as usual, I kitted-out XP with nothing BUT portable versions of everything. Unbelievably, it was the best year I'd ever had under XP.....almost totally glitch-free, because those portable apps didn't write to the Windows registry. They all had their own, self-contained mini-registry within the app itself.

Ever since moving to Linux, and finally Puppy itself, I'd been wanting to recapture that ease of operation.....where all config files and everything were 'self-contained' - not 'on the system' at all - to the point where you could even run apps from a flash drive if you wanted to.

I started off with Firefox and Pale Moon, followed rapidly by T-Bird itself. These worked so well, I got the bit between my teeth (some 5 or 6 years ago), and ever since I've been 'portabilizing' everything I can! :p

I haven't stopped yet.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​
You're probably fine sticking with the installed version. Most distros tend to go with the LTS (Long Term Support) builds where it's pre-installed, and these usually continue to receive in-situ updates for around 2 years. It tends to be the more fussy individuals who wish to avail themselves of every new release the instant it appears; by & large, T-Bird is so reliable it just keeps on working.

Most folks aren't too bothered about exactly HOW it works, so long as it does.....and continues to do so.


Mike. ;)
 
Last edited:
MikeWalsh said:
@JohnJ :-

Welcome to Linux.org!

I, too, have always used T-Bird, even back under XP before I went all-Linux in 2014. Never liked Outlook; it was untidy, and always prone to issues.....with T-Bird, it's always been plain sailing.

Along with assistance from a few others, I've developed an entire range of 'portable', self-contained applications that work very well for us here in 'Puppy' Linux (an original, Aussie-developed distro!)

For my final, annual re-install of XP in 2013, I took a totally different route. I'd recently discovered the delights of PortableApps.com, the Windows portable app website.....so instead of installing stuff as usual, I kitted-out XP with nothing BUT portable versions of everything. Unbelievably, it was the best year I'd ever had under XP.....almost totally glitch-free, because those portable apps didn't write to the Windows registry. They all had their own, self-contained mini-registry within the app itself.

Ever since moving to Linux, and finally Puppy itself, I'd been wanting to recapture that ease of operation.....where all config files and everything were 'self-contained' - not 'on the system' at all - to the point where you could even run apps from a flash drive if you wanted to.

I started off with Firefox and Pale Moon, followed rapidly by T-Bird itself. These worked so well, I got the bit between my teeth (some 5 or 6 years ago), and ever since I've been 'portabilizing' everything I can! :p

I haven't stopped yet.....


Mike. ;)
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike. Interesting stuff. I am just starting out on my Linux journey and I am pretty impressed with how it's going. Cheers John
 
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