Use Thunderbird and Google for your home groupware solution
Just got done setting up Thunderbird, haven’t used the app or gone extension hunting for it in quite some time. Seems to have come a long way. Anyways stumbled across a couple of things that makes it truly integrate with Google. With a couple of plugins we can setup Thunderbird’s mail and calendar function for bi-directional syncing with google, as well as integrating Gtalk into Thunderbird itself.
First I will assume you already have a gmail account, a google calendar account, and that you use Gtalk to communicate via instant message. Lets get thunderbird setup first for Gmail.
Mail - Setup Gmail in Gmail’s settings to use IMAP. (and set Google mail to not delete messages after their downloaded on their site) The setup in thunderbird is pretty straight forward as it already gives you a gmail option. You no longer have to setup gmail’s ports. Once this is done you can install the following plugins.
Calendar - First Add Lightning: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/
This will add Calendar functionality to Thunderbird.
Second, use Provider for Google Calendar: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/4631
This will allow bi-directional syncing with your Google Calendar. You will have to create a new calendar in Lightning and make it a Network calender. Select Google Calendar as the Format, and give the location address for the calendar off of Google’s calendar settings.
Messaging with Gtalk
Install: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/3632
and: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/3633
The first is the base for the second one, and this integrate Gtalk messenger into Thunderbird itself. And there you go. Thunderbird is now setup with all things google.
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Tags: gcal, gmail, groupware, gtalk, thunderbird
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