Archive for October, 2007
IMAP + Gmail = Yay
As you may have read on Digg and many other news sources, Google recently enabled IMAP support for their “Gmail” e-mail platform, a feature which I’ve been waiting a long time for. In fact, lack of IMAP support was the only thing keeping me from using the much hyped Gmail service for the last couple of years. It’s common knowledge that Gmail’s anti-spam engine is top notch, and I knew that their mail servers would perform much better than my current hosting provider’s (Powweb) would too…
So what is IMAP, and what’s the big deal about it? IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is one of several protocols that e-mail clients such as Microsoft’s Outlook >vomit< and Mozilla’s Thunderbird can use to transfer your e-mail. It differs from the most commonly used mail protocol, POP3, in that it leaves messages on the server rather than downloading them to your PC’s hard drive. It’s because of that feature that I’ve forsaken POP3 and used IMAP for the last half decade. You see, with IMAP I am able to set up e-mail on my laptop, desktop, and my PDA phone, all while keeping one unified inbox that they all share seamlessly. Basically, no matter which device I use to check my e-mail, I’ll always be presented with the same inbox and the same messages. That’s pretty nifty if you check your e-mail on more than one machine! Even if you only have one PC that you use to check your e-mail, IMAP can still be an attractive alternative to POP3 and downloading all your messages to your machine. Think about it; if you’re no longer downloading e-mail, then there’s nothing that can be lost if your PC explodes or is taken hostage by a virus (yes, I’m talking to YOU, Windows users!). Should you experience a catastrophic event and have to reformat your PC, all your e-mail will be a hop, skip, and an IMAP away.
As I mentioned above, I’ve been waiting for this feature for a long time. Now that Google has finally rolled out IMAP support, I’ve taken the plunge and gone so far as to move all my “tatethatcher.com” e-mail addresses over to the Gmail servers. Nothing will change for anyone that e-mails me (all my old e-mail accounts are still valid), but on my side it’ll take a little getting used to the new webmail interface and folder layout. Even though Gmail has many features that my old e-mail host doesn’t, the main reason I switched is because Google’s server performance is stellar in comparison to Powweb’s (I really need to get around to writing an article about Powweb one of these days).
For anyone interested, here is an excellent tutorial that will walk you step by step through setting up IMAP in Mozilla Thunderbird.
Happy IMAP’ing!
The Mounds
Last weekend I had the distinct pleasure of putting my FJ Cruiser, “The Penguin” (as she’s been officially dubbed), through the paces at The Mounds off-road vehicle park in Genesee Michigan. Though I have done some minor off-road stuff in the past, the trip to The Mounds was by far the most grueling. My friend Kris has been a 4×4 enthusiast for quite a while and was kind enough to take me under his wing; he taught me many new tricks and even towed me out (twice!) when I got my rig stuck in deep mud. Aside from those couple times when I needed a little traction assistance from Kris, the trip was very enjoyable and I can’t wait to go again. This time I was running street tires which have very poor off road performance — next time I’ll be armed with the proper equipment though. I’m shopping for big, meaty mud tires like the ones Kris has fitted on his Jeep. Who knows… maybe I’ll be towing HIM out of the mud next time!
Here’s a brief little movie I threw together using some of the still photos and video that Kris and I shot:
Wanna see more? I’ve uploaded over 100 photos to my new photo gallery (which still has many bugs being worked out, but is functional for now). Enjoy!