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How to set up Comcast IMAP email on iOS 7, OS X Mavericks
For years, POP (Post Office Protocol) email has been a thorn in my side. Apple's email service uses the IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) protocol for email, as do many other email services. What's the big difference between POP and IMAP? Well, if you're connected to a POP account and delete emails that have come into your Mac, when you get onto your iOS devices you'll find that those deleted emails are still there and you have to delete them again! With IMAP, delete once, and an email is deleted from all inboxes. There are some other benefits to IMAP, but for most people, the constant need to make multiple deletions if they have more than one device is the main reason they detest POP3 email servers. The only POP3 account that I still had as of last week was one from my ISP, Comcast. For some reason, Comcast seems to be stuck in the 1990s and wants to retain those stupid POP3 accounts. Well, I found out that they've been providing IMAP accounts on a ask-and-ye-shall-receive basis, so I quickly signed up for one. After receiving notification that my IMAP account was live, I tried setting it up, only to run into issues. What I found is that you need to fool the Apple email clients for OS X and iOS 7 into believing that you're NOT connecting to a Comcast server initially, because if you tell those clients you have a Comcast account, they decide to set your email client up with -- you guessed it -- a POP3 account. Here are some instructions on what you other Comcastic customers can do to sign up for IMAP and set up your OS X and iOS devices (note that images and instructions below are written for OS X Mavericks and iOS 7). Request a Comcast IMAP account By default, you're still stuck with a Comcast POP3 account if you sign up for their service. Should they decide sometime in the 21st Century to actually move everyone to IMAP, I'd be shocked. So to get on their "beta" IMAP service -- which apparently has been around for a while -- you need to ask for it. Fortunately, there's no need to call Comcast; you can make your request at https://xcsignup.comcast.net/onboardingapps/imap (see image below). You will need to know your current account credentials, those being your account user name and password. For some odd reason, probably for provisioning of the IMAP server, they also ask you what state you're in (maybe it's just for validation that you are indeed who you say you are...). Please note that Comcast has not, to this point, made this ability to get an IMAP account widely known. One of two things will happen at this point: You'll either get a message that says that your account will be migrated to an IMAP server within 72 hours, or if you're a secondary email user on an account that's already asked to move to IMAP, you'll get a message saying that your account has been migrated. In either case, wait until you know for sure that your account is ready for IMAP love. Setting up a Comcast IMAP account in iOS 7 Since iOS 7 devices have an incredible level of popularity right now, let's first talk about what you need to do to set up a Comcast IMAP account for Mail.app. Realize that if you just go into Settings and try to set up a new Comcast email account, it's going to assume that you are trying to connect to a POP3 server. So we'll need to confuse Mail and iOS 7 temporarily to get this account set up. Start by launching Settings, finding and tapping "Mail, Contacts, Calendars", and then tapping the Add New Account link. When you're asked what kind of account to create (choices include iCloud, Exchange, Google, Yahoo!, AOL, Outlook.com and Other), select Other. Once you're into that, select "Add Mail Account." A screen similar to that seen below appears. Type in the name you want mail recipients to receive, and then type in a totally bogus email account name. Remember, we're trying to fool iOS into NOT automatically setting up a Comcast POP3 account. I ended up using some random letters for the domain name -- in this case lkjklkj.net instead of comcast.net. Once you've entered your name, the fake email account, your password and an account name (I used Comcast IMAP for the account name), and then tap Next, you'll see the New Account screen. The first thing you want to do is make sure that this is showing IMAP as the account type, and the second is to go in and replace your fake domain name with comcast.net. Next, type in the incoming mail server host name -- imap.comcast.net -- and your user name (the first part of your comcast.net email address). For outgoing mail server, type in smtp.comcast.net as your host name, and type in both your user name and password again. Tap Next, and Mail will attempt to verify your account. Once it has, you get the opportunity to select which accounts you wish to sync with comcast.net -- my iOS devices suggested Mail and Notes. I turned off Notes and just synced Mail, then tapped Save. Now you'll see the Comcast IMAP account in your list of email accounts, but we're not done yet. We need to make sure that our settings are correct for the servers. Tap on the Comcast IMAP account you just created while you're in the Mail, Contacts, Calendar page, then tap on the IMAP account listing on the next screen to bring up account details. Tap on the smtp.comcast.net under Outgoing Mail Server, tap on it again under Primary Server on the next screen, and then make sure that the settings look something like this with Use SSL turned on, password authentication turned on, and Server Port 465 entered in. Once that's saved, go back a few screens and tap Advanced on the account data screen. Here we also want to make sure that Use SSL is turned on, that password authentication is enabled, and that Server Port 993 is