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Thoughts and things I care to shareWhere oh where is BlackBerry Connect…
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?
Snowstorm in Minneapolis
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!
T-Mobile MDA – Finally Got It!
Wow, finally got the new T-Mobile MDA, stopped by a Tmo store on Saturday and picked it up. Since I tested it last October/November, its changed little. It seems a bit more responsive than the test unit I worked with, the “My Email” configuration utility works, and the unit appears more stable than before as well.
Not a lot has changed, I’ll have to go from memory on the earlier unit, and as with all HTC built devices that I have worked with, the build-quality is very good. Also in the intervening 4 months, a number of third party software packages have had multiple revisions for Windows Mobile 5, and the phone edition in particular. So many of my favorite software packages that were performance hogs, or quite “flaky” before, now work rather well.
In the last 16 hours, I’ve installed:
- WisBar Advanced 2 (by Lakeridge Software)
- PocketBreeze 5 (by SBSH Software)
- ContactBreeze (by SBSH Software)
- iLauncher (by SBSH Software)
- Pocket Weather (by SBSH Software)
- ThinkOutside Bluetooth Keyboard & Mouse Drivers (by ThinkOutside)
One of the best things that I’ve found so far is that both my ThinkOutside Bluetooth keyboard and mouse work at the same time on this device – something that their earlier drivers in October 2005 did not do. That in combination with the landscape display mode, EDGE or WiFi connectivity, and an improved Internet Explorer really make a difference for quick but useful web browsing.
The wireless capabilities of the device are very important, with Bluetooth for personal device connectivity, Quad-band GPRS/EDGE, 802.11b/g WiFi it can adapt to the best connection available. The built-in slide out keyboard as well really makes a big difference when trying to answer an email on the go, and the existing mail client is adequate allowing multiple POP or IMAP Inboxes.
Another nice piece is the ability to tether a latop off this device while traveling with EDGE service – it allows the device to act as a modem for the larger computer, something that Verizon has only recently started to allow.
Overall, I’m pleased with the minor improvements and am glad to have purchased this device. As the MDA was back in October when I tested it, it is impressive in its capabilities and form.
When is Good Enough, Good Enough?
That really is my question as the news of Google’s latest purchase spreads through the blogosphere starting with Om Malik last night. Google today snapped up Writely, a web based word processor which Scoble says it was written in .NET – how ironic for Google. Still, it is intriguing to think about the implications. This is not just theory any longer, this proves that Google is going after a “Google Office” product offering that would match the basic abilities of Microsoft’s Office Standard Edition. But for free! Or at least we believe it would be free.
Good Enough
It really comes down to that question or statement depending on how you look at it. Is a free basic office offering enough to satisfy the needs of the average person? Would it matter that it was online and not available locally? The needs of the average person are really quite simple compared to the fancy volumous documentation that is created in corporate environments. If you haven’t tried out Writely, you may be amazed at how much word processing power is stuffed into the web browser by this service. And there are other services that offer additional “office” product solutions. Take JotSpot Tracker or iRows for example, both online spreadsheets. Or Thumbstacks.com, an online presentation application. There is also gOffice, which I’ve not had a chance to look into yet, that has most all this on one site. And as Kent Newsome asks – how viable is the “free” web application model when online advertising dries up?
Potential of “Google Office”
So what would Google productivity applications/services really bring to the average user? Obviously search will factor into the services greatly – and end to needing to file everything in a structured environment. You could simply “tag” each document and then search on tags and other criteria to find your documents. Gmail would fit in as a natrual piece, bringing their new chat service and upcoming Calendar services as well. Imagine including “GDrive“, as Mathew Ingram mentions, where a user could store all their online (and then some) documents, drawings, pictures, etc… Don’t forget Picasa, Google Desktop & Toolbar, Google Earth, and Blogger and you have one wide ranging powerful environment. Can Google tie all these pieces together to make a cohesive environement? How will the rumoured Google Network and Google Cube work into this?
