The problem isn't tied to any particular email service, though Comcast users are reporting the most errors. Gmail seems to work just fine, and T-Mobile customer service reps' official response is to forward all other email to a Gmail account for the time being. Will, an admin at the T-Mo forums, has responded that these issues are familiar to T-Mo, saying, "We used to see similar errors and symptoms with the old MyEmail service and the new Consumer Email Client." He also suggests that more than 100 emails on the POP server, or emails with large attachments, may be causing a problem, but user feedback suggests this isn't the case: users have tried setting up brand-new accounts, or erasing all messages on the server, but still receive a connection error.

Will adds that the issue is "being researched with high priority," since it is being reported by G1 users across the board, and is now using the thread to gather more information to hopefully fix the problem before long.

This is a big gaffe by T-Mobile: POP3/IMAP email is a major feature of any smartphone, and those precious early adopters are irate at the G1's email's total lack of usability. The flip side of the argument, of course, is that every complex new platform has problems in its early days, but that doesn't seem too comforting to the thread's commenters. With any luck, T-Mobile will get this kink ironed out before long, because the last thing the maiden voyage of Android needs is a reputation of unreliability. [Boy Genius Report]

CERN spokesman James Gillies explained, “"It's too early to say precisely what happened, but it seems to be a faulty electrical connection between two magnets that stopped superconducting, melted and led to a mechanical failure and let the helium out.” The specific section will have to have its temperature raised significantly above its usual absolute zero so engineers can go in and repair it without dying, which is apparently a very time-consuming process. This kind of failure isn't unusual for particle accelerators, but the LHC's internal temperature makes the whole ordeal much more difficult. Each warm-up or cool-down takes a minimum of several weeks, so the total repair will last more than two months. I suppose we've waited a long time already to unlock the secrets of the universe, so a couple more months can't hurt, right? [CNN]