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Google Calendar makes it easier to reschedule a meeting
We've all been unable to make it to appointments for one reason or another, so Google Calendar has added an option which could make finding a new meeting time a cinch. When you're invited to an event, instead of responding with yes, no or maybe, you can propose a new time if the current one doesn't work for you.
Google just made scheduling work meetings a little easier
There's a little bit of good news for people juggling both Google G Suite tools and Microsoft Exchange for their schedule management at work. Google has released an update that will allow G Suite users to access coworkers' real-time free/busy information through both Google Calendar's Find a Time feature and Microsoft Outlook's Scheduling Assistant interchangeably.
Gmail push notification no longer works with Mail on new iOS devices
Google's Gmail has provided push notification to iOS users through Mail.app for years, but an announced change has taken effect that will leave users with new devices without push notification in the iPhone's native mail app. Google announced in December that the Microsoft Exchange support offered with Google Sync would be removed, and the company ended that support on January 30, 2013. For those who are using the Gmail push notification feature on existing hardware, there's no cause for concern as Google has grandfathered in your accounts. However, when you get a new iOS device through an upgrade or replacement, you'll find that you can no longer receive instant push notifications for Gmail accounts. According to a post on Apple Insider, these changes went unnoticed by most people, with a number of new threads popping up on the Apple Support Communities regarding push notification issues and even Apple Genius representatives expressing bewilderment with the issue. Gmail users using the iOS Mail app now need to set new devices to fetch their mail on a timed basis (screenshot at right), grab new mail by manually launching the app and refreshing, or begin using another app to continue receiving push notifications. Google's free Gmail app provides push notifications of new emails, as does the highly prized Mailbox app. For those who want to continue using Mail.app, third-party notification service Boxcar can send push notifications separately. Google also provides Exchange support with push notification to Google Apps customers, starting at a monthly cost of US$5 per user.
Early iOS 6 adopters report problems getting Exchange push email: are you affected?
We all know about the central issue surrounding iOS 6. For the suits and ties among us, however, there's a potentially more glaring problem with Exchange support. Some users quick to upgrade to Apple's latest mobile OS report losing automatic push delivery of their email, requiring that they check for themselves to get any fresh messages. The issue isn't carrier- or device-specific, and attempts to reboot, reconfigure or restore devices are at best temporary fixes: what flows smoothly at first runs dry several hours later. Apple technicians are aware that the flaw exists, but it's tough to know if and when engineers will have a fix -- the company typically waits until it has a solution in hand before it goes on the record. We've reached out to Apple for a possible comment all the same. In the meantime, let us know if your Exchange access (or push data as a whole) is going awry. [Thanks, Daniel] %Poll-78044%
Verizon adds Office 365 to Small Business Essentials, gives small businesses more mobile productivity tools
Fresh off unveiling Office 365's cloud app model last month, Microsoft has teamed up with Verizon to add the productivity suite to Big Red's Small Business Essentials service. Similar to the Governmental version of Office 365, small businesses can gain access to Office web apps, SharePoint website design tools, Exchange email and calendar service, plus Lync messaging. Best part is, it's just six bucks a month per user, and most all enterprise customers are taken care of: the tools are available on Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone. Want to know more? PR awaits after the break.
