Spicebird Beta 0.4 Released!
We are happy to announce the release of the beta version of Spicebird - Synovel's free and open source collaboration suite. It simplifies communication for users by providing integrated access to the various tools of collaboration, like email, calendaring and instant messaging, in a single application. It provides easy access to various web services while retaining all the advantages of a desktop application.
The application is built on top of mozilla Thunderbird, Sunbird, Xmpp4moz and adds more features and integration. The extensibility of the mozilla platform makes adding new tools and customization of the suite easy. Spicebird has a long road ahead to become a comprehensive communications suite. We seek contributions from the community towards acheiving this in the form of ideas, suggestions, bug reports and source code.
In the current version of Spicebird (Beta 0.4), users can:
- Access email from their service provider using POP/IMAP protocols
- Manage schedule using calendar and tasks applications
- Subscribe to others' public calendars
- Read news/blogs using RSS subscriptions
- Manage contacts
- Chat with friends by using their gtalk or other Jabber accounts
Comments
Spricebird
This is the BEST program ever!
It's got everything rolled into one application, RSS Feeds, Calendar, Time, Emails, Tasks, etc.
It's the most convenient program I have found so far.
Great job on this marvelous piece of software, and I'll be sure to spread the word.
Again awesome job and keep up the great work.
Spicebird Add-ons
A new section was created at Add-ons Mirror (AMI) for Spicebird extensions.
http://forum.addonsmirror.net
If you have written an extension for Spicebird or ported one from Thunderbird, Sunbird, or SeaMonkey to Spicebird, feel free to post it there.
We also have a tutorial section where you can post instructions how to port a Thunderbird, Sunbird, or SeaMonkey add-on to Spicebird.
importing e-mail
I am running XP with outlook express and would like to switch to Spicebird but am having trouble importing my mail from outlook express. My address book imported fine but mail and settings refuse to work. the process starts and the progress bar shows up but only for a second or so than the box goes blank and stops responding. I like the program but would like to get my email transfered over. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Awesome
This is a very good idea of a program. I really can't wait until the exchange plugin comes to be, so I can get rid of outlook at work.
Thanks for the hard work synovel and community!
Awsome - most definitely!
I use thunderbird, sunbird. Can't wait to have spicebird taking over.
Just tested this little trick:
Copy the ".mozilla-thunderbird", rename it to ".spicebird" start spicebird and all my mail accounts were there, and a filled contacts list etc.
Did the same with sunbird and had my calendars there.
Of course, didn't have both at the same time. But it shows how easy it should be to import mail accounts, calendars.
Spicebird is what I've been waiting for for years.
I have all mozilla software
I have all mozilla software installed and do not file the file "mozilla-thunderbird" you speak of.
rename mozilla-thunderbird
Your suggestion sounds great, but I'm having difficulty duplicating it. Can you be a little more specific? I've been using Thunderbird for about a year now and would love to have everything in Spicebird. OS WinXP Pro - TIA
This program rocks! Great
This program rocks!
Great GUI with the tabs.
Can't wait for a new release.
I have been using Spicebird
I have been using Spicebird now for a little over a week and this is what I think about it. I know that Spicebird is still in beta, but here are some things that I noticed did not work well. The IM client that works along side Googletalk does not show some of my contacts as online, when in fact they are online.
the best email client ever
Great work!
I'm curious about the next version!
So stay tuned!
Best regards iflow, Austria
Moving discussions
LOVE the fact that you have threaded discussions, and that I can choose to open the whole thread or collapse it to save space.
I just created a folder and wanted to move a lengthy discussion to that folder - and I discovered I have to move each email individually. That's great - very flexible. However, can you add an option (maybe on the right click menu) to move the entire discussion without having to move each email individually?
Thanks much - wonderful application! Using it more each day.
Nice app!
Downloaded spicebird the other day and am giving it a whirl. Very nice, clean interface, lots of potential.
I use airset.com to manage all my calendars and contacts - it synchronizes with Outlook, and can push my data to my cell phone (it will sync with some models, but not my Treo)...which is avery, very handy. But - it's contact management and list functionality leave a great deal to be desired. It's a very powerful, but 'clunky' if you will.
