News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

August 16, 2007

internet

IMAP IDLE rage

Posted Aug. 16, ’07, 7:54 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Internet

dotMac While a bump from 1 GB to 10 GB on .Mac goes a ways to improving the utility of the service for me (now that the email storage rivals a Gmail account), it’s still not enough to make me feel comfortable. I really love the newish web interface for the email and the way my Address Book data is synced and accessible there. I want to feel comfortable with continuing to use it as my main email address, but there is still a laundry list of things that prevent that.

At the top of that list is support for the IDLE command. This command allows email clients to drop into a mode where both the client and server stop active communication until a new message is received at the server, at which point the server tells the client. Basically, it’s push email, like all the hip kids are talking about. Mail.app may not have support built-in (hopefully soon), but there is a plug-in to make up for .

.Mac’s server continues to be the one IMAP server that I know of that still doesn’t support IDLE. Nearly every other IMAP service provider sees the immediate benefit for their users and does them a favor by adding it. It’s not a particularly new command, nor is it a particularly unstable thing to add to a server. In fact, I’d argue that forcing your users to set their clients to check every 5 minutes is far more taxing on the server than simply turning it on.

The fact that is even an issue points to a serious problem in Apple’s organization. The service has languished for far too long, pointing to inept management in that division of Apple. It’s time to clean house because the executive in charge is completely out of touch. Like we’ve come to expect from Apple at large, it’s time some fresh faces take the reins and reinvent the service.


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