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Exchange-alternatief Zarafa wordt open source

Rinaldo Hodzelmans — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:03:10 +0000

Zarafa heeft de serverzijde van zijn productiviteitssuite voor Linux helemaal open gegooid.
Voorheen waren slechts een paar delen van het Exchange-alternatief echt open source, namelijk de componenten Z-Push en Z-Merge. De overige onderdelen (waaronder de IMAP/POP3/iCal gateway, de beheerconsole en WebAccess) zijn totnogtoe eigendom gebleven van het Delftse bedrijf. Deze gaan nu ook open, en vallen onder de Affero GPLv3-licentie.

"We willen derde partijen de mogelijkheid bieden om hun software eenvoudig met Zarafa te integreren", zegt Brian Joseph, de CEO van Zarafa. "Dan bedoel ik de partijen die sharepoint-achtige omgevingen bouwen, zoals Alfresco en SugarCRM."

De software van Zarafa moet het vooral hebben van het feit dat het MAPI/RPC-compatibel is, een protocol van Microsoft. Daardoor kan het samenwerken met Outlook, terwijl de server zelf op een Linux-server draait. Daarnaast is het compatibel met ActiveSync, zodat ook synchronisatiesoftware van onder andere Windows Mobile en Mail for Exchange kan worden gebruikt.

De huidige versie van Zarafa is 6.11, terwijl de komende 6.20 de eerste wordt die onder de AGPL gaat vallen.

Zie ook: http://www.zarafa.nl/

Windows Mobile Device sync met Zimbra

Rinaldo Hodzelmans — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:26:51 +0000

Successfully tested on HTC Touch on ActiveSync 4.2
Connect the device to your windows pc.
Open ActiveSync if it is not already running.
Go to the Tools Menu, Configure Server Source.
Put the FQDN of your Zimbra server in the server source box.
Put a check next to “this server requires a encrypted (SSL) connection” (if appropriate)
Enter the full email address of the user as the username
Enter their password
Enter their mail domain as the domain name
Put a check next to save password (as desired)

Nokia Licenses Active Sync

dnapro — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:45:13 +0000

Nokia brings Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync corporate mobile email solution to 80 million mobile devices.

43 Nokia S60 3rd Edition devices - the largest range from any device manufacturer to enable Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync - now feature the latest version of Mail for Exchange with fast and easy email set-up

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced that it is expanding its device range which enables Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to all Nokia S60 3rd Edition devices. 43 Nokia devices will now feature the Mail for Exchange mobile email application, making Nokia's device range the largest ever to enable the solution chosen by more businesses than any other messaging solution. Nokia also announced today that Mail for Exchange will be available out-of-the-box in future releases of Nokia Eseries and Nokia Nseries devices.

With this announcement, Nokia is enabling about 80 million* mobile phone users - which is the number of Nokia S60 3rd Edition converged devices shipped globally to date - to connect to their email accounts on the Exchange Server.

"The Nokia-Microsoft collaboration to bring corporate mobile email to businesses and mobile professionals is truly unbeatable. No other device manufacturer provides the wide range of devices that we have which immediately mobilize the hundreds of millions of email accounts from Microsoft Exchange," said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Markets, Nokia. "The costs of mobility are contained as companies are able to utilize existing Microsoft Exchange infrastructure, and there is also the strong possibility that a large number of employees already have one or more of the 43 Nokia devices that enable Exchange ActiveSync."

"Nokia is a valued partner and we are pleased they are making it easier for their approximately 80 million S60 3rd Edition customers to realize the benefits of Exchange Server," said Terry Myerson, Corporate Vice President, Exchange Server, Microsoft Corp. "This announcement with Nokia further demonstrates the importance consumers and businesses place on accessing Exchange Server data from mobile devices in addition to traditional desktop clients. Nokia's announcement today will help give its users that access and help make them more productive."

Nokia owners whose companies use Exchange can set up Mail for Exchange for free on their devices in various ways without paying additional services or subscription fees - from the email set-up plug-in on the home screen, by launching the application from the Download! folder, or via the Settings Wizard**. Once the application is set up, users utilize their current data plan service to get real-time access to their office email, calendar, contacts, tasks and company directory over a secure connection.

"We take corporate and IT security policies seriously, and a comparison study showed that the device management and security policies for devices such as the Nokia Eseries are robust," added Mr Vanjoki. "This should give business heads and IT managers greater confidence when choosing between device brands to mobilize their workforce."

