For a single mom with three kids, two of them teens, keeping a schedule is complicated enough. Add someone like me to the mix and things get out of hand pretty quick. Because that's the situation my soon-to-be-wife Laura and I have created, I've been asked/directed to figure out a good, friendly, reliable and especially non-geek-usable way to do shared calendars where everything just works. I think the term Wife Acceptance Factor is about to have very real, personal meaning in my life.

At any rate if you have any bright ideas let me know. Here is what I have come up with and am thinking about so far:

• Google Calendars on a new Google Apps domain - I have already acquired and set up a custom domain (ourfamily.cc) so we can have individual and shared calendars, docs, email, chat etc. in that environment. We want to share calendar details with each other, not the whole world.
  
• My other calendars at greghughes.net - I have this hodge-podge of Hosted Exchange and Google Apps Calendars on this domain. I will need to find a good way to sync and share the info without sharing it to everyone.
  
• Work calendar(s) - Typically on Exchange and accessed via Outlook, and I need to share only the free/busy data, and only for certain item categories to be appropriately security-conscious.
  
• TripIt calendar(s) - for travel arrangements, keeps things automagical and simple. Want to incorporate those.
  
• Access via Mac (iCal or Entourage), PC (Outlook), mobile phone (Android and iPhone) and via the web (Google Apps), with all the info always synced and up-to-date.
  

Tall order? Might be, but it seems to me this is they way it should be, so it's what I expect: Any device, anywhere, any calendar, always in sync, full authorization control over sharing and updating, no worries, no hassle, and easy for non-IT folks.

I've read over my friend Scott Hanselman's notes about how he has set up his system for similar needs, but that post is about a year old and he refers to some unnamed, secret-sounding plugins so I will need to touch base with him and see what he knows and thinks. In the podcast he and Carl Franklin recorded on the subject back in 2007, Scott noted "the fact that it's no trivial task and I struggled with it speaks to the state of Internet calendars in general." Surely things must have improved since then.

And then there's this blog post. Wow, uber-geekness.

I've used Google Calendar Sync before, but the laptop it ran on has since taken a long dive off a cliff and is no longer with us. I think I probably need to check out SyncMyCal, as it would allow me to be more granular than with Google's app. A comparison with Google Calendar Sync is here.

Someone really should write a tool that does all this or all of us, cross-platform, and make it all Automagical (tm). Anyone want to partner on a project?

What's worked for you? Anything? Let me know!

I’m an Exchange 2007 user. It’s terrific, works great and is truly the standard by which others are judged when it comes to business email, calendaring, contacts and other key business productivity features.

Being both a Mac and a PC guy, I’ve been the tester, owner and user of a variety of different applications to interface to Exchange. Outlook 2007 on the PC is a pretty obvious choice, and again it’s a standard by which others are often judged. But on the Mac I have been using Entourage for some time, with mixed opinion and results. It’s a good attempt at filling the gap left by the fact that there is no Outlook for the Mac, but it lacks in both features and stability.

However, on this fin gray Saturday morning I find myself once again examining the world of Exchange and the Mac. As I type this my Mac is going through the upgrade process and transforming itself into a Snow Leopard (OSX v10.6) machine. I’ve also downloaded the Entourage Web Services Edition upgrade from Microsoft, which is waiting on the Mac hard drive to install after the OS upgrade is completed.

My plan here is to set up and run under the new native-Exchange 2007 support in OSX Snow Leopard while at the same time checking out the new Entourage Web Services Edition features.

I should also note that earlier this month, Microsoft announced it will be releasing (finally!) a new Outlook client for the Mac in 2010. The expected “too late” crowd has been chiming in with their opinions, but in The Real World, where people older than 13 years actually make decisions about buying software for business use, this may be a big deal. It’s at least somewhat inevitable that Macs will become more common in the workplace, and the need for a consistent collaboration and productivity platform will full-fidelity, complete feature sets across OS platforms is critical to making business work.

I’ll post more details and thoughts once I get some of the setup and comparisons done over the next couple days. Meanwhile, I need to get packing some more cardboard boxes here at home so I can load them up… For anyone who might have noticed I have been absent from writing here, I am in the process of selling my house and will be getting married in October, so my world is a bit busy these days. But I am not gone. :)

Exchange Server 2010 is just around the corner, and Microsoft is gearing up to present a month of webcasts starting June 1st to introduce the new version to us. The webcast schedule is below. You can get the beta of Exchange Server 2010 here.

6/1/09 - 9:00am PT: TechNet Webcast: Exchange 2010 High Availability
Welcome to the future! The future of Exchange high availability, that is. In this webcast, we reveal the changes and improvements to the built-in high availability platform in Exchange Server 2010. Exchange 2010 includes a unified framework for high availability and disaster recovery that is quick to deploy and easy to manage. Learn about all of the new features in Exchange 2010 that make it the most resilient, highly available version of Exchange ever.

6/3/09 - 9:00am PT: TechNet Webcast: Exchange 2010 Overview
This webcast will introduce you to Exchange Server 2010, reviewing the major areas of investment for this release and highlighting marquee features.

6/8/09 - 1:00pm PT: TechNet Webcast: Exchange 2010 Management Tools
Exchange 2010 includes new capabilities that make the operation of your Exchange environment more efficient. Learn how we've made the Exchange Management Console more powerful, extended the reach of PowerShell, and made it easier to delegate management tasks.

6/10/09 - 9:00am PT: TechNet Webcast: Exchange 2010 Archiving and Retention
This webcast will introduce new ways to address archiving and retention with Exchange Server 2010.

6/15/09 - 9:00am PT: TechNet Webcast: Exchange 2010 Outlook Web Access
Exchange 2010 brings new features and functionality to Outlook Web Access. See product demonstrations of the latest capabilities and understand how browser-based communication and collaboration gets better than ever in Exchange 2010.

6/17/09 - 9:00am PT: TechNet Webcast: Exchange 2010 Architecture
This webcast describes the overall architecture of Exchange 2010 and key considerations for the scalability and performance of each server role. This webcast will provide the background and framework for the other Exchange 2010 webcasts, serving as a bridge between the overview session and drill-downs in each product area. This webcast is a recommended pre-requisite for the Exchange 2010 transition and deployment webcast.

6/22/09 - 9:00am PT: TechNet Webcast: Federation in Exchange 2010
Federation is a key part of the architecture of Exchange 2010, powering new organization-to-organization sharing scenarios. Learn how federation enhances the capabilities of Exchange 2010 and enables advanced coexistence between Exchange Server and Exchange Online.

6/24/09 - 9:00am PT: TechNet Webcast: Exchange 2010 Voice Mail enabled by Unified Messaging
Exchange 2010 Unified Messaging is Microsoft's second generation unified messaging and voice mail solution. In this webcast, learn about the features, benefits, and architecture of Unified Messaging in Exchange 2010.

6/24/09 - 9:00am PT: TechNet Webcast: Exchange 2010 Information Protection and Control
This webcast will introduce you to new ways to address information protection and control with Exchange Server 2010. A discussion of the use of encryption and rights management in parallel with Exchange will be included as well as an introduction to new functionality in Exchange that supports information protection scenarios.

7/1/09 - 9:00am PT: TechNet Webcast: Exchange 2010 Transition and Deployment
In this session we will cover the migration planning and deployment path to move an organization from Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2010.

I recently took advantage of an in-store offer to replace my water-damaged 16GB iPhone 3G with a 8GB version for $199 with no contract extensions, just paid the money and walked out with it. And in my case I got to keep the old one, which makes a great WiFi-enabled MP3 player.

Apparently (according to reports) it's now official policy/program now for Apple stores to allow problematic iPhones where the water damage sensors (there are four of them) have been "tripped" (discolored do to extended water exposure) to be replaced with the same size and model for $199. That's a great move for people like me who do things like ski, boat and oh, I dunno... Live in the freakin' rain.

So, if you have a problematic iPhone that you have been told is not covered under warranty, you might be able to take advantage of this policy.

More info here.

Since my last post, in which I predicted the newly-minted Google Voice service would be a real positive impact in my world, my Grand Central account was enabled for the upgrade to the new application and I have migrated to the service.

Greg’s One-Line Review: It’s pretty darned awesome.

But you probably want a little more detail than that, so here we go…

First of all, I should explain that I’ve used Grand Central for the past couple years. Grand Central was the centralized phone service that Google acquired some time back, and it allowed one number to ring multiple phones, with centralized voice mail, call screening and recording, etc.

Google Voice builds upon Grand Central by adding a number of new features, including a couple killer apps in my book: Text/SMS messaging and conference calling. Other enhancements include automated transcription of voice messages and a unified inbox for all your text messages and voice mails.

I live in a very rural area, far from the nearest cell phone tower. Mobile service on my iPhone is – for all intents and purposes – nonexistent at my house. If I put the phone up on a certain window sill and avoid moving it or touching it, I can get marginal service and might be able to receive text messages. But sending messages and making/receiving phone calls is next to impossible.

By giving people my Google Voice number (which is 503-766-2258 by the way), my friends and colleagues can send me text message and call me at one number, regardless of where I am and what services are available at my location. When someone calls the number, Google Voice rings my cell and home phones at the same time. I can add other phone numbers to the ring list, as well – on the fly. So, if I’m working from an office number I can add it to the list, no problem. I can define time periods to each phone, so individual phones ring only when I want them to.

I rely on text messaging for a lot of things, and many of my friends, family members and colleagues also rely on it to reach me. Needless to say, with poor wireless phone service at home, there are times when I don’t receive and cannot send text messages. That pretty much defeats the purpose of using text messaging to reach people in real time. With Google Voice, text messages send to my number are delivered to my phone and to my Google Voice Inbox, meaning even if the phone service prevents delivery, I get the text messages in my web browser and can reply to them there. That’s huge for me – and I have already taken advantage of the ability to send and receive text messages from my computer.

There are a few things I hoped I’d find in Google Voice that aren’t there, at least not there yet. I’m hopeful they’ll be added in the future:

• No support for sending text messages to groups – While you can create groups of contacts in the unified Google Voice inbox, you can only send messages to individual contacts. Since I lead a youth group at church, and we rely on text messaging to send out regular communications, I’d especially like to be able to send a single message to a group. As it is today, I can send a message to multiple contacts at once from my iPhone and just save the thread and keep replying to it, but when the group membership changes I have to start from scratch. It would be much easier and more reasonable to send to a single group managed in Google Voice.
• I’m a Google Apps user and have an Apps email account under the same Google account as the one I am using for Google Voice. I’m not sure why, but behavior is not as expected when I click on the Mail link at the top of the page from Google Voice. Rather than taking me to my Google Apps email inbox, it takes me to a page where it asks me to sign up for a GMail account. All other Google applications seem to understand where to go when that link is clicked, but this one doesn’t yet. I’m sure this is just early/beta stuff that needs to be worked out, but it also means my contacts are not synchronized across my Mail and Voice inboxes, which is unfortunate (they’ve already enabled unified contacts sync with GMail account inboxes).
• Support for syncing external contacts on the server side – While I was able to export my Outlook contacts, which are maintained on an Exchange server, as a CSV file and then import them without any issues into Google Voice, even better would be the ability to keep them up to date and in sync via the Google Voice service on the back end, maybe using ActiveSync or something similar. I’ll have to look for contact syncing software instead, since managing the sync effort by hand won’t really work for me.

All in all, Google Voice is a great app that’s already changing my ability to communicate. People in rural areas with marginal mobile service could really benefit from Google’s new offering. I’m looking forward to seeing what they deliver next!

Update: Microsoft's Mac business unit just set the land-speed record for turning around a fix. The story is available over at TUAW.

I've been wrestling with a problem for a few days after applying the latest Office 2008 for Mac update (v12.1.3). Everything works well except for sending and responding to meeting notices.

After the update, when Entourage tries to send a meeting notice or response, it throws the following: "[Error] Unexpected data was encountered. [Explanation] Mail could not be sent. Account name: 'Exchange - Greg' Error: -17997."

Needless to say, this is a frustrating problem. I managed to send some original meeting notices by opening them up after they failed to send (you can find them in the Outbox) and clicking the 'Send' button a second time. That worked for some reason. However, the same workaround doesn't seem to work for meeting responses, so I am having to send emails created by hand in order to confirm meeting requests with people who send them to me. Thankfully, when I accept a meeting request it does make it onto my calendar properly - it's just the outbound email that gets hung up.

I've had problems in the past with Entourage not parsing updates created by Outlook, but this is a much bigger and more painful problem. This is another case of "if it just worked the way it's supposed to, it would be the best option by far." A lot like my iPhone in that regard. Glitches kill the experience and create big frustration.

UPDATE: I just found a Microsoft newsgroup thread discussing the problem, and apparently it's a known issue bug in the latest release. Hopefully they'll be able to release a fix quickly. Workarounds include:

• Uninstall Office and reinstall, then update to the version prior to the latest release
  
• Move invitations you create from the Outbox to the Drafts folder and resend (won't work for acceptance notifications, though)
  
• Grin and bear it. :)

I may try removing my Entourage account profile from this computer completely and then setting it back up with the Exchange server fresh just to see what happens. I'd lose a few things that are store local-only in the process, but that won't really hurt me should I decide to go that route.

Anyone else having this issue? Any other great workaround ideas?

I wasn't going to write anything about the new Microsoft commercials, which I really like, despite the fact that I wrote about the two Seinfeld/Gates commercials.

But then I realized that the PC Guy in the commercials is Sean Siler. He's a real tech guy who actually works at Microsoft for a living - as opposed to being a professional actor. Here's his TechNet blog.

In fact, Sean epitomizes the "I'm a PC" message. We interviewed him not too long ago for RunAs Radio on the topic of IPv6 (he's the program manager for IPv6 at Microsoft). I thought you might be interested in hearing what Sean had to say at that time. He's wicked smart and a fun conversation.

It sounds like it's been an interesting evening for Sean, but he took the time to exchange a couple emails with me, which was cool of him. Congrats to Sean, and to Microsoft. Good start!

So, here you go - Our interview with Sean from a few months ago:

RunAs Radio #53: Sean Siler Sets Us Straight on IPv6! (download MP3)

And here are the three new commercials. Personally, I like 'em.

Oh and if you send an email to Sean's address as listed in the three videos, you'll get a reply. I'd post it here, but it'll be more fun if you do it yourself. :)

As is the case with more and more technology in the modern age, it's when you start to combine the power of two or more technologies that you realize the full potential of each. Such is the case with Microsoft's Unified Communications products. Sure, Exchange and Office Communication Server are both great on their own, but when you use them together (and potentially integrate with your VoIP phone system), you realize the greater value of your investments.

Jeff Goodwin works at The VIA Group, where he specializes in Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Unified Communications in his position as Senior Technologist and Microsoft Practice Lead. He's executed a large number of UC projects for businesses, so we were fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with Jeff recently on RunAs Radio. He does a fine job of explaining what unified communications is all about.

Jeff Goodwin Rings Us Into Unified Communications
RunAs Radio Show #73 - 9/3/2008 (35 minutes)

Richard and I talked to Jeff Goodwin about Microsoft Unified Communications in this week's RunAs Radio show. Jeff lays out the relationship between Exchange, Office Communicator and Unified Messaging Server to combine email, telephone and instant messaging. Check out Jeff's TechNet articles at http://www.shrinkster.com/11mj and http://www.shrinkster.com/11mk.

RunAs Radio is a weekly Internet-audio talk show for IT Professionals presented in a high-quality podcast format. Since April 2007 RunAs Radio has brought experts in the field of IT to its 10,000+ listeners, to inform and entertain. Professionally produced interviews are about 30 minutes in length and pack a substantial amount of information for maximum benefit. For more information about RunAs Radio, visit http://www.runasradio.com. RunAs Radio is available on iTunes and the Zune Marketplace, as well as directly from the RunAs Radio web site.

This morning I signed up for a hosted Exchange Server 2007 account with the 4iphone.net service provided by 4smartphone.net, an early provider of push-iPhone service using the ActiveSync capabilities of Exchange. I'm up and running with my new iPhone on their Exchange server now with my own domain name, and I can tell you already I am just a couple steps away from migrating my email from Google Apps to 4smartphone.net.

To put it simply, Exchange Server 2007 rocks, and so does the new iPhone and its updated software. But when you put them together, you get the ol' 2+2=5 effect. The greater value of each piece of technology is truly realized when used in concert.

Note, too, that hosted Exchange customers get a free copy of Outlook 2007 (for the PC) or Entourage 2008 (for the Mac). There's no need to buy a copy. The client license is part of the hosted Exchange license. That alone is a substantial value.

Setup was fairly straightforward, although some of the configuration instructions were a little vague and complicated to decipher at first (see below). But as of now I'm receiving and able to send email on both my Google apps and Exchange mail servers - with no changes to my DNS settings required. So, it's super-easy to evaluate and try-out the Exchange hosting. Add the 15-day free trial (they'll reimburse if you decide not to keep the service running), and it's a zero-risk evaluation.

Note that when you set up the account at 4smartphone.net, you will initially be logged into their Account Manager, which is where you configure your domain(s) and users/mailboxes. In this interface, the information provided to set up your ActiveSync users is a little vague (specifically, the format of the user name is not intuitive). You can, however, find the complete details of what you need to configure your account when you log into their "Mailbox Manager" web app. In that interface, you'll navigate to Setup > ActiveSync > Instructions and there find exactly what you need.

