Gmail, IMAP, Thunderbird and MyPhoneExplorer

Now, quite a long post! Recently, I have become fed up of Outlook and SE PC Suite, it's crap, they don't talk to each other correctly.

I sync my contacts, calendar and tasks between the 2. I get constant duplication, Outlook changes the timings of events by 12 hours. When we went from 2008 to 2009, it totally screwed everything up! Anyway, frustration ensured.

So, I started looking around at alternatives and stumbled across Gmail's IMAP support (nothing to do with calendars etc, not directly anyway). I have been using POP3 with Outlook to download my Gmail's for a few years now, always worked OK for me.

So, I thought, I could move over to Thunderbird (I love open sauce stuff and it seemed to have better Gmail support than Outlook, then theres addons, yum). I could use IMAP for emails (nice and synced emails, POP3 doesn't do this).

What I also found was that there were plenty of addons to sync up Thunderbird and Google Calendars and contacts. Brilliant!! I never really used Google Calendars, so now was a good time to start, 'cos it's frigging amazing! Quick add features, SMS reminders, multiple calendars etc. I could also sync this local copy of my schedule to me K850i phone, super.

Here is my Thunderbird guide, pulled from a variety of sources (all linked to for reference). Non of them quite had everything listed, I've tried to pull it all here:

Install Thunderbird

http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/thunderbird/

Install Thunderbird Google IMAP addon

This addon basically makes all the changes listed here - http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77662 but it does it all for you with no fuss. It also does the advanced stuff here - http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=78892.

1. If you haven’t already, enable IMAP in Gmail - http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77695
2. Install the addon from - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/6381
3. Restart when prompted.
4. When Thunderbird loads, either follow the new account wizard that should show if this is your first account, or go on “Tools > Account settings” and click “Add” to start the wizard.
5. You will now have Google IMAP in the options, select this and follow the few steps to get it setup.

Making Gmail folders “root” - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/reviews/display/6381 (comment on 31.07.08).

1. Under “Account Settings”, select “Server Settings”, then “Advanced”. Enter “[Google Mail]” in the “IMAP server directory”.
2. Restart Thunderbird.

I found that, after doing this, no labels were shown in the Thunderbird view, this is a shame, as it looks much tidier. I reverted back to not using this. Any ideas??

Gmail View In Thunderbird - http://nathanostgard.com/archives/2008/1/21/gmail-imap-thunderbird/

You can “fix” the sort order to be like that of Gmails, sorted by thread and date. Thunderbird’s thread interpretation is rubbish and nothing like Gmail’s. It threaded all of my emails that had a blank subject together, not good. Try it if you like

1. But to do this, firstly, “Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Config Editor”.
2. Filter for “mailnews.thread_pane_column_unthreads”.
3. Double click the item to change it to false.
4. Back in the main window, go on “View > Sort by”.
5. Tick “Date”, “Decending” and “Threaded”.

Check For New Emails In All Folders - http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/internet/setting-up-gmail-imap-support-in-thunderbird-2x/

By default, Thunderbird only checks your Inbox for new emails. Other folders will only show new emails when you select them in the folder list.

1. Right click on the folder you wish to check in the folder view and select “Properties”.
2. Check “Check this folder for new messages”.
3. Repeat for all folders.

Update: Just found that there is a config option for this:

1. Open the config editor.
2. Filter for “mail.check_all_imap_folders_for_new” and change it to “True” by double clicking.

This means that you do not have to select the above option every time a new folder/label is created.

Offline Usage - http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/internet/setting-up-gmail-imap-support-in-thunderbird-2x/

1. Back in “Account settings”, select “Offline & Disk Space”. -
2. Under “Offline”, check both boxes, then click “Select folders for offline use”.
3. Tick whatever you need to be downloaded for offline use, personally, I want all my emails available if my internet goes down, like when I used POP3.
4. Download the “Sync On Arival” addon - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/1396.
5. When downloaded, open the .xpl addon file with Winrar, Winzip or similar.
6. Extract the “install.rdf” to your desktop and open it with notepad.
7. About half way down you will find the following:

1.0
1.5

Change the “maxVersion” bit from “1.5” to “3.0”.
8. Save the modified file, close notepad and drag the file back into the zip archive, overwriting the original.
9. Install the addon as usual.

