MacIT

Communigate to Apple Migration

We decided to switch from Communigate mail server, which has been bulletproof, to Apple Server Mail (a combination of open source components) primarily for the single sign-on capability of Open Directory, but also to avoid paying for more and more user licenses. Apple's unlimited server license is one of its greatest advantages over Communigate, Exchange, or anything else.

Communigate is a great product (even though it's trying to be an Exchange replacement) but it's a hassle adding new accounts in multiple places.

Migration went very well using Communigate's mail migration utility, although I imagine they intended it to be used to migrate toward their product rather than away from it.

Some mail loop glitches with Postini, but otherwise pretty smooth.

Netflix for Mac

Netflix has released a beta version of its browser-based Watch Instantly for Macintosh, which uses Microsoft Silverlight. You can join here, information is on the official Netflix blog.

Not many movies available yet, I imagine due to licensing issues, and it's been unstable on the Safari/OS version I'm running. I'm glad Netflix is making efforts to include Macs, and look forward to further development.

Easy Wi-Fi iPhone app

Easy Wi-Fi by Devicescape is a (currently) free iPhone app that stores web-based wireless access point logins, allowing one-button logon rather than opening Mobile Safari and typing your user name and password each time.

My biggest complaint about iPhones and Wifi access points requiring a web login is that once you tell the iPhone to autoconnect to Starbucks' AT&T network, for example, it does so every time you walk in for coffee. The problem is, if you don't launch Safari and login, you won't get e-mail or any other network services until you're out of range of the access point.

Easy Wi-Fi apparently works transparently on devices that support background processes, but since the iPhone currently does not you'll need to hit the Easy Wi-Fi app icon to connect. Still much easier than typing a login.

Hurricane response

My company has been working along the gulf coast following hurricanes Hugo and Ike, providing emergency communications services for our customers. I've spent one week so far, and might get sent again. Things should be a bit more comfortable from now since the infrastructure is beginning to recover.

It's interesting to see all of our mobile communications gear in action, particularly since we upgraded all of the technology from analog telephone and radio equipment to VoIP phones, switches and related systems. Everything is working quite well, and the satellite comms links have been reliable and plenty fast enough as long as lots of people aren't using it simultaneously. We can always increase the bandwidth, but it's not cheap.

NetBoot updates on vessels

We've set up Mac Minis for each of our regions as NetBoot servers so we can upgrade computers on our ships to Leopard. I was able to use it in Northern California, and it worked out very well upgrading almost all local computers simultaneously. Way faster than running around with a couple of DVDs.

The only glitch occurred when two vessels at the same pier were connected to the same subnet but were physically a bit far apart. Very slow, so we had to move the NetBoot mini to a switch onboard the vessel where we were doing the upgrades.

Overall, an A+ for NetBoot!

Babelingo

Despite this iPhone application's name, it does not help you understand what pretty girls are saying.

All or nothing-removing iPhone wireless access points

Starbucks is providing two hours per day of free Wifi access when you register a Starbucks card on their website. You also get free syrup or something. So I registered my card and went to the local Starbucks. No problem connecting to AT&T's wireless access point, but it's one of those things where you need to log in with a web browser using the credentials you created on their website. I did this and was on the AT&T network without any problem. Did the same thing at another Starbucks in town (we only have about six, it's a small town) and discovered an annoying issue: every time I walk into one of those Starbucks locations, my iPhone automatically connects to the Wifi but my e-mail doesn't work because I haven't logged in with Safari.

Why is this a problem? Since Wifi trumps 3G and it auto-connects to the Wifi, I had a network connection but couldn't go anywhere without entering my credentials. I'm usually in and out of Starbucks in less time than it takes to login, so I decided to delete the AT&T Wifi access points on my iPhone.

Hmm, the iPhone doesn't show what Wifi access points I've previously logged onto, so how can I delete them? By deleting all of them, of course!

Settings > General (not Wifi?) > Reset > Reset Network Settings

Poof! They're all gone. Now I need to re-enter work and home info.

Edit: After reading Apple's comprehensive iPhone Tips & Tricks I learned that you can remove individual Wifi access points, but only when you are connected to the one you want to forget.

Settings > Wifi > Choose a Network...

Touch the blue arrow to the right of the network you want to remove and select Forget this Network.

Blackberry to iPhone - Applications

There are certain mobile applications that I use on a regular basis regardless of my current device platform. It hasn't been difficult at all to find apps that perform the same function on my new iPhone as I had on my previous Sprint BlackBerry 8830, and in most cases the iPhone applications are more elegant both visually and functionally.

