A newer version of desktop mail client Geary is now available to install on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.
Until now Precise users have been been stuck using an older version from the 0.3 series. The most recent release for non-LTS users is version 0.4.3.
The backport is the direct result of a $600 “bounty” being offered to the person willing and able to successfully backport the app to 12.04.
That incentive proved successful. Writing on his blog, Yorba’s Jim Nelson announced the winner as Tom Beckmann. Beckmann “put in a lot of hours and considerable blood, sweat, and tears to port Geary back to 12.04,” says Jim, confirming that he wins the $600 reward for his effort.
The backport doesn’t come with any form of official endorsement, says Jim. It’s not officially supported by Yorba, the non-profit behind the application, and any future updates, bug fixes or stability patches will need to come from the community.
Even so the backport is a big upgrade adding in a number of new features, much needed stability improvements and performance fixes. Precise users choosing to upgrade will benefit from the following:
- New Symbolic Icon layout
- Messaging Menu integration
- Full-Text Search
- Draft e-mail auto-saving
- Security Tool
- Per-folder Unread Count
Upgrade Geary in Ubuntu 12.04
To upgrade Geary on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS you will need to add the following PPA. First open up a Terminal window using the Unity Dash, then enter the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tombeckmann/geary
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install geary
After installation simply open the Unity Dash to search for and launch ‘Geary’.