Delivery with push technology on exchange reminds me of my Blackberry days - within seconds of arriving on the server, email hits the mobile device. Since I got my first iPhone I've always felt a little sluggish when it comes to receiving email. No more: The first time email arrived in Entourage on my Mac and on the iPhone at the same time - practically instantly - I realized what I've been missing.

Combined with the usability and terrific functionality of the 3G network and iPhone 2.0 software and it's just a little too much to describe. It just works, it works well, and it is usable to the point of not having to think about it -- the ultimate test for a usability engineer.

After setting up the email flow and making sure it all works, I used Entourage to copy all my contacts and calendar items to the Exchange server, then enabled syncing of that information from Exchange to the iPhone.

I'll post more after I've had a little more hands-on experience, but so far so great. Highly recommended, and with 4smartphone.net and companies like them, Exchange is available instantly to individuals and small groups or businesses, not just big companies.

Tired of relying on well-funded commercial software companies testing their software on you while you come to truly rely on it, with little to no control?

Well, the world is (potentially) changing.

If you're - for example - a Twitter user, you might be interested in checking out Identi.ca, a brand-new open-source platform for microblogging. Press release below.

I can be found at http://identi.ca/greghughes - Check it out.

Control Yourself, Inc. launches Identi.ca, the Open Microblogging Service (July 2nd, 2008)

Montreal, Quebec-based Control Yourself, Inc. today launched Identi.ca, the open microblogging service. Users can post short messages about themselves to Identi.ca, which are then broadcast to friends in their social network using instant messages (IM), RSS feeds, and the Web.

Identi.ca is similar to existing microblogging sites such as Twitter, Jaiku, or Pownce. Unlike those services, Identi.ca’s underlying software is available under an Open Source license. Identi.ca is also the first service to support OpenMicroBlogging, a standard for exchanging short messages between microblogging sites. Identi.ca also makes public user data available under a Creative Commons license in standard formats.

“Too many existing social networks keep users locked in to their services,” says Evan Prodromou, president of Control Yourself. “With an Open Source code base, and support for standard data exchange formats, we are giving users back the autonomy to control their own social Web presence.”

Response from initial testers has been enthusiastic, both for the software’s design and functionality, as well as the site’s openness. “It makes me feel alive again to see the resurgence of free/open on the web,” said Jon Phillips, Community Manager with Creative Commons in San Francisco, CA.

Control Yourself will grow the service exponentially throughout 2008, adding features such cell phone text messaging (SMS) and multilingual support in its next software release.

Link to the original press release: Control Yourself

AT&T has released a set of informative videos (all of which appear below) with details about when, where and how to buy the iPhone 3G. Prepare to qualify!

There are three videos. The first one is for people who are not existing AT&T customers:

Next, information for people who are already customers of AT&T (including iPhone owners and non-iPhone customers):



Finally, if you want to give your first-generation iPhone to your old friend Chris someone you know, here are those details:



In addition, a press release outlining all the details for various types of purchasers describes the in's and out's of contracts, upgrades and whatnot:

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced iPhone 3G pricing for new and existing AT&T customers, several attractive voice and data plans, and tips on how to be “iReady” when iPhone 3G goes on sale at AT&T retail stores at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, July 11.

“We can’t wait to offer iPhone 3G to our customers, and we want to make sure the buying process is as easy as possible,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T’s wireless unit. “Considering all the great new features of iPhone 3G, we think our pricing and monthly plans present a tremendous value for consumers and businesses alike.”

Pricing and Eligibility

AT&T is making it easy for customers to prepare for their iPhone 3G purchase by posting “Get iReady” tips and frequently asked questions at www.att.com/iphone. The site also will include a link for customers to check their upgrade eligibility and other wireless account information.

iPhone 3G will be available for $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. These prices require two-year contracts and are available to the following customers:

• iPhone customers who purchased before July 11
• Customers activating a new line with AT&T
• Current AT&T customers who are eligible, at the time of purchase, for an upgrade discount

Existing AT&T customers who are not currently eligible for an upgrade discount can purchase iPhone 3G for $399 for the 8GB model or $499 for the 16GB model. Both options require a new two-year service agreement. In the future, AT&T will offer a no-contract-required option for $599 (8GB) or $699 (16GB).

Current customers may also choose to wait until they become eligible for an upgrade discount. Eligibility is generally determined by amount of time remaining on a current contract and payment history.

Current AT&T customers who are upgrading to iPhone 3G will pay an $18 upgrade fee and new AT&T customers will pay the standard $36 activation fee.

Voice, Data and Text Messaging Plans

AT&T brings iPhone 3G customers the best coverage on the globe and the largest mobile-to-mobile calling community with unlimited calling to AT&T’s 71.4 million wireless customers. iPhone 3G customers can choose from four individual AT&T Nation plans, which bundle voice and unlimited data (e-mail and Web browsing).

• AT&T NationSM Unlimited: Includes unlimited Anytime Minutes for $129.99 a month.
• AT&T Nation 1350: Includes 1350 Anytime Minutes and unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes for $109.99 a month.
• AT&T Nation 900: Includes 900 Anytime Minutes and unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes for $89.99 a month.
• AT&T Nation 450: Includes 450 Anytime Minutes and 5,000 Night & Weekend Minutes for $69.99 a month.

All AT&T Nation and AT&T FamilyTalk® plans for iPhone 3G include nationwide long distance and roaming, Visual Voicemail, Rollover®, unlimited Mobile to Mobile calling, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, Three-Way Calling and Caller ID.

AT&T will offer FamilyTalk plans, with bundled voice and unlimited data, starting as low as $129.99 a month for two iPhone 3G lines. Up to three additional iPhone lines can be added for $39.99 each.
Unlimited text messaging can be added for an additional $20 ($30 for FamilyTalk plans of up to five lines); $15 (1,500 messages), or $5 (200 messages).

iPhone for Business

Business customers interested in iPhone 3G should contact an AT&T business sales representative or review their account information online to determine their eligibility for upgrade pricing. Corporate e-mail and other business applications require the Enterprise Data Plan for iPhone, which is $45 a month and bundled with an eligible voice plan. Small business customers may qualify for AT&T BusinessTalk, the industry’s only shared plan specifically for small businesses. Additional details on iPhone business offerings are available at www.att.com/iphoneforbusiness.

iPhone 2.0 Software

All iPhone customers will benefit from the iPhone 2.0 software, which will be pre-loaded on all iPhone 3Gs and available as a free download for current iPhone customers. The new software will include numerous enhancements, such as business-class e-mail access via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync; the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK), which allows a business to easily create applications customized to its needs; and the App Store, which offers a wide-range of applications — from games to business, education to entertainment and productivity to social networking. For example, AT&T has developed YELLOWPAGES.COM Mobile for iPhone, which takes local mobile search to a new level by allowing users to discover businesses and local events based on their popularity among other iPhone users, get directions and access business reviews.

So - The real question is this: Who plans to get in line early? :)

Microsoft and Apple have announced that they are working together to  make Exchange Server and the iPhone mobile phone work well together. Apple will license Exchange ActiveSync for use on the iPhone, which will in Turn help assure the Exchange Server dominance in the marketplace stays they way it is. It's really as simple as that.

The fact is that Exchange is a pretty terrific server product for email, calendaring and a lot more. The iPhone is a pretty terrific mobile device. They don't integrate too terribly well today: You can sync your calendar and contacts via the USB connection to your computer, and you can get IMAP email from a properly-configured Exchange server (which works, but is not exactly optimal). But it's far from simple, far from seamless, and far from supportable in the enterprise.

One has to wonder what this means, either directly or indirectly, for the Windows Mobile world. I know the arguments: Different markets, different platforms, different purposes, etc. etc. etc... but with the iPhone SDK availability, that gap will be much narrower. And the fact of the matter is, Apple has the usability nailed with the iPhone. Sure, there's a few enhancements needed. But those are ones that can (and I'm certain will) be done.

ActiveSync will provide the ability (assuming Apple leverages all the features) to do push email, calendar and contact sync over the air, and task list sync.

Perhaps one of the more important potential benefits from ActiveSync integration with the iPhone is the ability to get enterprise-class security on the device, which to date is lacking and doesn't meet the needs or standards of most commercial IT departments. Exchange 2007 clients can be set up for enforced enterprise IT "policies" or controls, which would go a long way toward satisfying the security needs. In my mind, that's the biggest potential win. Without that, pushing email and syncing calendars and contacts is to risky an activity.

From Apple's press release come details of what they intend to provide - and it looks liek Cisco VPNs are in the package, as well:

Apple has licensed Exchange ActiveSync from Microsoft and is building it right into the iPhone, so that iPhone will connect out-of-the-box to Microsoft Exchange Servers 2003 and 2007 for secure over-the-air push email, contacts, calendars and global address lists. Built-in Exchange ActiveSync support also enables security features such as remote wipe, password policies and auto-discovery. The iPhone 2.0 software supports Cisco IPsec VPN to ensure the highest level of IP-based encryption available for transmission of sensitive corporate data, as well as the ability to authenticate using digital certificates or password-based, multi-factor authentication. The addition of WPA2 Enterprise with 802.1x authentication enables enterprise customers to deploy iPhone and iPod touch with the latest standards for protection of Wi-Fi networks.

The iPhone 2.0 software provides a configuration utility that allows IT administrators to easily and quickly set up many iPhones, including password policies, VPN setting, installing certificates, email server settings and more. Once the configuration is defined it can be easily and securely delivered via web link or email to the user. To install, all the user has to do is authenticate with a user ID or password, download the configuration and tap install. Once installed, the user will have access to all their corporate IT services.

Good move Apple. Good move Microsoft. Looking forward to this one!

Merry-Freakin'-Christmas from Blockbuster. NOT.

Not too long ago I wrote about Blockbuster's sudden and substantial rate increase. People were upset, me included. I begrudgingly gave in, however, and started paying the $7.00 increase - from $17.99 to $24.99 - per month for unlimited in-store exchanges and three mail rentals at a time.

A few minutes ago I got a very "friendly" email from Blockbuster, letting me know some of the great rentals they have available in the first paragraph, encouraging me to exchange movies in the store in the second paragraph, and then pretty much putting it to me without so much as kissing me first in the third paragraph. Here is exactly what it said (click the image on the right to see a screen shot of the actual email with the section highlighted):

"To continue to bring you the unmatched convenience of both online and in-store DVD rentals, your monthly subscription fee will change from $24.99 to $34.99. This adjustment† will go into effect on your next billing cycle on or after December 27, 2007. The benefits of your subscription plan will remain the same."

So, in the time span of about four to five short months, my monthly cost has gone from $17.99 to $34.99 per month (in other words, roughly doubled) and the services I get for the money are less (since I no longer get the two coupons a month for movie or game rentals that I got for a couple years before their August price and service change).

"Ok, but that's the last straw."

As soon as the month I have already paid for runs out mid-January, I'm dumping this mess. Goodbye Blockbuster. Hello Netflix. I feel like I have to encourage everyone to do the same. This is - in my opinion - not a consumer-friendly company. I know they need to make a profit, and I was willing to support that. But dragging your customers through this kind of mess is not the way to do it. Believe me when I say I'd likely have been willing to spend more for better service (or at least consistently good service in both the store and online, which I don't get today), had a reasonable rate increase been effectively sold to me.

If some kind of miracle happens between now and January 18th when my account runs out and Blockbuster changes their plans, I'll consider sticking around. But it won't happen. This appears to be just more of the same decisions. It's too bad.

If you received an email, feel free to make use of the comments here. What does yours say? What do you think? What - if anything - will you be doing about it? If you agree with me and want to share the sentiment, you can link to http://www.boycottblockbuster.com/, which points to this page.

Time to stand up and say something.

Added -- Some other comments made on other blogs:

• Ars Technica analysis
• Hacking Netflix
• Gizmodo
• SlashGear
• Five Cent Nickel
• Ipod Express

And, via Gizmodo, a humorous visual that effectively captures the essence of the situation...

 

I also noted that new subscribers to Blockbuster (people who go there today to sign up for the first time) will be recruited under the "old" pricing plans, as they have not changed the information on the web site. That seems a little disingenuous, if not completely dishonest, doesn't it? Click the image below to see a fill-size screenshot of their pricing page on the site as of the morning of December 20th. I'd hope they'd at least get this problem fixed soon (unless they don't intend to increase the prices for new customers, of course).

Lots of iPhone posts recently, I am aware. I promise I will get other topics up here. But I need to tell you about my service experience with Apple this week, as it exemplifies why great service is so valuable - not just to the customer, but to the company as well.

As I described recently, I had a mishap with my iPhone where a new holster that was way too tight resulted in a flying iPhone that bounced off my hand, off my knee, to the floor and a subsequent small dent that prevented the power/lock button from working at all. In a nutshell, the phone got damaged after I dropped it (although I maintain it should be a bit more resilient and the holster I bought sucks design-wise).

So, as I said I would the other day, I took the phone and a small dose of hope with me to the Apple store here in the Portland area to show it to them and see what it would take to get it fixed (meaning how many dollars). As I also said that day, my expectations were low in terms of service coverage. Boy, was I ever surprised.

I took the phone to the store, signed up to speak with one of their experts on the in-store concierge system, walked around the mall for about 30 minutes, and then went back to the store. The techs looked at the iPhone, saw the problem, listened to me for about 15 seconds as I described what had happened, and immediately proceeded to arrange to have the situation rectified.

Wow. As I listened to the service tech telling me they didn't have a replacement phone available right then and there (they were out of stock) and that he expected more in the store the next day, I actually got a little confused. "So how will this work?" I asked. "Will I use the loaner and bring it back here when my phone is fixed?"

"Nope," he said. "We stopped the loaner program. We're just going to give you anew phone. I'm sorry I don't have any in stock right now, but we'll call you as soon as we get one in, probably tomorrow. Since your phone is basically working except for this button why don't you take it with you and you can bring it back when the new one comes in, and then we'll just swap out the SIM and everything right here when you come back."

I think I looked shocked. At least based on the look on his face. He smiled.

"Wow," I said. "Thanks!"

"Not a problem, not at all. You need a working iPhone." said the tech.

And less than 24 hours later I received the call, went to the store, and got the replacement in short order, no waiting. They even let me exchange the decidedly crappy holster case that was so problematic for a much better model, which you can see here.

Kudos to Apple for its quick, unflinching, natural and truly customer-centric reflexes. It felt 100% authentic and the focus was on whether I was happy as a customer and if the product was meeting my needs and working properly. I can tell you this: I have already started looking at other Apple products in the store and have visited the online store a few times since this experience, as well. I am much, much more likely to buy Apple sometime in the future as a result - and that means in my personal decisions as well as professional business ones.

There's something to be learned here, for sure.

Over at http://ipxsync.com/ there's information about a new service, listed as currently in beta, that will allow you to get your Exchange information on your iPhone. Appropriately dubbed iPXSync, it's offered SaaS style and they say will be simple to set up and get running.

UPDATED: Someone from iPXSync sends along this link to a FAQ page (nice that they're watching the discussion and participating!), and Kevin over at JKOnTheRun also posted about this, and has posted a follow-up that helps to answer some of the same questions I have.

All security concerns aside (the iPhone has quite literally no IT controls available for it in case you lose it or something), it's an interesting possibility and it'll be fun to see how they deliver this. I'm hoping it's what people are assuming - wireless connectivity to the information on Exchange in the actual installed apps on the iPhone, although without proxying and (therefore) potentially storing highly sensitive information on the service's hosts, that might be really hard to do (and a big red flag for any corporate user with half a brain). So, I hope they have something really smart and secure dreamed up. We shall see. I am also wondering how they'll deal with tasks from Exchange. And that makes me wonder if this will all be browser-based, or if they'll be app-tapping their way in, or what (in which case iPhone OS upgrades become a concern).

Ahh, questions abound. :)

From the web site:

iPXSync provides iPhone users with real-time m

obile access to all of their critical Microsoft Exchange Server information including email, message folders, calenders and tasks.

iPXSync is a zero-installation solution that requires no special software, hardware or configuration changes on the Exchange Server.

iPXSync is offered as Software as a Service (SaaS), which means it is immediately available with no expensive upfront fees, and you can be up and running in just minutes.

I'm a little more behind the times these days than I tend to want to admit. Management work, flying all over the place, integrating two companies and the day job will do that to a technologist, let me tell ya. So, I was pretty amazed otday when I finally got to see some cool stuff I have been hearing about lately.

I have an older Mac Mini in the kitchen at home and that's the extent of my Mac world: Checking the day's weather, doing an occasional Google search, getting movie times - and applying seemingly weekly OSX and app updates.

Sidebar: I'm leaving my place of work after this week and moving on to new things, so I have been thinking about laptops (I have used a work laptop for pretty much everything up til now). I have been looking at Lenovo machines and some Dells as well, but someone mentioned running Windows apps on a Mac recently, and I started thinking about that this evening.

There's a cool app called Parallels that lets you run Windows apps on the Mac. People have told me it's really cool. But my friend of many years, Chris Pirillo, told me tonight to look hard at VMWare Fusion. Chris is a geek's geek and you might know him from his Lockergnome empire or from when he was on TechTV a while back (obligatory funny link here, heh). Anyhow - He cares desperately about usability and product quality. My area is more infrastructure, so we compliment each other. When he says look at Fusion, I listen. When I say look at RackSpace for hosted exchange, he listens.

