The Release Notes state that only WS 2003 is supported, but I don't know if the notes are obsolete and in fact WS 2012 is compatible, or it isn't compatible, or if there's some way to make it partially compatible.

Can the techies at Mozilla, jump in, and determine if Thunderbird email client will be compatible to Windows Server 2012 O/S?

Thanks,

Basically out of the box nothing that accesses the internet and is not "server" software will be all that easy to install on Server 2012. It's security profile is set as a server and as such simply navigating internet explorer to www.google.com will see all sorts of error messages and security warnings.

Fundamentally "under the skin" there is no difference between the operating system in server 2012 and in windows 8, except a registry Key. Just as 2003 is XP and 2008 is Vista and 2011 is Windows 7.

What this means is that software designed to run on the desktop version will run (subject to the changed role) on the server. The architecture is the same. What is fundamentally different is that a server version is optimized for different things and in this case is not a good candidate for a desktop operating system. Such things as a server has no reason to initiate connections on Ports 110 or 587, it instead expects to receive connections. So default firewall rules most likely state just that so an email program trying to get mail will not work without the firewall being adjusted first. Conversely desktop operating systems could have exactly the reverse entry. The connect to servers on those ports to get mail.

In much the same way as a church can be lived in but does not make a good home unless radically customized, Server operating systems are not a good choice for a desktop use as similar levels of customization are required for it to be comfortable in the new role.