Thunderbird 78.2 - ETA ?

[karlchen]

Hi, ~FLOW~. Hi, folks.

Linux Mint 20.x:

when ?

Seems that I was wrong in telling that Ubuntu 20.04 and therefore Mint 20 as well would receive anything newer than Thunderbird 68.10 from the official Ubuntu software repositories.
My incorrect conclusion had been based upon the PPA for Ubuntu Mozilla Security Team . For many years, the Firefox and Thunderbird candidates, which were about to be deployed through the normal repos, could be found here, before they reached the normal repos.
This PPA holds Thunderbird 78.4.2 for Ubuntu 20.04. So I had incorrectly assumed it were going to reach the normal repos as well. This, however, does not seem to happen. The Ubuntu 20.04 repos still offer Thunderbird 68.10.
I will correct my post above accordingly. - Sorry for my foolish mistake.

Karl

[khaki45]

Thanks karlchen,

adding that ppa finally allowed me to update thunderbird.

[zakko]

Could anyone explain whether this version will make it into the "regular" Ubuntu/Mint repositories (which currently still hold version 1:68.10.0+build1-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) and if so, when (i.e. what's the mechanism, that's going on behind the scenes).

Or maybe even, why this won't ever land in the "regular" repos... just be able to evaluate the options. Thanks in advance!

[karlchen]

Hello, zakko.

You may or may not understand why I dare not make a forecast on what is going to happen.
I admit that I have not managed to find an official Canonical/Ubuntu announcement telling
+ whether Ubuntu has really stopped making recent Thunderbird versions available as .deb installation packages
+ what the official recommendation to Thunderbird users is, who want to keep their Thunderbird up-to-date

Karl

[zakko]

I also found this bug being "In Progress" since end of Oct. It talks about "...backporting to stable Ubuntu releases...". Is this going to bring the version into the "regular" Ubuntu/MInt repos or is it "just" referring to the version that's delivered via ppa since Nov 10th?

As the bug is still "In Progress", there may be some hope left...

[Welcome]

Olivier Tilloy (osomon) wrote on 2020-09-24:

Thanks Timo for test-building thunderbird 78 for bionic and focal.
Given that 78 is a major new version, I was waiting for the dust to settle before backporting. Now that 78.3.0 is out, it seems to time is right to work on this.

Code: Select all

Changed in thunderbird (Ubuntu):
assignee: 	nobody → Olivier Tilloy (osomon)
status: 	New → Confirmed

Fernando (fmuro) wrote on 2020-10-26:

GContactSync, which is the only working extension recommended by Thunderbird to sync Google contacts (https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/th ... -and-gmail), doesn't work yet in version 78 (https://github.com/jdgeenen/gcontactsync/issues/163). An upgrade to 78 may lead to unexpected breakage for many.

Sebastien Bacher (seb128) on 2020-10-27

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Changed in thunderbird (Ubuntu):
status: 	Confirmed → In Progress 

Now, take a look at the list of bugs being worked on by Olivier Tilloy, and find where the Thunderbird bugs are listed in all bugs by priority:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/%7Eosomon/+b ... &start=225

When I looked, the above page was where I found some Thunderbird bugs. Note that this page STARTS at priority bug 225, and some Thunderbird bugs are listed about half way down.

This may or may not mean anything, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for a Thunderbird release. Plus, I notice "#1898203 snap requires manual connection for printing" is the highest priority bug on this list. In that bug report, I see the following:

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Sebastien Bacher (seb128) on 2020-10-02
summary: 	- Thunderbird 78.3.1 snap does not show any printer
+ Thunderbird 78.3.1 snap requires manual connection for printing
Changed in thunderbird (Ubuntu):
status: 	New → Confirmed
importance: 	Undecided → High
summary: 	- Thunderbird 78.3.1 snap requires manual connection for printing
+ snap requires manual connection for printing 

So, it looks to me like Thunderbird 78.3.1 snap might have a higher priority.

Edit: snap appear to have a higher priority

[karlchen]

Hi, folks.

Note, please.:
I am using Thunderbird 78.4.3 on all my Linux Mint systems (18.1, 19.2, 19.3, no 20 here).
In fact, I switched over from 68.10 to 78.3.1 some time ago (around the middle of October).
The only extension, which I had used in Thunderbird 68.10, had been Lightning. Lightning comes pre-installed with Thunderbird 78.x.

