Unfortunate Loss of HTTPMail...

[noahsnyc]

Hello all -

So I've been using HTTPMail for the past year or so to access my Hotmail account through Mail.app. Everything's worked swell so far, and I haven't had any reason to change.

Basically, I was using v.1.37 (I think) and all of a sudden, it stopped working, giving me an ominous "Could Not Connect To 'Hotmail - Not Implemented" error. It also gives an option to "Go Online or Stay Offline". I upgraded to v.1.40a and got the same issue. I also tried downloading v.1.37 again and that also gave me the same error. Now, I'm able to use my POP account with no issues, and I can say for sure that literally one day it worked and the next, didn't.

I've tried everything save an Archive and Install, which I was trying to avoid. I've junked the old bundles, done the whole thing manually, uninstalled and then tried it again, same with the automatic installer, which was a great addition, by the way. I've drilled into the poor Mail.app over and over trying to just believe that I had a bad install or two, but such is not the case.

One of the funny things is that everytime I've erased/uninstalled the program recently, whenever I re-install, it's already managed to fill in my account preferences (name/username/etc.) Where's it keeping the preferences if I'm deleting everything??

What could have all of a sudden caused such an issue with a program that's been working just peachy for so long?

More importantly, what do you reccomend to fix it?

N.

 

[zv470]

I'll try it, haven't installed it this time round. brb
edit:- hmm, back, and mine doesn't work anymore either, my guess maybe hotmail have changed something. I get the same "Not Implemented" message.

 

[zv470]

ok. "Not Implemented" is a server response, and judging by this forum earlier this month:
http://www.astaro.org/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=46620&Main=46400

...even the PC worlds having trouble with it cool, excellent

 

[noahsnyc]

Wow - So it looks like for once I personally or my computer isn't the problem!

Guess Hotmail must have made some changes and HTTPMail just doesn't fit into it...Guess it really is time to migrate to Gmail...

N.

 

[munkle]

httpmail still works fine for me, no problems at all. Not gloating, just saying that it's not a universal problem - keeps fingers crossed!

 

[zv470]

Gmail,

wuhruH...wuhruH... *shudders*

MSN messenger works pretty well for checking hotmail, I just wish Adium would work with hotmail aswell.

ie:
MSN takes you straight to hotmail
Adium takes you to the hotmail login page

 

[zv470]

httpmail still works fine for me, no problems at all. Not gloating, just saying that it's not a universal problem - keeps fingers crossed!

which version of httpmail have you got, and what's your setup in prefs?

 

[noahsnyc]

Gmail,

wuhruH...wuhruH... *shudders*
MSN messenger works pretty well for checking hotmail, I just wish Adium would work with hotmail aswell.

What's so wrong with Gmail?? It's fast and easy...just needs POP access for those of us who love our Mail.app....

How exactly does MSN Messenger work with Hotmail? Is it POP functionality, or simply just a "check" of your inbox??

Thanks
n

 

[munkle]

which version of httpmail have you got, and what's your setup in prefs?

httpmail version v.1.40 (thank god the developer fixed the bug where the preferences were always asking to be saved!) and mail.app v.1.3.9. Only problem is deleting mail from my inbox but I can send and receive mail fine.

MSN Messenger only checks your inbox and notifies you when you have new mail. You still have to log in to hotmail, which kinda defeats the whole point. If you have Entourage you could always give that a pop.

 

[zv470]

What's so wrong with Gmail?? It's fast and easy...just needs POP access for those of us who love our Mail.app....

How exactly does MSN Messenger work with Hotmail? Is it POP functionality, or simply just a "check" of your inbox??

Thanks
n

Hmm, good point, about MSN Messenger, but I guess I don't need POP functionality, I just need a quick/easy way to log into hotmail, I wish Adium had the same.

Regarding GMail... aren't there some privacy issues with it? eg: they have the right to do what they want with your email? Even when you delete an email, it remains their property forever? < correct me if i'm wrong, maybe GMail have changed that since getting so much bad press.

 

[noahsnyc]

httpmail version v.1.40 (thank god the developer fixed the bug where the preferences were always asking to be saved!) and mail.app v.1.3.9. Only problem is deleting mail from my inbox but I can send and receive mail fine.
MSN Messenger only checks your inbox and notifies you when you have new mail. You still have to log in to hotmail, which kinda defeats the whole point. If you have Entourage you could always give that a pop.

Well, those are the same versions I'm using, which aren't working in my case...Maybe I do need to Archive and Install, but is it worth it??

