Windows Phone 7 Released to Manufacturing

Just a quick note to let everyone know that the Windows Phone 7 product team has released the Windows Phone 7 OS to manufacturing. I hope it does well, but I fear that MS is too late to the dance.

The Kin One and Kin Two are dead

Microsoft announced that it is discontinuing the Kin One and Kin Two due to disappointing sales. They will continue to support current owners, but they will cease all development and updates. Verizon indicates that they have plenty in stock, in case you want to get one as a souvenir.

What is in my pocket?

These days, I am carrying three “smartphones”. I carry the AT&T iPhone 3G (now running beta 4.0 OS), the Sprint HTC Hero (running Android 1.5 OS) and the Verizon Palm Pre Plus (running WebOS 1.4). Honestly, I love all three devices. They all do so many excellent and wonderful things. I am expecially fond of the Pre Plus – the size; the hard keypad; the ability to do video capture, edit, and share; and the ability to make it a mobile hotspot for up to five WiFi users. The Hero also does video capture, and I have a lot of fun with the barcode scanning app. The iPhone is the one device I always have with me though. I use it for email (two Exchange Active Sync accounts!), web surfing, Shazam, and a bunch of other applications (Ski Report, Pandora, and Facebook to name a few). The apps and the ability to operate the device with one hand make a lot of difference to me.

My job allows me to be able to get my hands on many new smart devices and their associated operating systems well in advance of public release. To be fair to Microsoft, I also have a Touch Pro 2 running Windows Mobile 6.5 with the HTC Touch Flo overlay from Sprint. It is nice enough, but this version of the OS is still tied to needing the stylus for some things (like hitting the “x” to close applications). I am anxiously awaiting getting Windows Mobile 7 devices. Based on what I have seen, Microsoft may have finally moved away from trying to replicate their desktop on their smartphones.

That is all for now. Thanks to everyone who stops by. Please feel free to comment or ask questions.

And one last thing (for now) about WinMo 6.5

I know it sounds like I am bashing Microsoft about Winmo 6.5.  The truth is, I love Microsoft and I love Windows Mobile.  And because I feel so strongly about the company and the product, I want them both to be as good as they can be.

For those of you with children, aren’t you much harder on your own child than you might be if you were looking after someone else’s child?  Don’t you expect more from your own child?  That is how I feel about Wimdows Mobile.  I have helped Microsoft raise WinMo, and I expect more from it! 

Do you remember the movie “As Good As It Gets”?  Jack Nicholson says to Helen Hunt “You make me want to be a better man.”  Microsoft should see me as someone who makes them want to produce a better mobile operating system.  I know they can do it.  They have a TON of money, and a LOT of very smart and capable people working for them.  They have great device manufacturer and phone carrier support.  They have a huge installed developer base (to make some cool apps).  I just want them to be better!

Like I said, my hopes and expectations are HIGH for Windows Mobile 7.  Don’t let me down.

More about Windows Mobile 6.5

After my previous post about WinMo 6.5, I thought I should post something explaining my comments.

Microsoft has been selling the same version of their mobile OS for more than 5 years now.  5 years ago, the iPhone did not exist, and Palm OS was a big deal.  Now, the iPhone is King, and Palm has bet the farm on WebOS (which I like quite a bit, but that is for another post).  In this time, MS has done little to change their mobile OS. 

You don’t get a stylus with the iPhone or the Pre.  You still get one with the WinMo 6.5 devices.  Why?  because you need one.  The “x” to close applications is still the same size it has always been, and hitting it with your finger is difficult.  The keyboard is still small.  It provides no feedback when you type.  And again, you need a stylus.

MS has put a different “skin” on the front (a Zune-like scrolling list of apps/tasks), and the application icons are bigger and easier to use without the stylus, but it is still the same old MS desktop shrunk down to mobile device size.  It is still bloated, clunky, and not real stable. 

I expected more.  I am certainly expecting a lot from MS with WinMo 7.  If they listened to their customers like Palm does, I might not be typing this.

