OStatic

We've been following the beta releases of Mozilla's e-mail application Thunderbird 3 pretty closely over the last few months. It's a terrific free, cross-platform, open source alternative to the native e-mail apps that come bundled with Windows and Mac OS X. Thunderbird 3 also integrates nicely with Gmail, making it a great option for people who want to stick with their Web-based email but want the additional features of a desktop email app.

Mozilla released Thunderbird 3 Beta 4 this week, and it sports more than 200 changes over the past beta release, including new search tools, tabbed email messages, and better IMAP folder synchronization. I've been playing around with the new beta version for a couple of days now and I like what I've seen so far.

Even though Web-based email in enterprise is touted as the next best thing since sliced bread, it's definitely not right for all companies. There's an inherent risk in moving all your email to the cloud -- data loss and security issues rank at the top of the list -- so many businesses tend to stick with expensive commercial email software management software like Microsoft Exchange.

Unfortunately, the interface of Web-based email tends to have a certain charm that's hard to overlook. Threaded conversations, advanced search options, and all sorts of other things make services like Gmail seem very attractive.

Linux-based email management hardware appliance and software vendor AtMail released a new version of its flagship product, AtMail 6.0, that aims to blend the best features of Web mail with the security of in-house email.

Open source mobile messaging vendor Funambol plans to add micro-banner ads to its online portal myFUNAMBOL. Calling the ads prominent yet non-intrusive, Funambol representatives say the new advertisements will display in several areas of the email client, including the inbox and message viewing screens. Company CEO Fabrizio Capobianco, says the move will unleash a major revenue opportunity for service providers, portals and mobile operators. What's in it for myFUNAMBOL customers? Plenty.