Why mail is received first by PC, then Mac ?

[BarryJ]

A couple I know have a PC and an iMac at home. I have no idea what os on the PC. it's 10.7 on the iMac.

Both machines are set up to retrieve mail from the same address on the same server.

My friends tell me the PC always receives new messages first. For example, if a friend sends a response to one of their notes, the PC gets the message a full 20 minutes before the iMac. The Mac uses mac mail. I have no idea what they use on the PC although it could be a browser.

Can anyone give me an idea why this might be cause I'm stumped.

Thanks.

Barry

 

[apedance]

Maybe the iMacs Mail is set to pull mails only every ** minutes?

 

[maxosx]

Because PC's are biggerbetterfasterneatersmoother...

Just kidding!

I use Win 7 and Linux Mint on ThinkPads, as well as OS X 10.6 and 10.8 on my Macs.

Obviously there's many variables between the platforms, but at the end of the day, the small differences in when my mail arrives is not something that impacts me in a negative way.

 

[MondayNgt]

A couple I know have a PC and an iMac at home. I have no idea what os on the PC. it's 10.7 on the iMac.

Both machines are set up to retrieve mail from the same address on the same server.

My friends tell me the PC always receives new messages first. For example, if a friend sends a response to one of their notes, the PC gets the message a full 20 minutes before the iMac. The Mac uses mac mail. I have no idea what they use on the PC although it could be a browser.

Can anyone give me an idea why this might be cause I'm stumped.

Thanks.

Barry

Is their email server using push (like Microsoft Exchange)? Perhaps the PC is using something like Outlook and receiving push messages instantly, whereas the Mac is polling every XX minutes (as someone already suggested).

 

[BarryJ]

Right on!

Maybe the iMacs Mail is set to pull mails only every ** minutes?

Duh. Now I feel dumb. I'll have a look at the settings. Thanks.

Barry

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Is their email server using push (like Microsoft Exchange)? Perhaps the PC is using something like Outlook and receiving push messages instantly, whereas the Mac is polling every XX minutes (as someone already suggested).

Thanks for this. I'll have a look. I doubt it's a "push" configuration issue, but I'll will have a look see. Great suggestion. Thanks.

Barry