By connecting to the Exchange Server 2007, Mail for Exchange enables features such as Autodiscover, which drastically simplifies the set-up process by requiring the email account holder to only enter their email address, password, domain and usernames; 'Out of Office' messaging, enabling busy professionals to set their out-of-office messages directly from their Nokia device; synchronization when roaming, a must-have feature for travelling businesspeople; and also Flag status for follow-ups.

While the Exchange ActiveSync protocol is compatible with many types of devices, Nokia device users will have access to features that are currently not available in other Exchange ActiveSync licensees' devices. Setting email priorities, alerts for meeting request conflicts, a standalone global address list application to search for a colleague's contact details quickly, downloading and editing all types of attachments, not just image files, are must-have factors that users will expect from their mobile email application.

Microsoft Exchange Server is the industry's leading server for e-mail, calendaring and unified messaging. Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 is the foundation for a dynamic and holistic unified communications experience, and has been designed to meet the challenges, and address the messaging needs, of today's businesses. Exchange Server 2007 provides customers with anywhere access to information, advanced built-in protection and greater operational efficiency.

* As at end July 2008

** On-device set-up of Mail for Exchange may vary between devices

Nokia Devices Enabling Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync

Nokia Eseries: Nokia E71, Nokia E66, Nokia E90 Communicator, Nokia E70, Nokia E65, Nokia E62, Nokia E61i, Nokia E61, Nokia E60, Nokia E51, Nokia E50

Nokia Nseries: Nokia N96, Nokia N85, Nokia N79, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N95, Nokia N82, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N81, Nokia N78, Nokia N77, Nokia N76, Nokia N75, Nokia N73, Nokia N93, Nokia N93i, Nokia N80, Nokia N91, Nokia N92, Nokia N71

Other Nokia S60 3rd Edition devices: Nokia 3250, Nokia 5500, Nokia 6290, Nokia 6110 Navigator, Nokia 6120 classic, Nokia 6121 classic, Nokia 6122 classic, Nokia 6124, Nokia 6650 fold, Nokia 5320 XpressMusic, Nokia 5700 XpressMusic, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 6220 classic

2 weeks with the iPhone

Dan — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:27:11 +0000

So I have been living with the new 3G iPhone for about 2 weeks now. I must admit that I love the device but it is not without faults.

I am getting used to the keyboard and although I can not type as quick on it as I can my crackberry, it is acceptable.

Battery life really blows. I find myself turning off 3G most of the time to help conserve but even with doing that it sucks. Oh and I don't even use it as my phone so no talk time or Bluetooth use.

I've had four instances where the phone has just rebooted. No rhyme or reason, it just decided it is time to reboot.

ActiveSync has kicked the bucket multiple times. One minute it is working, next minute it isn't. Only way to make it work again is to delete my mail profile and recreate. Troubleshooting points toward firewall timeout issues, but other ActiveSync devices are not experiencing the same issue. It has happened on multiple iPhones and multiple accounts.

No email search, no ability to create a calendar appointment and invite someone, no tasks sync, and no copy/paste!

I won't get into the management and security gripes in this post as I am still working out some details.

So why did I say I love it when I have so many complaints? Email rendering is fantastic, the browser rocks, and it is all about the apps. To me, that is what makes this such a good device. I think we are going to see some really great apps that make the iPhone a must have for some people. For the most part right now the apps are more along the lines of fun stuff, but remember that we are in the infancy stage. Give the developers another 6 months to a year and I expect to see some very useful stuff.

If you have one I'd like to hear your thoughts so chime in. By the way, this post was written on my iPhone using the Wordpress app. I better go charge it now though, peace out.

iPhone - First Impressions

rosscify — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:20:58 +0000

So after playing with my new 16Gb White iPhone for the best part of the afternoon, I thought I would post my impressions :).

The very first thing I noticed was the usability! This phone is ridiculously easy to drive. The menus drive perfectly the response time on the phone is light speed compared to the iMate JasJam (HTC TyTN) or any WindowsMobile device I have ever used.
The build quality of the phone is excellent! It's evenly weighted buttons are nice to push and feels like a very sturdy device. Being a touch screen phone its got fingerprints all over the front of it, but the white back doesn't show the prints 1/2 as bad as the black on the front. I was very surprised at the included headphones, for standard headphones they don't sound too bad. As with all Apple products, the box presentation was excellent!