Mail
Hard to beat BlackBerry as an e-mail machine, but iPhone is significantly better than I anticipated. It's a perfect clone of Apple Mail on the desktop, and my concerns about typing on the iPhone touch screen were unfounded.

Calendar
The BlackBerry calendar is about as minimalist as you can get. iPhone's calendar looks exactly like iCal on my MacBook Pro and syncs very well with the desktop. I tried MobileMe but had some issues, and since it doesn't currently sync shared calendars I'll continue with the local sync until Apple fixes it.

To Dos
I was using Rex Wireless' ToDoMatrix on BlackBerry, which is super functional. No built-in ToDo application on iPhone surprised a lot of people, so I've been using Things. Works very well.

Notes
Had been using Rex Wireless' other app, IdeaMatrix, for notes on BlackBerry. iPhone has an ok notepad built in which doesn't sync to anything. Evernote works pretty well.

RSS
I was using Google Reader for RSS feeds on BlackBerry, NetNewsWire works great on iPhone and also syncs with my desktop.

GMail
No GMail app for iPhone yet, but Google has an iPhone-optimized page that works pretty well. I preferred Google's BlackBerry app.

Instant messaging
Can't wait for Beejive's iPhone IM app. Their JiveTalk is the best BlackBerry IM app available. AOL IM is out, but without background notifications any IM app will be unusable on iPhone.

TypePad
BlackBerry and iPhone app are identical, and neither lets you edit previous posts.

Dictionary
Saving my pennies for Beiks dictionaries for iPhone; they're great on BlackBerry.

Password keeper
BlackBerry's built-in password keeper worked very well for me but didn't sync with anything, so you had to type in everything on the handheld. SplashID iPhone/desktop combo works great.

Music
No comparison - iPhone is a big, beautiful iPod! Pandora and Tuner gives you easy access to an almost unlimited amount of fantastic streaming web music, talk, etc.

Photos
My BlackBerry 8830 didn't have a camera, and I missed the one from my Treo. Quality isn't the best, but it's lots of fun snapping quick pictures of whatever. SmugMug's iPhone app is terrific for effortlessly uploading quick snapshots onto really nice looking web galleries.

Web
Mobile Safari is fantastic, especially over AT&T's 3G (which works very well in Northern VA). And there are hundreds of iPhone-optimized sites left over from the first generation iPhone that provided only web apps.

eBooks
eReader on iPhone is stunning! It looks like a small book, and is a pleasure to read. The eReader app connects right up to your bookshelf to download any of the books you've purchased. Very well done. I never read eBooks on BlackBerry because the screen was too small and memory too tight.

International travel
The Sprint BlackBerry 8830 worked very well during my recent visit to France, and did not cost much since I added the international data plan and kept voice time to a minimum. AT&T has similar international plans and will also work in many countries.

Bottom line, you can't lose with BlackBerry or iPhone. Better sync and far better appearance and available applications give iPhone the edge.

First iPhone post

Being a BlackBerry fan I resisted the first generation iPhone, but now that my boss wants us to be consistent in our smartphones at HQ I'm now very happily using a black 8GB 3G iPhone. It's as good as all the reports, and even coming from a BlackBerry I have no problems with the keyboard. Lucky we ordered ten through our corporate account on Day 1 and received them the following Tuesday. For anyone still waiting... It's worth the wait. 

BlackBerry to iPhone transition

My company ordered 10 iPhone 3Gs last Friday when they were first available and they arrived on Tuesday, so I'm now the happy user of a new iPhone! I've used a number of Palm, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry devices over the years, most recently a BlackBerry 8830, and I like the iPhone more than I thought I would.

I was concerned primarily about the keyboard, as I like using my mobile device for mail. However, as many forums and bloggers have indicated the virtual keypad is very well done and I had no problems whatsoever making the transition.

Syncing in the Apple universe is better than using 3rd party products such as Missing Sync or PocketMac, although I had problems using MobileMe for calendars... they didn't come over the first time and I haven't tried again since.

There are more good applications available for iPhone than BlackBerry, and they function more elegantly as does everything about iPhone. AT&T service is working better than I anticipated in Northern Virginia, with 3G service available everywhere I've been, including much better reception in my house than with Sprint. Call quality is as good as I remember GSM being when I was using T-Mobile, better than Sprint or Verizon.

I've downloaded a number of applications and have replicated every function I had on my BlackBerry and then some.

This is an excellent device that is more mature than its one year of availability might suggest. And for $199, it's a great deal.