Now, when you receive an email, it will all be downloaded. The normal IMAP method is to just download headers (good for mobile devices).

Notes
• With this setup, it is impossible to delete an email by just clicking “Delete” on an email (as I normally do). Deleting an email from any folder just removes that label from the email, including the inbox etc. If you delete an email from the “All Mail” folder, nothing happens, it stays there, it gets marked for deletion in Thunderbird, but on next sync, it gets marked back to how it was.

If you really need to get rid of an email (I don’t see why I would, it’s not like I’m going to fill my 7Gb any time soon) then drag it to the “Bin” folder.

• If you want an email to go into a folder, for example, you have an archived email that only exists in the “All Mail” folder. You have decided that you need to follow it up, so want it back in your Inbox to remind you. Just drag it out of “All Mail” into the Inbox and a copy will now exist in each. Same goes for other folders (from All Mail).

On the other hand, if you want to add a label to an email that is already in a different label (you are looking at an email with the “Purchase” label and want it to also have the “Amazon” label. Just dragging it across would only change the label, you would have to copy and paste from one to the other to get both labels.

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So, that works nice. I was just going to start setting up the calendar sync addons in Thunderbird when I stopped to think, do I really need Thunderbird?

Don't get me wrong, it's great software, but I could just use the web interface for Gmail, they are constantly making improvements, its easy to use, avalible anywhere etc. What do I really want from this:

• Calendar sync with my phone and Google Calendars
• Contact sync with my phone and Google Calendars
• Tasks sync with my phone and Google Tasks (Labs)
• Emails avalible anywhere
• Offline email use

So when I found some software called MyPhoneExplorer and looked at what it could actually do, for free, I was amazed.

It syncs contacts and calendars from Sony Ericson phones, straight to Google Calendars and contacts and it does it really well, unlike Outlook.

It supports multiple calendars, so I have my personal one, the one I share with Sarah and the Air Cadet calendars that I help maintain. I now have all this info on my phone as well as in the browser!! As icing on the cake, I also subscribe to the UK holidays calendar, which is synced to my phone, never forget when daylight savings is ever again!!

As for offline use, in Google labs is an offline function which works with Google Gears to download local copies of your emails. Not all of them, just the last xx number of days, depending on your usage, but I think this would be enough in the unlikely event of network failure.

The only one I am still working on is task sync. Google have not properly implemented this yet. So at the moment, I put taks in my phone, which MyPhoneExplorer syncs as a local copy. It throws up popup reminders just like Outlook does, so I'm pretty happy with that.

Seriously, if you have an SE phone, then check out that software, it's superb. I would use it over SE PC Suite any day. It supports all the usual SMS from your PC and even initiation of phone calls from your PC.

Hope that all makes sense! If you don't have a Sony Ericson phone, then seriously check out the Thunderbird method, it's great also. I haven't played with calendar sync yet, but I guess if Firefox addons are anything to go by, it will be great.

I might fire it up every now and then to download a local copy of my emails, Google could stop offering free emails tomorrow and having a local copy would be handy. You could also add a new account into Thunderbird, drag your Gmails into that and you would have all your emails back with someone else, headers and all.

cupid killer

Valentines, bah! What a waste of time.

I think anyone who says they are "planning a surprise" or "doing something special" for Valentines is blind to the commercial grave robbery that the day has become (or always was?).

It's not "special" or a "surprise" because everyone else is doing the same thing, because it costs you more on the 14th than any other day of the year, because your "expected" to do something. Wow, what a "special" day it really is.

How much better your other half would feel if you took them out on a random day in January for example.

Footballers, everyone elses fault that they are crap...

It makes me laugh so much when I hear this crap on the news about Chelsea sacking their manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Now I don't follow football, I don't give a toss, so maybe I don't understand football like all the intelligent pub louts. But surely if a football team is loosing badley, it's the players that are at fault, not their manager? He's not on the pitch scoring goals, he just stands on the side lines, gives pep talks in the showers and swaps his crap players with other crap players.

So, today they sacked him. Now I feel sorry for the guy, doing his best for the team, the players can't play football, so he gets the boot.

Maybe they should sack some of the over paid thick shit heads who can't even play football. Anyone can play football, grrrrrr.