Chris runs this great live video show online, and when I IMed him this evening to ask him what he thinks about running Windows apps on the Mac, he was pretty emphatic and told me to turn on the video feed:

Greg Hughes says: have you run windows on the macbookpro? with that program that lets you do that things where you can run windows apps in OSX and all that?
Greg Hughes says: i liked the idea of running a native windows app in OSX
Chris Pirillo says: Vmware.
Greg Hughes says: parallels?
Chris Pirillo says: Vmware fusion
Chris Pirillo says: Trust me, d00d.
Greg Hughes says: k
Chris Pirillo says: TRUST ME
Chris Pirillo says: Perf + seamless
Chris Pirillo says: Here.
Chris Pirillo says: watch
Greg Hughes says: k
Chris Pirillo says: No, i mean - watch the vid.
Greg Hughes says: one sec
Greg Hughes says: ok am watching...

Then he proceeded to show me via the live video feed (along with everyone else in his viewing and chatting audience) how incredibly slick VMWare Fusion is, and why I should look at it instead of Parallels. Both are cool apps, but the VMWare seems really cool for performance.

This stuff is really amazing, and this is a great example of something that's a lot easier to explain by showing it to you.

Chris has an archived video (see below) and a related blog post where he did a comparison of the two products (Parallels vs. VMWare Fusion). If you have not checked out Chris' video show, it's pretty slick, he does call-in's for tech support and all sorts of stuff -- and http://live.pirillo.com is the URL to watch.

I'm looking forward to playing around with this stuff. My inner geek is waking up and getting a bit excited. I need to find a Mac notebook to see how this stuff works, then write some more I think. Should be fun.

Here's Chris' archived video where he discusses the VMWare Fusion and Parallels software products:

UPDATED: On December 19, 2007 Blockbuster notified its customers that it is once again increasing rates for the Total Access service. Click here for more information.

Nothing like BS marketing diversionary explanations for what amounts to a profiteering move. Come on, Blockbuster - we're not stupid... Tell it like it is.

It looks like the great Blockbuster Total Access Premium plan I've been on was a little too good to be true, and Blockbuster is reeling in some line to cut back on the likely massive number of free in-store rentals they've been handing out for free when customers return their online rentals to the brick-and-mortar stores. I know I have enjoyed that service, but I'm not especially enjoying the news I just got in email this evening telling me my account is changing.

In a nutshell, for the price I have been paying all along I will get less. I can still get 3 DVDs at a time, but will only be able to exchange five of the online movies for in-store rentals each month, where before there was no limit. To get what I'm used to, I'll have to pay another $7.00 a month. Looks like I have some decisions to make.

Here's the plan I have today, at least the next week or two...

Your Current Plan: BLOCKBUSTER Total Access Premium 

• $17.99 / month (plus taxes)
• 3 at-a-time, unlimited mailings
• unlimited in-store free movie/discounted game exchanges
• +2 FREE bonus Movie or Game Rental E-Coupon / Month

And below is the chart from their web site with the new plans. Ouch...

The other thing that really gets me is the lame explanation (my opinion) they provided for why they're pre-determining and limiting the number of in-store rental exchanges they're allowing each month. This is taken from their online FAQ (emphasis mine):

QUESTION: Why is BLOCKBUSTER offering plans with a pre-determined number of monthly in-store movie exchanges?

ANSWER: We are now offering a full range of subscription options so that our customers can more easily find a plan that meets their specific needs, whether that means a basic online-only service without any in-store exchange privileges or a premium plan that includes unlimited in-store exchanges. Our new line-up of plans allow subscribers to get the right number of movies for their needs. Current subscribers are welcome to change their plan at any time by going to My Account.

What?? I already had a plan that met my needs, the very same plan that now costs $24.99, and which used to cost $17.99. Gah.

Why can't they just say it: They want/need to make more money and this makes it possible. Seriously, open and honest explanations about the obvious reasons would be much easier to swallow. In fact, if they told us the reason for the increase is because they didn't anticipate lower margins associated with lots of unlimited exchanges in the store, I might even consider paying the higher price to keep the same level of service. But putting forth what looks like a veiled, lame excuse for a reason doesn't exactly motivate me to do even more business with the company. Hey Blockbuster, just tell us what's really up -- please.

Oh and another thing - If you have one of the accounts with the limited in-store exchanges, apparently the counter for tracking your the in-store exchanges is based on how many you do in a calendar month, not per billing period.

Because I have been with the Total Access program for some time, I have also been getting two e-coupons a month for free in-store movie or game rentals. But I can't tell whether I will still get those after this change takes place. I might have to contact their customer support to find out. I hope they're keeping those in place for their longer-term customers.

Am I just whining here, or do you feel my pain? Are you affected by this change? What do you think?

I was randomly looking at blogs and doing some read-click-read-click-drill-down action when I ran across something that made me laugh out loud, which as it turns out was written on a blog of someone that I used to work with. Small world eh?

It's a list of ten URLs that some unfortunate businesses not only registered, but without realizing they put into actual use.

Blatantly copied here from Steve's Rant (hi Steve!):

Everyone knows that if you are going to operate a business in today’s world you need a domain name. It is advisable to look at the domain name selected as other see it and not just as you think it looks. Failure to do this may result in situations such as the following (legitimate) companies who deal in everyday humdrum products and services but clearly didn’t give their domain names enough consideration:

1. A site called ‘Who Represents‘ where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name… wait for it… is
www.whorepresents.com

2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at
www.expertsexchange.com

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at
www.penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at
www.therapistfinder.com

5. Then of course, there’s the Italian Power Generator company…
www.powergenitalia.com

6. And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
www.molestationnursery.com

7. If you’re looking for computer software, there’s always
www.ipanywhere.com

8. Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is
www.cummingfirst.com

9. Then, of course, there’s these brainless art designers, and their whacky website:
www.speedofart.com

10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at
www.gotahoe.com

RusAs Radio Show Number Two is online, and Richard and I spoke with David Sengupta about Exchange old and new as well as a variety of issues and topics around messaging and collaboration:

Show #2 | 4/18/2007 (32 minutes)
David Sengupta on Exchange Email Policy Issues

Exchange MVP David Sengupta discusses issues and best practices around email policy and related strategies.

Links: RunAs Radio web site and RSS feed

We welcome your input and ideas - Just email info@runasradio.com and let us know what's on your mind!

Microsoft on Friday released a patch for Outlook 2007 that addressed a number of performance issues (described in KB933493). Complaints of sluggishness have been circulating since before the product was formally released, typically where large OST (offline folders used for synchronization) and PST (personal folders typically used for archiving) files are involved.

From Computerworld:

The 8.3 MB update should accelerate the download of messages from the Exchange e-mail server and reduce temporary freezes resulting from deleting messages or copying them from one folder to another, according to Jessica Arnold, Outlook’s program manager.

The update should also let Outlook 2007 users switch between messages faster and enable faster program startup, she said.

I've installed it and will see how things go. Right off the bat Outlook started up faster, so that's encouraging.

I used to be a Netflix user. In fact I was subscribed for well over a year, but after the first few months I never built the queue back up and I just didn't care to use the service. I found myself constantly forgetting about it. Movies sat around the house after being watched. My monthly fees were going nowhere. Then an opportunity came along to sign up for Blockbuster's online service, and I took it - and promptly canceled my Netflix account. As it turned out, Blockbuster not only offered three movies at a time for a competitive price, but I would also be able to get free rentals in the local store by using monthly online coupons that I'd just load in my browser from the web site and print out at home. That sounded pretty cool to me.

Fast forward about a year, and Blockbuster enhanced their online rental service to allow you to return movies to the local store - they call it Total Access. On top of that, when you return your movie in its mailer to the store instead of dropping it in a mailbox, you get to exchange it for a free store rental of your choice. Now that's a great deal. In the end, it means I can sit at home and set up my rental queue, and rent online, and when I drop them at the store I can get three more movies to watch while I wait for the next set of movies to ship in the mail from my queue. And I still get the two free rental coupons (which can be used for movies or video games) each month. It's pretty awesome. We are watching a lot more movies as a result, and we're also watching more movies that fall into the "interesting" category, too.

I have only one wish-list item for Blockbuster to improve its service, and this is a big one in my book: Right now, if I put movies in my online queue to have mailed to me, there is no intelligent connection between what I rent in the store and what sits in the queue. So, if I put Children of Men in the online queue and I also rent it in the store because I find it on the shelf while I am in there, currently there is no way for the online service to "know" I have already rented it. What Blockbuster needs to do (in my humble opinion) is to compare what I rent in the store to the list of movies in my online queue. If I pick up a movie in person, they should prompt me to remove it from my queue, or allow me in my account settings to have that film automatically removed. More than once I have picked up a movie at the store only to have it shipped the next day or so from the mailing service. In those cases I have just taken the duplicate mail copy and exchanged it for an in-store rental, so no real harm or anything, but I would sure like to have some inventory and queue connection happening with my account.

I highly recommend Blockbuster Total Access. They ship fast, the selection is good, and I am really enjoying the in-store integration.

Let me start by saying I really like GoDaddy.

A while back, I migrated this blog from a shared web hosting environment to a virtual dedicated server at GoDaddy. Now, before I gripe a bit about the performance, let me say one thing. What I bought from GoDaddy is exactly what I got. They guarantee something like 384MB of RAM for their Windows VDS's, and my blog plus mail server regularly exceeds that amount. My fault.

What that means is that when the host that houses my virtual server is under heavy load from the various virtual machines it's managing, the available RAM allocated to my virtual machine could drop as low as the guaranteed 384MB level. Needless to say, if that happens and my apps need more, things might crash. Especially those apps that are already running in RAM at the time the allocation changes.

And that's what has been happening on my server. Plus, I have discovered it's getting quite expensive.

As I mentioned in my last entry, my blog typically pulls in around $80 a day or so from ad clicks. Well, this afternoon I had a few minutes to breathe at work and I discovered my server had been offline most of the day. My ad revenue for today is less than $30 as a result. Do that a few times a month and adds up pretty quickly.

So, I've decided that I will once again be moving, this time to a GoDaddy physical dedicated server on its own hardware - an Intel Core 2 Duo running at 2.13 GHz, with 2GB RAM, dual 120GB drive in a RAID array, a Cisco PIX 501 firewall and the works. The reliability and uptime of dedicated hardware is easily justified by saving all the lost revenue from the current system, so it just makes good sense to do this. It's true what they say: You get what you pay for.

At any rate, the downtime during the transition will probably be far less than the downtime each time the current server fails. Maybe I should install this copy of Exchange I have lying around here and really get things humming. Hmm....

If you sense a pattern to my post titles, you're really paying attention. Recently I spent a few weeks using the Samsung Blackjack, a new Windows-mobile smartphone. Within the first 24 hours, as I wrote last month, it became clear to me that the phone wasn't going to work for me, being a power user of mobile technology for critical, fast-paced business. In other words, Crackberry-style. You can read my experiences here, and also know that while I was able to adjust somewhat to the Blackjack, the three weeks that followed that first "24 Hours" post were not significantly better than my initial impressions.

For the past few days I reverted to using my tried-and-true Blackberry 8700 again. I went back because using the Blackjack was holding me back in a substantial way, and I am so busy at work right now I needed to get back to something that would perform and work the way I work. It's worthy of mention that after about 10 minutes using the Blackberry my old wrist pain started to come back. Not a good sign. the 8700 is wider then the Blackjack and the Treo, and I found that holding it was stretching my thumb out in a way that was causing me pain. So, that's a good thing to discover. Also, while I enjoyed the quick usability of the Blackberry the moment I went back to it, I found the screen and general look and feel to be plain and stark after living in Windows Mobile for a few weeks.

Anyhow, on Wednesday this week, a new box arrived via FedEx from Cingular (despite the much-hyped winter storm) and I swapped the Blackjack and the Blackberry back out again in order to give the new Palm Treo 750 a try. This is the latest of the Windows Mobile 2005 enabled Palm devices. It runs Windows Mobile Phone Edition v5, plus Palm has made some nice little enhancements to the home screen (or "Today" screen, as they say) and other software interfaces. To be honest, I was quite skeptical about whether this new device would be sufficient after my experiences over the past few weeks with the Smartphone version of Windows Mobile running on the Blackjack hardware. But I can report today that I am pleasantly surprised, and that I may have actually found a Windows Mobile phone that can replace my Blackberry for real-world use.

To be certain, the Treo 750 is a significantly beefier (both physically and figuratively) device than the Blackjack. But it is fast and smooth, very well designed and crafted, and is thought-out in a way that most other devices are not. Palm's attention to the enhancements they made to the home screen and some of the underlying software is indicative of their usability focus, and that's important. In fact, it may just make the technology sufficiently usable for what I need. Pretty much anything I need is accessible right there on the home screen. Because it's a PocketPC version of Windows Mobile, it has the touch screen and a stylus, so I can use my finger or the metal pen thing. Of course there is also the ubiquitous five-way button pointer just above the keyboard pad that works quite well for navigation, too.

So, what is it that is so much better about the Treo 750 that has me singing it's praises? Let me count a few of the ways:

• It's fast and more powerful. The Treo doesn't miss keystrokes or pause for several to many seconds when you launch an application or try to do normal everyday tasks.
• The way Palm approached text and MMS messaging is very cool - It looks a lot like an instant messaging interface and makes for a fast and positive text messaging experience.
• Better speakerphone.
• More advanced Windows Mobile software, with the ability to run PocketPC applications.
• The keyboard is pretty darned terrific, leaps and bounds better than the Blackjack's.
• The Treo loads web pages reliably and faster than the Blackjack, which is interesting since the 3G network the Treo uses is not (yet) HSPDA. The Treo currently runs on the UMTS network, with a HSPDA software upgrade slated for the first half of this year.
• Check out some of the ease-of-use enhancements in a one-minute PC WORLD video here.
• Check out Cingular's Treo 750 interactive tutorial (about 20 minutes) here.

What are some remaining Treo 750 and Windows Mobile shortcomings? There are a few, if I want to get nit-picky:

• Battery life in my subjective first-day use on the high speed network was better than the Blackjack, but it is still not up to par with what one gets out of the Blackberry (which is and EDGE network device, for the record - slower yet again).
• More proprietary connectors?? I know, it's a Palm creation. But seriously, why the heck can't we just charge and sync via a standard Mini-USB2.0 port? Time to locate and buy some more accessories. If I had $29.00 for every cheap plastic vehicle charger I ever bought, I'd be just about break-even.
• The Inbox application on Windows mobile doesn't let you aggregate all your mail into the main inbox if you use subfolders in Outlook/Exchange to organize your email. More on that and what I did to alleviate the problem this evening can be found below.

Quick sidebar: My friend Trevin reacted in an IM conversation tonight to my petty complaints about the devices by saying, "Oh, cry me a river Hughes." Heh. Hey, man... You know, it's picky, difficult people like me that gently drive usability experts back into their corners and holes (in a friendly way, of course) where they make technology miracles happen in the next rev, and we also provide them with wish lists of things that would make us buy their stuff. Everything I say is intended to be taken from the perspective of "room and opportunity for improvement." Now, Trevin tells me he likes the smaller form factor of the Blackjack. The Treo is just too large and unwieldy for him, he says. Well in my book the Treo is smaller than my Blackberry 8700, at least width-wise, and that's a good thing. The Blackjack was almost too small. And yes, too small is possible - especially when you have to fit a QWERTY keyboard on the thing. Also - Trevin's a truly terrific guy, and I respect his opinions greatly. We have different perspectives, different jobs and use our devices differently. And he was being sarcastc in our IM chat - a little poking fun at friends kind of thing.

For some additional perspective, I'd suggest reading Walter Mossberg's Personal Technology article from Thursday, in which he says he thinks the Blackjack is a better device than the Treo 750 overall, although he recognizes some of the benefits of the Treo. It's clearly a purchase decision to be made based on individual and specific needs. Walt also points out that the newly-announced Apple iPhone (or whatever they end up calling it), which won't be released for several months, will likely be a killer for an of the Windows Mobile phones. Time will tell. The iPhone looks terrific for sure, but until I see one and use it, I am not convinced it would work for my particular business power-user needs. But that's also not likely to be the target market.

As I noted in my Blackjack review and above, I have always been a hyper-organizer of email, using folders and subfolders in Outlook and Exchange to organize email by type and recipient. As a result, due to the way the Windows Mobile Inbox works, in order to see if any email has arrived that gets distributed to any folder other than the inbox, I have to navigate the folder tree on the mobile phone, which requires a whole bunch of clicks and scrolls. Now, the full Windows Mobile edition on the Treo 750 includes a much simpler and easier mechanism in the form of a Folders menu, which allows me to much more easily access the folder list. But what I really wanted was what I was used to: A mobile inbox where all email sits, regardless of how I organize it in my desktop Outlook client.

So, I found myself in a bit of a stuck situation, until I got to thinking about it and spent a few minutes this evening IMing with Trevin. I had briefly thought of dumping all of my Exchange folder hierarchy completely and changing over to using Search Folders in Outlook. Trevin told me he only uses search folders and that he uses them extensively. I am running Outlook 2007, and the search performance in that application pretty slick, so I made up my mind and went straight to my Outlook rules and exported them (just in case), then deleted them all. Now all my email would go to my inbox. I started setting up search folders and found I could actually do a lot more with those than I realized - That's something I will be getting deeper into at a later date. Anyhow, I replicated and created the necessary functionality and effectively solved by mobile inbox issue. Now the phone puts everything where I want it and Outlook shows me what I need to see the way I need to see it, only even better than it did before.