Funny enough, I tried Entourage, v.X, and it didn't work, saying that it couldn't connect to Hotmail!

Now, this sounds very suspicious, but the reality, my POP servers work fine, so I guess maybe there's some new functionality with Hotmail that's affecting it.

whatcha'll think?

n

 

[munkle]

It's odd that it won't work with Entourage as well, that strongly suggests it has more to do with hotmail then mail.app itself. Have you got a 250MB inbox yet? I know they're doing the upgrades and that might be what is causing the problems. Just taking a stab in the dark!

 

[noahsnyc]

Regarding GMail... aren't there some privacy issues with it? eg: they have the right to do what they want with your email? Even when you delete an email, it remains their property forever? < correct me if i'm wrong, maybe GMail have changed that since getting so much bad press.

You're assuming that Hotmail (Microsoft) and AOL don't also reserve the right somewhere to read your email. Nothing is necesarily sacred. The only freaky thing about Gmail is that it (automatically, with no human interaction) shows the user ads that actually pertain to the subject and content of the email. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

My take on it is this: What do I care?? Even if I'm having a personal conversation with someone, or even about something controversial, what the hell should an enormous media company care? The fact is, I use email to talk to my family and friends about what's going on in our lives. No one at Google really gives a hoot, I'm sure.

Sure, Google's been a little more overt about using the content of emails, but I think we'd all be a little chagrinned to find out that in fact, none of us have any control over anything we keep on someone else's website. And that's exactly it: Hotmail, Yahoo, .Mac, Gmail, they all belong to someone else. Like serfs working a piece of land, we are given only what we need to keep taking up space. We have no rights in this case, but who cares, it's just email...

N.

 

[noahsnyc]

It's odd that it won't work with Entourage as well, that strongly suggests it has more to do with hotmail then mail.app itself. Have you got a 250MB inbox yet? I know they're doing the upgrades and that might be what is causing the problems. Just taking a stab in the dark!

Now that you mention it, Munkle, I haven't yet received my 250MB inbox...Maybe that's the issue. Really good point, mate.

However, it has been about a week since this whole thing started, don't you think the upgrade would have taken place, or your think MSN might just be that slow and low??

You obviously have the upgrade and HTTPMail and everything's just "jake" in your world, right??

N.

 

[munkle]

Regarding GMail... aren't there some privacy issues with it? eg: they have the right to do what they want with your email? Even when you delete an email, it remains their property forever? < correct me if i'm wrong, maybe GMail have changed that since getting so much bad press.

Easy on the conspiracy theories there zv470! The big thing about GMail is that they give you targeted ads, like they do on this website. You're email is scanned and keywords will make a relevant ad appear, but somebody is not sitting reading your email to decide which ads you recieve. And scanning of email is not an uncommon feature, think of spam filtering etc.

And here is Google's policy on data retention:

 

[munkle]

Now that you mention it, Munkle, I haven't yet received my 250MB inbox...Maybe that's the issue. Really good point, mate.

However, it has been about a week since this whole thing started, don't you think the upgrade would have taken place, or your think MSN might just be that slow and low??

You obviously have the upgrade and HTTPMail and everything's just "jake" in your world, right??

N.

Yeah I had the upgrade a fair few weeks ago, over a month actually I think. Must be one of the lucky first batchers and everything is working just like advertised!

And if anybody is feeling brave, I've got a gmail invite to give away. Either PM me or send me an email.

 

[noahsnyc]

Munkle -


So now that we've established that, like me, you're also a Hotmail/Gmail user, let me ask you - How do you juggle the two?

I've been debating whether to make the "jump" entirely from Hotmail to Gmail, or wait it out until I feel more comfortable w/ Gmail. What irks me both ways is that now I feel as if I don't have any kind of POP functionality either way, so it's a bit up in the air...

N.

 

[munkle]

Munkle -


So now that we've established that, like me, you're also a Hotmail/Gmail user, let me ask you - How do you juggle the two?

I've been debating whether to make the "jump" entirely from Hotmail to Gmail, or wait it out until I feel more comfortable w/ Gmail. What irks me both ways is that now I feel as if I don't have any kind of POP functionality either way, so it's a bit up in the air...

N.

Hotmail through mail.app and I use GMail Status in the menu bar for Gmail...obviously! Works pretty well for me at the moment, esp as I'm not getting much mail through gmail so I don't have to visit the website too often and the hot key straight to the inbox makes it less of a pain. I'm still not sure if I like the layout of Gmail, the whole inbox conversation thread view doesn't really do it for me.