Exchange Active Sync
Having previously used WindowsMobile, Exchange Active Sync is something that I have come to rely on as part of my everyday job. When Windows Mobile 6 came out, one of the new features was the ability to have HTML emails, well HTML emails were only available if the Exchange server was running Exchange 2007. With us still using Exchange 2003 at work, this was something that we had to live without. But the iPhone DOES HAVE HTML EMAILS even with Exchange 2003!!! This is great! Why oh why Microsoft couldn't this work for WindowsMobile 6? Meh, I don't care I now have an iPhone!! :p
My only gripe with the Exchange Active Sync, is well not that I have found yet... How to tell it to sync the sub folders of my inbox. Also when you have quite a few sub folders in folders they all become expanded, as seen in the picture.

App Store
Now this is one thing that got me a bit excited about the iPhone. The 3rd Party Apps!! There are quite a few in the App Store and the fact that you can download apps from your PC or on the road with your iPhone is pretty cool. So far I've gotten Twitterrific, Facebook, ShoZu and my favourite one PhoneSaber!! Will have to have a PhoneSaber fight with the other iPhones at work on Monday :)

Bluetooth
One thing that always bugged me about the JasJam was the total randomness that the Bluetooth would have. Sometimes it would work, other times it would make a buzzing sound or even just not work at all.
The headunit in my car is one of the Pioneer Bluetooth ones, jumped in the car, paired it up. Hey presto! Working Bluetooth! One thing that is a bit disappointing was the Bluetooth doesn't support the A2DP protocol, so my FreePulse headphones won't sync without a dongle.

iTunes
The iTunes store on the iPhone is awesome letting you preview your music purchase it and sync it back to your iTunes on your PC. A disappointing part is that it only works when you have access to WiFi. Sounds like a demand from ATT or maybe Apple are being data conscious for people that have Telstra plans, I don't know... I'm wondering if this is something that could be fixed via Jail Breaking the phone :D

Conclusion
This is a very sweet phone and probably the most user friendly and practical phone I have ever used. Top marks to Apple on the interface, it looks brilliant and also works!! I will continue to post my experiences as time progresses.

Publicando clientes de acceso Exchange con ISA SERVER 2006

Carlos Fuenteseca — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:02:00 +0000

En este post os quiero presentar dos documentos muy recomendables de las paginas http://www.msexchange.org/ y http://www.isaserver.org/ que tratan sobre la publicación e instalación de los clientes de acceso Exchange en la red DMZ.

Actualmente con la versión de MS Exchange 2007 la clásica opción que se solia usar de servidores con rol de Back-End y Fron-End para publicación de servicios de Exchange en 2003 (OWA, Exchange Activesync, Rpc/Https) no es viable en la reciente versión de Exchange 2007, aparte de no recomendada por Microsoft.

En este post os intentare explicar todo esto y explicar opciones de diseño para todas las versiones de Exchange así como aclarar posibles dudas.

Como os he comentado, en Exchange 2007 se hace inviable la instalación Front-End Back-End para la publicación de los “clientes de acceso”, no quiero decir con esto que poder no se pueda, pero no es recomendable por motivos de seguridad así como que harían falta 2 servidores Exchange en la DMZ y uno de ellos como miembro del dominio.

Actualmente Exchange 2007 se divide en 5 roles:

Servidor de buzones (Mailbox role)

Servidor de acceso de cliente (Client Access role)

Servidor de transporte perimetral (Edge transport role)

Servidor de transporte de concentrador (Hub Transport role)

Servidor de mensajería unificada (Unified Messaging role)

En Exchange 2007 el encargado de dar acceso a los buzones mediante OWA, Exchange Active sync y rpc/https (Outlook Anywhere) es el rol de acceso cliente, este rol no se ha de instalar en la red DMZ (Este rol requiere que el servidor sea miembro de dominio) ni estar instalado en un servidor junto con el rol de trasporte perimetral.

Con estas premisas, nos encontramos que para poder instalar un escenario como el clásico back-end / front-end de Exchange 2003 necesitaríamos de 2 servidores en la DMZ, teniendo siempre en cuenta que Microsoft no recomienda esta instalación.. cosa curiosa cuando en Exchange 2003 era una “practica recomendada” aún teniendo que abrir todos los puertos de rpc, kerberos.. pero no vamos a entrar en eso ahora.

La solución de diseño que os quiero presentar vale para todas las versiones de Exchange desde la versión 5.5 hasta la 2007. A mi opinión es una de la mejores formas de publicación así como rápida y fácil de implantar.