Now, if there's a way to share data back and forth....eh? I can import an iCal file to airset, so that's one way - but how about contacts? Will an export function be coming?
Or - will spicebird's data be portable at some point?
Waiting anxiously for the more robust project management/contact features.
Again, great app. Loving it so far.
Agenda Applet - bug?
Not another complement - but a functionality issue....
When I use the Agenda Applet on the home page, I don't get consistent results with displaying "to do's". Sometimes they show...sometimes they don't.
When I move the applet around...sometimes they stay, sometimes they don't.
Am I correct to assume this is a bug and it will be more stable in the near future?
I also wanted to complement
I also wanted to complement you on the ease with which I could set up my gmail account with Spicebird. Took me less than 5 minutes to get it all up and running.
And - I set up a separate user (instance? partition?) for my husband. He needs a central place to manage all of his contacts, but never had the patience to use Outlook, etc. This might just do the trick for him....
Awesome!!!
Congratulations on an app that already looks like it will be kicking some behind in the market. For a beta 0.4 version, Spicebird looks fantastic and works well.
I'm looking forward to all the upcoming changes and upgrades that you're working on.
If Spicebird can handle MS Outlook meeting requests very easily (i.e without requiring additional extensions and requiring you to double-click on the meeting request and then accept it), I'm moving my staff onto Spicebird the moment you launch the final public version.
PS: Get the IM client to work with/replace MSN Messenger and you will win over even more users.
Regards,
Arie.
Import-export from thunderbird
Now spicebird has import/export only from outlook/express and eudora.
The first thing required in spicebird is import/export from my thunderbird client.
Import from Thunderbird
It is very simple to import data from TB into your Spicebird. Just copy the files with your contacts and e-mails from the TB's profile into the Spicebird's profile.
Transfer Thunderbird mail and Calendar
Still drawing a blank on mail & Calendar transfer
I tried both solutions copying data from Thunderbird to Spicebird and renaming files but I cannot get Spicebird to display mail. The mail file is checking for new mail and downloading new mail. All Account Settings are correct.
Although the home page will display the up-to-date inbox the "Mail, News" tab is totally blank.
Any ideas? Or have I got to wait for 0.7 before I can start using this excellent program.
Additionally, has anyone found a site offering add-ons for Spicebird?
improved address book needed
looking great so far. i'm expecting a lot of the next releases!
but spicebird will never be an outlook-replacement unless it gets a better address book. just my opinion.
greetings
mirko
If it's based on Thunderbird
If it's based on Thunderbird code base. Please say so prominently.
Credits
Sorry, that was not intended. We do promimently mention Thunderbird in release notes, release announcement and also the video. The post seems to have got cropped after the first paragraph, will make the entire post visible on the homepage.
We tried to make sure we gave enough credits to Thunderbird, Sunbird and XMPP4Moz.
Thanks for pointing it out.
EULA
Spicebird EULA still says Mozilla Thunderbird.
http://www.spicebird.com/en-US/spicebird-EULA
The accompanying executable code version of Synovel Spicebird Desktop Client, related documentation and extensions (the "Product") is made available to you under the terms of this SYNOVEL SPICEBIRD DESKTOP CLIENT END-USER SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT (THE "AGREEMENT"). BY CLICKING THE "ACCEPT" BUTTON, OR BY INSTALLING OR USING THE SYNOVEL SPICEBIRD DESKTOP CLIENT, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT CLICK THE "ACCEPT" BUTTON, AND DO NOT INSTALL OR USE ANY PART OF THE SYNOVEL SPICEBIRD DESKTOP CLIENT.
DURING THE MOZILLA THUNDERBIRD INSTALLATION PROCESS, AND AT LATER TIMES, YOU MAY BE GIVEN THE OPTION OF INSTALLING ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS FROM THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE PROVIDERS. THE INSTALLATION AND USE OF THOSE THIRD-PARTY COMPONENTS MAY BE GOVERNED BY ADDITIONAL LICENSE AGREEMENTS.
Fixed it now
Thanks, fixed that :)
we did take that from Thunderbird too - the bottom of the EULA gives the credit.
ressource hog?