The only challenge, which I faced and solved, when upgrading from Thunderbird 68.10 to 78.3.1, was:
Thunderbird 78.3.1 created an empty new profile.
It was necessary to point it to the old 68.10 user profile and make that the default profile.
After the next Thunderbird startup, it was possible to remove the newly created empty user profile.
Thunderbird 78.3.1 used the (silently upgraded) 68.10 user profile. My calendar worked as before.

Users of other extensions, however, have to check whether their specific extensions are available for Thunderbird 78.x still.
Some users reported that they had to uninstall the old 68.10 extension and (re)install the 78.x compatible version of their extension.
Some old extensions may no longer be available for Thunderbird 78.x at all. In such a case you will have to decide whether you really need it and ,provided you do, find an alternative, which supports Thunderbird 78.x.

Added 10-Feb-2021: link to a step by step instruction on how to make TB 78.x accept and use the 68.10 or 68.12 profile: > step by step <

Karl

[Welcome]

Thanks Karl.

All - I've been reviewing the changes in the various Thunderbird releases, and I see some security fixes along with many other changes. For those Linux Mint users who want to upgrade, what do you recommend? Which method should I use when I need to tell my grandmother over the phone how to upgrade her version of Thunderbird?

[*]Linux Mint 20.x, 19.x and 18.x:
It seems as if Ubuntu has never made available in their official software repos anything newer than Thunderbird 68.10.0.
Linux Mint 20.x, 19.x and 18.x users, who wish to switch to Thunderbird 78.x (most recent version 78.4.3 at the time of writing this),
have got the following choices:

1. install it as a snap package (Canonical snap store) ... Thunderbird
2. install it as a flatpak package (Flathub) ... Thunderbird
3. install it as an AppImage (AppImageHub) ... Thunderbird
4. install it from the .tar.bz2 file (Thunderbird download server) ... Thunderbird
5. install it as a .deb file through the external Ubuntuzilla repo ... Thunderbird
   (Hope mentioning so will not result in an overload on the Ubuntuzilla repo server.)

I think the best solution should be simple and easy, and updates automatic.

Edit: I've tried snap and flathub, looked at .tar.bz2 and a .deb file from Debian. I don't like snap, I don't like flathub, and .tar.bz2 or a single .deb isn't useful for automatic updates. Ubuntuzilla scares me since I can't find source code to review and the author also wrote a keylogger, "It is primarily designed for backup purposes, but can be used as a stealth keylogger." I would not use the Ubuntu Mozilla Security ppa "Unless you are testing updates, you should NOT install packages from this PPA".

[Welcome]

There is another option. It is to use Debian for Thunderbird. Using the method provided by Clem and friends for Chromium, and a few select edits, I was successful in updating Thunderbird from Debian. I don't know how often it'll be updated, so that might be a concern. Also, PLEASE research, read and be aware of the significant changes in the latest Thunderbird release. I found that it reset a number of my custom Thunderbird settings. Please use caution.

Also note I'm using Linux Mint 20, and hence Buster. IMPORTANT! Research your correct Debian version to ensure you can use this! You may need to use a different Debian version!

Finally, make a backup of your Thunderbird profile(s) before upgrading! If you decide you want to revert back to an older Thunderbird, you'll need this backup.

APT Pinning
===========

APT pinning consists in pointing to repositories which are not designed for Linux Mint but with APT preferences which restrict the usage of these repositories to Thunderbird only and nothing else.

Debian Buster
-------------

As root, add the following to `/etc/apt/sources.list.d/pinned-debian-thunderbird.list`

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deb https://deb.debian.org/debian buster main
deb https://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main
deb http://security.debian.org/ buster/updates main

And the following to `/etc/apt/preferences.d/pinned-debian-thunderbird.pref`

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# Don't install anything other than thunderbird and related libs from the Debian repos
Package: *
Pin: origin "deb.debian.org"
Pin-Priority: -10

# Don't install anything other than thunderbird from the Debian repos
Package: *
Pin: origin "deb.debian.org"
Pin-Priority: -10