La solución se basa en tener todos los servidores de Exchange en la red interna, en la red DMZ tener un servidor ISA Server 2006 publicando los servicios OWA, Exchange Activesync y Outlook Anywhere (rpc/https) y otro haciendo la función de relay smtp.

Aquí se puede ver un pequeño diagrama de la solución:

En la imagen se puede ver como todo el trafico va sobre un canal seguro ssl de extremo a extremo (Se ha de configurar en los servidores).

El relay smtp se puede elegir en instalar un Exchange 2007 en grupo de trabajo con el rol de transporte perimetral, teniendo en cuenta que es una nueva licencia de Exchange 2007 o elegir entre unos de las múltiples soluciones de relay smtp en formato appliance u otro MTA como puede ser un sistema operativo Linux…. A gusto de cada uno.

A la hora de configurar el Isa Server 2006 también existen diferentes opciones como pueden ser:

- Instalar Isa Server 2006 con una sola tarjeta de red y fuera del dominio, donde si queremos establecer opción de Autenticación debemos configurar la conexión LDAP o Radius así como abrir sus correspondientes puertos de la DMZ a la LAN.

- Instalar Isa Server 2006 con 2 interfaces de red y como miembro del dominio.

En los siguientes enlaces os dejo dos documentos donde explican paso a paso como configurar ambas opciones, son dos documentos muy descriptivos y fáciles de seguir e implantar:

Documento de la web http://www.msexchange.org donde se explica la opción de instalar Isa Server 2006 con una sola tarjeta de red y en grupo de trabajo.

http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2007/mobility-client-access/publishing-exchange-client-access-isa-2006-complete-solution-part1.html

Documento de la web http://www.isaserver.org donde se explica la opción de instalar Isa Server 2006 con dos tarjetas de red y miembro de dominio.

http://www.isaserver.org/tutorials/Using-2006-ISA-Firewall-RC-Publish-OWA-Sites-Part1.html

Para finalizar comentaros que este es uno de los usos que se le puede dar a este servidor Isa Server 2006 en la DMZ, ya que aparte de la opción de publicar otros servicios de Microsoft nos permite otras opciones como son la configuración de reportes de accesos, configurarlo como servidor Proxy.. pero bueno eso para próximos artículos..

Cualquier duda aquí estamos..

Un saludo

Apple licensierar Microsoft Exchange Active Sync

Peter Wissinger — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:34:37 +0000

Idag tillkännagav Apple att man licensierat och implementerat Microsoft Active Sync protokoll för synkronisering mot Exchange Server. Detta är en del av Microsoft teknologi licensieringsprogram där tidigare Symbian, Nokia, Palm, Motorola och Sony Ericsson licensierat protokollet. Vad innebär då detta i praktiken? Jo, då det som licensieras är ett tekniskt protokoll och inte en färdig användarupplevelse som är integrerad med Outlook och andra Microsoft produkter är det primära att mail kan synkroniseras direkt från en Exchange Server till mobiltelefonen - utan krav på sk middleware programvara. Det innebär att det blir billigare att få mail i mobilen och därför kan också fler börja använda den funktionalitet som finns inbyggd i Exchange. Vi har sedan mobil push mail blev tillgängligt direkt från Exchange sett hur middleware marknaden för mobil epost har blivit mindre - det finns helt enkelt ingen anledning att betala dyra pengar för något så trivialt som att få sin e-mail utskickad till sin mobiltelefon.

Det som man också bör vara medveten om är att de tekniska implementationerna av Active Sync väsentligt skiljer sig mellan telefonleverantörerna. Med en Windows Mobile telefon får man fullständig funktionalitet med stöd för precis allt, på såväl användarfunktioner (boka möten, hantera foldrar, html mail, sökfunktioner osv) som funktionalitet gällande säkerhet och management (radera data, policies, kryptering osv). På de övriga implementationerna saknas väsentlig funktionalitet inom bägge områden så det huvudsakliga värdet ligger just i att slippa middleware för att få mailen till telefon. Den djupa integrationen saknas och sist men inte minst är det värt att poängtera att de flesta företag idag vill göra mer än bara läsa mail i mobilen. De vill möjliggöra andra tjänster och applikationer och det är då det verkliga värdet av Windows Mobile som plattform kommer in.

