Below, I’m going to detail the proper configuration of Apple Mail.  But first, let me say something about giving consideration to not using an email address that is tied to an internet service provider.

If you have an email address like comcast.net, att.net, earthlink.net, optonline.net, etc., then your account is tied to the company that provides your internet connection.  In general, there isn’t a problem with that.  But the fact is, the vast majority of the problems I see clients experience with their email occurs when they use these ISP accounts — especially AT&T and Comcast customers.

Additionally, if you change internet service providers, you need to change email addreses.  Some people use the same internet service provider for 10 years and don’t care.  But it’s something to consider.  Additionally, for those more technically inclined there’s the fact that these ISP accounts rarely support IMAP on their email servers.  If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry about it.  But for those who do know, it’s an potentially important consideration.

Perhaps the greatest motivation to stop using ISP-based email would be the problems you may have had with it.  If it’s been unreliable for you, or can’t seem to go more than 3 months without a problem that requires reconfiguring something, then that’s pretty good motivation for getting rid of that service.

So what to use instead?  Perhaps the most popular choice is Gmail (Google Mail), but other popular choices are Yahoo and AOL (yes, that’s right AOL — their email works really well).  Other alternatives include FastMail, HushMail and SpamCop.  All of these options are either free, or reasonably priced.

If you’ve been using your Comcast account for a while now, you likely have a considerable number of people who contact you that way.  So dropping the account outright is not necessarily something you can do tomorrow.  You certainly need the account working, so that you can tell everyone about the new email service you’re going to switch to, right?  8-)

So here is how you to setup Comcast email properly in Apple’s Mail application:

1) Click on the Mail menu next to the Apple menu and choose Preferences...

2) Click on the Accounts icon in the Preferences window...

3) Click on the Acccount Information tab and make sure that the settings are similar to what’s shown below....  (note that your Comcast ‘user name’ is the first part of your email address with them)

5) Another window will open which is specifically for customizing the SMTP server settings.  Make sure the settings match this example.  Note that the port is set to 587 and SSL is not enabled.  When done with this popup window, click on the OK button.

6) Back in the Accounts setting window, click on the Advanced tab and make sure the incoming server port is set to 110 and the SSL option is not enabled.

7) Now click the red close button in the upper left corner of the Accouns window to both close the window and save the changes you’ve made (you will be asked to confirm the save).

At this point, your Comcast email should be working.  If it’s not, go to the Mailbox menu and choose Take All Accounts Online.  If it’s still not working, quit Mail, wait a few seconds, then open Mail again.  If it’s still not working, restart your Mac.  If, after all that, you’re still having email problems, you have a few alternatives: Call Comcast for help, give up on Comcast (see my soapbox above), or give me a call for personal assistance.
 

The most overwhelming sense at this show was one of being cooped up.  The demo rooms at the Affinia Hotel were packed with people and simply getting in and out of them was a chore.  And because these rooms -- filled with 12 or more warm bodies at a time -- don't have central air, many of them were very uncomfortable.  Regardless, I was still able to hear a nice variety of systems (after my brain started to compensate effectively for the poor acoustics of these hotel rooms) and get some useful impressions.

The Steinway-Lyngdorf Sub/Sat system (the smallest of the 3 systems that I believe they offer) was great sounding.  It would get the award for "most sound from the least physically imposing package."  But I didn't get to hear it for very long (they were closing the room for an "private appointment" and I didn't make it back there later).

The system is a complete package for $22k, that includes pre, dsp, amps and in-house setup with room compensation calibration.  It's great to see a high-end brand taking room compensation seriously and making it part of a whole solution.  Peter Lyngdorf is a charismatic man, who speaks very knowledgeably.  I could listen to him talk for quite a while, I’m sure.

For me, the very best sound at the show was from MBL.  All the components were their "reference" models (in a rather garish white finish) combined with the $70k mbl 101 speakers.  The reproduction was completely effortless and entirely without congestion.  Plus, it's enjoyable from a wide listening area, which is wonderful under listening situations like this show.  There was a long line waiting to get into this room, but my patience was well rewarded.

The large suite with Wharfedale Airedale Neo speakers and Audio Power Labs tube amps was impressive.  But the system was suffering from a phase problem of some sort.  I could not pinpoint if it was just one driver in one speaker wired wrong, or what other possible cause could be at play.  But there is no doubt in my mind that a phase issue that was hampering the ability to deliver solid imaging and I found it distracting.  I believe this was the most expensive system at the show.  It was certainly the most dramatic presentation.  I believe the speakers are in the vicinity of $30,000 and the pair of amps around $350,000, plus there was other ancillary gear that no doubt also had a hefty price tag.  I have heard better for under $100k, so I found the system absurd.

