Migrating to Thunderbird 3.0

When working with Linux, one is often faced with an interesting dilemma. Do you use the "package" versions of applications that come with your distribution, or do you opt for the cutting edge approach, working with more updated versions direct from the app developer? Usually I just go with a package, because the "apt-get" command is just too easy.

I've used Mozilla Thunderbird for years, and it's an application where I like to see the bleeding-edge capabilities. The package version of Thunderbird for Ubuntu (Karmic) is 2.x, and the most recent is 3.x.

My approach was going to be to find a utility that would export my profile from 2.x and import it into 3.x, but it turns out that 3.x already handles that. While googling for an export utility, however, I came across a quick HOWTO from Russell Mickler that walks through using Ubuntuzilla. The process went great and now I'm using the tabbed layout and "smart folders" of Thunderbird 3.x.

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