Mar 16, 2006 | blog
Robert Scoble commented today about the rising noise in the blogosphere. A mob of people who seem intent on simply flaming and blasting or arguing their way through many blogs. The trend is disturbing and is discouraging to many who have helped build the tech blogosphere that we know today – and many like me who have grown from reading the ‘A List’.
Through Scoblizer and many other blogs, I’ve been able to learn many new things, find the interest and intent to become a blogger (whether I’m good or bad at it) and try to add to the conversation, to add value as I have gotten out of the blogosphere.
Here’s to more intelligent conversation about technology, the implementation of tech, and how it enriches our lives.
Mar 15, 2006 | blog
I’ve been telling people over the last few months that the next real important piece of Web 2.0 will be online storage. Had actually contemplated how a person could go about jumping into the fold and building a site and service – but alas it would not be (I have not the skills nor the investors neede:)).
However, I am glad to see new online services start to pop up. Like Box.net for example.  They have crafted a nice AJAXy interface that is simple to use and easy to see what you have stored there. With multiple pricing plans starting at $5/month for 5GB, it looks like a nice service to try out.
You can sample the service yourself with a free 1GB account. I’m currently filling up my new account with a number of files I’ve been meaning to back up for months now (no really I have meant to…). The process was simple, the results as I expected. You can upload by browsing with a standard Windows file browse dialog, or their Drag-n-Drop window that allows you to copy whole folder structures at at time – very nice.
Good luck guys, I’m going to continue to use the service and see if I can find enough data to upgrade to a larger account.
Also, check out Russell Beattie’s post on Box.net!
Mar 15, 2006 | blog
Now that I’ve got the T-Mobile MDA in my hands, the next obvious question is whether the Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Windows Mobile (aka AKU2) will be offered by Tmo. AKU2 contains the update for Windows Mobile 5 that changes the behavior of “push email”. The change allows the push-mail functionality that shipped with Windows Mobile 5 to behave more like the BlackBerry.
The original implementation of push-mail in Windows Mobile 5 had the mail system send a specially formatted SMS message to the WM5 device. The SMS message instructed the device to initiate an ActiveSync session with the defined server. The ActiveSync session would then pull the email to the device during the synchronization process.
With the new update, the process has changed so that the system never uses SMS messages to do this. Many users were put off by the need for an SMS package on top of the data package, on top of the cell plan. In the new system, the WM5 device keeps synchronizes itself with the server over the air.
Once the sync is complete the device sends an HTTP request to the server asking for any changes since the last sync – the catch here is that the request has a time out of (I seem to remember) 30 minutes. If the server has an update to any of the synced data during that time, it will return the request to the device indicating new data. A new sync is done and a new HTTP request is sent to the server again waiting 30 minutes. If there are no new data updates and the request times out, the device simply re-issues the request. This sequence goes on unless either the device or server is taken offline, or the configuration is dismantled.
For the new system to work, the device will make enormous use of the data connection. While the device will be connected almost all the time, data transfer only happens during the request and sync periods. If you have an unlimited data plan, that really takes the concern out of the picture cost-wise. Also, this is fairly battery efficient as simply keeping the data pipe open doesn’t use much power, only when transmitting/receiving.
It’ll be interesting to see how well this system works out. T-Mobile just released the MDA a few weeks ago so I’m sure they don’t have the AKU2 update pending too soon, and I currently have my MDA simply polling my email accounts on a 15 minute cycle. There are real needs for push mail like the BlackBerry and Microsoft’s implementation, but it is not a requirement for me at this time. Neat stuff!
Mar 14, 2006 | blog
RIM’s BlackBerry supposedly offers a BlackBerry Connect for Windows Mobile software component. What I need to figure out is where do you find this elusive software? Do you get the software along with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, a separate offering, free download, WalMart, at the bottom of my favorite cereal box – where?
The dissapointing thing for me on the BlackBerry front is that there are so few real sources of information and solutions on the Internet. For Windows Mobile, there are thousands. This is the difference between a closed system like BlackBerry, and an open environment like Windows Mobile.
I’m not going to debate the supiority of the BlackBerry push email system – that is obvious, but what I have trouble with is the lack of acceptance of customer choice. The company I work for is planning on rolling out BlackBerry services, for a number of reasons. But what I see is a true lack of choice for our users. What do you tell a senior exec when they come back with a spiffy new Windows Mobile device and you tell them that they cannot use it with our new push email system? With the rates charged for the support contracts, you would think they want to cover all the needs a corporate customer may need.
Come guys where is the customer choice?
Mar 13, 2006 | blog
Well it would figure that we didn’t get a lot of snow in MN this year, and finally in mid-march we get a good 7″ of snow this morning. Made the commute a little more work than the norm. Most didn’t make it into the office, which of course makes for an easier day.
Hope we have get a few more next year, it seems like we miss out a lot lately in the snow department around here!