entered. At this point everything should be set up properly and you can try a few tests, like sending and receiving email from that account. I had to set this account up on three different iOS 7 devices (iPad Air, iPad mini and iPhone 5s) separately, but it's fun to know that it works! I can finally read transcribed voice mail from my home phone (Comcast, naturally), delete those messages, and know that they're deleted from every device. Setting up a Comcast IMAP account in OS X Mavericks Now let's do the same thing in OS X Mavericks. Once again, we need to fake out Mail so that it doesn't try to set up a Comcast POP3 account. To begin with, launch Mail and then select Mail > Preferences. Click the account tab. See that plus sign (circled) below the list of accounts? Click on it. You'll be asked what mail account to add -- select "Add Other Mail Account," then click Continue. You'll be asked for your full name, the email address, and your password. As before, enter in a fake email address but your proper full name and password. Click the Create button, and the system responds with a message that the account must be manually configured. Click Next. Enter imap.comcast.net as your mail server, your user name (first part of your comcast.net email address) and your password, then click Next. For the outgoing server, enter smtp.comcast.net as your server, your user name, and your password, then click Create. This places the Comcast IMAP server into the list of accounts for Mail. We're not done yet, though -- we need to make sure the correct server ports are set up, and we still have that fake email address to contend with. The first thing to do on the screen above is to put in my real Comcast email address in the Email Address field, the name I want to use as Full Name, and put Comcast IMAP as the description for the account. Now I need to set up the incoming server. Click the Advanced tab on this window, make sure that Use SSL is checked, and put 993 in the port field. Next, click on the Account Information tab again, and click on the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) field. Select Edit SMTP Server List. Select your Comcast.net server name, type 465 next to Use custom port, make sure the Use SSL box is checked, and enter your user name and password in the appropriate spots before clicking OK. Now there's only one thing left to do -- save all of the settings. Click on any other account or tab in the Account screen, and you'll be asked to save the changes to the IMAP account. Click Save, and you should be up and running with your Comcast IMAP account. Conclusion Sure, it's a lot of little steps to take, but you'll be quite happy with the results. Note that if you run into any issues with setting up these accounts, it's probably that you're using the wrong ports. Just remember that you need to have SSL enabled for both incoming and outgoing email, that the port for outgoing mail is 465 and for incoming mail is 993, and that the server names are imap.comcast.net for the incoming email, smtp.comcast.net for the outgoing email.
Apple issues Mail update for OS X Mavericks to address Gmail compatibility issues
If you're one of the many users dismayed by the fact that the Mail.app in OS X Mavericks doesn't play nicely with Gmail, your troubles will hopefully be a thing of the past. After a number of reports indicating that Apple has been working on a fix, Apple today issued a Mail update for OS X Mavericks which aims to smooth over Gmail compatibility issues while also offering a few other email enhancements. The full changelog reads: Mail Update for Mavericks includes improvements to general stability and compatibility with Gmail, including the following: - Fixes an issue that prevents deleting, moving, and archiving messages for users with custom Gmail settings - Addresses an issue that may cause unread counts to be inaccurate - Includes additional fixes that improve the compatibility and stability of Mail The update checks in at 32.46 MB and can be accessed here.
Daily Update for November 7, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple still shipping Macs with Mountain Lion installed
Here's one for the "What were they thinking of?" file. David Gerwitz at ZDNet/CBS Interactive ordered a totally tricked-out iMac from Apple after the October 22 event, totally expecting the device to show up with the latest and greatest version of OS X. The order was made on October 28, a full week after OS X Mavericks shipped, and he received the iMac today. Upon taking the shiny big-screen device out of the box and booting it up, he was surprised to find that it wasn't running OS X Mavericks, nor was it even running the most recent version of OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5). Instead, it was loaded with 10.8.4. Looking at the order page for iMacs on the Apple website, each device is supposed to come fully equipped with OS X Mavericks. Apparently someone in Shenzhen, China didn't get the memo about updating the devices that were ready to ship, since Gerwitz ended up with an OS version more than a month old. Gerwitz, at the time he was writing his post, was still waiting for Mavericks to finish downloading from the Mac App Store. So, keep your eyes open. That new Mac you just picked up or that showed up at your door today might not be running Mavericks. Fortunately -- at least for those of us with fast internet connections -- it's an easy thing to fix. In Apple's defense, they DO have a disclaimer on this page that states "If you buy a new Mac that does not come preloaded with OS X Mavericks, Pages, Numbers and Keynote, please visit the following links to learn how to get them for free." Hopefully other buyers who run into this issue will be able to rectify it quickly with a few downloads, but it has to be frustrating to wait...
