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Connecting the iPhone to Exchange with Synchronica
We've already mentioned a couple ways for iPhone users to get access to Exchange mail servers (which the iPhone does not support natively). Now comes word of another possible solution from the UK firm Synchronica. The Synchronica Mobile Gateway apparently acts as a go-between, connecting to the iPhone via standard secure IMAP and SMTP, while communicating with the Exchange server via "secure Outlook Web Access." This allows iPhone users to access their Exchange email without IT managers having to provide IMAP support or open their firewalls. Basically if secure web access is available, Synchronica will provide over-the-air email to the iPhone without any further holes in the firewall.Unfortunately this does not come cheap, with a 25 user license running € 2,122 (~$2925). I suspect you'd have an easier time convincing your IT people to give you IMAP access. On the other hand, this may be just the ticket for the security conscious with deep pockets.[via MacVolPlace]
TUAW Interview: Visto corporate email for iPhone
As much love as we may have and hold for the iPhone, there's a substantial chunk of the market that is resistant to the siren call of this miraculous device: those of us with enterprise email accounts (Exchange or Lotus Notes/Domino) that don't want any part of this shiny yummy new world. This may not be the most serious pushback from enterprise users -- see Tom Yager's scathing review of iPhone for enterprise use for some genuine buzzkill -- but it's a sticky wicket. Yes, both Exchange and Domino can be accessed over IMAP for compatibility with the iPhone's Mail application, but in many BigCorpInc scenarios the IMAP access is blocked for security or performance reasons. With this in mind, there's a tremendous appetite for a more suave method of accessing enterprise mail, not to mention the calendar and contact data that lies alongside those messages. We've seen the insinuation from Steve that "something's coming" in the next few weeks, and the rumored ActiveSync licensing deal, but only one company has announced a product for enterprise mail on the iPhone: Visto. Update: Commenter 'stickybit' passes along the Synchronica announcement, via iLounge -- that makes 2 companies.Since the June 28th Visto press release was thin on implementation details of how Visto's solution would work, we've been eager to get more info, and now we have it. I spoke to Haniff Somani, Visto's VP/Chief Architect, earlier this week and got a preview of how Visto's solution will deliver corporate email to the cranky corporate iPhone users.
MS Exchange on iPhone with iceWEB
If you've got a job that requires you to use MS Exchange, and have avoided the iPhone because of it, this may be of interest to you. IceWEB has announced that their hosted MS Exchange subscription service now supports the iPhone. Subscriptions start at $8.50US per month, and allow mobile users to send and receive Exchange email.I haven't used Exchange, but I know that many people depend on it. Let's hope this will convince your IT department to get you an iPhone![Via MacNN]
More evidence of iPhone's Exchange support and RSS reader
The kids over at ThinkSecret have some exclusive pics of what they purport to be interface shots of the iPhone. In these, we clearly see an RSS view thanks to the reader.mac.com URL, a previously unseen SIM loading procedure (requiring a paperclip), and what appears to be an Exchange email configuration tab. TS says that the iPhone supports Microsoft Exchange servers and has likely licensed Microsoft's ActiveSync. The latter dealio we've heard before and is certainly making corporate IT departments a bit fidgety. After all, more than a few CEOs will be demanding integration of their new toys come Monday morning. Jobs himself responded to a USA Today question about the lack of corporate email support with, "You'll be hearing more about this in the coming weeks. We have some pilots going with companies with names you'll recognize. This won't be a big issue." The fact that most of these pictures still sport the old Cingular logo certainly doesn't give us much confidence for an "iDay" release.Update: As pointed out by a number of our readers, the Exchange tab likely configures IMAP4 access to Exchange like Apple's OS X Mail.app client. Made all the more likely by yesterday's "Rollup 3" release by Microsoft which fixes Mac related issues with Exchange 2007.
Apple, Microsoft to push Exchange Direct Push to iPhone?
Rumor has it that Apple has licensed Exchange Active Sync after all, so let the Direct Pushing begin. Of all the gripes we've heard since this handset was announced, this one was by far the most prevalent, and indeed even a showstopper for some. It seems that Microsoft will announce the licensing of EAS tomorrow, though we aren't sure if this support will be included out of the box, or as an update in the near future. So now all the iPhone faithful will be armed with one more tool to defend themselves against the non-believers -- and here's hoping that the keyboard won't fail them as they begin pushing those missives out. [Thanks, Arneh]
Trade in your old ports for a new port
If you're lucky enough to have a Hastings store nearby, the entertainment retailer is offering to exchange your moth-eaten copies of Super Paper Mario or The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for a waggle-fied edition of Resident Evil 4. They'll also accept Rainbow Six Vegas (360) and God of War II (PS2), but not without scowling at you first.According to the rest of Hastings's weekly ad, there's a buy-1-get-2nd-for-free sale on body jewelry, so be on the look out for that deal too! Put away the other two RE4 games you've already bought for previous platforms, throw on a shirt that shows off your belly-button-ringed midriff, and check past the post break for the full flyer.
Palm Treo 650 gets Direct Push email, too
Alright Treo 650 owners, you can now (carefully) climb off your soap box, as the svelte Exchange ActiveSync Update is now available to treat your very own handset. While Palm had already shoved the update onto the 680 and 700p handhelds, it's now giving the faithful 650 users the ability to revel in Push Email technology too, which is sure to make hard-nosed managers grin from ear to ear. Aside from the newfound support, the update notes here haven't really changed, so if you're interested in having your Outlooked life beamed straight to your Treo 650, be sure to hit the read link and get your download on. Of course, you should probably have your credit card ready as well, as folks with VersaMail 3.5 will be asked to cough up $2.99, while users without the aforementioned software will pay out $12.98.