I will always like Blackberries, and I am sure I will be running new ones now and then (since I tend to be the guy who tests the new stuff). But for now, the 8700 is gone and the Treo 750 is in its place. It will be interesting to see how it performs over time, but this time around I have a level of confidence that was not present on the last WinMobile trial. That's a good thing.

What do you think? Have experience with these devices? Any PocketPC/Windows Mobile software you think I can't live without (or would not want to live without)?

I almost didn't write this one. But then I changed my mind because it occurred to me that there's a lot of people who are in the same boat. Let me be very clear here that this entry is written from the perspective of a business power user, someone who stretches things to their usable limits, and then some.

As many readers here already know, I am a Blackberry guy. Have been for years. Occasionally, I go through the trial phases with other devices, sort of a change-up process that - at least to date - has always ended up being a sort of Blackberry Vacation phase for me.

Anyhow, yesterday I set aside my trusty and scratched Blackberry 8700, with it's extended battery and general useful goodness, to try the latest in Windows Mobile technology for a while - the Samsung Blackjack, procured from Cingular. Giving up my Blackberry, which has survived multiple submersions (don't ask, don't worry) and significant drops on many a hard surface, is not something I take lightly.

The Blackjack looked interesting. I had an opportunity to switch out with no risk and to see what it's all about. The TV commercials had caught my eye, truth be told, and it looked like about as good of a Windows Mobile device as any, probably even better. So, I thought, what the heck... And yesterday it arrived and we swapped out the SIM cards. I went about my business sans-Blackberry and with a sleek new phone. This blog entry is my (rather pointed)comparison of the two devices and software. It's important to note that a comparison point of view is my primary perspective when I review mobile devices. In order to make a switch from what I already have it has to work for me in a business sense, well enough to make me want to move, so a comparison with a power-business-user slant is both fair and meaningful.

Anyhow, It's been an interesting 24+ hours.

First off, the 30,000-foot Gestalt view: To be honest, my hopes have been fairly dashed. No matter how you skin it, from a strict usability standpoint the Windows Mobile 5 experience still just doesn't match that of the Blackberry. It's much closer than it used to be, but the remaining gap is real and there's much work remaining to be done to move into the same category. And I am not referring to the Blackjack hardware here (more on that in a minute). I am referring to the OS as a whole and the UI navigation specifically. I have to scroll and click through so many things just to do the simplest tasks. The conglomeration of operating system and applications (some controlled by MS, some by the device manufacturer, others by the carrier, I am sure) is just a little too klutzy to work well. It's right on the edge of being too difficult to be practical. Keep in mind, I come from Blackberry land, where things work quite well, where Blackberry controls the hardware and the software in a much more complete manner. And that's the set of users that Windows Mobile needs to win over. Without that, the potential market is considerably more scarce. Also keep in mind, I really want the Windows Mobile experience to rival or even best the Blackberry - there's no fan-boy stuff going on here. The simple fact is that in practical power-user life the Blackberry wins by a significant margin. And by practical use I mean email, calendar, tasks, text messaging, and the like. Not MP3 files and video. Those are nice, but the basics have to work really well first.

What exactly am I referring to? On the Blackberry, I look at one screen and touch one wheel to do everything but type. Everything I need is right there, in full view. My email is one thumb click away and so is the calendar. On the Blackberry clicking the wheel brings up a context sensitive menu of options - all of the options right there on the screen without having to go to three or four more buttons on the face of the phone. Sounds picky, I know, but deal with several hundred emails a day and see how much of an impact it has. For that matter, spend ten minutes reading email flowing in on a Blackberry and then see how long it takes you to do the same thing on the Blackjack or any other Windows Mobile device. It's a different world.

Now, granted - Blackberry doesn't have some of the terrific things the Blackjack and Windows Mobile sport, and it's some pretty darned cool stuff that you get on the Blackjack/Windows Mobile device, to be sure. For example, the 3G UTMS/HSPDA network is amazingly fast (the Blackberry 8700 is an EDGE device, which is okay but doesn't really even compare speed-wise), and of course the Blackjack has a camera, which is something you can't get (yet) on a Blackberry (but the 8800 model with a camera is rumored to be coming in the spring). The 1.3 megapixel camera does a pretty nice job, by the way. Much better than other phones I've used before. Windows Media Player 10 (with some nifty streaming audio and video on the fast network provided by Cingular) and the ability to use MicroSD cards is cool. You don't get that on the Blackberry. And a solid MSN/Live Messenger application that I don't have to go find and pay for was a welcome item, as well. It also does AOL and Yahoo! messengers, by the way.

Did I mention it's a phone? Bluetooth 2, speakerphone capability and a very good phone call and sound quality are all pretty impressive.

There have been three lock-ups that I had to pull the battery to resolve. One was a network data failure to communicate at all this morning first thing, and the others were random application glitches it seemed. I have had to pull the battery on my 8700 a few times, but it's very, very rare.

Ultimately, even with the cool bells and whistles, if I cannot reliably and effectively do email, calendar and messaging in a very quick, painless and efficient manner like I can with the Blackberry phone, it's all for not. At best the experience on Windows Mobile takes some getting used to for a Blackberry user, and yet in reality even after some adjustment time it still lacks. You just have to navigate too much and too far with too many pointers and controls to get much of anything done, and the beautiful, bright screen is used for "bling" more than for practical real estate application. I will look for screen themes that better use the space, but I'm not holding my breath.

As far as the hardware goes, it is a nice feeling device. It's very solid and feels substantial in your hand. I like that. I think the proprietary cable that hooks to the USB port and/or charger cable was a terribly bad decision. Why not mini-USB so I can use my existing cables and chargers? Oh, wait - that's right. How would they sell more accessories if they all match? Ugh.

And don't get me started on battery life. Get this - between 8am and 3pm, I completely went through a charged battery, and that with only one phone call all day, and that call only lasted five minutes tops. I have the Exchange push-sync thing going and Bluetooth is turned on (by the way, the Bluetooth on the 8700 is flaky and the Blackjack has it beat in terms of reliability). I imagine that uses a bit more battery, but is it unreasonable to expect that the battery would last at least a day? The Blackberry lasts forever on a charge. I have a hard time killing it on a dawn-to-past-dusk day of emergencies and lots of phone calls. Good thing there's two batteries with my Blackjack - I needed them both just today. That's not good. A Microsoftie friend tells me there is some way to  turn off the HSPDA capability and that doing so might help with battery drain, and also that the push configuration with Exchange is a power-killer as well. But to me it seems like the features should be supported by the battery system. Either that or else the features need to be made a lot more efficient. Again, I am speaking from a practical standpoint. It has to work in the real world, regardless of what it is. And I can't change batteries mid-day in many cases. Hopefully after a few charges the life will get a little better but I can't imagine it getting so much better as to alleviate the concern.

Probably my biggest and most noticed disappointment about he hardware is the keyboard. I was surprised at how hard it is to type on this thing. Visually the keyboard is pretty cool and is somewhat similar to the Blackberry. But once you touch it you realize the keys are long and tall in shape, close together, and it's too easy to screw up finger placement. They're also slippery and stick up a long way, making accurate finger action even more difficult. The spacebar key is too narrow, and there's actually room there on the device to make it wider - which makes its lack of size even more unfortunate. And worst of all, as I type email or anything at normal typing speed the device randomly misses keystrokes. They just don't register. And at other times the OS seems to lag in showing what I type. I have had to go back and fill in missing letters and characters all day long on the thing, which is doubly frustrating. Again, from a practical standpoint that's not good.

I hate even writing this, because I very much wanted to like the Blackjack. And while I don't quite hate it (and I will stick with it for at least a few more days to see if somehow my experience and opinion changes), the usability issues have just about killed it for me out of the gate. The enthusiasm is gone and it's been fairly disappointing.

I have to believe that on the platform side Microsoft is truly interested in going after the serious enterprise business market, which is why I mention these details about the OS. And I will happily share my thoughts and experiences with anyone on the Mobile OS team that wants to take them. I'm picky, heh. And the war's not over yet: Today no less than ten people noticed the cool form factor of the Blackjack and instantly asked me if that was a new Blackberry I had. "No," I told them, "it's a Blackjack Windows Mobile phone." Hmmm! said the looks on their faces. "Do you like it?" they asked with anticipation. "No," I said. "It's driving me nuts. It should be cool but so far it's just too much work to use it." And that's the truth.

As I said, I almost didn't write this. There are many people out there that will get the Blackjack and love it, I am completely sure of that. It's a great phone. But as a hard-core power user on the business side, I need more - and this is my way of asking.

First impressions count for a lot, and the experience I've had with the Blackjack - colored by my experience with other devices that work very, very well - was simply less than I had hoped for. I think I have reasonable expectations. I am hopeful - and somewhat confident - that it will get better in the future. At least I sure hope so. The Windows Mobile OS has a lot of potential to kick butt. It just needs to get across that magical proverbial line, and probably Microsoft needs to do even more to ensure that the device makers do their part, as well. I know that seems like a legal stretch, but hey there's plenty of proof showing why it's needed. Blackberry has perfected their form factor and their software, which while relatively simple is elegant and works very well. Microsoft doesn't need to copy them to come up with a great solution, and they don't need to stifle the channel partners, software authors and hardware manufacturers, but they do need to set high standards, and they need to push hard and fast.

If and when that happens, maybe then I'll switch. Maybe it'll be a no-brainer. I am open to it, and hope that someday it will happen. Until then, I think this is just another vacation from my Blackberry career, but I am willing to let time tell. Heck, it's probably a good idea to stick with something else for a short period anyhow as far as repetitive stress injury avoidance goes, at least. Right?

From Mark Harrison's weblog:

All Windows SharePoint Services customers are entitled to an extended free trial of Antigen for SharePoint. This trial version will be active through June 30, 2006.

To download, simply go to www.sybari.com/wss and fill out the form.

Antigen for SharePoint allows Windows SharePoint Services users to collaborate without the risk of uploading or downloading infected documents or inappropriate content.

The simple and honest fact is that many people who have deployed WSS or SPS don't run any anti-virus software on their SharePoint implementations - and that's a huge mistake. Running plain-ol' AV on the server's file system is exactly the wrong thing to do, because all the SharePoint files are stored in the database where regular AV software can't touch them. And besides that, running real-time AV scans of a SQL database file (which is constantly changing) is a supreme resource and performance killer if there ever was one.

I've worked with Sybari's Antigen products on both SharePoint and Exchange for several years. In my book, it's the best thing in AV-Land since sliced bread. So check it out.

Lots of service pack and patch announcements the past couple weeks, and here's another one of note. Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 was released the other day, and it contains a number of fixes and important enhancements.

Better support for Windows Mobile devices (push technology with Windows Mobile 5, for example - which stands a chance of giving RIM a run for it's money eventually if the devices keep getting better) and incorporation of the Sender ID protection from spam, enhanced security, better offline address book support and even enhanced mailbox store sizes (75GB per store).

Webcasts are available here, and a top-ten reasons to upgrade list can be found here. The latest information about Exchange Server can always be found on the Exchange web site.

Okay, so granted, it's not the first DHTML/Javascript book, but "Foundations of Ajax" is the first (that I can find, anyhow) book extolling the virtues and details of building Ajax web applications. It's still listed as pre-order on Amazon, but on Apress you can purchase and download the eBook right now for only $20 (regular book price is $40). the PDF version is about 38 megabytes in size and 260 pages in length. The whole Ajax thing is cool in my mind, and I have been doing a lot of reading about it lately. Ever since Outlook Web Access on Exchange 2003 and then Google Maps came out, I've been pretty amazed at what you can do with this technology. Now there's lots of interesting apps that run in a web browser, a little more than thin client, but not really a fat client either.

So, go get this book and start to put that XMLHttpRequest object to work for you. Go build something usable and cool. Probably the one big thing that impressed me about this book was the fact that it pushes a test-driven/test-first approach to development (using JSUnit) and the fact that it has so many detailed, in-depth code samples and discussions. It doesn't just present code samples though. It takes you through the how's and the why's, which is cool.

What's this Ajax stuff, anyhow, you ask? From the book description:

"Google Maps, Google Suggest, Gmail, Tada List—these are all examples of highly dynamic web applications. In the past, we had an awkward choice: a thick client or a thin client. With a thick client, we got rich user experiences but had to deal with an error-prone and time-consuming deployment process. With a thin client we got ease of deployment but had to sacrifice the user experience.

"Today we have a third choice: highly dynamic web applications that are nearly as feature-rich as their thick client brethren. Using Ajax techniques, we can provide our customers the rich user experience they have come to expect while still enjoying the ease of deployment that we’ve come to expect.

"An Ajax application is very similar to the web applications we’re already familiar with. The difference is that it incorporates an “Ajax engine” that negates the start-stop nature of traditional web interaction and drives the whole process along. A quick look at an Ajax application like Google Maps will demonstrate the improvement to user experience very clearly. Gone are the constant page-refreshes and instead, you’re presented with a smooth, responsive interface that seamlessly reacts to your requests.

"Leading technology companies are adopting these techniques, and pressure is increasing for other companies to do the same in order to compete. The bar has been raised in the web application world, and what was once considered impossible is now being realized. With the help of these revolutionary Ajax techniques and this groundbreaking book as your companion, you can lead the way and get ahead of the game."

The eBook version is available to buy online now for $20.00, right here (at least at the time of this post).

Google has launched their Google Blog Search -and its good stuff. One of the best things in my book is that you get a list of highly-relevant weblogs before you get the text search results.

Some searches:

• OneNote
• Security
• Exchange 2003
• Obligatory ego search

Microsoft has released their Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) product, which is a replacement for Software Update Services (SUS). The server solution acts as an in-house patch management and deployment solution for your networked Windows machines and core applications.

What's New in Windows Server Update Services:

• More updates for Microsoft products, in more categories (Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Office XP, Office 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine [MSDE] 2000, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, with additional product support over time) 
• Ability to automatically download updates from Microsoft Update by product and type
• More language support for customers worldwide
• Maximized bandwidth efficiency through Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) 2.0 (BITS 2.0 is not installed by Update Services and is available on Microsoft Update)
• Ability to target updates to specific computers and computer groups
• Ability to verify that updates are suitable for each computer before installation—a feature that runs automatically for critical and security updates
• Flexible deployment options
• Reporting capabilities
• Flexible database options
• Data migration and import/export capabilities
• Extensibility through the application programming interface (API)

This new release is ten-fold better than the old SUS product, and if you are responsible for deployingpatches reliably and verifably across your company, this is something you must at least try. It will save time, improve your comtrols, and generally help you sleep at night.

Oh - and it's free to download. Just install it on a Windows 2000 SP4 or Windows 2003 server - your existing CALs cover it.

• Info here
• Download here
• FAQ here
• Full product overview here

Too bad there's not a Windows Mobile device that truly rivals Blackberry's form-factor for durability and real-world practical power use (yet, that is) (in my humble opinion, that is), but I can continue to hold out hope for better PocketPC's now.

Why? Because the Windows Mobile OS (2005 version) will soon be getting a messaging security and feature pack update that will enable "push" technology for instant delivery of all your Exchange 2003 info (email, contacts, calendar, etc) to your Windows Mobile 2005 powered device. Exchange 2003 SP2 will enable the functionality on the server side.

So half my concerns about the PocketPC/SmartPhone editions of Windows Mobile will be alleviated - namely the always there, immeidate delivery story.

Funny thing... I was having coffee with a Microsoft friend just the other day. He asked me why I was still using a Blackberry (common question from my Microsoft acquaintances), and I didn't have to say much. My first argument was the lack of real-time push.sync (which we both knew was coming on with the next Exchange update and the Mobile update). He agreed with me in one respect, though: RIM got the form-factor figured out when they built these Blackberry things - nailed it right on the head. RIM's keyboard rocks, plain and simple.

Good going for the Windows Mobile team. Lord knows that whole Blackberry Connect thing has never really panned out (it's supposedly Blackberry software that runs on the Windows Mobile OS, but it's really not materialized anywhere to speak of).

But about those devices running Winodws Mobile... They need to be improved to really make them work and hold up. My idea? Simple. Microsoft doesn't make the hardware (they keep reminding us of this, and it's become more of an excuse than a reason over the past couple years, guys), but they do have some control and impact in that area. Microsoft should exercise some release management and licensing control over the hardware manufacturers - Perhaps they should specify some quality and usability requirements and license the OS first to those manufacturers that actually produce a better product. that meets some stringent requirements for usability, reliability, durability, performance and battery efficiency.

Important message to all companies looking to do handheld QWERTY keyboards: You might want to consider where you're going to spend your "innovating" funds. You might be best served to simply pay RIM however much they ask to use their keybord. Like, as in their actual keyboard, not some knock-off, lumpy chicklet version like on several of the Windows Mobile powered devices I have used in the past, or the river-rockish Treo keyboard (yuck). Just buy the technology from RIM - Their's ain't broke, nothing to fix or improve.

At any rate, looks like the possibilites continue to change and grow, and Microsoft's made a good move here. Glad to see it's coming to pass.

I've recently gone on a run of trying all kinds of new devices in the PDA/MobilePhone/Email-Enabled-Device arena. I have used various Blackberry devices for a few years now (and have been using the Blackberry phone devices since they were first born). I have occasionally moved to other devices to try them out and see if they would suffice for use in my work. Recently I undertook that sort of project, evaluating various mobile carriers and their networks and devices, so it's been a real gadget-land around these parts since around the first of the year.