Hello, it is indeed a TBird spinoff, looking at resources used on PC. TBird combined with Lightning also is a hog. Can Spicebird in future development be slimmed down on the RAM resources usage? Brgds Mack
Its stunning
This is where Mozilla is moving towards. And I definitely expect some upstream fixes to Mozilla mail and calender code. And providing Exchange connector will make it enterprise ready. And this is where its really must-have for enterprises. All other existing solutions like evolution are almost dead.
Just sideline...How about working with MailCo and make it Big...:) Really big.
BEWARE OUTLOOK...YOU ARE DEAD
Looks great so far.. make it easy
How about a easy port from Thunderbird.. settings, folders etc...
Please Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
This is obviously a Thunderbird port. Please give credit to Thunderbird, Mozilla, and the great programmers who wrote them.
You say that this is an open source product, but where is the source? Why are you violating GPL by distributing the executable only?
Free software is not about taking other people's code and pretending that it's yours. It is about sharing your code with others. If you want to be taken seriously, please respect free software principles.
Here is the source code
http://www.spicebird.com/en-US/get-source
.deb & import
i would like to have .deb!!!
now the program is installed on my pc, but i'm not able to import mails and account setting from swiftdove, but it's look very usefull.
Debian/Ubuntu packages are on the way
I am in the process of packaging the necessary deb packages.For now you can use spicebird by extracting it and double clicking the spicebird file :)
Re: .deb
Hi,
just download the compressed archive for linux computers, extract it to your harddrive ("/home/your-username/software" perhaps) and run Spicebird by double-clicking the file "spicebird" allowing it to be run in the following dialog.
That's it. No .deb needed at all.
Keep going!
just downloaded and will install. Screenshot of Summary view looks incredible...
Hope you keep it free!
Thanks,
brgds Mack
Kudos! to the Synovel team ....
Great work! Spicebird is now available for download!
Keep up good work....
Let Outlook become obsolete!
Best of Luck to Spicebird....
Mandrake
Portable Spicebird
If someone would test it portabel on Windows:
http://stadt-bremerhaven.de/2008/01/14/portable-spicebird-04-englisch/
OS X?
When do you expect to add OS X to your supported platforms?
Al Billings
Yes!
We do plan to add a spicebird build for OSX in the next versions.
Prasad
Finally!
I've been using OpenOffice.org for a few years now because I refuse to pay Microsoft's rediculous prices for MS Office. The only problem is, no one, until now, has managed to make an all inclusive open source program that competes directly with Outlook. So far 0.4 has some obvious bugs and issues, but I'm looking forward to the succeeding versions. THANKS!!!
James
Fayetteville, NC USA
Spicebird
Spicebird
that's not entirely true...
Here's three that fit the bill - 1 natively, and one with add ons, the other, well - we'll see what Mozilla does with it.
Definitely looking forward to what this has to offer... so much potential...
Admin
Consilium IT / Winopso
(site isn't finished, but this was easier than linking 3 locations)
now Eudora is thunderbird
now Eudora is thunderbird based too (penelope extension, which is mostly only changes on the interface), making those three, really two... (BTW, it was not acquired by mozilla, it's only TB based)
Evolution doesn't really "fit the bill" (at least for me) and thunderbird (plus lighting) have yet work to do...
spicebird is built upon TB+lighting but the new offerings are really interesting and I hope to see more progress on it too!... maybe it can become the PIM Sun have been looking for OOo all along :P...
All the Best !!!
Keep Going Guys ...
Looking forward to see more like Mobile & WIFI Support...
Greetings,
Uday Kishore
Gmail POP & Spicebird within IIIT?
Hi,
I tried running this within IIIT to access my gmail account, but the connection is getting timed out. Not sure whether the issue is with POP access in IIIT intranet or proxy settings in spicebird.
Regards,
Phani
Gmail POP & Spicebird within IIIT?
Going by what I knew about earlier setup in IIIT, IIIT does not allow nating POP or IMAP to outside. Hence you can't configure any mail client. If you believe that IIIT allows it, please see the Gmail help page on configuring IMAP/POP access in Thunderbird (which is the same in Spicebird). Gmail POP and IMAP works just fine in Spicebird.