Impact on Microsoft
How does this impact Microsoft, does it matter and what should they do to respond? I’m sure Microsoft could conjour up a competitive offering on one of the Windows Live sites, or slash prices on their low-end Office offering, or simply ignore the potential that Google is creating altogether. But what if Microsoft responds in kind, putting the full force of developers, designers, and visionaries into this venue as well? How does that change the computing landscape as we use it today? Does a Google Office really change anything, I mean, business will continue to use full-fleged applications that they can control, patch and upgrade. They will want to manage their own data for security & integrity reasons, especially if you factor in SOX requirements.
The Real Costs
Another question is what the real costs of online free applications might be? Again, the data security, integrity and federal regulatory questions come to mind, along with requirement that you must be online to access your data. How do you adapt to a world where your data is not physically near you – do you copy it on thumb-drives and carry it with you everywhere? Does it matter with all the smart devices we are starting to carry, or the ubiquitous WiFi and broadband data options from mobile phone carriers? Really, if your BlackBerry, Smartphone, Pocket PC or laptop can connect at anything from 128kbs on the low-end, to over 1Mb on the high-end mobile networks and hit WiFi hotspots – does it matter if your life is online?
Take it to the next level – all you need is a good mobile phone and one of the new Origami or Ultra-Mobile PCs to get the job done – from nearly anywhere.
Update 1: Another web-based word processor is Zoho Writer – part of Zoho’s online suite of productivity solutions which include a spreadsheet, planner, CRM, collaboration tools and much more. Thanks Raju!
Via: Om Malik, Robert Scoble, Mathew Ingram, Kent Newsome, Desktop Pipeline, TechCrunch
Writely – Web Based Word Processor
So I’ve run across Writely – a web-based word processor. I’ve been watching for something like this for awhile, and thought it would be interesting to try writing a blog post from Writely, a feature they talk about in their site’s tour. The neat thing about Writely as a blog post editor is the full suite of word processing tools available to you.
That’s not to minimize the feature set at all – it is a serious word processor with all the main tools you need to write many document types. There is support for tables, images, multiple styles, and much more. It automatically saves data on the fly, and can also track document versions.
Via: Om Malik
Live… From Microsoft
Have you checked out Windows Live this morning? Apparently Microsoft updated the Live site code durning the night last night as Robert Scoble mentioned. This is a very impressive upgrade, lots of nice improvements to the already steamlined interface. Recommend you check it out!
Via: Scobleizer
Shadow Divers
Picked up a book last week that I have not been able to put down. Its called Shadow Divers, and is about those two divers on the History Channel’s “Deep Sea Detectives“. This is an exciting book, its a non-fiction work that details the discovery and investigation of a unknown WWII U-boat off the New Jersey coast. Anyone who enjoys the History Channel show should check this book out.
See also:
WordPress Spell Checker?
Is there a good spell check plug-in for WordPress? I’ve been looking for one, but have only run across two – one of which states that it “doesn’t play well with WordPress 2”. Does anyone know of a good spell checker for WordPress?
If I was any good at programing, I’d try my hand at creating one as it seems that there is a shortage of them!
Pocket PC Works!
Well, this is my first attempt to post frorm rry my iPaq, and I’m pleasentty pleasently surprised to find that WordPress works well with the older uerspon version of Pocket Internet Explorer.
Now lets hit the publish button and see what happens.
Update: It does work well – of course I was using “Transcriber” and made a few mistakes that I had to come back to correct. 🙂
Free Weekend WiFi for T-Mobile Customers
It seems that T-Mobile is offering free weekend WiFi to all its customers for a limited time. Nice spiff! Apparently, all a customer has to do is surf to http://freeweekends.hotspot.t-mobile.com where they will be asked for their mobile phone number. Once the number is entered into the system, an SMS message will be sent to the phone allowing access to any T-Mobile hotspot on weekends.
Via: MobileBurn
I hope the leadership of the Republican Party will take his word seriously. Because this is exactly right.
This is very simple: only Americans citizens should be allowed to vote in American elections.
The SAVE America Act is common sense, and we need to pass it now!
I don’t recall you complaining when gas was $5.00 under Biden.
Hypocrisy much?
Please RT!
This Middle Ages bullshit is a cancer on the planet👇👇🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