I won't be writing about the networks and service providers (maybe some other time), but I did want to catalog some of what I encountered, the geeky part of the project: All these nifty mobile devices.

It's worth noting right up front that as a general rule, I've pretty much always been disappointed with more-than-just-a-phone devices whenever I've tried them, for one reason or another. My experience has been the same with most of this latest run of devices I have tested. Also, I wrote this entry/review over the course of the past couple months, going back to it periodically to document bits of my experience over time.

To cut to the chase, let me jump to the end of my story briefly: As of yesterday I am back (by choice) with a Blackberry phone from Cingular - the very same model of phone I had before this whole testing process started. It's a RIM 7290 device. And that's a choice I made after using a whole slew of what people say are the coolest, newest phone/PDA/email/whatever devices.

You know what they say - Once you've had Blackberry, you can never go backberry. Or, uh, something like that... Sorry. Bad joke. But it's true.

My recent device trials (and tribulations) have included the Audiovox 5600 smartphone running Windows Mobile 2003 from AT&T/Cingular (which has been the rage among bloggers the past several months - it's unofficial nickname is the "Scoble Phone") and the Blackberry 7100t phone from T-Mobile. I've also used the Blackberry 7100g (Cingular) and the PalmOne Treo 650, both from Cingular. Rounding out the list was the Siemens SX66 device, which has a slide-out keyboard and WiFi built in, running the PocketPC Phone Edition of Windows Mobile 2003.

In each case, there were things I liked about these devices, and there were things I didn't like.

Audiovox 5600 SmartPhone (running Windows Mobile 2003 - ATTWS/Cingular)

I'll give Audiovox kudos for making a really cool phone in the gadgety sense, but I have to give it lower scores in terms of it's practical utility. Keep in mind, I use this kind of device as a tool, one that I use constantly for communicating and staying in touch for work. The "Scoble Phone" has been hyped up as the only device you'll need to carry around, and it has all kinds of nifty things on it, like mobile MSN Messenger, Windows Media Player, the ability to use Mini-SD cards for tons of extra storage, a built-in still/motion camera (of very mediocre quality), etc. But the software apps are a little glitchy, and I lost count of how many times this thing either reset itself or required me to pry the battery out of the back and replace it in order to get it started and working again. On top of that, while the geek/nifty factor is fairly high (I can see how Windows Mobile is a useful and appealing mobile OS), the practical/regular use score is low - it just doesn't work that well for me, beyond its simple use as a phone and SMS device. Text input is T9, which is cumbersome at best and impractical for work. Bluetooth for hands-free use worked somewhat reliably, but was problematic from time to time. Audio quality was good. It's small and compact and has a certain "neato" quality. But it doesn't allow me to quickly and efficiently communicate, except via voice calls. I handed it back. I liked the phone, but it didn't work for me, not even close. And by the way - as of the time of this writing, Cingular is not offering the phone on its web site.

Blackberry 7100t (T-Mobile) and 7100g (Cingular)

These two devices are essentially identical in terms of the guts and the software running on them, but the Cingular device has a better form factor and body/shell - It's a lot more solid, the keyboard is laid out better and is easier to use, and I get a strong feeling it would last longer than the T-Mobile model in a durability sense. Text input is a unique hybrid type - the keyboard has a standard qwerty style layout like all Blackberry devices, but instead of one letter per key like others by RIM, the 7100 series has two characters per key. It does the predictive text thing, a lot like T9 does on a mobile phone keypad, but it's considerably more accurate and a lot faster to type with. Making the move from a standard-keyboard Blackberry to this device takes a little getting used to, but after a few days I found myself fairly comfortable with the layout. Bluetooth hands-free functionality was flawless and reliable - better than the Audiovox phone. RIM figured out some good things with this device, but there are a few things missing that keep it from being a truly killer device: There's no MP3 support like you get in the other phones tested, and the ear-piece audio level at max volume is painfully quiet (a common complain with Blackberry phones that really needs to be addressed). There's no camera, and since this is a biz-class device, that makes sense. But RIM should really consider building a model with a camera option, an SD slot, MP3 capabilities, an MP3 voice recorder, MSN instant messaging (they included Yahoo! and AOL on this one, so why the heck not), and better audio capabilities (ring tones, music, etc). In fact, a Windows Mobile device that actually shipped with the vaporware (to date) Blackberry Connect software package would have me running for the store. But, progress is progress, and all in all the 7100 is a pretty good tool that makes some improvements on earlier models. But hey, put the standard RIM keyboard back, please - if it ain't broke, well - you know... I returned both these devices as they were loaners, but I'd recommend them to others, and a few people I know have bought these recently - and they're thrilled with them.

PalmOne Treo 650 (ATTWS/Cingular)

Topping out in the community's collective Bling! category is the PalmOne Treo 650, a nice looking and feeling PalmOS-based SmartPhone with lots of counterintuitive functionality and mediocre documentation. Now I remember why I left the PalmOS behind a few years ago. You'd think I'd have remembered, but sometimes we just need to be reminded. This is another phone with a so-so-quality camera built in (better in overall image quality than the Audiovox 5600, but with the same low 640x480 resolution). It has a full keyboard built on, which is arguably it's most redeeming factor, but in daily use the keyboard feels lumpy, klutzy and crowded compared to any RIM/Blackberry device I have used. The Treo uses a touch screen and a slide-out stylus for screen navigation, as well as a set of directional and select buttons. The screen is bright and contrasty, which is nice. Battery life is fairly limited when you're actually using it. Call audio is excellent, and is louder in earpiece volume when compared to the other devices mentioned here. The email setup and use of multiple email programs ranks a "so-so" score, and overall it was clunky to use. I can't count how many clicks, scrolls and stylus gestures/touches it took to do even the simplest activities. If I am sitting in a chair, have some time, and have both hands completely free and nothing else to distract me, I can use this device. But I don't want to. Returned to sender, can't recommend it.

Siemens SX66 PocketPC Phone (running Windows Mobile 2003 - ATTWS/Cingular)

I was excited about getting my hands on this device, and hopeful that it would meet my needs and satisfy the usability/utility requirements. I also hoped it would have Blackberry Connect software on it, as was advertised some places and rumored at others. It didn't have it, but I tried it anyhow. The first things I noticed was that I was able to use it with my Exchange server (the Audiovox device crapped out if I tried to use a "space" character in my password. I had thought [assumed] the inability to use a space in a password was a limitation of the OS, but this device proved me wrong). The screen on this thing is very nice, and the backlight is bright and contrasty. Bluetooth worked better than any of the other devices in hands-free mode, and the keyboard makes it more accessible and usable than the Audiovox device by far. But the keyboard's pimple-style chicklet bubble layout was painful to use in the real wold - keys are tiny and way too close together unless you;re six years old (probably not the target market). Battery life was pretty awful, especially if you use the WiFi at all. Even without using WiFi, the battery was dying on me regularly between charges, and since there's no USB charging with this thing I could not charge it in the car or anywhere convenient (You have to charge in the cradle, which is plugged into the wall via a power adapter, or you use the same wall plug adapter with a socket adapter to go straight to the device. So be prepared to be tangling the wall adapter cord up a lot to carry it with you everywhere, or else plan on a dead phone periodically - dumb). To top it all off, this morning I grabbed the device and went to turn it on, but it did not respond. Yet, the little green service light was flashing so I knew it had power to it. I pulled the battery put it back (the Windows Mobile version of CTRL-ALT-DEL), but still no response. I started driving to work and tried it again while I was stopped for coffee at the local store. Voila! Up it comes, but totally reset, nuked, blown away, default ROM settings - everything I had set and stored before was gone. Good thing the important stuff was on my SD card... I've read and heard rumors of serious software problems with this phone, and when you combine that with the lame keyboard that looks cool but isn't at all usable, well... Returned, with prejudice.

Back In Black - or, Right Black Where I Started From

So, as of this morning I am back running on a Blackberry 7290 phone with the latest, solid Blackberry software. This is the same model I gave up a few months ago to do the testing. Sure, it's not as fancy in many ways as the 7100-series, but it's got the best keyboard and it works, works, works. And probably the best test of all was this: Within one minute of picking this thing back up and setting a couple of device options to something other than BB's defaults, I suddenly found myself orders of magnitude faster and more productive than I was with any of the other devices I'd tried.

RIM got something right when they built the Blackberry. Then they added a phone to the device. Then they did this funky keyboard thing with the 7100 that works pretty well. It works, and it is usable.

There's a great book I've held onto for a few years now called "Don't Make Me Think" by author Steve Krug. It's all about usability (as related to web design, but that doesn't matter, the same concepts apply here). The reasons the Blackberry devices are all so good is because they are truly intuitive - I don't have to spend my time clicking and clicking and tapping and clicking just to try to find some simple function, and the user interface is so intuitive it becomes almost reflexive to use. RIM wins because their devices have utility. It's because they're reliable. It's because they're usable. I have confidence that RIM/Blackberry will keep that as their core philosophy, and so I am very much interested to see what will come next from the company.

But damnit, I still want to see and use a good, reliable phone that runs Windows Mobile latest edition, with Blackberry Connect software on it! PLEASE! There's a lot of room for growth, and it's not all about smaller, smaller, smaller, or geekier, geekier geekier... It's all about usable, usable, usable. Size is just one part of usability. Geeky is fun, but not always practical. Who will end up winning this game? Can't wait to see.

But for now, Blackberry's in the lead in my book.

When Microsoft sets its sights on a market segment, look out. It'll happen, sooner or later.

I've been using a whole bunch of the latest mobile phones recently to test them and see how well they'll work for business use. The fact of the matter is, most of them pale in comparison to the Blackberry devices. Blackberries are great tools. All the others are great gadgets. At work, I need a great tool more than a great gadget.

But what I really want is the best of both worlds. Push email, real-time sync on email, calendar, and all that. Lookups live over the air from my company's active directory. MP3 player, phone, voice recorder, MP3 and poly ring-tones... and the RIM form factor works great - he typical PDA-phone running Windows Mobile is a little too goofy and unusable - especially in the keyboard area. Blackberry keyboards work great - the palmOne and PocketPC keyboards I have used - well, they just suck.

From Engadget, with reference to an article at Internet Week, word about the upcoming Windows Mobile 2005 and how Microsoft likely intends to compete with RIM's Blackberry devices - and server.

This will raise eyebrows and - if the Windows Mobile devices can be improved to be a better tool and less gadgety - it's entirely possible they could take away a lot of the market currently sufficiently served only by RIM...

Microsoft wants to kill the Blackberry dead with Windows Mobile 2005

If their recent deals to license their ActiveSync technology to Nokia, Symbian, and palmOne are any indication, Microsoft is working hard to steadily encircle the Blackberry with the next version of Windows Mobile, aka Windows Mobile 2005 aka Magneto. The plan? CRN reports that Microsoft is finally going to unveil Windows Mobile 2005 at the Mobile and Embedded Developers Conference in Las Vegas next month, and that they’re going to be taking a serious swipe at RIM by adding Blackberry-like support for push email and live content updating to Windows Mobile-powered Pocket PCs and Smartphones. The CrackBerry’s pretty damn entrenched, but Microsoft knows a thing or two about dislodging a market-dominating competitor, and so will be reviving a familiar tactic: to compete with RIM’s server product they’re going to be giving away their Exchange 2003 Server Pack 2 update, which adds support for push, for free.

Microsoft has announced a large number of security webcasts that are set for April. The list here is quite long, so click to see them all, or check out the Security Webcast Calendar, which is a Word doc calendar with all the upcoming webcasts listed and linked.

There are lots of very good sessions planned. Anyone with a security responsibility or emphasis in their jobs should take a good look at these upcoming webcasts and consider viewing...

Upcoming Security Webcasts: April 2005

Security Webcasts are a convenient way for IT Professionals and Developers to stay technically updated on the latest Microsoft Security Guidance. These webcasts concentrate on security information and are presented by senior executives and other subject matter experts. They feature interactive technical presentations, product demonstrations, and question-and-answer sessions.

Microsoft Security Webcast Series: Upcoming & On-Demand

• For IT Executives
• For IT Professionals
• For Developers

Security Webcast Calendar

NEW: Now you can register for an on-demand webcast and choose how you would like to view the archive. Downloadable Microsoft Office System PowerPoint and .wmv files are available for most webcasts that took place Dec. 1, 2004 or later. Once you register, you will be directed to the on-demand webcast and also shortly receive a confirmation email with links to the PowerPoint and .wmv downloads.

Additional Webcast Resources

Microsoft Security Webcast Series:  Upcoming & On-Demand

Digital Blackbelt Series: Defend your code from attacks

Ongoing through May

How would your code stand up to an attack? If you are not sure, join us for the Digital Blackbelt webcast series as Developer Community Champion Joe Stagner discusses security risks, vulnerabilities, and solutions from the software developer's perspective. We will provide real-life examples and security tips and tricks that can help you gain the knowledge and techniques to become an experienced “blackbelt” in writing secure code.

Web Development: Increase the security of your applications

Ongoing through May

Increasing the security of your software is not the result of a single event. From design through development, to testing and deployment, a multi-disciplinary approach must be taken to deliver a quality software product that minimizes organizational risk. Join Dennis Hurst, Senior Consulting Engineer at SPI Dynamics, and other guest speakers as they detail knowledge that can help developers increase security around the coding of web applications. 

Security360

Third Tuesday of Every Month

Learn best practices to guide your security strategy during this monthly webcast series. Each webcast focuses on a specific security topic and includes commentary from industry experts outside of Microsoft.

Security Webcast Calendar

Security webcasts listed in an easy-to-use calendar format.

BONUS: Attend any live webcast through June and you could win a Portable Media Center. See official rules for more details.

Additional Live & On-Demand Webcast Series Available NOW:

• Ask the Security Experts
• ISA Server 2004
• Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2

For IT Executives

Microsoft Executive Circle Webcast: Security360 with Mike Nash: Secure E-mail, It’s More than Filtering (Level 100)

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President Security Business & Technology Unit, Microsoft

Reducing the amount of spam clogging e-mail systems is top-of-mind. However, e-mail security is not just about preventing unsolicited messages; it is also about protecting the digital information assets you send through e-mail. On this month's Security360, guest host Amy Roberts, director of product management in Microsoft's Security Business and Technology Unit, will discuss with industry experts the whole spectrum of e-mail security, including filtering technologies, e-mail policies and enforcement, and partner solutions. As with every Security360, this session includes a checklist of recommendations and resources, as well as a live Q&A with industry experts.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43965

For IT Professionals

TechNet Webcast: Implementing Exchange Server Security (Part 1 of 2): Securing Services and Messaging Protocols (Level 300)

Monday, April 04, 2005 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time

Harold Wong, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft

Securing communication over networks is essential to securing your organization from intrusions, overloads, and interruptions of many types. In this first session of a two-part series on Exchange Server Security, we describe how to deploy a more secure Exchange Server 2003 infrastructure and how to secure its server services and messaging protocols.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43587

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft IT Deployed PKI Inside Microsoft (Level 300)

Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Larry Talbot, Microsoft IT SECURITY TECHNOLOGIST, Microsoft

This webcast presents a detailed discussion of how Microsoft IT installed a Public Key Infrastructure, built originally with Windows 2000 Server Certificate Services, and later upgraded with Windows Server 2003, to implement a secure communications and remote authentication infrastructure. This enabled the use of S/MIME signatures and encryption, secured Web connections by using SSL or TLS, ensured the confidentiality of stored data by using EFS, ensured the confidentiality and integrity of transmitted date by using IPSec, and enabled strong network user authentication by using Smart Cards. Join this webcast to find out how you can do this - or something similar - too.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=44148

TechNet Webcast: "Ask The IT Security Experts" Series: Building Security Training and Awareness (Level 100)

Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Ben Smith, Senior Security Strategist, Microsoft

Experts often talk about the importance and need for security training, but few actually talk about how to do it. Join us for this webcast as we bring together some of the sharpest security-focused Microsoft IT professionals to provide expert answers to your questions about Building Security Training and Awareness. This webcast presents proven, and slightly unconventional, methods of training users and administrators on security. As with all of our "Ask the Experts" webcasts, there will be plenty of Q&A time for the experts to field your questions. Send your security-related questions to our panel of experts ahead of time at: itxcast@microsoft.com.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43974

TechNet Webcast: Network Isolation Using Group Policy and IPSec (Part 1 of 3): Overview of Internet Protocol Security (Level 300)

Wednesday, April 06, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time

John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft

Data Isolation: How can it make your IT infrastructure safer, and how do you use Group Policies and IPSec to implement it? This session is the first of a three-part series presenting the information and tasks needed to implement data isolation using Group Policies and IPSec within an organization. This first installation provides an overview of the nature of Internet Protocol Security - the challenges to secure network communication, how IPSec can help, and the various ways IPSec can be implemented to achieve different types of secure communication.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43592

TechNet Webcast: Windows Server 2003 SP1 Technical Overview (Level 200)

Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Rand Morimoto, Author, President, Convergent Computing

Windows Server 2003, the latest server operating system from Microsoft, builds upon the security, reliability, and performance improvements implemented in previous versions. Organizations need these continuing improvements as their networks develop and network usage evolves with new technologies. Organizations also need Service Pack 1 to protect themselves from an increasing variety of network and computer. Join this webcast for a technical overview of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, where we will present its features, configuration tools, system security enhancements, network security enhancements, and deployment options.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43599

