Hi Gleason, On 7/5/2005 11:19 PM -0700, you wrote:
I don't know if you intended it, but all the lines in your messages are followed by an extra carriage return. See the block just below. I've reformatted the others.
Even if all that it can do now works as it should without glitches
etc., I'd still not be happy because of the POP legacy very slowly
being relinquished.
For the majority of people who get a few legitimate messages a week, which they delete after reading/responding, for those who are are just barely able to figure out how to turn a computer on, pop will remain the choice of most isps, I suspect.
Agreed. I'm not sure why you write this now. I was referring to how some IMAP features are implemented. They are implemented based on POP features/architecture. One example is the filtering, and another, the sound alerts. Both have their problems/limitations as a result.
I don't know the nature of your test environment, but perhaps the problem starts there.
A professional grade beta testing operation is a large overhead. Maybe that is why RIT relies so heavily on us.
Right. Many of us are beyond the stage of trying to use IMAP synchronizing all folders etc. We do form a great test bed.
I find setting synchronize to "headers only" helps with large folders. Getting a new list of folder contents is pleasantly fast. Some other email clients don't have this figured out nearly so well. Eudora, for instance, can take a half hour for the same operation over my high speed connection. Having TB default to downloading my 15,000 full message contents, many with large attachments would make a very poor impression if I were installing it for the first time. Pop is for those who are confused by options and would really rather they went away. IMAP is for those of us who need a lot more from email software and are willing to put in the time it takes to configure it correctly.
I beg to disagree with your latter point. IMAP is simply for those who wish to manage the same mail from multiple locations. There are many simple users I know who love webmail for that simple reason. They would use IMAP in a flash if they *knew* about it since the few I introduced to it immediately adopted it.
IMAP is not mysterious and tedious, making it accessible only for those with the time to put into it.
Of course it is true, that those for whom pop is right probably don't know that and sometimes do wander into imap land unawares. You have to know who your customers are, and how much you should cater to the low end of the spectrum at the expense of the high end. Everybody is not going to be pleased no matter where you draw your lines.
There are more often those who rightfully wonder into IMAP land. However, they wish IMAP to work in the same way as POP since that's all they were previously familiar with. I've been there. Full synching is one such option, especially when done automatically and at regular intervals for all folders, something that TB! can be set up to do. The idea of having full synchronisation at all times is appealing and many try it only with frustration ... *even on high bandwidth connections*.
However, not synching and using simple server count updating achieves a very good result in that you can easily browse your messages. Once you select the folder, there's a quick header update and then you can browse. [If TB! didn't have to work with all message headers , this could be even faster.] The messages are then retrieved as you select them with the connection being dedicated only to what you are specifically doing at all times. Even with 6 connections going on my LAN, TB! pauses when doing some things because it's busy doing something else.
It's amazing how well I use an IMAP client at work now, and paradoxically, I use it with no caching between sessions or even between folder browsing. Each time I open a folder, a new cache is built!! This is with a relatively slow connection. Why? IMAP is fully developed in this client. You don't need all 15000 headers in the cache to browse the last 200 messages. You don't need all 15000 headers cached to search for a message or messages .. even a quick search. etc. etc. This is where I hope to see TB! eventually go. I suspect, it will.
-- Allie Martin System specs: http://www.ac-martin.com/sysspecs.htm -=-=- Help endangered species - adopt a KGB operative.
________________________________________________________ Current beta is 3.5 Return RC/5 | 'Using TBBETA' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html IMPORTANT: To register as a Beta tester, use this link first - http://www.ritlabs.com/en/partners/testers/
