Comments on: Differences Between TV Resolutions

By: John Grant

John Grant — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:43:35 +0000

At the risk of running a major thread here. I think people should know what they are getting into before jumping into VPN (Virtual Private Network).

Brian Knoll’s comment was good, but his comment assumes that you are running an in-house mail server, such as Microsoft Exchange Server or Apple’s Mail Server on OS X 10.5 Server, which maybe the case in almost all medium to large business’s. There are also a range of 3rd party mail servers (as in not produced by the Operating System (OS) manufacturers) such as Kerio, etc …

This in-house mail server would do the sending on your behalf. Brian’s comment implies that he connects to his in-house mail server via VPN, this is where the internal LAN (Local Area Network) is presented to your PC over the internet – as if you were plugged into the network back at base (wherever that is).

VPN is an advanced network feature of the network at base and because it presents the network over the internet needs to be very secure. One would need to consult the network administrator.

The more simpler answer would be to find out if the in-house mail server handled SMTP mail sending over the internet, just like the ISP’s mail server. The difference will be in the ports and authentication, which your network administrator would be able supply.

If you do not have an in-house mail server, then Christopher Herot’s comments are bang on. Either find out what other options for sending mail are available from your ISP while ‘on the road’, or sign up to an authenticated SMTP service as Christopher suggested.

Regards,

John Grant

By: Brian Knoll

Brian Knoll — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:57:18 +0000

Sending work e-mail through other ISPs: I installed a virtual private network (VPN) on my home computer. The VPN is a small Cisco program configured and supplied by my institution. I launch the VPN, then use Entourage to send e-mails from my home as though I were at work. I also can access a network server at my workplace using VPN. I’m sure VPNs are pretty widely used.

By: Piper Mason

Piper Mason — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:42:54 +0000

When I have problems on the road sending emails through other ISPs, I use a VPN setup to access my home computer. Then I can use the email application on that computer to draft and send messages through my own ISP without restrictions.

By: Christopher Herot

Christopher Herot — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:57:19 +0000

If you can’t send email from anywhere except your office, the problem is probably with your own ISP not accepting mail from outside its network, as described above. If, on the other hand, sending mail works from some places and not others, then it is probably because the network you are using for WiFi blocks port 25, which is the default port for SMTP. Check to see if your ISP supports an “alternate port” for sending mail, and then configure your mail program to use that port instead of 25 for SMTP. Every email program is different, but in Outlook, go to Email Accounts and under More Settings-Advanced you will see a place to change Outgoing Server (SMTP). Change that to the alternate port provided by your ISP.

By: Deborah Lewis

Deborah Lewis — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:14:27 +0000

RE: sending email on the road – I work on a laptop through multiple ISP’s and wifi connections and as with others ran into problems sending email due to ISP’s blocking SMTP mail from computers not directly connected on their network. I run a mail app on my laptop, as I prefer desktop apps to web mail interfaces. The solution I found was to open an account with an authenticated SMTP mail service and use that for all my outgoing mail connections from various accounts. I use AuthSMTP (authsmtp.com) and have been extremely happy with their service. I never have to fiddle with mail settings on the road anymore. I’ve used AuthSMTP with both Windows and Mac mail apps, it works great.

By: Steve Romero

Steve Romero — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:35:19 +0000

I found the information regarding the differences between 720p and 1080p interesting. How about the refresh rates. Many retailers are touting the 120Hz Frame Refresh rate. Is this something that most people won’t know has well?

By: Peter Waldo

Peter Waldo — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:03:46 +0000

Frequently in Wi-Fi hotspots, the SMTP traffic (configured in your email program to go to your home ISP server) is intercepted by the Wi-Fi service provider’s own SMTP Server.

Normally this works just fine. The problem is when your home ISP’s SMTP server configuration requires authentication (using a username and password). The hotspot’s SMPT server doesn’t require an authenticated link and subsequently fails to connect.

I work around this by temporarily disabling the SMTP server authentication (again, in the email client) to send emails.

A more secure solution is to us a service such as Hotspot Shield which provides a secure tunnel to an SMTP server. This also has the benefit that your data cannot be seen by any travelers with nefarious intentions.

By: Judd Volino

Judd Volino — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:27:15 +0000

Oops…my comment should start “I concur that the USER’S CAN’T send email…”

By: Judd Volino

Judd Volino — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:26:10 +0000

I concur that the can send email problem is likely not due to blocking by the Wi-Fi provider, but rather because the user’s ISP doesn’t allow SMTP submissions from outside its network. That’s why it works via the cable modem, but not elsewhere. It might be possible to use an authenticated SMTP configuration (entering a username and password provided by the ISP in the email client configuration) to make this work when on the road.

By: Richard Mitnick

Richard Mitnick — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:09:41 +0000

A better solution for the email problem is a based mail2web.com.

When one sends email from mail2web, it appears to the recipient as if it is coming through the sender’s ISP.

The user registers the same email address and password as is on their ISP.

One can then receive and send mail, clean up one’s Inbox, even send a copy of newly sent email to oneself so that one does have a record.

The only draw back is if one is receiving HTML mail, then there is an extra click to open incoming mail so that it can be read. This is a bit klunky, but worth the effort.

I have used mail2web for years and it is excellent for the traveler.