# Don't install anything other than thunderbird from the Debian repos
Package: *
Pin: origin "security.debian.org"
Pin-Priority: -10

# Pattern includes 'thunderbird'
Package: thunderbird*
Pin: origin "deb.debian.org"
Pin-Priority: 700

# Pattern includes 'thunderbird'
Package: thunderbird*
Pin: origin "security.debian.org"
Pin-Priority: 700

# thunderbird dependencies only in buster
Package: /libevent-2.1-6/ /libbotan-2-9/ /libffi6/ /libjson-c3/ /libtspi1/
Pin: origin "deb.debian.org"
Pin-Priority: 1

# thunderbird dependencies only in buster
Package: /libevent-2.1-6/ /libbotan-2-9/ /libffi6/ /libjson-c3/ /libtspi1/
Pin: origin "security.debian.org"
Pin-Priority: 1

Then run the following commands:

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sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkps://keyserver.ubuntu.com:443 --recv-keys DCC9EFBF77E11517
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkps://keyserver.ubuntu.com:443 --recv-keys 648ACFD622F3D138
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkps://keyserver.ubuntu.com:443 --recv-keys 112695A0E562B32A
apt update
apt remove --purge thunderbird
apt install thunderbird

Proof that it works:


Edit: Improved preferences

[Edgeman]

Just updated to Mint 20, and looking forward to using Thunderbird.

Anyone have a guess when this will be available?

[antikythera]

Just updated to Mint 20, and looking forward to using Thunderbird.

Anyone have a guess when this will be available?

When Ubuntu get their backsides in gear, even Debian has had the latest build for months.

[Edgeman]

Thanks!

[SMG]

Thunderbird 78 has arrived in Update Manager. Woohoo!

I just updated to Version 78.7.1 and I was able to receive mail. Now off to check all my settings options to see what's new and what I might want to tweak.

[Welcome]

If anyone needs instructions on how to undo Thunderbird Apt pinning, below are the steps I've taken:

Back up your .thunderbird directory (in your home directory), just in case.

Open a terminal, and execute these lines one-by-one:

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sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pinned-debian-thunderbird.list
sudo rm /etc/apt/preferences.d/pinned-debian-thunderbird.pref
apt update
apt remove --purge thunderbird
apt install thunderbird

Enjoy!

[karlchen]

Telling from the PPA for Ubuntu Mozilla Security Team Canonical seem to make available as .deb packages Thunderbird 78.7.1 only on Ubuntu 20.04 and 20.10.
The older releases seem to be stuck on Thunderbird 68.12.0 still.

For Ubuntu based Linux Mint editions, this means:
+ Thunderbird 78.7.1 through the normal repos only for Mint 20.x
+ Mint 19.x and 18.x stuck with Thunderbird 68.12.0

Or have I missed something?

[SMG]

The last time I checked, I thought I saw that TB78 was being worked on for both focal and bionic, but focal was closer to being done at that time. They may have decided to release them as they became available?

[HoskaPamma]

As a fairly new linux and Mint user, I'm not that well informed about this stuff. So, in order to always have the latest stable Thunderbird, I should use other means than depending on the official repo (I notice that it was just recently updated (EDIT: but not to the latest 78.8.0) but I also see that there was a long time without updates).

What are the differences of these two PPA's? Are these both safe to use?

https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-mozilla-s ... ubuntu/ppa

https://launchpad.net/~mozillateam/+archive/ubuntu/ppa

I haven't seen that last mentioned here.

[ajgreeny]

I do not know if this may have changed by the time we all get TB-78 but when I checked last time the calendar (lightning) needed more work to first export any lightning calendars you used and then import them into the new version.

Lightning is integrated into TB in version 78, it's not an extension as it is in TB-68 and whilst it is certainly possible to get it running, it just took more work to do so; maybe it's now all changed and no extra steps are needed.

EDIT:
I have just updated my systems, having noted that TB is now version 78 and can now tell you that the calendar utilities in TB are not a problem with the update to TB-78.
The three packages that were needed in previous versions of TB to have the lightning calendar are now replaced with transitional packages, and as a test I left them to be updated with all the rest, but then having checked TB and the calendar still worked, I uninstalled the transitional packages, rebooted to check all still worked properly, and I can confirm that all is still working as it should.