Surprised to find out that Mozilla's Thunderbird isn't dead yet? Well, have we've got news for you.

Mozilla is just now (sort of) pulling the plug on its open-source e-mail software, TechCrunch reported today. The company is looking for feedback and plans to share a final action plan in September.

In a "confidential" message sent to "Mozillians" prior to an official announcement this coming Monday, Thunderbird Managing Director JB Piacentino said Mozilla is moving its resources away from further developing the software with hopes that Thunderbird's vocal fans will take over that responsibility.

The information was suppose to accompany a blog post from Mozilla Foundation Chair Mitchell Baker on Monday afternoon. It seems the post, which focuses on the Thunderbird's stability and community, was published today (after TechCrunch's report was published). The news release is expected to be posted here on Monday.

When contacted by CNET, a Mozilla spokesperson pointed to the Baker post as a response, but did not comment further.

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BitTorrent Torque Labs makes BitTorrent on the Web extensible.

A new way to manage your torrents puts a bit of Torque in your Web browser. Debuting today from the company that makes uTorrent and BitTorrent, the alpha version of BitTorrent Torque creates rudimentary torrent controls in JavaScript that can be run from your HTML5-compliant browser.

In a blog post announcing Torque, BitTorrent developer Patrick Williams explained that Torque works by providing a JavaScript hook to a custom BitTorrent client backend. From there, developers can write apps that use Torque's APIs.

Currently, there are two extensions for Torque. One is Paddle Over, which integrates drag and drop file transfers with social sharing, social networks, and other computers. The other is OneClick, for converting a torrent into a standard in-browser download.

Other Torque extensions previewed but not yet available that hint at what Torque's APIs can do include video streaming, file transcoding, and antivirus scanning.

While Torque is hardly fully functional now, it indicates how quickly Web apps are beginning to take off. Though mobile apps are still on the tip of everybody's tongue, the combination of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScri... [Read more]

If you somehow managed to avoid buying Angry Birds Seasons over the past 20 months, your patience has paid off.

Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Seasons HD (for iPad) are the iTunes free apps of the week. They're normally priced at 99 cents and $1.99, respectively.

Apple's "week" began yesterday (Thursday), so you've got roughly six days to take advantage of this offer.

True to its name, Angry Birds Seasons is a theme-oriented spin-off of the original game -- that theme being, well, seasons. Thus you've got level collections ranging from summer and winter to St. Patrick's Day and Halloween.

Rovio updates Seasons on a regular basis, with the game now approaching a whopping 300 levels. All the new themes and levels come fre, making for almost unparalleled bang for the buck.

In this case, bang for the click, as no money will change hands unless you make an in-game purchase. (The 99-cent Mighty Eagle, for example, can help you get past a particularly tricky level.)

It's worth noting t... [Read more]

I often write about action games in my collections, and it's no secret I'm a fan of the racing-game genre as well. But another genre I like to play while on my commute is mind-twisting puzzle games. A new game was released a few days ago that has jumped to the top of the charts at iTunes App Store and it has all the bells and whistles to remain a hit.

Though puzzle games come in a lot of different forms, one of my favorite types is those that use realistic physics. Some of the best I have come across use liquid physics and require you to experiment in order to solve each puzzle.

This week's are all games that use liquid physics. The first presents a mix of Angry Birds-like gameplay and gooey candied liquids as you attempt to save the cute marshmallow heroes. The second challenges you to divert water so a charming alligator can take a bath. The third is a sequel that has you using elements in all their forms to help a secret agent solve puzzles.

When you set off a bomb in gooey candy gelatin, what results is a delicious mess.

Coco Loco (99 cents) is an excellent puzzle game (for both iPhone and iPad) that mixes elements reminiscent of hit iOS games Angry Birds with liquid phy... [Read more]