Today I was struggling to diagnose an issue with a client's SMTP server, which appeared to be configured to only allow authentication once the STARTTLS command had been issued. I'd previously thought that this task would be impossible without a tool specifically made to talk SMTP over TLS, but I was thankfully wrong!

I have two Macs, and I tend to store most of my video files on the Mac Pro as it has much more drive space available. I also use Plex to stream videos to my MacBook which gets connected to the TV. Plex is a rather elegant solution, sporting an automated media library with images, synopses and more. There's also a remote app for iOS devices, allowing you to browse the libraries and start shows/stream them to your iOS device. Very smart.

However, as my wireless router sucks (Netgear), and the Mac Pro has a cheapo USB adaptor (D-Link), its wireless performance is somewhat flaky at best. I've taken to turning off the wireless on the Mac Pro, and attaching a CAT5 cable between the two Macs, getting me way better reliability.

I can browse the Mac Pro's library directly on the Macbook (or using the remote control feature of the iOS app) just fine, but attempting to go to its Library on the iOS device whilst the app is connected to the Macbook causes it to lose connection. I think it's trying to connect directly to the Mac Pro's IP, which of course won't work as the only network available to the Mac Pro is the CAT5 cable.

I'm sending a link to this post to the developers of Plex in the hope that there's a way for me to either specify which network interface or IP to use when streaming between the two Macs (so that I can use the wireless to browse the library), or that it's a bug that can be fixed. I'll update the post as soon as I hear anything.