Välkommen in i Active Sync familjen Iphone! Lycka till framöver RIM - ni kommer att få det riktigt jobbigt, liksom alla andra middleware leverantörer för mobilt mail! ...och bäst upplevelse får ni såklart med en Windowstelefon.

Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Apple, ActiveSync, Active Sync, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Nokia

Problem z połączeniem internetowym w palmtopie przez PC z ActiveSync 4.2+

cypherq — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:36:29 +0000

Dzisiaj na praktykach musiałem dokończyć dokumentację do jednego z programów firmy. Program działał na palmtopie i funkcja którą opisywałem potrzebowała połączenia z internetem do działania. W trakcie prób łączenia otrzymywałem niezidentyfikowany błąd.

Co robić?
Pierwsza myśl - sprawdzamy IE. Niestety po wpisaniu adresu Google.pl dostałem błąd o kodzie 0x80072f78. Sprawdzamy co to znaczy. Jak się okazało, błąd ten występuje (jeśli chodzi o palmtopy) przy synchronizacji z PC lub Notebookiem przez ActiveSync w wersji wyższej niż 4.1 .

Dobra, ale dlaczego?
Przyczyna tkwi w usłudze systemowej Windows XP, konkretniej Layered Service Provider (LSP), która korzysta z systemowego stosu TCP/IP, problem pojawia się przy korzystaniu z serwerów ISA.

Więc jak temu zaradzić?
Edytować rejestr. Wystarczy wyłączyć korzystanie z LSP. Poniżej zamieszczam plik oryginalny i ten sam, hostowany na serwerze Wordpressa. Z racji ograniczeń, zapisany jest w formacie *.txt, trzeba zmienić końcówkę na *.reg.

LSP - wyłączanie usługi w rejestrze *.txt

LSP - wylaczanie usługi w rejestrze *.reg

New Collaboration and Security Options boost Work in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. What's new in latest SP1?

redwax — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:47:57 +0000

Service Pack 1 for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 is due for release on 30 November 2007! Microsoft has prepared a major update for its flagship mail server which has now received many new features and improvements and can be downloaded from site.

Support for new platform

Microsoft Exchange Server is now fully compatible with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and can be deployed to a computer running Windows Server 2008 RC0 Escrow build. The full list of supported operating systems can be found here.
Exchange Server 2007 SP1 has a mixed IPv6 128-bit addressing by default when running on a Windows Server 2008 platform. That is it only runs IPv6 when the obsolescent protocol IPv4 is enabled. Otherwise Exchange server will fail running on IP. If you are running a deployment for multiple machines you can create a rule to deploy only for the defined IPv6 range thus avoiding unsupported setup conditions with IPv6-enabled management tools or based on general information about support of IPv6 in Microsoft operating systems. Another way is to call a function that can resolve to an IPv6-address, that is something like IsResolvableEx used to resolve a hostname when performing a Web-Proxy autodiscovery or just issue a ping command on IPv6-address like say

ping6 -n 2 ::1

That is we ping 2 times on a loopback address 0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1 using a short notation (two-colon notation) for writing IPv6 addresses.

New features were added to a remote access for a remote client

Exchange Active Sync a has received a remote wipe confirmation feature and is now enabled with Enhanced Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policy settings which include ability to
Disable Removable Storage
Disable Camera
Disable Wi-Fi
Disable POP/IMAP e-mail
Block Internet Sharing

It both provides for a data protection and ensures a security for sensitive data on mobile devices should they be stolen or accidentally lost by user. This all can be done centrally from within Exchange Management Console or Exchange Management Shell and works in a best traditions of what is meant under a centralized management.

Mobile work becomes faster

The new Service Pack improves and speeds-up long-standing connections between a server and a mobile device mobile devices.

Dramatic improvements in remote work though Outlook Web Access

Microsoft has completely rewritten the Outlook Web Access in Exchange Server 2007 and SP1 brought many of those that were not enabled in the RTM so that OWA now comes with lightning new features too.
First off, running in a Light mode OWA does not time out any longer and no longer drops the session out if user is composing a long message or just working with its calendar for a long time. OWA now prevents you from losing your typed messages by automatically saving the them in as Draft folder as-you-type.
In Premium mode for Outlook Web Access it is now possible for a user to create and edit Personal Distribution Lists and server side rules.
What about support for Microsoft Office System 2007? WebReady Document Viewing has finally been added with support for decoding and viewing in HTML of Word/Excel and PowerPoint X-Documents in OpenXML format.
It is now possible to copy or move folders using a dedicated context menu command.

