The best email client will likely get even better.
On 10/11/06, Qualcomm announced that Eudora will become an open source software program <http://www.eudora.com/press/2006/eudora-mozilla_final_10.11.06.html>:
“Eudora email moves to open source development and delivers final commercial version — Eudora 7.1 for Windows and 6.2.4 for Mac OSX. The open source version of Eudora is targeted to be released during the first half of calendar year 2007 and will be free of charge. Once the open source version of Eudora is released, QUALCOMM will cease to sell Eudora commercially. Until then, the current commercial versions are available for the reduced price of $19.95 with a six-month period of technical support. All prior technical support commitments continue to be honored.”
It’s not clear what Qualcomm’s revenue model is, but I think this is good news for what has been the best email client since it’s introduction in the early 1990s. I switched to Eudora 1.3b90 (from Fernmail) in July 1993 because Eudora offered UUCP support.
Eudora was always a great program, but it was not integrated with Microsoft’s office suite. As for their business model, my guess is that demand for the product has been declining and that it is no longer commercially viable to maintain. Rather than drop the product (and anger their customers) they release it as an open source product that will allow the product to continue. Unfortunately, it does not bode well for the future of the product…