Daily Update for November 4, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
TUAW TV Live: OS X Mavericks and new iPads
During last week's show, Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd and I discussed the Apple announcements that had been made, primarily the immediate availability of OS X Mavericks and the unveiling of the iPad Air and Retina display iPad mini. This week, we'll be talking about some of our favorite features of Mavericks, what we're looking forward to with the new iPads and how the changes in iLife and iWork are affecting Apple fans. To join in to watch the live feed and participate in the chat, just click here. You'll join us on the AOL On Network. If you can't watch the entire show today, come back to this page within 24 hours to see the latest video below. Past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel.
Addressing common Mavericks issues
There are a number of issues with the new OS X Mavericks and the Gadget Lab at Wired.com has published a helpful article on how to fix a few of them. Some problems, as stated in the article, must be fixed by Apple, but you can remedy a few issues yourself. In "6 Known Issues with OS X Mavericks and How to Fix Them," Wired's Roberto Baldwin tells us: 1. How to jump start a stalled Mavericks download. 2. How to make your Gmail IMAP settings work with the changes in Apple Mail. This tip is only for people who have changed their Gmail settings previously. TUAW's Megan Lavey-Heaton has also noted some problems with Mail and Gmail, which you might find helpful in her article, "How Mavericks ruined Apple Mail for Gmail users." 3. How to fix the loss of scroll bars in the Chrome browser and other applications. 4. How to fix Apple Mail forgetting your password each time you log in. 5. How to fix slow or stalled restarts and shutdowns of your Mac. This tip uses the Terminal app, found in your Utilities folder inside your Applications folder. One word of caution, if you don't normally use Terminal, please make sure you copy the lines Baldwin gives us exactly. You don't want any nasty surprises to crop up in your OS. 6. How to fix Shared Links in Mavericks. Shared Links is a new Apple added Safari Twitter/LinkedIn client that doesn't seem to update well. Baldwin shows us how to create a Shortcut to update the Shared Links easily. In another useful tip article, Chris Breen at Macworld explains how to address the problem on Why Mavericks' movies may not preview properly. If you can no longer preview some of your movie files, this article explains the fix. TUAW is producing a number of video tips to help you with your OS X Mavericks update, so don't forget to check our pages for new content and helpful advice.
Review: 90 OS X Mavericks and Legacy Tips, Tricks & Secrets
Developer Saied Ghaffari and his company It's About Time have been busy digging through the details of OS X Mavericks to find a bunch of tips and tricks for the new Mac operating system. In the new iBook 90 OS X Mavericks and Legacy Tips, Tricks & Secrets (US$1.99), you'll find out how to do things with Mavericks that you may not have thought possible. Following in the footsteps of a similar iBook with iOS 7 as the topic, the book features a number of tips that are all demonstrated in video captures. The screenshot at the top of this post shows what a typical "page" looks like -- there's a tip listed at the bottom with the video playing above it. Ghaffari provides a wonderful commentary with each tip or trick, and between the notes, the audio and the video you're sure to pick up a lot. The iBook is organized into chapters that group similar items together. Some examples of the chapters include Notifications, Messages, Calendar; Finder, Dock; App Store, iBooks; and Dashboard, Mission Control. The chapters contain anywhere from two to 30 tips and tricks, some of which are useful in previous versions of OS X as well. What's really cool is that with iBooks now in OS X Mavericks, you can easily have the book open on your Mac desktop and try out the tricks in almost real time. As much as I've gone through OS X Mavericks during the beta days, 90 OS X Mavericks and Legacy Tips, Tricks & Secrets taught me a number of time-saving and convenient things. For two bucks, you're getting an easy-to-use and comprehensive Mavericks guide. Give it a try, and be sure to also check out our very own TUAW video tips for more on how to make your switch to OS Mavericks a success.
