Email Push Service :) smtp+dnotify+Asterisk+... :)

[Elliot F.]

David Ford wrote:
> Elliot F. wrote:
>> Or you could simply modify the mail server to trigger a script when a 
>> message is delivered, rather than having to poll each directory/file.  
>> A procmail/maildrop filter would be one way to implement it easily 
>> (allowing you to filter for messages from specific people, to certain 
>> folders, etc.)
> 
> To be honest, this is an ancient idea.  grep comsat /etc/services
> 
> New mail notification has been around since the dawn of mail itself.
> 
> Look for comsat in 'man procmail' and review 'man comsat' and biff, etc.

Of course it's an ancient idea, but that doesn't mean it's not a good
idea.  Biff/comsat were local notification or notification via hostname.
  Local notification of mail delivery is easy.  All modern biff
replacements that I know of function by polling a mailbox (POP/IMAP)
every N seconds/minutes.  This is not efficient/practical for a cell phone.

The closest thing to push mail as a semi-standard protocol is IMAP's
IDLE extension, or Exchange's proprietary protocols.  Both of which
require a persistent connection.  Again, not practical/efficient for a
cell phone.

It's an old idea, but it's still very much a good idea with no clear
solution in the mobile space, and Michel came up with a very good idea
for notifying the device.  It's an obvious need and it would be great if
we could fill it.

I'm not sure what you were trying to add by saying it's an ancient idea.
  Care to explain further?