IT Dept forgotten again

Just had a very surreal moment in the staff room, gifts are handed out to support staff and departments, which is all very nice, especially as we work an extra 10 weeks of the year compared to teachers......

Anyway, first up for a gift were the office staff, claps all round

Next, the finance office, sure they don't get thanked much for there work, claps all round

Next, each member of the maintenance staff got a bottle, about 5 of them, no problem

Then, the girl in reprographics, stressy job that I wouldn't do!

Then, another lady who does a bit of everything around the school, reports, H+S, reprographics etc. So she gets a gift

Next, head of the cleaning staff, who also does a tough job all year round.

That was it

So, here's the three of us from the IT Dept, suddenly feeling a bit awkward, the only dept not to even get a mention.

Surely it should be all or nothing, I don't expect thanks or gifts from anyone for the job I do. But I don't expect to be singled out from every other dept in the school.

Got time to blog?

I've not, obviously, things have overtaken me over summer, working, cadets etc. Now being staff at cadets I have had tonnes to do, lots to organize and sort out, I've also been away on holiday with Sarah and co to France, to Llanbedr with cadets, both very good weeks!!

Now, I am preparing for my wing commission board, which I am shit scared about, I have had no time to revise or anything and feel very under prepared, but hey, not the end of the world I guess, fingers crossed though.

Has anyone seen the new series, "Heroes", wow, what a show, fantastic work, Sarah and I love it, have watched all of the first series and can't wait till the next one!!

Anyway, a few rants before I go and maybe not post for another year!

The GMTV phone "scam" - Why the hell have GMTV been sued over this, it was a third party running the phone lines and GMTV didn't even know about it, the whole story is ridiculous!

What the hell are these electronic disposable toothbrushes about?! They are always banging on about "saving the planet" on the TV, yet companies are allowed to make these awful products. If you haven't seen them, its basically an electronic toothbrush which you cannot replace the head of, so once its used, the whole thing goes in the bin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amy Whinehouse - Need I say more? She should be boycotted 100%. Time and time again these "big" names get away with doing drugs in the public eye, yet they are allowed to carry on being who they are. Kids look up to these people, if a politician does the slightest thing wrong, they are out of a job before you know it, never to be heard of again, why not the same treatment for musicians.

Prison strike - ohhhh, don't get me started, these government workers and their poncy unions get my back up. Why can't they just shut-up and get on with their job like everyone else (everyone else who doesn't work for the government that is). Its like they do so much work, they just expect to have a regular pay rise, if its going to be regular like that then how much are they going to be paid in 100 years time? Doesn't bear thinking.

OK, last one, now I respect the boys and girls over in Iraq, but when they come on the news, saying they need to come home early, or they want compensation for this that and the other, well thats just wrong. They sign up to do a job, admittedly, a job that's different to most, but they have agreed to do it and should realize how hard or challenging it's going to be. Maybe they should swap with the prison workers....................

Updated?

Well, so much for keeping this blog updated, never mind, things are settling down now. Finished my degree a few weeks ago and got my official results last Thursday and in the post yesterday, I got a 2.1 (get in!!) so very hapy with that.

Apart from that, I've been working three days a week at my new job, well haredly new, I've been there part time for about 6 months. Thats been fairly boring so far, lots of work from home, hopefully it will get going soon!

Sarah is back from Uni, so been seeing a lot of her which is good, we had a meal at the Standford Bridge yesterday which was fantastic. Well recommended to anyone, great service, food, enviroment, not too pricey, local enough for me.

If I could remember them then I could fill this post up with rants from the last month, but I won't, just one, why to tennis players (especially women) have to make stupid noises EVERYTIME THEY HIT THE BALL? It is possibley the most disturbing thing to listen too and just sounds aweful, its not like they even need to do it.

Oh, final point, I've got my new computer, its sexy, more about that some other time though.

One more day......

Tomorrow ends my 17 years of education and I can't wait. I've got my new PC on order, which I will do a write up on over the coming weeks, along with that photo frame!!!! I also have a job lined up working for a small IT company, small business support, so lots to learn and get on with.

I meant to blog this on Saterday, but I got busy. There was a YBF special on, described as "All New".... errr, it wasn't, it was "All You've Seen This Crap Before". How dare they even try and advertise it as "All New", so, that made my steak taste worse, my parents seem to love the show, still.....