On paper, the Woodbridge dealer's 2 rooms looked like they would be impressive with KEF Reference Model 205/2 in one room and Revel's top of the line Salon2 in the other.  But the rep in the KEF room was playing the system stupid loud and the Meridian system in the same room was not functioning sufficiently for auditioning.  And the Revel room was cursed with a lousy selection of demo music tracks (at least during my 15 minutes in there).  Both systems were smooth sounding, but I went away disappointed because these listening experiences simply didn't move me.  I would dearly love to hear both systems in a different acoustic environment and with different recordings.

The Opera brand tower speakers from Italy (new to America) had a mostly-pleasing sound, but I wasn't entirely satisfied with the sound.  These speakers have 2 tweeters on the front and 3 on the rear.  I was surprised to find very little sound energy emanating from the rear-mounted tweeters.  I believe they were contributing very little to the experience.  Vocals and delicate instruments sounded wonderful.  But I was not impressed with the reproduction of large scale instruments.  There was also a noticeable lack of bottom end oomph.

Like so many rooms at the show, the acoustics of this space were very poor.  In fact acoustics were a problem in nearly every room of the show, which is the standard curse of A/V expos in hotel rooms.  Naturally, some rooms were worse than others.  Many companies/dealers made admirable attempts at treating their room and the Revel and Wharfedale  spaces achieved the greatest success in this regard.  And some demo setups smartly countered the room issue with a diagonal speaker/seating configuration (which, though it's not an efficient use of the space seating-wise, is certainly helpful in fighting the room's square dimensions and reflective surfaces).

A good example of this layout was the room with Joseph Audio speakers driven by Bel Canto gear.  This system very nice.  But I wasn't enthralled, as I think the small Joseph speakers in question were simply not up to the job of exciting the air in a room that size.  Or exciting my brain, either, frankly.

What did excite my brain was the TAD Labs CR1 Compact Reference Speaker (driven by TAD pre and amp).  I liked this system a lot.  The immediacy of instruments was very lifelike. One demo track, featuring Boz Scaggs singing with a minimal complement of instruments, was very moving.  But with the speakers alone costing $37k and I do believe there is better sound to be had in that price realm.  My friend Dean reported hearing some edginess from these speakers, that I didn't notice.  He was listening from a different part of the room from me, however.

The Rogue Audio room with speakers by Eggleston Works was a really nice combo and I liked what I heard.  However, I never got to sit in the sweet spot, so I didn't get to properly hear what it can accomplish.  But I definitely left the room wanting more.

There were 2 or 3 dipole speakers playing at the show (dipoles is when the drivers open at the back -- no enclosed cabinet).  I usually like dipoles, but of course room acoustics are a big part of the results you can achieve with this type of speaker.  Sadly, the name of the pair of dipoles that really impressed me have escaped my mind.  

There were a few systems that looked like they might be something special, but turned out to be a let down.  A prime example was in the High End Palace room with Mark Neumann Audio Collection Coliseum XLS speakers.  Considering that these speakers radiate energy to the rear, sides and through the top, they did not sound very open.  I found no sense of air around the instruments.  (And this was in a very "live" (reflective) hotel room.)  I can only imagine that they would be even worse in a more acoustically absorptive environment.  This system was so lacking in an effective presentation of high frequencies, as to make one wonder if something was malfunctioning.  I didn't bother to inquire as to the price points, because I wouldn't even spend $1000 on speakers that sounded like that.

I was also underwhelmed by Legacy Audio's tower speaker demo room.  The performance was very pedestrian.  This was my first time hearing any Legacy brand speaker and I was left with no desire to hear their products again.

I must mention the room of custom installer Sensorium AV, because it featured one of the most "pleasing to look at" systems on display.  The components were all European in origin, and included Davone speakers (one of the nicest looking speakers in the entire show).  The Davones are Danish and thus have a curvaceous, contemporary shape that it's in keeping with the style of the Danes.  These are winners in the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) category.  While these speakers were overall very enjoyable, I was troubled by the lack of a real bottom end.  They simply don't do justice to kick drums.  This system also had a brighter balance than most of the systems at the show.  This could have been entirely due to the speakers themselves, which did sound like they have high frequency response irregularities.  But it could also be attributable to the room.  Personally, I would have brought the speakers even further out in the room, away from the front wall.  For those who want the prettiest speakers they can find for $7k, these would probably be a good choice.  But for those looking for the best performance possible from their 7-grand, they should surely be looking elsewhere.