Video Tip: Creating a bootable Mavericks USB installer
Having a bootable USB flash drive of your operating system is a very useful tool to have around for diagnostics, maintenance or fresh clean installs of your OS. In the past few versions of OS X, if you wanted to create a bootable USB stick, you had to do a little bit of Erica Sadun-style nerd wizardry or download a third-party tool like Lion Disk Maker to create one. Luckily with Mavericks, Apple has included a tool to allow us to create a bootable USB flash drive with a few simple terminal commands. This video will show you how to do it, so go grab an 8 GB or larger USB stick and follow along. Difficulty: Easy What you need: Terminal (in the Utilities folder or press cmd+shift+u from the Finder) USB flash drive of 8 GB or larger capacity The Install OS X Mavericks App from the Mac App Store About 20 ~ 30 mins (don't remove the flash drive until you see "Done" in the terminal) The Command: sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app --nointeraction Note: Remember to replace 'Untitled' with your flash drives name. Most freshly formatted flash dives are named 'Untitled' unless you change it as I did. That's it! Update: Lion Disk Maker released DiskMaker X 3.0.1 and it supports Mavericks
Caturday: Eddie, the iMac screen cleaner
It appears that Eddie thinks that OS X Mavericks looks good enough to lick, or perhaps he's just finished licking the crumbs from between the keys on that Apple Wireless Keyboard. Maybe he's sticking his tongue out at a Windows user that just walked into the room. Whatever the case, Eddie's owner Joe V. just asks one thing -- "that he doesn't lick my screen". We'd love to see photos of your favorite feline soaking up the warmth of an Apple product, chasing a Magic Mouse, or just being a general nuisance while you're attempting to work on your Mac, iPad, or iPhone. Please let us know via our feedback page and please remember that your cat photo has to have some sort of connection to Apple or its products. For security reasons we can't accept inbound attachments, so you should host the photo (Dropbox, Flickr, iPhoto Journals, etc.) and send us the link. Many thanks to Joe V for sharing this photo with us.
Use Mavericks' screen saver images as wallpaper
Here's a nifty trick for those of you running OS X Mavericks. Apple has included some beautiful nature photos to be used as the OS' screen saver options. With a little digging, you can use them as desktop wallpaper, too. Lifehacker points out that the 43 photos can be found by navigating to /Library/Screen Savers/Default Collections/ from the Finder's Go menu. From there, you're all set. I like to open the Desktop and Screen Saver preference pane and drop my chosen image into the well. Have fun.
What will Apple name its next OS X? Here are a few ideas
OS X Mavericks is here, and with it comes Apple's all-new naming scheme for its software. Leaving cats behind, the company is instead focusing on locations in California for its software monikers. Mavericks, for example, is the name of a popular surf spot. But as we're all getting used to an OS X without feline flair, I think it's time we look forward. So with that in mind -- and following the California theme -- I've compiled a number of possible names for Apple's next OS X update. [Image credits: Robert S. Donovan, William Warby, Astonishme, W.Marsh, Rightindex, FontFont]
Chitika: OS X Mavericks adoption rate three times faster than Mountain Lion
When iOS 7 hit the world last month, Chitika Research was there to tell us how quickly the new mobile operating system was being adopted by users based on how many ad impressions were coming from devices running the new OS. Now they've done the same for OS X Mavericks, and results from the first 24 hours show that 5.5 percent of all Macs are now running the new version. In comparison, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion only grabbed about 1.6 percent of Mac users during the first 24-hour period after release last year. Whether it's the fact that Mavericks is free (Mountain Lion had a US$19.99 price tag attached) or just that some people skipped over 10.8 that is causing the quicker uptake is unknown. Now, if we could only get some figures on how long it took Windows 8 to have 5.5 percent of the Windows OS market...
Ulysses III gets monster 'Warp 1' update
With a week to go until the beginning of NaNoWriMo, it's not surprising that a favorite text-editing tool has received an update. Ulysses III version 1.1 brings -- according to The Soulmen -- over 287 tweaks, fixes and optimizations, including OS X Mavericks compatibility "bang on time." The other changes are numerous enough that there's neither time nor space to list them here, so I'll give you some highlights: Sidebar search: highlights terms in a fully semantic search. Customizable export styles: includes export to Word while keeping style names. ePub export: Go from Ulysses III to e-bookstore in one fell swoop. Built-in preview: includes HTML and PDF preview based on style sheets applied, with live updating. Smart paste: paste as text, code block, raw source or paste from HTML or Markdown. Ulysses Style Sheets: what makes beautiful Rich Text or PDF documents possible. There are a lot more changes than that... The US$44.99 app is an impressive text-editing powerhouse, and this comprehensive update adds a lot more to the menu. The update is available via the Mac App Store's Updates capability.