Microsoft details the People app, its cloud-connected address book for Windows 8
If you've yet to try the Release Preview of Windows 8 for yourself, fear not, because along with our detailed impressions, Microsoft is catering to your trepidation with a series of blog entries on its MSDN site that explore the nitty-gritty details of its latest OS. In the latest installment, we're given an in-depth preview of the People app, a cloud-connected address book that promises to be one of the many centerpieces in the Metro environment. For starters, Windows Phone users are bound to feel right at home, as the address book relies on cloud services to populate the entries from sources such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Twitter. Not only does this ensure that one's address book is always accessible and up-to-date -- friend removals come to mind -- it also brings quick access to social feeds via the "What's new" section and lets you keep tabs on specific contacts via live tiles on the home screen. By leveraging APIs known as contracts, Windows 8 makes the address book available to other apps such as Mail and Messaging, along with other programs written to take advantage of the service. One of the hurdles Microsoft is working to overcome with its cloud-connected services are the inevitable duplicate contacts. Currently, Windows 8 does a pretty good job of identifying and linking multiple accounts to one individual, but for the rare exceptions, the company will soon add the ability to manually edit and link various accounts to specific contacts. Naturally, with such a connected approach, security could be an issue for businesses, and for this reason, one's Exchange contacts will not be synced with their Microsoft account. In this scenario, users must manually add their Exchange accounts for each device they use. Take one look at the length of the MSDN blog entry and you'll be left wondering how Microsoft employees find time to code, but it makes for a worthwhile read.
Deutsche Bank ditches BlackBerry for iPhone, Apple puts chink in RIM's enterprise armor
For years, suit-and-tie circles have bowed to BlackBerry as the king of corporate communication, but iOS has been creeping in on enterprise territory, calling into question RIM's sovereignty in the boardroom. The folks at Deutsche Bank Equity Research struck the most recent blow to RIM's enterprise dominance with the announcement that they'll buck BlackBerry for iPhone, following a trial using Good Technology's secure email app. The company tested the app in conjunction with Microsoft Exchange Server, delivering AES 192-encrypted email and calendar data to employees, and, according to the firm's research analyst, the iPhone proved an easier and faster solution to BlackBerry. Last summer, AT&T announced that 40 percent of iPhone sales are enterprise, and we just reported on RIM's possible move to devices beyond the BlackBerry. We're not saying it's off to the guillotine with the old standard bearer, but it definitely looks like there are new contenders for the enterprise crown.
5 productivity tips for Mail.app
Like Kelly Taylor from Beverly Hills 90210 and her flings with Dylan, Brandon and Colin, I've been around the block with mail clients, both on the Mac and PC side.That said, I prefer Mail.app. While Mail.app is simple enough for less advanced users, it also contains some niceties for power users. Here are five tips to help enhance your experience in Mail.app. Threaded/Grouping Messages Making sense of who said what and when they said it in relation to who in an email string can be mind numbing. Thankfully, Mail.app has the ability to organize emails by thread, lumping them together by subject. To enable this feature, select on the mail box or folder that you'd like to view messages in threaded form and then click on "Organize by Thread" from the "View" menu. Messages will then be viewed as threads on an individual folder level basis. For instance, when applied to Folder 1, in which subfolders A, B and C reside, only messages residing in Folder 1 will be threaded.
Droid Incredible's mysterious OTA update actually fixes Exchange bug
Saturday afternoon, reports came in that Verizon's new Droid Incredible had already received its first OTA update. Nobody knew quite what it did and few even received it, but some figured it probably fixed the smattering of random reboots and radio bugs experienced by some early adopters. We reached out to Verizon on the matter, and we're afraid to say that's not the case -- the new 1.22.605.2 CL161494 software build merely fixes a bug in Microsoft Exchange support. As such, you'll only see the update if you've got a corporate handset, and those who do can expect their carbon-copy email fields (which would apparently fill with unintended addresses beforehand) to be fixed sometime around May 6th. On the off-chance that fix magically transforms your mobile world, feel free to let us know in comments. Full statement after the break.