Public Folders functionality now offers following features:
It is now possible to get full access to public folders from OWA and you don't have to use the Public virtual directory. And you can get full access to public folders on Exchange 2007 Mailbox servers is now available for users without the need for you to provide Public Folder access from Outlook Web Access on Exchange 2003 Mailbox server. Microsoft has also added search features for Public Folders.

Increased manageability within Exchange Management Console

Exchange Management Console has been enhanced with a brand new interface for administering POP3 and IMAP4 protocols.

Hub Transport Server role has been added with functionality to set message size limits on Active Directory site links.

New features in Mailbox Server role

It is now possible to import and export mailbox by using .pst files. I believe this will provide greater flexibility administrator especially combined with such functionally available in standalone applications as automatic configuration of .pst files for the end user profile.

Those companies that use IP telephony are now able to create SIP URI and E.164 dial plans and add a SIP or E.164 address for a user by using the Enable Unified Messaging Wizard.

Security changes

Exchange Web Services were added with a more granular permission configuration that now supports configuring folder level permissions so that both users and user applications are now able to list and configure permissions on folders. It is also possible to delegate management with services.

Official Document describing what's new in Exchange Server 2007 SP1
Automatic configuration of mailboxes and Outlook profiles for the client side on the post-deployment stage
Additional information on what you have to do to deploy Exchange Server 2007 SP1 on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 family
More information about what's new about client access features in Exchange Server 2007 SP1

Getting Atom Exec to work with Vista and SUSE host

virtualticity — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 05:01:37 +0000

Trying to get my Atom Exec to work with the new Vista equivalent of ActiveSync, Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC). Not having much luck. It is not being recognized by the WMDC and is only recognized by the guest on the first connect.

How to get your Motorola Q to sync with Vista!

MotoQuser — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 01:21:34 +0000

I took the plunge... changes at work necessitated buying a new laptop PC. I found myself yesterday at Best Buy and settled on this beauty from Sony... the Vaio CR-123E. For yucks this afternoon, I attached my Motorola Q to the VAIO, without installing the ActiveSync software first. Bad idea! The Vista Home Premium OS quickly determined that I had an MP3 or ThumbDrive device with MiniSD storage (and some music from previous sync experiments), but it also seemed to have cut off all IP traffic via my Verizon EVDO connection. Disconnecting the phone and restarting the VZAccess Manager software got me back in business, or so I thought.

As I've said before, ultimately I knew it was important to go with the latest version of ActiveSync... especially since I am now using Outlook 2007 (rather than Outlook 2003 from the other laptop) in Vista. I quickly found that ActiveSynce is NOT the method to be used for Vista setups. Instead, it's necessary to install "Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1". I clicked on the link for the 32-bit software download and after a few minutes of "validation" that I had genuine OS software I was able to start the 12Mb download of software.

Unfortunately, running the software the first time (after registration) resulted in the sync process failing. I tried renaming the default name for the PC in the "manage a partnership" field... no luck there. Then, I started hunting around in the Motorola Q message boards and found others had suffered from the same problem for months. It was very reminiscent of the infamous 0x85010014 error in ActiveSync - in fact, when going into the ActiveSync tool *on the phone*, it showed this error number when I selected "View Status" and then "View Support Code". <ugh!>

I couldn't find anything online with a simple way to fix the problem, but here is what WORKED for me using the best advice I could find elsewhere:

If at all possible, DO NOT connect your MotoQ to your Vista machine before installing the WMDC software (like I did). If you've *already* done it, then perform the following:
- For now, keep your MotoQ device connected
- From the desktop, go to Start > Start Search
- Enter "Device Manager" or "devmgmt.msc" to launch the Device Manager window
- Look under the "Network adapters" node for "Microsoft Windows Mobile Remote Adapter". Right-click "Microsoft Windows Mobile Remote Adapter" and choose to "Uninstall"
- Disconnect the Motorola Q from the USB cable and set aside
Then, download the software as described above. I recommend dropping it into your Downloads folder since if you have to go back and get it again, you'll need to "validate" that you have genuine Windows each time.
Follow the instructions found at http://www.pocketpcfaq.com/faqs/activesync/usb-advanced-functionality.htm to turn off the USB connection's "advanced" functionality (which actually causes part of the problem) on the MotoQ itself
THEN, (re)connect your MotoQ device via the USB cable to your laptop/PC
Finally, go to http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate and download the updates it recommends (mine installed 4 programs related to Outlook 2007)... your computer may require a reboot, so plan accordingly (just in case)

Whoa Nelly! It worked for me. No "master reset" necessary!! <whew!> As always, your mileage may vary.