TechNet Webcast: SQL Server 2005 Series (Part 4 of 10): Securing your SQL Server (Level 200)

Monday, April 11, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Bryan Von Axelson, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft

Parts four and five in our series highlight the security enhancements in SQL Server 2005. Part four of this series focuses on authentication and authorization while crypto support is covered in part five. We begin with authentication, examining the Security model, endpoint-based authentication and the password policy. Then we move on to explore authorization, covering User Schema separation, module execution context, granular permission control and Catalog security.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=42448

TechNet Webcast: Implementing Exchange Server Security (Part 2 of 2): Protecting Against Unwanted E-Mail (Level 300)

Monday, April 11, 2005 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time

Chris Avis, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft

This second session of a two-part series on Exchange Server Security describes how to increase the security of e-mail that flows through an organization's Exchange servers. We also introduce you to Exchange Server 2003 features such as Real Time Block List support and Intelligent Message Filtering, tools making it easier to reduce the amount of unwanted e-mail before it spreads through your organization.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43602

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft IT Implements Trustworthy Messaging at Microsoft (Level 300)

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Grant Hogan, Microsoft IT Service Manager, Microsoft

Similar to most enterprise organizations, Microsoft shares information among its resources through e-mail and other electronic documentation. At the same time, we have a concern for the security and privacy of this data. With that in mind, Microsoft created the Trustworthy Messaging initiative to provide confidentiality for key business sensitive data sent to and from internal corporate clients without sacrificing their ability to freely share this data. Join us as we review, in detail, Microsoft IT's implementation of Trustworthy Messaging.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=44151

TechNet Webcast: Information about Microsoft's April Security Bulletins (Level 100)

Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Christopher Budd, CISM, CISSP/Security Program Manager, Microsoft

Debby Fry Wilson, Director/Security Response Marketing, Microsoft

On April 12th, Microsoft will release its monthly security bulletins. Join this webcast for a brief overview of the technical details of these April security bulletins.  This webcast will provide you the opportunity to raise your questions and concerns about the security bulletins. A majority of the session will be devoted to addressing your questions and providing answers from our security experts.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43750

TechNet Webcast: Network Isolation Using Group Policy and IPSec (Part 2 of 3): Understanding Network Isolation Using IPSec (Level 300)

Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time

John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft

This session is the second of a three-part series with the information and tasks you need to implement data isolation using Group Policies and IPSec. This session shows how to use IPSec to create network isolation zones. Topics include the advantages and limitations of network isolation, where network isolation fits into a defense-in-depth scheme, and how to use Group Policies and Active Directory groups to restrict access to specific servers.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43606

TechNet Webcast: Maximizing Security Features within Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 (Level 300)

Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Sean Olson, Lead Program Manager, Microsoft

This technical session describes potential security threats and their mitigations for the Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 release. We will focus on the new features and challenges differentiated from Live Communications Server 2003. The ultimate goal of this presentation is to provide you with the information commonly required to satisfy a security audit of a product prior to its commercial deployment. Topics will include authentication, auditing, and security recommendations for the new Live Communications Server 2005.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032269267&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Securing the Network Perimeter with ISA Server 2004 (Level 200)

Friday, April 15, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Keith Combs, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft

Do you currently have an effective way to secure your network perimeter against risks introduced by the Internet, remote users, and remote network segments? Learn how Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004 can help protect against all of these threats and more. This session demonstrates how ISA Server 2004 can enhance security for internal servers as well as external-facing resources such as Microsoft Exchange Server or Microsoft Internet Information Services. We will also show how ISA Server can operate as a virtual private networking server for more secure remote access to the internal network.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43759

TechNet Webcast: SQL Server 2005 Series (Part 5 of 10): Protecting Sensitive Data (Level 200)

Monday, April 18, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Bryan Von Axelson, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft

Parts four and five in our series highlight the security enhancements in SQL Server 2005. Building upon the discussion of authentication and authorization in the previous session, part five of the series covers the crypto support in SQL Server 2005. We begin with an introduction to the concepts of database encryption including encryption support, keys, certificates and key management. We show how SQL 2005 can protect sensitive data using data encryption and module signatures, and introduce sign modules, what these are and how they work.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=42450

TechNet Webcast: Assessing Network Security (Part 1 of 2): Planning and Research (Level 200)

Monday, April 18, 2005 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time

Kai Axford, Security Specialist, Microsoft

How do you know whether your network is secure? And how do you know how to find out? This session is the first of a two-part series to help organizations plan and implement processes to identify vulnerabilities to network attacks. This first session shows how to plan your security assessment and how to gather information such that the methods and results fit your organization's needs. In this presentation we'll specifically show how to plan a security assessment and the details and processes for gathering network security information about your organization.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43762

TechNet Webcast: Threat Mitigation for Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 (Level 200)

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft

While migration to a newer platform is recommended, many customers have key business applications that will only run on legacy operating systems. This session offers prescriptive information and test plans for hardening legacy Windows clients and servers, with the goal of reducing the security risk factors for Windows NT and Windows 98 systems as much as possible. We also provide guidance on how to upgrade securely to newer operating systems.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43789

TechNet Webcast: Network Isolation Using Group Policy and IPSec (Part 3 of 3): Advanced Network Isolation Scenarios (Level 300)

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Matthew Hester, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft

This session is the final presentation of a three-part series about the information and tasks needed to implement data isolation using Group Policies and IPSec within an organization. The session describes several scenarios where you can use IPSec to enhance network security by using IPSec to create network isolation zones. This scenario-focused view of Group Policies and IPSec is based on Microsoft's prescriptive guidance.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43792

TechNet Webcast: Assessing Network Security (Part 2 of 2): Penetration Testing (Level 200)

Monday, April 25, 2005 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time

Kai Axford, Security Specialist, Microsoft

How do you know whether your network is secure? And how do you know how to find out? This session is the second of a two-part series on assessing network security, to help organizations plan and implement processes to identify vulnerabilities to network attacks. This second session shows how to implement penetration testing for intrusive network attacks, presents checklists that will help identify and remediate common issues, the tools and processes for scanning systems for vulnerabilities, and concludes with a case study where all these factors are put to work at a typical commercial enterprise.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43818

TechNet Webcast: Security Risk Management (Level 300)

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Kai Axford, Security Specialist, Microsoft

When establishing security for your network, you must take risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and implementation of security countermeasures into account. The Security Risk Management Guide, designed by Microsoft, can help your organization establish the ongoing process of security risk management. This 90-minute webcast presents a qualitative approach to risk management, tying in best practices from both the industry as well as the ones learned and formulated by the Microsoft internal IT Group.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43821

TechNet Webcast: Defense-in-Depth Against Malicious Software (Level 200)

Friday, April 29, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Michael Murphy, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft

Malicious software has become increasingly advanced; worms and viruses can propagate more quickly and evade detection more effectively. This session describes how a defense-in-depth approach to antivirus solution design can help protect various components of a computing infrastructure from malicious software attacks, including client computers, servers and networking devices. This webcast also covers implementing an effective outbreak control and recovery plan and identifying, containing and remedying the effects of malicious software.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43841

For Developers

MSDN Webcast: Practical Security for Intranet Solutions (Level 200)

Friday, April 01, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Joe Stagner, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

Internal Web and Windows-based applications often require integration with existing applications and systems, access to databases, strong authorization and authentication mechanisms, and identity management. This webcast discusses strategies for incorporating security best practices into intranet solution development. We will provide practical guidance on how to implement security enhancements throughout intranet solutions and introduce future security improvements available to developers through Visual Studio .NET 2005 and ASP.NET 2.0.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43408

MSDN Webcast: Practical Security for Internet and Extranet Solutions (Level 200)

Monday, April 04, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Rob Jackson, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

This session discusses strategies for incorporating security best practices into intranet solution development. Internal Web and Windows-based applications often require integration with existing applications and systems, access to databases, strong authorization and authentication mechanisms, and identity management. This session provides practical guidance on how to implement security enhancements throughout intranet solutions and introduces future improvements available to developers through Visual Studio .NET 2005 and ASP .NET 2.0.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43832

MSDN Webcast: Implementing Security for Mobile Device Solutions (Level 200)

Friday, April 08, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Joe Stagner, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

Are you dealing with security issues and concerns with your Microsoft Windows Mobile-based solutions? This webcast will describe the various the security considerations for building mobile software solutions and the tools, technologies and strategies available to the mobile developer. Both traditional applications accessed through mobile devices and solutions designed specifically for mobile use can be affected. You will learn how to use the security features of the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework in conjunction with Windows Mobile-based PocketPC and Smartphone capabilities to provide more secure file storage and data access. During this 90-minute webcast will also cover how to protect mobile device communications with your application servers.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43585

MSDN Webcast: Digital Blackbelt Series: Defending the Database (Part 1 of 2): The SQL Injection Attack in Detail (Level 300)

Friday, April 08, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Joe Stagner, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

Developers the world over underestimate the seriousness of a SQL Injection Attack. In this session we will dive deep into the topic and do some live hacks to see the huge danger of SQL Injection.  We'll discuss how a Mal-Tech might find and approach your box, discover your schema, table, and field names, steal your data, corrupt your table records, add himself as an administrator, reduce your own admin rights, pollute your network, take over your mail server, shutdown your application (and hide it from your ops people), upload his own wares and OWN YOUR NETWORK. Don't miss this webcast.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267306&Culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: Writing Secure Code (Part 1 of 2): Best Practices (Level 200)

Monday, April 11, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Rob Jackson, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

Do you want to learn more about analyzing, mitigating and modeling threats? This presentation is part one of a two-part series to help experienced developers build their knowledge of secure coding best practices. Join this 60-minute webcast to learn about established threat modeling methodologies and tools and how to apply them with other best practices to minimize vulnerabilities and limit damage from attacks.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43835

MSDN Webcast: Assessment: Tips and Tricks for Web Application Security Testing (Level 300)

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Dennis Hurst, Senior Consulting Engineer, SPI Dynamics

Caleb Sima, Founder and CTO, SPI Dynamics

This session will demonstrate the proper technique for testing a Web application to ensure that it is properly secure. In addition, we will discuss the challenges of Web application security throughout the development life cycle, and the available methods and tools used to test the security of Web-based applications. Attend this webcast and learn how to test a Web application using a Web browser and the inherent limitations of this approach. You'll also learn what obstacles must be overcome during application testing to ensure proper security.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267633&Culture=en-US 

MSDN Webcast: Developing Applications in Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Level 200)

Friday, April 15, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Rob Jackson, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

Have you installed Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and some of your applications are not working or are not working correctly? The new security features of SP2 may affect how certain types of applications run. Join this webcast to see examples of applications that may be affected and learn how to modify them to work with Windows XP SP2. Also, learn how to configure your development environment to work successfully on Windows XP SP2.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43793

MSDN Webcast: Writing Secure Code (Part 2 of 2): Best Practices (Level 200)

Monday, April 18, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Anand Iyer, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

Are you looking for effective strategies to defend against common security threats faced by application developers? In part two of this two-part series for experienced developers, you will continue learning more about established best practices for applying security principles throughout the development process. During the 60-minute webcast we will discuss common security threats faced by application developers, such as buffer overruns, cross-site scripting and denial of service attacks, and how to effectively defend against these threats.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=44153 

MSDN Webcast: Advanced Application Development with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Level 400)

Friday, April 22, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Rob Jackson, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

With Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), Microsoft is introducing a set of security technologies that will help improve Windows XP-based computers' ability to withstand malicious attacks from viruses and worms.  To developers these technologies will have an impact on the applications they create and the tools they use.  SP2 restricts how remote procedure calls are made across a network which may affect the operation of enterprise applications. Join this session as we discuss these interface restrictions and provide you with advanced application development techniques for SP2, including how to reduce RPC-based incompatibilities.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43812

MSDN Webcast: Digital Blackbelt Series: Defending the Database (Part 2 of 2): Making the Right Design Choices (Level 300)

Friday, April 22, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Joe Stagner, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

After drilling down into the infamous SQL Injection attack in Part 1 of the Defending the Database, we will now address several of the questions and answers developers have concerning the database and security.  This session will cover topics such as, Secure Connections, SQL versus Windows Authentication, user versus role-based authentication, EXPs, Managed Stored Procedures, Alerts and Monitors.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267315&Culture=en-US 

MSDN Webcast: Implementing Security in the Development Lifecycle (Level 200)

Monday, April 25, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Joe Stagner, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

Security should be your primary concern throughout the development process. This session discusses how security can be implemented at each stage of the software development life cycle. Microsoft has created the Security Development Life Cycle to describe how to implement security best practices by adding pointed and well-defined checkpoints to the existing development life cycle. This session outlines recommended changes to the design, development, testing, verification and release phases that can reduce the number and severity of security vulnerabilities shipped to customers.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43816

MSDN Webcast: Remediation: Developing Secure ASP.NET Applications (Level 300)

Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Dennis Hurst, Senior Consulting Engineer, SPI Dynamics

Prashant Sridharan , Lead Product Manager - VS, Microsoft

Are you looking for a way to correctly validate input easily and quickly to ensure it is secure? This webcast will show you real-life examples and demonstrate how you can do this.  Throughout the webcast we will discuss secure state management, how to apply state management across multiple applications, as well as how to setup and develop proper authorization and access control to ensure that privilege escalation defects/vulnerabilities are removed. Attend this webcast to learn advanced Web application protection techniques covering how to code login forms and other form inputs so they are immune to malicious brute force attacks.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267641&Culture=en-US 

MSDN Webcast: Practical Security for Intranet Solutions (Level 200)

Friday, April 29, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Joe Stagner, Developer Community Champion, Microsoft

Internal Web and Windows-based applications often require integration with existing applications and systems, access to databases, strong authorization and authentication mechanisms, and identity management. This webcast discusses strategies for incorporating security best practices into intranet solution development. We will provide practical guidance on how to implement security enhancements throughout intranet solutions and introduce future security improvements available to developers through Visual Studio .NET 2005 and ASP.NET 2.0.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43913

Additional Webcast Resources 

• ALL Upcoming Webcasts
• ALL On-Demand Webcasts
• Microsoft Business Solutions Webcasts
• Microsoft Executive Circle Webcasts
• Microsoft Office System Webcasts
• Microsoft Small Business Webcasts
• MSDN Webcasts
• MSDN Architecture Webcasts
• Security Webcasts
• TechNet Webcasts

If you've ever used Microsoft's online support knowledge base, you know how much information is available there, and how hard it can be to find information you're looking for. On top of that, how are you to know when new articles are added about the technologies that you care about?

For a few years now, I have used a free online service called KBAlertz to keep track of KB articles that are released about the Microsoft servers and apps I deal with every day. I get email notifications whenever new KB information is published in areas like Office, Exchange, SharePoint, SQL, LCS, Windows Server, Windows XP - you name it. Whatever topics you choose, you can stay informed.

There are three primary ways to get the info you want and need from KBAlertz: Browsing/searching, email and RSS feeds.

Personally, I subscribe to the site's email alerts and get them on a regular basis whenever new items that match my criteria are discovered. The digest-formatted HTML emails contain all the new articles since the last check, and are nicely formatted and easy to use.

For a few key technologies I also subscribe to feeds in my RSS reader, FeedDemon, where I can easily catalog and search through them.

For example, let's say I am interested (as I am) in keeping on top of all the latest knowledge base info about IIS 6. This web page lists the latest articles, and this  button, which you find at the top of each technology's page, let's me subscribe to the IIS 6 RSS feed for new updates.

Signing up for the email alertz is easy and it's free - just quickly create an account and start checking the boxes next to the topics you are interested in. You can choose from the whole gamut of Microsoft technologies.

The Microsoft Knowledge base is cool, and it's a great source of info. KBAlertz just makes it better.

Microsoft has opened up the Office document formats and made them available for the world to see.

The Schemas provide developers and representatives of business and government a standard way to store and exchange data stored in documents. The download contains documentation on a number of XML schemas for Microsoft® Office 2003 Editions including:

• Microsoft Office Word 2003
• Microsoft Office Excel 2003
• Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2003
• and Microsoft Office Visio® 2003

It also includes schema information for:

• Microsoft Office OneNote® 2003
• Microsoft Office Project 2003
• and Microsoft Office Research Services

Download the schemas and documentation and read the Office 2003 XML Reference Schemas Frequently Asked Questions.

News coverage from TechWorld:

"The move puts Microsoft on a better footing to compete against open-source applications and non-proprietary document formats. Governments around the world have begun to reconsider the use of proprietary formats, which usually lock them into using particular applications and may hinder archiving efforts.

"Microsoft Office formats have become a de facto standard, one of the factors making it difficult for organisations to use alternative applications."

(via Robert Scoble)

The other day I decided to change to using passphrases instead of single passwords on my Windows accounts. Aside from the minor headache of having to remember I made the change at all, it's been a good thing.

That is, until today.

This afternoon I decided re-enable my wireless sync with my Exchange server on my Windows Mobile 2003 smart phone (Audiovox 5600). I had disabled it when I changed the password the other day, with plans to set it back up when I had time. So I went to enter the new passphrase on the mobile device, but no workie... Apparently, while Windows and Outlook and Exchange-HTTPS and pretty much everything else in the Windows world supports passphrases that include spaces, not so on Windows Mobile 2003.

Apparently you simply can't enter spaces in the password box on the smart phone.