Kerio integrates iPad into the corporate messaging and collaboration world
Kerio Technologies, Inc. is a major player in the enterprise messaging and collaboration software market, and the company's products are well-known in the Apple world. Their primary product, Kerio Connect 7, provides tools for corporate IT departments for email, calendaring, and group contact lists, all using cross-platform server tools that are much less expensive to implement and maintain than their counterparts from Microsoft (Exchange) and Apple. Now, Kerio has announced that Kerio Connect 7 natively supports the Apple iPad. Kerio is spotlighting the integration of Connect 7 and the iPad platform at Interop 2010, which ends today in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kerio Connect 7 allows iPad users to synchronize email, contacts, and a private calendar to the server. Users can also search the Global Address List (GAL) and manage invitations, and admins can easily perform remote wipes. All of this is done through Exchange ActiveSync, one of the many standards supported by Kerio Connect. CalDAV support is also built in, so users can access shared and global calendars. IT managers will appreciate the fact that Kerio Connect comes complete with integrated anti-virus and anti-spam features, as well as automated archiving and backup of email. The server solutions starts at US$450 for a five-user license, and additional users can be added for as little as $24 each. For small or large companies looking at integrating the iPad into their businesses, Kerio Connect is an answer to a lot of questions.
Dell Aero details confirmed with new leak: 624MHz processor, handwriting support, DRM
Compared to the other crazy handsets Dell leaked today, the Aero is definitely the runt of the litter. But with a leaked Q2 AT&T release date, the Aero will be first on our doorstep. What other juicy morsels have we gathered? On the hardware side, it's sadly a slow 624MHz Marvell processor that drives that 3.5-inch capacitive multitouch screen, but hey, like the Chinese model, it's planned to ship with a capacitive stylus for handwriting recognition. More interesting is software. Like Motorola's CLIQ, Aero comes with QuickOffice right out of the box, and supports Microsoft ActiveSync and Exchange to ostensibly keep in touch with your business. For the social crowd, there's on-device photo editing and "aggregated notifications" for the bevy of social networks Dell's agreed to support. While you probably knew the device would have a WebKit browser with Flash Lite, leaks reveal it will have a robust media player as well -- robust enough to have some sort of music streaming and download ability (PlayReady, anyone?) protected by Windows Media DRM. Though it's probably still Android 1.5 onboard, docs show Dell plans a "refresh" to Android 2.1 sometime between Q3 and Q4, but it's hard to say whether the Aero will get an OTA update, or whether only new Aeros will ship with Eclair. That said, given the relative insignificance of this handset compared to its new big brothers, we're more than willing to wait and find out.%Gallery-91354%
iPhone OS 3.1 enforcing Exchange device encryption, only supported by iPhone 3GS
Noticing a "Policy Requirement" error when trying to use your Microsoft Exchange account after upgrading to OS 3.1? Then there's a good chance you're not using an iPhone 3GS, as Apple has just confirmed via a support page that the upgrade can now enforce the Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policy requiring encryption on the device, which just so happens to only be supported by the 3GS (guess that "S" stands for more than just speed). Not surprisingly, the only solution for non-3GS users is to contact their Exchange Server administrator and hope that they're willing to change the policy to no longer require device encryption.
Entelligence: Will Snow Leopard's Exchange support earn Apple a new entourage?
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide. Apple, Microsoft and the Mac have an interesting history: Microsoft was among the first developers for Macintosh, yet not long after, Apple would sue Microsoft for copying the look and feel of Mac OS in Windows. By the late 90s, Microsoft made a huge splash at Macworld with an announced 150 million dollar investment in Apple and promises of further development of Office and Internet Explorer for Macintosh. Office in particular was a major issue as it was a key requirement for business users. Early on, Office applications for Mac were far more advanced than their Windows counterparts. Excel was actually introduced for Mac users before Windows users could get their hands on it. But by the mid 90s, all that changed, the Mac versions of Office lagged behind Windows in terms of features and performance. It took forever to get things such as a common set of file formats, so that users of Office on the two different platforms could exchange documents with ease (it seems like something we take for granted but having managed and supported PC and Mac users in mixed shops, it was a nightmare to deal with). The latest version of Office for Mac, Office 2008 showed that Microsoft could produce top quality Macintosh software. I personally, think Office 2008 for Mac is the best version of the software that Microsoft has ever done (far better than Office 2007 for Windows, as it preserved the core part of the Mac UI while co-existing nicely with the ribbon UI). Obviously, however, a situation with such broad inconsistency is untenable.