Time to Upgrade to ActiveSync 4.5

MotoQuser — Tue, 29 May 2007 05:41:40 +0000

Well, I waited and I waited some more. I even let my own little brother upgrade to ActiveSync 4.5 on his own MotoQ. But tonight it was my turn.

I clicked on the link to download 4.5 here. The installation software, of course, recognized that I had 4.2 already installed and asked all the usual questions about accepting license agreements and the such. All the while, I left my MotoQ attached to the USB cable. Funny thing... once installed the software didn't see my attached MotoQ. Disconnecting the device and reconnecting it triggered my firewall to suggest that something new had been installed... so, keep an eye on that aspect when upgrading your software.

Once the software recognized the device, all was well. HOWEVER... watch out for the "deleting a sync relationship". The software demanded that I delete one of the sync relationships (mentioned in this post). Minor problem though -- which one was my laptop and which one was my desktop at the office? I had accepted the default name of "Windows PC" and named the 2nd the creative name of "Windows PC 2". Let this be a warning to all you readers of the motoquser blog... give your sync relationships a *real* name lest you run the decision I faced tonight of losing one or the other. Once I made my choice (pretty much tossed a coin) I was given a popup window stating "Removing desktop information..." <uhh?> and no way to cancel the process. Checking my Outlook, I found that none of my contacts had mysteriously disappeared.

Budget PLENTY of time for a full synchronization if you leave the defaults in place. Mine took well into 10 minutes the first time through after the upgrade. Without waiting another moment, I quickly edited the "Friendly name" of the sync so that I could tell the difference next time I upgrade this software. <smile>

Watch Out for Out of Sync ActiveSync

MotoQuser — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 23:32:09 +0000

I was absolutely SURE that last week I had scheduled an appointment for tomorrow evening via my laptop's Outlook 2003. I saw it on my MotoQ last night when I told my wife that I wouldn't be home for dinner. I even sync'd the MotoQ with my office PC's Outlook this morning, leaving it on the USB wire to recharge the battery for good measure. After a little while, I returned the Motorola Q to my belt holster.

Hours later, along came another obligation for Tuesday night while I sat at my desk admiring the number of hits to my DST post from last week. Not remembering the discussion from last night, I checked my Outlook calendar for a conflict. (Mistakenly) I saw that my evening was free and agreed to the new obligation and plugged in the calendar entry. I pulled the phone out of my holster and sync'd the new entry back to the MotoQ... not bothering to check that it transferred without error. Later I'd find that it did, but only after noticing that I had a conflict (those lovely red arrows in the MotoQ's calendar daily hour view). I double checked that the original entry was on the laptop... it was. Then checked on the desktop... it wasn't. I took the MotoQ and forced a new sync with the desktop and the original entry STILL did not transfer.

Fearing that there was a problem with my ActiveSynce, I checked the "About ActiveSync" in the Help menu. Both computers have version 4.2.0 (as previously blogged about here). But, the desktop was Build 4855/BETA and laptop was Build 4876. Rather than updating the software, I thought I'd take one last stab at a sync... but to force BOTH computers to update the calendar entry, I changed the event's start time from 5:30pm to 5:35pm. I don't know why but that worked.

BOTH ActiveSync clients are set to pull the last 2 weeks of calendar entries and both are set to "replace item on Device" if there is a conflict when synchronizing.

Bottom line... there is a scenario by which a calendar entry does NOT transfer between the MotoQ and its attached PCs. The information above is what I know. I will investigate further and determine how to replicate the problem, so that we all can avoid it in the future. In the meantime, however, I will be keeping a much closer eye on the results of any synchronization of calendar entries.

Y2Q? ... How to fix the MotoQ's Daylight Saving Problem

MotoQuser — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:29:23 +0000

As you hopefully have heard, Congress has gone and created another Y2K-ish problem for all of us. I had heard about this a few weeks back when it came to my attention that daylight savings time will start on the 2nd Sunday of March in 2007, rather than the 1st Sunday of April. It magnified itself when I was inputing some Outlook calendar items for next week and I noticed a standing, recurring meeting on Wednesday was showing up an hour earlier than normal - but only on my Motorola Q and not my PC. All dates between this coming Sunday and the first Sunday in April exhibited the problem.