So, I have a choice to make: I can either change back to using passwords in order to allow my Windows Mobile device to sync with Exchange (one step forward, two steps back), or I can stay with passphrases and leave my Windows Mobile device crippled (don't even get me started on that one).

Needless to say, I am not very happy with either option...

Anyone have a solution? Am I missing something here? Seems to me when you create a password interface, you'd support what the back end system allows you to use?

Merill Fernando lives in Sri Lanka, a country that was very hard hit by the tsunamis, and he exchanged emails with me this evening after he took the time to send a few kind words in response to the little bit of help this weblog has provided. He has also posted on his weblog about what even a small contribution can do to help people in need. You should read it, especially if you think you can’t afford to give enough to help others. Even if all you have to give is a five bucks, Amazon.com will let you easily donate whatever you can afford. Merill’s site will show you how much just $1 will buy.

Again, we are calling on all bloggers who use AdSense to pledge to donate your AdSense revenues for December or whatever time you wish to the relief and aid effort. Merill pointed the idea out on his weblog and agrees that it is a great idea – so please contribute and contact Google to let them know you would like them to help make this happen by providing an AdSense administrative option to donate funds at the end of this month. Whether or not Google participates in this effort, I am donating my revenue check. Please consider doing the same.

Together we can make things happen – that’s part of the power of the blogosphere. Give now, post your thoughts and plans to your blog, and contact others that can make a difference and ask them to help.

If you’re looking for places to give, just go here. And thank your for doing your part.

I have neglected posting SharePoint links and info recently. Bad me. Good thing there’s other people out there keeping us up to date. For example, Amanda Murphy recently linked to a few interesting nuggets of SharePoint gold, and I thought I would consolidate a couple of the ones that I find most interesting here, as well. Thanks, Amanda!

Nigel Bridport’s SharePoint User Manager v1.0
http://weblogs.asp.net/nigelbridport/archive/2004/11/30/272173.aspx

“Not sure about other people, but I find it quite time consuming when trying to manage users inside of Windows SharePoint Services sites, especially when the sites in the hierarchy have their security inheritance broken.  A number of customers end up breaking security inheritance at every opportunity and then hit this problem.

“So, I am in the process of writing a SharePoint User Manager Windows Application in order to help out in this area!”

Stramit’s Granular Backup Manager for WSS v1.0
http://blog.spsclerics.com/articles/434.aspx

“Granular Backup Manageris a tool which allows you to create back up file and/or .bat file to make this file for a global hierarchy of WSS site. Its internal is based on the sMigrate.exe of the SharePoint system. the back up file are just Web Package. Each sub site of a WSS collection can have its own web package directly with this tool

I made this tool to make easy the back up operation in the case in large WSS collection with document library. Using granular back up file allow you to restore just little site for recover a document instead of the all collection (less time, less space, just the site).”

Jan Tielens’ Smart Part for SharePoint v1.0.0.0
http://weblogs.asp.net/jan/archive/2004/11/23/268644.aspx

Finally I’ve managed to finish a new release for the SmartPart for SharePoint; version 1.0.0.0. This release has some really cool new features, but I'm really excited about the first one: connectable web parts with ASP.NET user controls!

• Create connectable web parts
  In SharePoint you can connect web parts, so they can exchange data. For example you could create a web part that displays a list of invoices, and another web part that displays the details of the selected invoice (master/detail view). Normally you’d have to create your Invoice and InvoiceDetails web parts by hand, implementing the ICellProvider and ICellConsumer interfaces (see Patrick’s excellent article about this topic). With the new version of the SmartPart you can do the same, but instead of coding everything by hand, you can create ASP.NET user controls! Just implement the ICellProviderUserControl or ICellConsumerUserControl on your user control, and you’re done.
• CAS Optimization
  Maxim Karpov did a great job on fine-tuning the Code Access Security for the SmartPart. For running the previous versions of the SmartPart, you’d had to increase the trust level in the web.config to WSS_Medium. In this version this is not required anymore. Of course if your user controls require a higher trust level, you can raise the trust level as usual.
• Hiding the user control selection
  Once you’re finished building your user controls, maybe you’d want to ship the finished web parts/user controls to a customer for example. In that case you don’t want the user to select the user controls from the dropdown listbox of the SmartPart, or filling out the user control name by hand. With the new version of the SmartPart you can create a DWP file which contains all the settings for an instance of the SmartPart showing a specific user control. The nice part is that you can hide the dropdown listbox or textbox for selecting the user control by adding the following node in the DWP after you’ve exported an instance of the SmarPart:
  <ShowUserControlList xmlns="SmartPart">false</ShowUserControlList>.

The other day, Research In Motion (RIM) announced the release of Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) v4.0 to their customers. The told us about it back in September, but it was not actually released until just recently. Exchange and Domino versions are available now.

What’s the big deal? LOTS.

Of primary interest to IT-types and end users alike is the fact that with the new version of the BES software, end user basically no longer need the Blackberry Desktop software at all anymore. All synchronization can be done wirelessly, or over the network with a small, easy to distribute application.

That means fast, easy setup of handheld devices. It also means that all handheld data can be backed up the the server, and that users can be given a passcode to type on any handheld along with their corporate email address to wirelessly provision and configure their Blackberry device.

There’s a bunch of improvements and enhancements, from security changes to better data access to more programmer tools... I’ll be doing an upgrade from v3.6 to v4.0 here very soon, so I’ll be sure to post my observations and thoughts when we are done with that little project.

One thing’s clear: RIM is getting things right. I’ve been working with BES for a number of versions (for four years now), and with each release the bar is raised significantly.

Now, in order to fulfill my gadget dream, all I need is a Windows Mobile device with a keyboard and the Blackberry Connect software installed. Hey Motorola, where’s that MPx???

The one where I try to sound smart, but really just make a fool of myself in the process. But if I learn something new, it's all good.

I'm just a glutton for punishment, so it's not too unusual that I would attend a developers' evening conference event put on by Microsoft about development for mobile devices, regardless of (or perhaps in spite of) the fact that I am most definitely not a developer.

That said, don't use anything I write here for anything real. Don't quote me or anything. Please. This information is all wrong, I can pretty much guarantee it. This is just an attempt on my part to see how much I can learn in three hours, in an area where I easily get lost.

But I mean hey, I keep seeing these techie developer-like guys writing two lines of code at most in these sessions and how they just magically make things work, shazam!, so I figure even a guy like me should eventually be able to figure this stuff out, at least sort of. Enough to create something useless but functional, at any rate.

Because secretly I sometimes wish I was a developer. I long to make things. New things. Different things.

I just want to create.

So here I am, seeing if I can learn any of this stuff. And I am finding - as usual - that its kinda cool.

Windows Mobile development random thoughts (or maybe this is just a cheap excuse to use bulleted lists):

• Design applications assuming your app will need to rotate portrait>landscape>back again.
• Screen dimensions - be flexible here and include hi-res resources for VGA quality screens in the future (use higher res to improve quality, not so much for more real estate).
• Emulators are cool - deploy, test on a software phone or Pocket PC.
• VS.net will compile and deploy x86 executables to emulators, and ARM compliant code to the real devices. In the future the emulators will emulate ARM chip-sets.

Ok, so this dude just wrote 2 lines of code and made an app that collects a ticker symbol from the user, calls a web service and returns the current price. Two lines of code. Cool. The term code-behind probably relates to this. But I'm not a developer, so I am guessing here.

Look Mom - TWO LINES! Neat.

Idea: Have special evening sessions just for non-developers, where you teach them to develop cool simple stuff. People like me, whose brains are a little older and slower, but who desperately want to be a cool nerd (like that makes sense) and create things. Seriously. I'd go to every one of those events. No real nerds allowed, unless they are teaching (sorry to all my developer friends - I need someone to work at my pace heheh). Target guys like me, who really want to learn, the ones who spend the money. Focus on making something simple, cool and complete. Let me create something, let me feel like I understanding these guys that work for me and around me. Help me grok your world. Let me create something that works, something that when we're done is all mine and does something - hey, anything - useful.

Okay - back to the session...

Ahhhh here we go - demos. I like it when I can see something created and then working.

Tipper is a little program someone wrote that helps you figure out how much of a tip to leave. Cool, especially for foreigners who may not be accustomed to the tipping stuff.

• Windows forms and controls - I think I know what this all means... Looks like there are some controls not available in the mobile framework, which makes sense, since it's a more limited memory space and less-powerful hardware.
• Networking - looks like you don't have to understand HTTP in order to use it. Something about streaming and stuff that escapes me. Okay, it's actually way over my head, but "escapes" sounds cool.
• Data - XML or SQL Server CE for storage, depending on type, amount and size of data (SQL for bigger/more I guess). Web services for data exchange. SQL Mobile 2005 will be a cool enhancement with all kinds of new stuff like data grids and binding and stuff. Make SQL CE development easier. Not require you to use a SQL CE device to develop a database. Nice.
• XML Parsing - XmlTextReader and XmlTextWriter parse a doc, but with no in-memory caching. XmlDocument lets you parse a complete document at once and traverse it in memory.
• ADO.NET - Uhhh, yeah. Way over my head. Heh.
• Web Services - This I get. Sort of. more so than ADO.net anyhow heh... XML web services, both basic and digest authentication. SSL encryption support here, too. SOAP stuff. Clean is good, right?

More demos... A news reader that goes out and reads RSS feeds - now that's a cool one. Thom Robbins wrote this and some of the other demos. The news reader and others can even be downloaded from his blog, here.

Hmmmm Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. Cool - that should be interesting...

There was an interesting presentation about the future of the compact framework and Windows Mobile, and there will be positive changes in VS.NET 2005 for the new version, too. Life becomes friendlier and easier for the mobile developer.

Microsoft Location Server - lets your application find itself or other apps. Real time location information integrated with MapPoint technology. Very, very cool. Hosted by your company, not Microsoft, which is even cooler.

Ok, I am prety close to brain dead now, and I need to save a few brain cells for my trip to buy Halo at 12:01am. Cool stuff here. I have no idea what I am talking about, really, but I do feel smarter, so that's good.

Thanks to Bliz for the heads-up and invite.

My Blackberry phone device up and died on me as soon as I got to Hawaii a couple weeks ago (a blessing in disguise to be sure), so I got a replacement this week. The new one is the Blackberry 7290 model - the latest rendition of the smaller form factor devices with the full keyboard. It's nice. Have fun with an online tour here.

Want to add ringtones? Instructions here.

Some things I like about it:

• Nice, contrasty, clear color screen
• CallerID info is now big, bold and easy to read, and backlights itself for dark places
• A new Help icon on the home screen that works really well
• VERY bright back-light, and two-stages of brightness (hit the back light button once for half light, again for full brightness, again to turn off - cool)
• Color background images for the home screen and the "screensaver" mode, and a new icon on the home screen called "pictures" that I'll have to explore a bit
• Bluetooth (YAY!) (but no printed documentation in the box on how to use it - Go to the help icon on the device's home screen - that only took me a day to find... Once you enable and configure it in the device settings an icon is added to your home screen, as well)
• Quad-band radio on AT&T (850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS) means noticeably improved network coverage over other devices I have used
• USB charging and connector uses a standard USB cord with the itty-bitty plug on the device end, same as several other devices I use like my MP3 player
• Improved keyboard layout (subtle)
• Better information on the home screen - if I enable wireless calendar sync with Exchange for example, the icon on the home screen changes to indicate it's active in that mode. In vibrate mode, the profile icon (which is moved to the home screen, by the way - that took me another hour to find heheh) gets an overlay of - uhhhh - a vibrate gylph or something like that.

A couple of things are really bugging me, though:

• I can't get the RBRO code to work on the browser that's installed on this one. If I go to Google, I'd like to be able to choose to use HTML only. I'll have to play with this some more. Trying to view a larger HTML page results in an error that the page is too large to convert to "HDML" - whatever that is... That sucks, guys.
• The thumb wheel used for navigation is a little too stiff and slick compared to other BB models like the 7280 or 7780, which means my thumb slips a lot. I am sure I will adjust, it just bugs for now.
• Mine came with a version of the v3.6 desktop software in the box that needs to be updated to ensure wireless calendar works correctly. If you use it, get SP3a. Hmph.
• Still uses the old style ring tones. Come on, guys - polyphonic tones have been around for quite a while now - what's up with that? UPDATE: At least you can add your own simple MIDI files!
• Maximum volume on the earpiece is lower than on other models. It makes it harder to use in noiseier environments. But it's still adequate, just not as nice as other Blackberry phones I have used.

Other than that, I am pretty happy with this thing. It's (for the most part) a real improvement.

Integrated instant messaging that extends its presence and person information to other products, and which reaches outside itself to integrate with other communication products, is on the way. This is a big part of Microsoft's move into the VOIP world.

From Microsoft Monitor:

Earlier today, Microsoft announced the new Office messaging client, codename Istanbul, which is scheduled to ship first half 2005.

Through Istanbul Microsoft plans to bring disparate messaging capabilities, such as IM and telephony, right into Office. To get there Microsoft will deliver new identification capabilities to its server products and the hybrid 'Live Communications' IM client.

Istanbul is yet another Microsoft effort to pull technologies into Office and so extend the suite’s utility. Remember that address book, calendar and e-mail features existed in separate products before Microsoft brought them into Office through Outlook, which hooked into Exchange Server. The Live Communications Client will bring IM, telephony and identity services into Office, but, again, connected to a server product.

As a proponent and business owner of SharePoint 2003 technologies, this article on Security Pipeline caught my eye:

When President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry square off Friday at Washington University in round two of their presidential debates, the event will spur an intense IT integration effort pulling together national, state, and local emergency responders. These responders will rely on the real-time flow of data to ensure that the only bombs going off in St. Louis are rhetorical.

To do this, the event's incident-command team, comprised of police from St. Louis County and Washington University, firefighters from the city of Clayton, Mo., and agents from the U.S. Secret Service, will rely heavily on a Microsoft SharePoint-based portal modified by service provider Convergence Communications LLC. In its university lecture hall headquarters, the command team will have 25 PCs that can send and receive data over a LAN to as many as 450 police officers positioned across the campus, regardless of whether the officer hails from county, city, or university forces. Five officers normally patrol this same area.

The portal will let command-center workers exchange instant messages, share data, and have joint access to a checklist of tasks that need to be completed on schedule. For example, if a road is scheduled to be closed at a given time, the officer closing that road must communicate via the portal that he accomplished this task. "If the task is overdue, the list will flash so that the commanders know there's a problem..."

Very cool. Granted, it's a million-dollar system built on SharePoint as a platform - what do you figure the price would have been in the private sector though?

I know he didn't mean to (so I won't act all flattered or smug or anything), but Robert Scoble just sort of summed up the better part of my topic/category list for this-here-blog of mine, over on his blog...

I thought it would be interesting to compare his list of cool upcoming topics for the future to what's categorized or searchable right now on my site. So, I did just that and have added the links, below. Not a bad start, and it points out to me where I am falling shorter than I had realized in my content. Hey Robert, thanks for the copy.

“For the next 18 months, where are the business opportunities going to lie? Tablet PC. Bigtime. Windows Media Center. Gonna be a big deal. SmartPhones. Wanna watch how fast the Motorola MPX220 sells when it's released in the next few months? Xbox Live. You only need to say one number and everyone knows exactly the Xbox thing I'm talking about: "2." Visual Studio 2005. Tons of stuff coming there. MSN has a whole raft of things up their sleeves. And we haven't even started talking about BizTalk, SharePoint, Exchange, SQL Server, 64-bit Windows, SBS, CRM, LiveMeeting, and OneNote, among other things.”

It also gives me a gut-check on my existing blog categories. Here they are, with the ones that apply to this posting checked:

AudioBlogging	Blogging	Humor	IT Security
Mobile	Movies	Office 2003	OneNote
Personal Stories	Random Stuff	RSS Stuff	SharePoint
Tablet PC	Tech	Things that Suck	Windows Media Technology

By way of Jonathan Hardwick, a list of webcasts scheduled covering the upcoming release of Microsoft Operations Manager 2005:

"The MOM 2005 release date is fast approaching, and they're setting up a series of webcasts for customers to learn more about it."

• Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Sept 2^nd, 9:30am-11:00am.
  Exploring Microsoft's new event and performance management tool for Windows Server System and beyond.
• Managing Exchange Server with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Sept 7^th, 10:00am-11:30am.
  Increasing service availability and reducing email outages with MOM 2005.
• Managing SQL Server with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Sept 14^th, 8:00am-9:30am.
  Increasing SQL availability and reliability with specialized knowledge and tools in MOM's SQL Management Pack.
• Monitoring your E-Business Solutions with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Sept 16^th, 12:30pm-2pm.
  Using built-in knowledge in MOM 2005 to reduce downtime.
• Using Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 at Microsoft IT - Sept 21^st, 10:00am-11:30am.
  How to manage 6,000 servers across 225 worldwide sites for maximum performance and availability.
• Installing Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 from Start to Finish - Oct 5^th, 8:00am-9:30am.
  Your guide to setting up and testing MOM 2005.
• Monitoring Solutions to Extend Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Capabilities - Oct 14^th, 9:30am-11:00am.
  Service Monitoring Solution Accelerator.
• Real Stories of Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Oct 19^th, 10:00am-11:30am.
  Lessons learned from our MOM 2005 early adopters.
• Monitoring Active Directory with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Nov 4^th, 12:30pm-2pm.
  Using MOM 2005 to improve availability of one of your most critical services.
• Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 at MSN - Dec 1^st, 10:00am-11:30am.
  Using MOM 2005 to monitor one of the largest web portals in the world.