I also have a POP mail account for work which I use through mail.app as well.

 

[noahsnyc]

Munkle -

Sounds like you've got basically what I'm looking for, and what I was doing until HTTPMail stopped liking me.

Funny enough, now that you posed the question of an "upgrade in progress" possibly muddling up my functionality, I've noticed that now when I get an email with an embedded link (i.e. a Forums' Post Alert), Hotmail won't connect, saying that the link is "expired".

I can only assume that this stuff is all connected, and possibly Hotmail has limited my account's functionality while upgrades are being done.

Maybe that makes sense...

N.

 

[jsj]

Google fanboys?

Another privacy concern with gMail was the length of time in which they choose to store both your erased and saved emails, and why (presumably to build your advertising profile). I guess I wouldn't like the phone company tapping my line and keeping the tapes for 20 years, regardless of the conversation, either.

I got an account through them to see what the accolade was about, and to be honest I wasn't that intrigued. I guess the most impressive feature is the search engine, but I don't keep old emails for too long, so whatever.

What I find interesting about the whole thing is how loyal people are to Google, and how quickly they dismiss any criticism. Yet, if Microsoft were doing the same thing...

 

[noahsnyc]

Another privacy concern with gMail was the length of time in which they choose to store both your erased and saved emails, and why (presumably to build your advertising profile). I guess I wouldn't like the phone company tapping my line and keeping the tapes for 20 years, regardless of the conversation, either.
I got an account through them to see what the accolade was about, and to be honest I wasn't that intrigued. I guess the most impressive feature is the search engine, but I don't keep old emails for too long, so whatever.
What I find interesting about the whole thing is how loyal people are to Google, and how quickly they dismiss any criticism. Yet, if Microsoft were doing the same thing...

Well, the issue about them saving emails and whatnot is really pretty mute. They make it very clear that emails will only be used with their advertising software - in other words, and it states so on their website, that no human being will ever look at an email. I would go so far as to say that since this is part of their "Privacy Statement", it could be used as fodder if the issue is ever contested.

I'm quite thrilled with Gmail's web interface. The keyboard shortcuts and "conversation view", and the filters are fantastic. Also, the speed at which the whole thing rolls along is fantastic. That might not last through post-Beta, but Google is well known for the speed of its products/sites.

I'm a huge Google fan, they have yet to do me any wrong. I love all the new stuff, the Usenet protocol, Google News, etc. I'm not real happy with the usage of email to advertise, I'd rather they offer a little something else instead, but to be honest, I really don't care. The fact is, they're giving you something that doesn't cost money. You've got to pay somehow. I don't tend to discuss illegal activity or trade kiddie porn. Embarrassing things, yes, but I'm sure the enormous conglomerate that is Google Inc. could give a poop about my personal issues. And let's all remember, the good ol' Patriot Act lets the government go ahead and search your email, phone, mail and library records without you even knowing about it. I'm not really worried about Google.

N.

 

[mkrishnan]

Funny enough, now that you posed the question of an "upgrade in progress" possibly muddling up my functionality, I've noticed that now when I get an email with an embedded link (i.e. a Forums' Post Alert), Hotmail won't connect, saying that the link is "expired".

I can only assume that this stuff is all connected, and possibly Hotmail has limited my account's functionality while upgrades are being done.

I know you were discussing 1.37 vs. 1.40 of httpmail...the good news is there is a 1.41, which is specifically designed to address the NOT IMPLEMENTED issue. The bad news is that the author is saying that the WebDAV Hotmail fee affects this conduit as well...

http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=411012

EDIT: I installed it and it did resolve the issue for me -- I was able to check my HM email without the error msg. I don't know if that's temporary or permanent....

 

[hxuk]

I thought hotmail stoped their httpmail service

 

[munkle]

I thought hotmail stoped their httpmail service

At the moment httpmail still seems to be working, however, Entourage is not. How much longer httpmail will continue working is anybodys guess, I wouldn't count on it for much longer.

Edit: httpmail was a free third party app that allowed hotmail to be used via mail.app. It was not provided by hotmail/MSN but created and distributed by an talented independent developer.

 

[hxuk]

At the moment httpmail still seems to be working, however, Entoruage is not. How much longer httpmail will continue working is anybodys guess, I wouldn't count on it for much longer.

I think they updates accounts one by one, I mean just like the way they upgrade storage, I have two msn accounts one is working (httpmail) one is not