Windows Mobile 6.5 Launched

Windows Mobile 6.5 has been released, and you should be able to buy a device with WinMo 6.5 from various carriers. I wish I could say that I was more excited about this, but I think that MS missed with this release. I have VERY high expectations and hope for Windows Mobile 7. The heat is on thanks to Apple, Palm, and RIM/Blackberry. I hope that MS sees this and brings it for the next release of their Windows Mobile Operating System. How about a complete redesign, Redmond? It doesn’t need to look/feel like the desktop. it doesn’t need all that bloat. Make it faster and easier to use without a stylus. Learn from Apple and Palm.

How to Sync your iTunes music with your Pre

A quickie…

Now that Apple has “upgraded” iTunes to 8.2.1 and thereby broken the capability of the Pre to sync music with iTunes directly, I was forced to look for something else.

I found a free product called Salling Media Sync for Windows – http://www.salling.com/MediaSync/windows/ – that will sync non-DRM protected music from your iTunes library to your Pre (and most any other device as well). Salling Sync recognizes and lets you sync playlists as well. Well worth checking out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mobile Phones, PDAs, and PEDs

Those of you who know me know that I am a Windows Mobile (WinMo) guy.  Why?  Carrier choice, OS support, device integration, and device form factor variety.  Even though the Mobile OS is basically a port of the Desktop OS, I still like the devices because of the overlays that HTC has put on devices like the Fuze, the massive support of Microsoft that stands behind the OS, and the wide variety of form factors and carriers that offer these devices.

With that said, I think the iPhone is very well done.  I love the interface and the applications.  I think Blackberrys are excellent mobile business devices.  And I am looking forward to the Palm Pre like a six-year-old without a bike or a puppy on Christmas Eve.  I am hoping the kind folks at Palm let me have one early to use and talk about.  Anyhow, why do I like all of these WinMo competitors?  Because Apple, RIM, and Palm make Microsoft want to be a better Mobile Operating System (get the ”As Good as It Gets” reference?).  OK, so I am no comedian.  But I do know a lot about mobile devices.  And I know them from all sides – the administrative side and the end-user side.  I know what makes for a great end-user experience, and I know what administrators are looking for.

End users want a functional device that is fun, functional, and easy to use.  Some users like keyboards, some don’t.  Some users like the stylus, some don’t.  Some users like navigation wheels, some don’t.  Etcetera, ad nauseam.  In other words, each mobile user is as unique as a snowflake.  And this uniqueness is at odds with the administrative side.  The best situation for an administrator is if every user has the same device with the same applications and similar settings.  Easy to administer and easy to troubleshoot, right?  Right.  But is this what the end-user wants?  No. So the administrator has to manage the device in as simple a way as possible without the user seeing it (transparency) while ensuring the data on the device is safe (security) and the users can access what they need to do their work (accessibility and availability).  How can this be accomplished? 

The device operating system must be capable of supporting remote management and security.  It must work with existing directory installations (i.e., Active Directory).  The management piece must support groups, policies, and ACLs.  Don’t force your administrators to learn yet another management interface from another vendor that does not quite match the Windows look and feel.  The easier it is for the administrator to manage devices, the more likely that administrator is to provide end-users with flexibility on their mobile devices.

Bottom line – the future of mobile computing is so bright, I gotta wear shades.

As always, comments welcome.  I will respond if necessary.

Whitelist or Blacklist Applications?

I get this question a lot from folks – both as it applies to mobile devices and also as it applies to the managed network in general.  Here are my thoughts.

A blacklist is a list of applications that are not allowed.  A whitelist is a list of applications that are allowed.  It is that simple.  In my opinion, a whitelist is MUCH easier to manage than a blacklist.

Why?  Because you know the applications that you want your users to have access to.  It is a finite, limited list, and if a new allowed application comes along, you can easily add it to the whitelist.  It should always be a fairly small list.  On the other hand, a blacklist is an infinite list of applications that are not allowed.  Can you imagine managing this?  How on earth do you manage this list without knowing about every application on Earth?  Granted, you could create a blacklist of applications already installed in the computing device that you don’t want the user to run and then lock that computing device’s image so that no additional applications could be installed, but that is more work.  This “image lock” method makes it difficult to push AV engine and signature file updates as well as Operating System patches.

