Tired of having to update Lightning every six-weeks (especially those of us who are using the Beta and/or Earlybird/Aurora builds of Thunderbird) when the channel merge hits? EarlyLight is the solution. EarlyLight is developed by rkent and is an unofficial build of Lightning that supports both Beta and Earlybird/Aurora builds of Thunderbird as well as the current release version on all operating systems. No more having to download a different version of Lightning for each Thunderbird channel. Note: EarlyLight currently does NOT support Daily Thunderbird Builds.
Before you install EarlyLight, a couple things to keep in mind:
- If you are using Google Calendar(s) you must update your version of Provider for Google Calendar add-on to version 0.16pre or newer. An updated version of the Provider for Google Calendar add-on can be obtained here. Choose your OS and then download the file: gdata-provider.xpi. Once downloaded open your downloads folder and drag the file into your Thunderbird add-ons manager (alternatively you can go into the Add-ons Manager, click the gear and select Install Add-on From File…).
- The developer has warned “EarlyLight uses the same extension ID as Lightning, and so it really claims to be Lightning in Thunderbird. It should also update to Lightning 1.7 from the official site once that is released. Duplicating the ID like this will be disallowed at some point in the future, but for now it makes this a little easier to use.”
- Because of number #2 DO NOT disable Lightning prior to installing EarlyLight. If you do disable Lightning, Earlylight will install but be disabled upon restart, requiring you to enable the add-on which then requires a restart of Thunderbird.
More information about EarlyLight and download can be found at MesQuilla.