Google: we're cool with Exchange on Google-branded Android phones
Okay, this gets a bit confusing, so bear with us. Back when HTC first unveiled the Magic, the company said that any Android device with a customized build -- and that includes adding support for Microsoft Exchange -- has to drop the "with Google" logo as per Google's rules. Indeed, that notion seemed to be validated by the all the international Android phones that have Exchange but no branding. Cut to present day and the T-Mobile's myTouch 3G, which looks to have both the "with Google" backing and Exchange support, contrary to previous assertions. Did the search engine giant soften its policy? We spoke with a company representative who told us, surprisingly, that it has "never been Google's policy" to deprive its branded devices of Exchange support, and that if another phone maker wants to add it and keep that logo plastered on the phone, that's A-OK. In all honesty, we never really put too much stock into the Google logo on the phone, but if it's really just been one huge misunderstanding that's prevented our G1 from having Exchange, well, we're gonna be quite nonplussed for many weeks to come.
DataViz brings Documents To Go to the App Store
Editing documents? On a phone? We're sure most iPhone users are a little taken aback by this prospect, but we assure you it's completely safe and devoid of artificial preservatives. DataViz just launched its Documents To Go suite for the iPhone, which lets you edit and create Word documents, sync work files with a desktop over WiFi, and view other Office documents with the iPhone's existing viewer -- it's not the first app to offer some of these functions for the device, but it's the first with this level of street cred. An optional version of the app also includes a Exchange mail client with ActiveSync for accessing and editing Word documents from email, which seemingly flies in the face of Apple's vague "don't mess with Mail or any of our other built-in apps" policy. The basic Documents To Go app retails for a limited time at $4.99, while the Exchange version goes for $9.99 -- and anyone who picks up the 1.0 version will get a free update to include Excel editing once it becomes available.
Kerio MailServer 6.6 takes another swing at Exchange
Kerio has released version 6.6 of Kerio MailServer, another push forward in their campaign to take a bite out of the Microsoft Exchange market. We mentioned the ActiveSync capabilities of Kerio MailServer in July, and have noted the expanding capabilities of the 6.x releases as an increasingly viable alternative to Exchange. Version 6.6 encompasses a variety of improvements, including expanded features for mobile and iPhone users. Two items which stand out prominently are the addition of resource scheduling and the Exchange Migration Tool. Resource scheduling allows shared company resources -- anything from conference rooms and projectors to company cars -- to be scheduled and reserved using MailServer's shared calendars. Access controls can be specified by administrators for each resource, and a "Reservation Manager" can be assigned with add/edit/delete priveleges. Mac users can access the resource schedules through Entourage or iCal (although Kerio is less thrilled with the inelegance of the iCal solution and its LDAP dependencies). PC users have access through Outlook, and everyone can schedule resources through Kerio Webmail, which is fully compatible with Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer. The Kerio Exchange Migration Tool is provided free of charge to Kerio 6.6 users, and is designed to take a lot of the fear out of making a transition from Exchange to Kerio. It runs on a Windows box (works fine with virtualization) between the Exchange and Kerio servers and, in about 4 clicks, transfers all of the existing Exchange data, users, etc. to Kerio MailServer. Additional features in 6.6 include improved iPhone support (with HTML email and attachment viewing), and an iCal auto-configuration script which is generated by the server for each Mac user. The auto-configuration sets up CalDAV and LDAP to work with Kerio, handling all of the details without requiring the user to know anything more than their own machine's administrative password and their Kerio MailServer login information. The new version maintains the same prices, starting at $499 for 10 users ($599 with McAfee Anti-Virus) and add-on packages for additional users starting at $120 (+5 users). Current users with a subscription can, as far as I can tell, upgrade for free.