Adobe: Flash Player now sandboxed in Safari on OS X Mavericks
In a move that is designed to make playing Flash content on your Mac more secure, Adobe has announced that Flash Player is sandboxed in Safari on OS X Mavericks. A sandbox profile for the Flash plugin was created by Adobe for inclusion in the Webkit project, with Webkit being the browser engine behind the scenes in Safari. How does the sandbox profile work? It basically tells Webkit (and thus Safari) to allow the plugin to only read and write files to specific items, limiting just how much damage a malicious attacker could do when taking over control of Flash through a vulnerability. This keeps Flash-based infections from being able to persist for any length of time, and should also keep attackers from affecting other apps. Adobe's products, including Flash Player, the Reader program and Acrobat, used to be prime targets for attackers, but sandboxing and other security work has made them less attractive to the bad guys.
Skitch updated with OS X Mavericks compatibility, spiffy new icon
Bloggers -- and many others -- rely on their screenshot apps to capture and annotate images. That's why it's irritating (I'm looking at you, SnapzPro X) when an app isn't updated to work with a new operating system release. Fortunately, the powers-that-be at Evernote have come to the rescue of those who need to grab screenshots with an OS X Mavericks-compatible update for Skitch. Skitch 2.7 also sports the awesome new "feather" branding that has been rolling out the last few days, visible in the screenshot -- captured with Skitch, naturally -- above. Other improvements include a new app window design to improve usability, grouping of Evernote-related functions into one area, grouping of all image output functions in another, a totally redesigned toolbar and separate Color and Size selectors. The team also says that there have been "lots of bug fixes" and that the Skitch Markup Engine has been updated for better stability and performance.
OS X Mavericks: Export as PDF from the File menu
Apple's OS X Mavericks offers more than 200 new features, many of which are overshadowed by marquee additions like Finder tags and iCloud Keychain. I've fallen in love with a lesser-known feature that's already saved me lots of time: Export as PDF from the File menu. Previously, you could convert a file to PDF by opening a Print dialog, selecting Save as PDF and then choosing a destination. Now it's even easier. Simply select Export as PDF... from the File menu of a supported app and presto! Instant PDF. You can even add a tag while you're at it. Note that some apps aren't supported. For example, the option is there in Safari, Text Edit and Mail, but not in Microsoft Word.
Video tip: Sending directions from OS X Mavericks Maps app to your iPhone
If you have a Mac equipped with OS X Mavericks and an iPhone with iOS 7, you can search for directions with the Maps app on your Mac and then send them to your iPhone. It's a great demonstration of how the two operating systems work together, and it can help you find your way as well. As with all of our video tips, this one can be easily expanded to full-screen for easier viewing.
Linus Torvalds: 'free' OS X Mavericks is no threat to Linux
After yesterday's surprise announcement of the free upgrade to OS X Mavericks, some Twitter wags and industry pundits assumed that the free OS would be a danger to the continued existence of Linux. Speaking at LinuxCon Europe today in Edinburgh, Scotland, Linux creator Linus Torvalds was quick to point out that there's no threat to the open-source operating system. As Torvalds noted, while Mavericks is free, it's far from open source. While OS X Mavericks is pretty well tied to Apple hardware for the best possible compatibility (although one can create a hackintosh quite easily), Linux has been ported to just about every possible combination of hardware by an active and dedicated developer community. Whether running on server hardware or a single-board Raspberry Pi, Linux is a scalable and robust operating system. Several commenters on the original PCWorld post brought up the fact that OS X really isn't free, being included only in the cost of the somewhat expensive hardware that it runs on. In addition, OS X Mavericks won't run on older Mac hardware, while a Linux distribution can be found to run on just about any PC hardware in existence. Torvalds said it most succintly when he exclaimed that, "The fact that Apple gives the OS away is highly irrelevant. I don't think that it impacts Linux at all."
OS X Mavericks video tip: Using Automator and Speakable Items to control your Mac by voice
Earlier today, I highlighted some of the changes to Automator and AppleScript in OS X Mavericks. One of those feature changes involves the ability for Automator workflows and applications to be saved as Speakable Items. Speakable Items are items that can be launched by voice through the use of speech recognition that's built into OS X. In this example video, I show how to use Automator and Speakable Items to launch three apps simply by saying "Good morning" to my iMac. Sure, it's not exactly a super-useful example, but can you imagine how powerful this can be to someone who doesn't have good motor skills or has other accessibility issues? Use your imagination and Automator to see how you can use the power of your voice to control your Mac. As with all of our video tips, this one can be easily expanded to full-screen for easier viewing.