Miis, Virtual Console games transfered to replacement Wii
When we sent a malfunctioning Wii back to Nintendo, the company returned a crisp, new Wii with all of our Mii data copied over. Additionally, Nintendo transfered our Virtual Console points to the new system, and we could re-download previous VC purchases for free. (We also had to re-download the other, always-free channels.)While the VC transfer isn't news -- CVG noted it late last year -- more than a few Joystiq staffers were surprised. Nintendo deserves some credit for the smooth process, but we expected this to happen; we'd be angry if the company ate the Wii Points with the hardware exchange. The Mii transfer was a bigger bonus, preserving our 2040-rated tennis pro and our beloved Big Poppa.This exchange is just one customer service replacement without incident. (The glitchy Wii was a personal system, so we went though the regular customer support channels instead of calling PR contacts.) What are your stories?See also: Ring of Death: An Xbox 360 story -- Part 1Ring of Death: An Xbox 360 story -- Part 2
Groupcal 3 updated
Snerdware last week updated the iCal/Exchange middleware package Groupcal to version 3.80, adding one-way file sync to the feature list, among other enhancements. For Mac users in MS Exchange shops, the combination of Groupcal/iCal for calendaring, Mail for email, and Snerdware's AddressX for Global Address List sync provide a workable alternative to Entourage 2004's PIM functionality.Groupcal licenses start at $55 with aggressive volume licensing available. Meanwhile, I'd better look for some products that don't have a duck in their logo...
Palm pushes Direct Push to Palm OS
Users of Windows Mobile 5 have been enjoying Direct Push for some time via AKU2 (from the manufacturers that have decided to offer it, anyway) -- but getting that always-fascinating corporate email beamed straight on down to your Palm OS Garnet OS device, on the other hand... well, that's novel concept, indeed. Palm has announced that an update for its 680 and 700p handhelds will be made available Monday to add automatic synchronization of email, contacts, and calendar with the Exchange Server of your choice. Cobalt, it ain't, but at this point we'll take what we can get.[Via Phone Scoop]
Will the iPhone support Exchange Direct Push?
During the Jobsnote, Steve said that the iPhone would support many different email systems including Exchange -- and as we well know, the most precious Exchange feature to a mobile user is Direct Push, which allows your device to receive updates instantly for email and other data from your server. Steve did specifically mention that the iPhone would support Push-IMAP from Yahoo, but didn't mention any details about Exchange Direct Push like the Windows Mobile phones have. To many, this is the killer app for business users and it isn't too much of a stretch to believe that Apple could include it on the hot new iPhone. Exchange Direct Push is a Web Service that runs on the Outlook Web Access server; WM5 devices connect via HTTP and make calls for data and then leaves port 80 open for updates from the server, keeping the device up-to-date just like a BlackBerry. Because this is all done via HTTP, it is possible to reverse engineer the protocol -- in fact, Zimbra has already done this, and WM5 devices can sync with a Zimbra server the same way they would an Exchange 2003 sp2 server. Reverse engineering OWA WebDAV (an extension of HTTP that allows users to manage files on a Outlook Web Access server) service is also nothing new, as Ximian first did it almost 5 years ago with its app Evolution, bringing Exchange Server functionality to Linux. It is also not new for Apple, which has used it to sync OS X users' Apple Mail and Address Book with Exchange since OS X 10.3. Coincidentally, this is also how Microsoft's own Entourage connects to Exchange, versus using MAPI (Microsoft's Proprietary mail API) like Outlook. As important as up to the second email is to business users, we don't see how Apple could afford to leave this feature out.
Groupcal 3: manage your Exchange calendar from iCal
Are you a Mac user living in an Exchange world, forced to trudge through Entourage? (Don't get me wrong: Entourage is fine, but 'trudge' is just a good verb for dramatic effect.) Well trudge no longer with Groupcal 3, an addon for iCal that allows you to access, manage, edit and synchronize your Exchange calendars and tasks. Also on the feature list are: subscribing to coworker's free time, sending/receiving meeting invites, sharing/publishing calendars through .Mac or WebDAV and even syncing with an iPod or Palm through iSync.Groupcal 3 is a Universal Binary, a demo is available and a single licenses costs $55. As you might expect, multi-license packs are available starting at 5 seats, moving all the way up to 500 and 1000 pack licenses. [via MacMerc]
OSx86 Project announces forum reorganization and upcoming name change, hints at new features
I just received an email from the OSx86 Project announcing a few recent and upcoming changes they have and will be making to the site. Last week they reorganized the forums to make the browsing and searching process easier, but in the upcoming weeks (by the end of the month, they promise), a host of new features will debut on the site, including blogging, a picture sharing gallery and a marketplace, along with a new name: Insanely Mac. It should be interesting to see (what I believe is) the first major upgrade to the already 39K+ member forum.
Drag and drop calendar items from Entourage to iCal
I don't know how long this secret affair has been going on, but apparently MacOSXHints caught a calendar event from Entourage sneaking over to iCal! Mmhm, that's right. Allegedly, it's possible to drag and drop *gasp!* a calendar event from Entourage right onto the iCal window.While it sounds like the event will retain all of its information, I'm not sure if that includes an alarm, if set. The event will also default to being an hour long once dropped onto iCal, so depending on your workflow and your typical schedule, this might or might not be handy.