Evan Dodd addresses the /3GB switch confusion and common misconceptions in an informative and to-the-point article on his web log, pointing to technical commentary by a colleague, in the context of Exchange server.

Exchange Server is a complicated product, but things as simple (yeah, I said it) as the /3GB switch don't need to be such a mystery. Admittedly, most exchange admins won't actually care what the switch does. But for those that do want to know, they can easily find out, and even participate in a lively discussion. Or get a link summary of the whole discussion here.

This is a good example of why blogging by the people who are in the trenches is such a great idea. By the way - Another good Exchange commentary resource is KC Lemson's blog.

From Jonathan Hardwick's blog:

New releases: online training sessions for MOM 2005

MOM 2005 is coming out Real Soon Now - but they've already created eight 50-minute online lab sessions to introduce its features:

• Microsoft Operations Manager 2005
• Managing Active Directory with MOM 2005
• Managing Exchange with MOM 2005
• Monitoring SQL Server 2000 with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005
• Planning and Deploying Microsoft Operations Manager 2005
• Administration and Configuration of MOM 2005
• Building and extending MOM using MCF and the SDK Part 1
• Building and extending MOM using MCF and the SDK Part 2

To take a lab, go to https://microsoft.granitepillar.com/mom2005/.

Well, no more dual telephone service for me. Last week, I made the decision to cancel my old-skool standard land-line (POTS) phone service with Qwest, after signing up for and trying out Vonage's IP phone service, which works over my Internet connection.

The LEC's (that's "local exchange carriers") better think fast. They're going to lose this game.

For a lot less money each month, I can now take my phone number wherever I want with a soft-phone that runs on my laptop and/or a portable IP phone device that I can plug into any Internet connection. I can make all the long distance calls I want. I get my voice mail messages as nice little email attachments as soon as someone leaves one for me. I am spending less money each month. It costs less. I get more features for less cash. Oh, by the way - did I mention it's cheaper than the land-line service?

I made one small adjustment to the service on the Vonage web site under my account settings that set my IP phone bridge device to max quality, and the service is great.

This is the future of home telephony, not to mention business service. Hey Baby-Bell's - wake up and make some coffee - your customers are waiting...

UPDATE/SHAMELESS-PLUG:

I just noticed - if you want to sign up for Vonage service, they have a referral program where I can send you an invitation and you'll get the first month free, and I'll get an equal service credit - good for everyone! Just email me here:  and I will send you the invite - be sure to send your name and the email address you want the invite to go to.

Their web site: http://www.vonage.com/

By way of KC Lemson, RSS feeds for all of you Exchange pro's with information you can't help but need:

• RSS Feed that points at the root of all the blogs registered for Exchange [i.e. a notification of newly registered Exchange bloggers]
• RSS feed for links to recent posts on the Exchange blogs
• RSS feed for Exchange KB articles
• RSS feed for KB articles authored by Exchange MVPs
• RSS feed for Exchange downloads

I wonder how many Exchange admins use RSS readers and feeds - if you think about it, there's some competing technology there. Or maybe it's a high percentage. I wonder if my Exchange admin is on the RSS bandwagon? ;)

Over at CRN.com there's an article describing surprise in some circles that Office 12 won't be married to the Longhorn release of Windows.

What people may not remember is that Office 2003 (AKA Office 11 - the current version) was originally planned to release with what would become Longhorn (back in the day), and that as the Longhorn release has changed over time, that relationship was also broken off well before it reached the altar.

The fact that Microsoft keeps its productivity apps moving while building a healthy platform for them to run on - In other words not gluing them to each other - is a good thing. Longhorn will be a monster-sized change in the Windows operating system world, and while Microsoft will almost certainly build special hooks into Office 12 that will take advantage of Longhorn's new features when(ever) it's released, I'd expect (based on my conversations) that another version of Office will soon follow or parallel the Longhorn release, but Office 12 will include some pre-baked Longhorn capabilities. Besides, they'll have to support previous versions of Windows for at least some time, in order to allow people to properly interoperate.

Longhorn will be to Windows XP and 2003 what Windows 95 was to Windows 3.1 -- It will be huge, a major change in the way we use computing power from both the end-user and programming/design perspectives. Longhorn represents the next paradigm shift in the Windows computer world, if you will.

Microsoft now does a better job of quickly finishing better and more-frequent releases of their software. In-house quality assurance and release management tools implemented in the past year or two help them reach bug-free, clean code state ("Milestone Q") faster and with greater confidence, which better enables them to get products ready and out the door, with more features and fewer problems. It also enables them to switch gears and attack issues in existing products ruthlessly when needed.

I, for one, am glad we won't have to wait for Longhorn to keep growing and improving in areas like Office and some of the other productivity applications. New versions of Office mean we can reasonably hope for new or enhanced versions of other Office System tools, which we know are coming - specifically tools like Live Communication Server (look for some very cool and improved features there in the next couple of releases), SharePoint, Exchange and other Office System products on the server-side. Longhorn should be the platform to beat all platforms from a computing perspective, and other applications should be built to fit when Longhorn is ready (meaning feature-completed, tested and secured in a way that Microsoft has never done before). To do otherwise would be akin to the tail wagging the dog, and that just won't do.

From KC Lemson's weblog, a solution to a frequently asked SharePoint question:

Publish a web part on your sharepoint site that can be dynamically consumed inline by other sites

The Exchange team uses sharepoint portal server for a lot of things, such as storing & tracking documents & lists & whatnot. As the release manager, I own the site that has the master schedule on it. There are other teams that used to have a schedule listed separately on their own sites. I wanted them to consume my web part rather than repeating the content, so that if/when the schedule changes, they don't need to update theirs (or worse yet, leave it stale and confuse someone).

Linking to my web part is one option, but that's not inline in their sites, so it's not as nice of an interface. Exporting my web part as a template for them to import will only give them a copy of it at that point in time.

Thankfully, MVP & sharepoint guru Sig clued me in on how to do this. My site is http://mysharepointserver/sites/site1. I have a web part that I want to expose inline in http://mysharepointserver/sites/site2's content. Here's how the manager of site2 can do this:

1. Open up site2 in frontpage 2003. Make sure you have the default.aspx open in the page view.
2. On the task pane, choose “Find Datasource“ (click the down arrow near the top of the task pane to see it)
3. Enter the URL http://mysharepointserver/sites/site1 and the name of the web part you want to reference
4. Drag/drop the result to the desired location on your site and save changes

It works wonderfully. Thanks so much, Sig!

Microsoft embraced blogging and open discussion some time ago. Now not only do they allow/encourage their employees to blog about their work and express their own opinions, they've moved all the greatness that is Microsoft-employee-blogging right onto their corporate web site. And they've completely embraced RSS as a delivery mechanism. Practically all their community content is available in RSS feeds. Nice.

From Microsoft's Community site:

We just launched the Microsoft Community Blogs Portal, a searchable listing of blogs by Microsoft employees, categorized by product or technology topic. The project also makes it easier for pages across Microsoft.com to publish lists of relevant blogs and posts from those blogs.

This project was intended to answer one of the key pieces of feedback we get from customers about our blogging efforts to date. As people posted in response to Scoble's question about Microsoft blogs, it’s sometimes hard to find blogs about a particular technology or product that we make, even on a site like blogs.msdn.com which only has full time Microsoft employees blogging. Our answer to that is to ask our bloggers to categorize their RSS feeds (and to indicate whether they’re writing for a technical audience or a more general readership). The blog portal then makes those blogs available for consumption.

The project also provides ways for blog content to be automatically incorporated into pages on Microsoft.com. We’ve already been doing this, in a proof of concept way, on MSDN in the developer centers, but the process has been very manual. This should make it much easier for all our site managers to incorporate blogs.

A nice side effect of the project is the ability to search across all of the registered RSS feeds. So if you aren’t able to find something using regular Microsoft.com search but you think one of our bloggers might have written about it, you can search across all the registered posts from the portal.

Oh yeah, about RSS. A second project which launched yesterday, called Smart Components 2.0, also allows these contextually relevant lists of posts and blogs to be re-published via RSS. What’s that mean? In a nutshell, every one of the blog recent posts components contains a white on orange RSS badge linking to an RSS feed that is scoped to the same content set as the component. The one on the blog portal has an RSS feed of the fifty most recent posts from all registered Microsoft blogs. If I’m on the Exchange community site, there will now be an RSS feed that aggregates posts from registered bloggers who write about Exchange. And we aren’t just RSS-enabling blog content. With the new code that we deployed yesterday, all sorts of smart components on our sites, including lists of newsgroup content, upcoming chats and webcasts, knowledge base articles, and security bulletins now emit RSS.

Finally, what we shipped yesterday was a portal and a toolbox for our site managers to incorporate these features into their sites. We’ll point to uses of the new components as they go live and spread Microsoft blogs and RSS across Microsoft.com. We’ll also write specifics about some of the other new features in the Smart Components 2.0 release.

(Bonus: there are some interesting hidden features in the blog portal.)

ADDED 7/11/04: It's definitely worth noting that despite the “revolutionary” apearance (to some) of Microsoft suddenly being “open,” that's not really the case. I have always been able to talk in depth with many people at Microsoft about the things that I do in my line of work, and they have always been quite open and helpful - both in terms of providing me information I need, and in terms of collecting information from me in order to make sure they're building relevant products.

Josh Allen has a similar opinion:

People at Microsoft blog because they tend to be open, independent, and communicative; not the other way 'round.  Blogs do provide evidence that Microsoft is just a bunch of normal people like any other company; but the blogging isn't the cause of this normalcy -- it's just a new way to communicate that reality.

Hey. it's a Microsoft link day here at the ol' blog, so... Another useful one:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/itlinks.mspx

Microsoft's IT Pro communities are a good resource for a variety of MSFT servers and technologies. Newsgroups and a huge amount and variety of information - coming from both inside and outside Microsoft:

Would you like to get your computer advice directly from the world’s leading technology experts? Interested in tips from power users or developers? Do you have tips you’d like to share with others? Then you’ve come to the right place. There is a lively community of computer experts and computer users who are taking advantage of the Internet to exchange ideas, information, knowledge, and expertise about Microsoft products and services. The Microsoft Communities Web site provides access to wealth of newsgroups, chats, user groups, tips, and discussions where experts and users who are passionate about Microsoft technologies share their thoughts, help, support, and ideas.

Evan Feldman has written an interesting article about the process of field trials during the initial development of the Tablet PC. We've deployed more than 50 tablet PC's at the company where I work, and as the guy responsible for that decision (read: they guy whose neck is hanging out), I can say that I have heard the same concerns and have seen the same "celebrity" status (whether right or wrong) attached to using one of these truly nifty devices.

Ultimately, what matters most is finding and implementing a tool that makes people more effective and productive. Among other recent technologies we've deployed, the Tablet is one that is starting to show us its unique ability to help people become more flexible and effective in their day-to-day work. I'll be shocked if Tablet PC functionality doesn't eventually become commonplace or even standard in notebook computers - it just makes sense.

Tablet PCs, OneNote, SharePoint Portal and Windows SharePoint Services, Office System 2003, Live Communication Server, Exchange 2003, and much more -- It's been quite a year for those of us at work behind the scenes. What I especially appreciate is the noticeable improvement in quality in all of these product areas with new version releases, and the resulting increases in use and adoption by end users.

Personally, I've used a Tablet PC since the first models were released commercially more than a year and a half ago, and I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I get to (or unlucky enough to have to, depending on your point of view) test new equipment and software in the process of deciding how, when and whether we should use them at our company. I'm looking forward to seeing what's next in the Tablet world -- There's plenty of room and opportunity for this platform to grow, and the potential is certainly great.

Thanks to Alwin Hawkins (who has a blog I read regularly), I'm a Gmail user now. He had a couple extra invitations (you can't just sign up, someone has to invite you), and was kind enough to share.

Okay, so there are certain things about Gmail that are kind of cool. I like the idea of being able to organize content by conversation and applying multiple labels (think of them as virtual folders) to a single conversation. Add the fairly advanced searching features, and you've got a pretty flexible email system.

It's definitely not Outlook on Exchange, but then again not much is. Besides, this is 100% web-based. You get a gig of storage space, which is nearly obscene. For a person who needs a free and flexible Internet email account for personal use, it's not too darn shabby.

SearchExchange.com reports that later this month, Microsoft will release the new spam filter for Exchange 2003, as well as Service Pack One and the first Feature Pack.

Nice that they are separating the fixes (service pack) from the feature enhancements. Notable among the feature enhancements for me are the improved/new admin tools and the RPC-over-HTTP setup tools. Nice.

Speaking of which... If you have not yet enabled RPC over HTTP, let me tell you - it's very nice to be able to connect to the Exchange server securely over the Internet. It's also a bit complicated to set up (involves some registry editing, client software patch download, and a good understanding of the vague), and has not been all that well documented. However, there is a recently-published technical article at the Microsoft Download Center called “Exchange Server 2003 RPC over HTTP Deployment Scenarios” that covers the setup on both the server and client sides. Read carefully and follow every step, and it will work. Note also the system and network requirements. They are not optional. You'll need to have a compatible environment for this to work.

Looks like maybe the future is starting to look up for PocketPC-based phones.

I used a Motorola SmartPhone (MPX200) for a while, but gave up on it because of poor performance in the Exchange sync department (on the part of the phone, which bogged down under the pressure).

As far as T9 text input has come, it drove me crazy trying to type email on a phone keyboard, so I switched back to the Blackberry Phone, which does a great job for me and others where I work. It just doesn't run the Windows Mobile OS.

But, looks like Motorola has some new models up its sleeve. While the new SmartPhone (MPx100) looks interesting, the new MPx PDA-Phone looks very cool. With a full keboard built-in, a true HTML browser, WiFi built in, etc., I'll be all over this (if it ever makes it to the US, that is). Availability is set for 2nd half of 2004 according to Motorola's press releases.

KC Lemson, who works on the Exchange team at Microsoft, asks if there are any IT bloggers out there who are actually blogging about IT. She's soliciting links from anyone who does, or from people who know of good ones, to see if it would be worthwhile to put together a list.

I think that's a great idea. There are tons of blogs by developers and about specific products, etc., but not that many that are about IT operations and management. I hope this takes off, and it's already made me think a bit about some things that I could be blogging that I have thus far ignored.

Well its been while since I last updated. It figures that the times when you're busiest are the times you have the most to write, but because you're so damn busy, you don't have time to write... Lots of Microsoft related stuff to share, plus some other things.

So, here I am on Saturday morning, still at work, got about an hour or maybe a little more of sleep on a couch in someone's office. It's been along time since I've pulled one of these all-nighters, and I won't be doing so on purpose again any time soon. We did a (resoundingly) successful upgrade of our Windows 2000 domain controllers here to Windows Server 2003 last night. It was great and went much faster and smoother than we thought. Unfortunalely, though, there's always one thing that doesn't quite work as you'd hope, and this time was no exception. Perhaps a bit surprisingly to some, the problem had absolutely nothing to do with Windows 2003, but instead with a third-party vendor's hardware and software, and a truly crappy support technician who works for that th-rd-party vendor on the other end of the line. End result? Three people with little to no sleep and that always-wonderful post-adreneline crash. :) But hey - it's all good now (very good), and that's what counts.

I will be participating in the keynote address as a speaker at four of the Microsoft Office 2003 System launch events later this month and in early November. I will be on the stage in Portland, Boise, Spokane and Albuquerque along with the keynote speakers, talking about our company's early adoption and deployment of Office 2003, SharePoint Portal Server, SharePoint Team Services, Live Communication Server, Exchange 2003, and other various and sundry things. It should be a lot of fun and it looks to be a worthwhile event for anyone who has an interest. Sign up soon though, it's getting tight in some venues. I know Seattle has gone to waiting-list only and Portland is getting close to capacity.

I have a new program on my "Way Cool" list: Microsoft OneNote. Wow, who'da thunk such a simple concept could work this well and be this useful? If you are someone who carries a notebook around and takes notes a lot, or if you're like me and you hate actually getting organized, but still wish you had a place to store stuff and organize it so you can refer to it later, you have to check this out. Plus it integrates with the Office System stuff I mentioned above. I love this thing. Oh yeah - if you happen to have a tablet PC, all the more reason to check this out. Ink baby! But it's great on any computer, for sure.

I'm thinking I will need to seriously check out Windows Media Center 2004, which was recently launched. I am planning to get a projector for my home to replace my big screen TV, which is nearly 7 years old now (still a great TV but hey, it's time). I have this huge room where I can project a 10-foot picture and set up the surround system. Looking at this nifty version of Windows, I am thinking seriously that it might be worth trying. Support for hi-def and combining DVR and many other capabilities is definitiely way cool.

You may or may not know about one of my favorite daily arrivals in my email inbox: the Lockergnome newsletters. Chris Pirillo started these things up several years ago. Back when he was first starting out he and I used to email ideas back and forth now and then. He's a driven guy, and has done some amazing things with his franchise. Over time, Lockergnome added more newletters, and now has several to choose from. My personal favorites are the tech Specialist and Windows Daily, but there are others for Linux fans and other areas of interest. The other day Chris announced that the primary author of the Tech Specialist newsletter is moving on to other things. I hope it will continue to thrive - it's a great source of information and ideas.

That's it for now, plenty more to write about, but I will save it for later.

- g