Now with a whitelist, you still have to manage a list, but you know what applications you will allow.  And you can easily add to the list if needed.  Everything else is not allowed.  Now, this still allows a user to install pretty much anything they want, but they can not run it unless it is on the list.  And chances are good that the install will fail, as the install program will almost certainly not be on the list.  You may also have issues/difficulties with AV and Operating System updates/patches.

Bottom line – whitelists are easier to implement and manage, plus, they don’t require image lock.  You will have to figure out AV and Operating System updates/patches in either case.

As always, please let me know if you have questions.  I will do my best to answer or clarify.

And now for a few words about securing PDAs

Not everyone needs a SME-PED (a secure mobile messaging device developed by the NSA).  But a lot of people carry Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs).  For this post, I will call them Mobile Devices (MD).  These MDs include Blackberry, Windows Mobile, iPhone, and any other phone/device that lets you do email, SMS, MMS, pictures, or store any kind of data on it.

Imagine that you are out a restaurant.  You are having a nice meal.  You brought along your MD, because you never leave home without it.  You have it sitting on the table near you (or in your coat pocket or wherever).  You have it set up to synchronize your work email as well as your personal email.  You store your contacts (work and personal) on the device, and you also keep a couple of Notes on the device that have some password/PIN/account info in them.

You get up to use the restroom.  You leave your coat behind.  You return and finish your meal.  You leave the restaurant.  You get into your car and decide that you will check email before you head home.  You reach for your MD and realize that it isn’t there.  You run back into the restaurant and back to your table, but your MD is not there.  You ask the server and manager if they have seen one or if one has been turned in.  They have not.

Time to panic?  Maybe not.  Do you have the device set to time out after a certain amount of time?  Do you have a password or PIN set to unlock the device?  Do you have encryption technology on the device?  Do you have anti-virus software installed on the device?  If you can answer “Yes” to most or all of these questions, then you can rest easy, because you are out a few dollars for the device and some pain calling your carrier and having the phone/SIM killed.  Then you have to go out and get a new phone/plan and rebuild it.  Painful?  Yes, but not as bad as it could be.

Here is a true story (names/locations have been removed to protect the stupid).  I got a call several years ago from one of my users asking me to “kill his device”.  I asked him what had happened to it, and he told me that he had lost it.  When I hung up with him, I decided to call the phone number of the device.  I did, and the device was answered, but no one was there.  I sat on the line for 5 minutes or so, listening to background noise, and I soon realized that the device was near a cash register.  I started saying “Hello” over and over again.  I did this for about a minute, and finally, a confused woman picked up the phone and responded “Hello?”  We had a brief conversation.  I found out that she was a server at a restaurant down the road from where I was working at the time.  I asked her to set the device aside and told her that I would be down in a few minutes to pick it up.

I retrieved the device and brought it back to my office.  I noticed a couple of things:  There was no PIN/password protecting the device.  It had the user’s business email synchronized to it (up to the minute I was holding the phone).  It had the user’s contacts, calendar, and some notes.  One of the notes had his account login information for several business critical systems (including username, password, and account number).  I also found a note with some of his personal information in it.  Bad?  YES.  But this is not the worst thing that could have happened.

Can you imagine if someone else had found it?  And what if that person was a bad guy?  Fortunately for the user, I recovered it, and I proceeded to wipe the device and rebuild it.  I will let you all use your imagination to form a picture of what might have happened if a bad guy had found it.

Bottom line – protect your mobile device.  You need a PIN/password to unlock the device at the VERY least.  You should also have AV software if you do email, web, or texting on the device.  If you are storing personal or professional information that could be considered private, you should strongly consider getting encryption software for the device.  Protect yourself by protecting your data.  It only takes a second to unlock your device (if you remember your PIN/password).  But it may take you weeks or months to recover from the theft of your personal or professional information.

As always, please let me know if you have questions about this.  I will try my best to answer them or clarify what I was trying to say.