A quick search of Microsoft Mobile's site led me to a couple of options. Most of them were for the PocketPC, which is not compatible with a Mobile Smartphone. Instead, use the Windows Mobile Updates for Daylight Saving Time (Desktop Tool).

Downloading the Windows Mobile Daylight Saving Time 2007 Updates Setup took less than a minute. Not nearly as complicated as fixing the 85010014 problem since you don't even need to use the ActiveSync window at all. Be sure to attach your Motorola Q via the USB cord before proceeding. Installing it took only a few minutes. The phone will shutdown after allowing it to complete the installation. You'll need to disconnect the USB cord first and start up the phone again.

Lo and behold, my calendar entries are correct now. Only problem I have is to double-check that anything I entered during that 4 week period is correct and matching up with others with whom I'm meeting. Hope you have as easy of a time as I did with this update! Don't delay, or you may be the one who shows up an hour early to a meeting next week... ;-)

Suffering through a Successful Software ROM Upgrade

MotoQuser — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 14:34:45 +0000

Last night I threw caution to the wind and upgraded the entire ROM (read-only memory) of my MotoQ. I first heard about the software upgrade over on the HelloMotoQ forums and downloaded the two files the day the announcement came out.

Of course, I failed to go re-read the posting before finally embarking on the process... which could have save me some trouble since the comments to that posting give some great insight as to the process. I was lucky... I carefully read the instructions and installed the driver first. Then, and only then, did I run the install software on my laptop. Note that NOTHING happens to the MotoQ during these two steps. Only after following these two steps do you connect your Motorola Q device itself. Of course the Active Sync software starts up when I attached the device, so you've got to stop the sync (or wait until it completes I guess) before progressing. The 2nd step installs a shortcut on the desktop called "Motorola Software Update". Launch that application and follow the instructions. The photo above shows what happens on the PC and the screen of the Motorola Q itself.

If it were only that easy. The phone booted up and I synced my Outlook contacts and calendar without an issue. BUT, when I went to actually *use* my phone, it was not associating with the Verizon Wireless network and forced me into a high-charge roaming provider. So, I logged into my Verizon account on www.verizonwireless.com and "reactivated" my "replacement" phone and followed THOSE instructions... success!

Please note that upgrading the ROM wipes everything on the phone. So, if you've got ringtones and applications loaded, they all go away. All your email settings are gone. And, all the behavior settings get reset. Here's the GOOD NEWS... anything on your MiniSD card remains intact! That means all my audio files and cameraphone photos remained untouched (just remember to configure the cameraphone to use the storage card again).

WHY UPGRADE? Besides the stated improvements (e.g. support for Frames within the browser), the BEST reason to upgrade is that the new ROM is snappy fast. Taking photos with the cameraphone in clearly faster and navigating through menus means less lag time between screens. The one new thing that I'm going to dig into further is a new Accessory application... a built-in "modem-link" app. More on that in a post here on the blog!

ActiveSync PROBLEM with Outlook 2003

MotoQuser — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 14:52:41 +0000

After 30 minutes on the phone late last night with the overseas tech support at Verizon, I gave up! No, I wasn't ready to send back my new MotoQ... but dang close. I had installed the Motorola software included in the box (ActiveSync 4.1) and kept getting Error:#85010014 trying to sync with my computer. I even tried last night to install the software on my laptop which has very little data in Outlook. No luck. The overseas tech support person was plenty nice, but unable to help me do anything I hadn't already tried (unloading the software, reinstallating, blah blah blah).

Thanks goes to Google... found a discussion about the error code (thanks Chris!!) and another in on of Google Group's boards, but wasn't happy AT ALL about the recommendation to reinstall Outlook! Something about API issues.

Instead, I found ActiveSync 4.2 Beta Preview. I installed that instead and everything worked without fail. No reinstall, no uninstall, and no errors.

A big sigh of relief... now onto the more enjoyable features of My MotoQ!

My first project @ Aspire

Devs — Wed, 10 May 2006 04:21:27 +0000

I am happy that in my first project itself I am playing with enough gadgets (PDA and Palmtop) that too with variety of OS and technologies like Windows Mobile, Palm os, Activesync, HotSync, Bluetooth and IR.

The work is kind of dealing with security concerns while synchronizing data between gadgets and PCs. Hmm., Its pretty interesting and things going with ful of exploration and learning all new stuffs... Thanks to google founders. I got a nice mentor to shape myself as an employee from student. :)