Posts Tagged ‘Microsoft Exchange Server’

When An Android is More Powerful than Microsoft

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Working from several different locations and different devices brings out the strengths and weaknesses of the various tools we use on a daily basis.  Today I will touch on Microsoft Exchange, specifically Outlook Web Access (OWA) and how it compares to Android based smartphones.

In order to get the most from Microsoft Outlook Web Access, Internet Explorer needs to be used.  Substituting other browsers such as Firefox disables certain functions.  The benefit of using OWA is it eliminates the need to install Microsoft Outlook on the computer.

OWA looks very similar to Microsoft Outlook, but there is no Today page and some of the advanced viewing options such as seeing tasks on the calendar page are also not available.  If you are not a fan of Microsoft’s new ribbon in Office 2010, then you will like Outlook Web Access.  However if you do like the ribbon you are out of luck as it is not in OWA.

Advanced users of Microsoft Outlook will be disappointing that some of the drag and drop options will not work in Outlook Web Access.  Viewing calendars of others is available if you have the appropriate permissions.

For the Android there are several options available to corporate users of Microsoft Exchange.  Many phones such as the Motorola Droid X, Droid Pro and Droid 3 along with several from Samsung and HTC have built-in connectivity to Exchange.  Depending on the phone and version of software, the calendar and email retention vary.  While contacts synchronize with the Exchange contacts, notes and tasks do not.

There are several companies which offer an add-on for Android based smartphones; one program  is TouchDown and another program is RoadSync.  Both sync; calendar, contacts, email and tasks between an Exchange server and the Android smartphone. Each has its own limits and advantages.

TouchDown allows the creation of tasks from within an email which is a very useful tool used by those seeking the most efficiency.  TouchDown also has uses categories from Outlook (Exchange) and the method to file emails is superior to RoadSync.  A downfall of TouchDown is it is very easy for the system to not save notes in the calendar, tasks and contacts; which could be an issue for many.  RoadSync works well, but lacks the categories and ability to create tasks from an email.

For power users, an Android based smartphone or tablet can be superior to Outlook Web Access, the one limiting factor is the lack of seeing calendars from others within the organization.

This article was written by The Boss of HITman Services, a computer and IT company, based in Clifton Park and serving the Albany, Troy, Schenectady and Saratoga Counties of New York.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Incoming search terms:

  • android exchange tasks
  • owa tasks android
  • android exchange calendar
  • owa task sync for android
  • owa security breach firefox
  • owa how to sync task android
  • owa for TOUCHDOWN
  • owa for droid 3
  • owa fix for droid x
  • outlook with access Droid

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Business, Smartphones, Technology | No Comments »

Email Etiquette – Practicing What I Preached

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

In a prior blog I detailed a list of how email should be handled in: Email Etiquette, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  In the post, I neglected to discuss email and mobile devices.

This past week our company was fortunate in setting up a client with several hundred email and Exchange accounts.  Transferring a few email accounts takes planning and coordination, hundreds takes substantially more!  Quite a few of the users were not running Outlook in the past and many had BlackBerrys, iPhones and Android based smartphones which needed to be synced with the Exchange server.

To assist their staff learning how to use the new email systems, we created videos on several different aspects including setup, email, calendars and shared calendars, tasks and contacts.

It was a long and very rewarding day for our team as our client was very happy with the results.  After the work day ended I sent an email to the head of one of the departments making sure he was happy with the IT and computer services provided to him.  As I was writing this email on my Android based smartphone, the system decided that van should replace can, and I only noticed it when I pressed the send now button.

In a previous post reviewing proper email procedures, I discussed that it is a good idea to sit on an email rather than send it immediately.  Unfortunately I didn’t take my own advice when using my smartphone.  I will in the future.  The lesson is the policies established for computers should also be adhered to for portable devices.

This article was written by The Boss of HITman Services, a computer and IT company, based in Clifton Park and serving the Albany, Troy, Schenectady and Saratoga Counties of New York.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Business, email | No Comments »

SSL Certificate Held Hostage for $10,000.00

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

Handling IT support for businesses in the Capital Region for many years, we often get requests to take over existing systems.  Most in the IT industry are respectable business, but once in a while we come upon a business which is not.  Case in point a recent client had their Microsoft Exchange SSL certificate held hostage.

Last year our company took over IT support for an state organization in Schenectady NY.  Everything seemed to be going well until we went to get a new SSL certificate issued for their Microsoft Exchange Server.

The registration information on the SSL certificate showed the old IT provider.  Both our client and us contacted the IT company and requested they renew the SSL.  Their response was they would be willing do that if our client had them handle all of their email and IT support and pay them $10,000.00 per year to do so.  As our client was not happy with their service this was not an option.

At this point you may be thinking we needed to get out the baseball bats to deal with the issue, but happily that was not the case.  We were able to get the SSL certificate issue resolved through creative thinking. Even in this age of high tech, the old adage, caveat emptor, still rings true.

This article was written by The Boss of HITman Services, a computer and IT company, based in Clifton Park and serving the Albany, Troy, Schenectady and Saratoga Counties of New York.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Business, Technology | No Comments »

Microsoft Exchange on Android Smartphones

Friday, January 21st, 2011

As a Microsoft Exchange hosting provider we are constantly looking for the best system to access our calendars, contacts and email on Android smartphones.

Having multiple Android devices we are in the fortunate position to try and use a variety of software programs.  The built-in email app offers basic functionality but lacks the ability to transfer tasks.