For me, one of the highlights of this show was the Clinton Room with a Thiel 5 channel sound system and JVC 3D projector, playing the recordings of AIX Records.  This system was an excellent way to experience multi-channel audio and video recordings. I do have some concerns about the acoustic "perspective" that is the hallmark of by AIX recordings (meaning the orientation of the instruments around the listener).  But I do admire what AIX is achieving with full fidelity, multi-channel music recordings.

One of the most common criticisms of AIX recordings is the "band perspective" they use, as opposed to the traditional "audience perspective."  Because of my familiarity with AIX, I knew what to expect going into this demo.  I can fully appreciate this approach, but still have trouble simply enjoying myself and losing myself in the music, because of some of the instrument/vocal panning choices.  Especially when the vocalists are not solidly positioned at the front of the room in the mix.  No matter how hard I tried, I could not get lost in these performances, because of the off-kilter acoustic perspective being presented.

I think AIX recordings would have much greater appeal to music lovers, if they incorporated a different mixing methodology.  (And I confidently believe that they would see much greater sales, as a result.)  But the man who is AIX, Mark Waldrep, firmly believes in his approach and I expect will defend it to his death.  (Just a choice of phrase.  Not something I wish upon the man.  He's a wonderful person and I enjoyed speaking with him briefly.)

Emotiva is a brand that is getting an increasing amount of attention and respect in the hifi and home theater communities.  They effectively showed why at this show.  While I've previously heard their components, I had never heard their speakers.  I was quite impressed and I was pleased that they didn't have the harshness that I feared in speakers developed by a company with no history in transducers and with manufacturing outsourced to China.  Some of their speakers have switches for controlling the driver balance and that's a nice thing to see, as it can really help you tune them to your room.

The last room I visited was the home theater demo featuring Totem speakers, Audio Design Associates electronics, Titan 3D video projector, Stewart projection screen and D-Box motion chairs.  What a fun demo this is!  I'm not sure I'd want to experience the entire 2+ hours of a movie in a motion chair, but I can't say for sure without trying to do so.  But I'll say the motion certainly heightens the excitement of what you're seeing (and hearing).  Both of the demo movie clips shown featured animals soaring over beautiful vistas and the motion chairs really added another dimension to the experience.

I'm glad I went to the show and I'll consider attending in the future, if it happens somewhere other than the Affinia hotel (which is somewhat rundown and is cursed by window-mounted air conditioners everywhere).

My friends and I capped off the day with a superb meal at Seven Bar & Grille.  It’s one block down from the Affinia and two blocks down from Madison Square Garden.  I found it via the Urbanspoon app and it had high customer ratings, combined with affordable prices.  The desk manager at the hotel confirmed it was a good choice.  It certainly was.  My crusted salmon special was perfectly prepared and brought to the table direct from the kitchen (not a second under heat lamps, I’d wager).  I would definitely return here.

Here are my thoughts on the matter:

Frankly, I don't think we'll ever see an Apple-streamed event again.  They haven't provided streaming for at least 3 years now, but their message gets out to the people just fine.  Thus, they have little motivation to offer a live feed.

Think about the fact that they didn't even offer a live broadcast of the iPad launch event.  And Steve Jobs considered that one of the biggest moments in his career and in the history of Apple.  So, if that occasion doesn't get the live treatment, why would anything else?

Plus, at this point, live streaming from an Apple keynote would result in some of the highest internet traffic the world has ever seen (due to the rising popularity of the brand and the desire to see what iOS 5 will bring).  I don't think Apple wants to take that on (or pay the bill for it).

And they don't need to, because the word will get out there anyway, because all the media outlets will be reporting every detail as it is.  So what if it takes 24 hours for the information to be full disseminated and absorbed by the public.  The goal is still achieved and without a dime out of apple's pocket.  (Well, they do have the event hosting / venue cost, obviously, but that's something they'd have to pay for no matter what.)

Lastly, consider that this is WWDC -- a gathering aimed at techies -- meaning some of what's presented is not of interest to laymen.  That means there's even less motivation than usual to share the content live with the wider public.

So, don't hold your breathe waiting for streaming video from an Apple event.  Least of all from WWDC.

-Chris