We have been using Touch Down software for quite a while to connect to our Exchange Server.  Touch Down offers many settings for customization.  We were finding that ActiveSync was not working properly between Exchange and Android.  Additionally when we ran side by side tests using Samsung Fascinates, there was a significant performance hit on the phone running Touch Down.  Touch Down also created a second set of contacts which could get confusing.

Next up was RoadSync  by Dataviz.  Using RoadSync we have not seen a performance lag.  To-date there have been no synchronization issues discovered.  One feature lost using RoadSync is the ability to categorize tasks and calendar entries.  Also some functions such as the privacy setting requires an additional step to engage.

At the current time RoadSync appears to be the best solution for connecting Android smartphones with a Microsoft Exchange Server.

This article was written by The Boss of HITman Services, a computer and IT company serving the Albany, Troy, Schenectady and Saratoga Counties of New York.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Business, Smartphones | No Comments »

The Problem With Technology

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Recently we had a client come into our computer and IT repair facility in Clifton Park.  He was having an issue with his BlackBerry from Sprint/Nextel.  The problem was centered on connecting to his Microsoft Exchange Server.

We followed our advanced diagnostic procedures for this type of issue.  When this didn’t lead to a solution, we had to contact the vendors of the product.  When all was told, we spoke with six people from three different companies.  With the exception of one person, the others weren’t even able to grasp an understanding of what the issue was.

Fortunately for our client, he didn’t have to deal with the frustration as our motto is “Eliminating HI-Tech Frustration” and we took the brunt of it.  These days there are so many variable and so many products from different vendors involved, determining exactly where the issue originates is no longer as simple as 1, 2, 3.

The problem with technology is too many large companies cut corners by providing inadequate technical support staff to properly resolve their customer’s issues.  One of our advantages is with the example of the person who brought in their BlackBerry: we are all power users and run a variety of smartphones with different operating systems such as: BlackBerry, Palm WebOS, Android and Windows Mobile.

Information provided by: HITman Services, a computer and IT services company located in Clifton Park, New York.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in BlackBerry, Smartphones, Technology, cell phone, email | No Comments »

Microsoft Windows Mobile Devices – Samsung Omnia II

Friday, July 16th, 2010

The latest Windows Mobile device tested on Verizon Wireless, is the Samsung Omnia II, running Windows Professional 6.5.3.

The Samsung Omnia II uses an AMOLED display.  AMOLED stands for Active-matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode.  A benefit to using an AMOLED display is that the screen can be seen without having the backlight on.  This saves quite a bit of battery life for other functions.  The backlight does need to be turned on in order to see the screen in bright sunlight.  The display size is 3.7″ with a resolution of 800 x 480.  Images, photos and videos are all very clear and vivid.

The Omnia II measures 4.75″ high by 2.38″ wide and .53″ deep, and weighs 5.08 ounces with the standard battery installed.

Input is done via a resistive touch screen.  While many resistive displays do not work very well, the one used in the Samsung Omnia II is exceptional.  The options include landscape and portrait qwerty keyboards and swipe.  Swipe is an extremely fast method of entering text.  It can be done via a finger or the built-in stylus.  Getting use to swipe is easy.

Call quality with the Omnia II is very good regardless of the number of bars displayed.  Bluetooth integration works well.  One consistent hiccup has been the first time a call is attempted via Bluetooth, it is lost.  Once the second attempt is make all further connections work flawlessly.  The Omnia II features a proximity sensor which turns the display off as it nears the face.  Sound level is decent for hands free, speaker and headset.  The Airplane mode is quick to activate.

Based upon recent calls made, the estimated batter life with consistent phone use is about 240 minutes.  A nice feature of the Omnia II is the ability to swap in spare batteries when recharging is not an option.

Key for our business use is integration with Microsoft Exchange Server and here the Omnia II performs extremely well.  Calendar entries, tasks, email and contacts are all synchronized wirelessly.  Connecting the device to a notebook with Microsoft OneNote also allows synchronization of OneNote files, once configured.

Browsing on the Omnia II using either Microsoft Internet Explorer or Opera Mobile is just fair.  The speed is good but the viewing experience is not the greatest.

Overall, the Omnia II by Samsung is a very good smartphone for people who need integration with Microsoft Exchange and are looking for an alternative to a BlackBerry.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Incoming search terms:

  • sgh-i900 windows repair

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in BlackBerry, Business, Smartphones, cell phone | No Comments »

Has the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Lived Beyond Its Time ?

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

For quite, BlackBerrys and the BlackBerry Enterprise server has been a hard combination to beat because of RIM’s (Research In Motion) push technology.

Setup a Microsoft Exchange account on a BlackBerry and you have a very powerful combination.  Email is sent both inbound and outbound with almost no delay. Additionally, the calendar, contacts, notes and tasks are also synced wirelessly.

Companies such as Fox News have created apps which take advantage of the push technology and send news alerts as they happen.

All of this is great, but there is one exception, Microsoft Sync.  Microsoft Sync offers many of the same features as the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, but with less cost.  RIM has recently tried to remedy this by providing small businesses with a slimmed down version of the server software, and at zero cost.

The problem is, the overhead is still there and owners of BlackBerrys are required to pay a higher fee to their wireless phone provider.

Recently I had a conversation with an insider from a Fortune 100 company who stated they have more issues with syncing BlackBerrys than other devices by a very wide margin.

Time will tell which system offers the best business solution.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in BlackBerry, Business, email | No Comments »