Exchange

Microsoft tries pricing ploy vs. Google Apps

Google Subnet — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:25:52 -0500

Microsoft has officially invaded Google Apps' turf by opening up its Exchange and SharePoint Online products to just about everyone. And as part of the online onslaught, Microsoft is introducing a new a la carte pricing scheme aimed at undercutting Google Apps' one-price-fits-all model.

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Android syncs with Exchange, sort of

Google Subnet — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:24:20 -0400

When Google, T-Mobile and HTC announced the G1, the first mobile phone based on the Google's open Android OS, the overall excitement was tempered by the new phone's lack of Exchange support. At the time, Google said that since Android is an open OS, it fully expected developers to fill the void and come up with their own solutions. And now, it looks like they have.

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Android and Exchange, a theory

Google Subnet — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:30:54 -0400

Yesterday's unveiling of the first Android-based phone, launched by Google, HTC and T-Mobile, showed off some fun features and applications, especially the new StreetView with built-in compass (see the video here). But observers have been pretty vocal about the G1's lack of Exchange support, saying it's a deathknell for the phone in the corporate space. While Google, HTC and T-Mobile were pretty upfront about the fact that the G1 is aimed squarely at consumers, not business users, the Exchange snub actually fits in well with Google's overarching mobile strategy. Exchange wasn't invited to the party on purpose.

The whole point of Android, Google's Chrome browser rollout, and especially Google Apps and Gears, is to get people comfortable doing business, anywhere/anytime, in a non-Windows world. If you can converse, get your e-mail, collaborate on a document, read your news, access your apps both online and off, etc., all on a mobile device via a browser, what's the point of Windows? It's just overhead standing between you and the work you want to do. Plus, the three vendors seemed to be positioning the new phone as a laptop alternative, not an adjunct. (Another notable piece missing from the G1 was the ability to sync up--or even tether--to a laptop or desktop.) Why lug a laptop bag when you can do the same work on a device sitting in your pocket, anywhere, anytime? Sync up your address book and calendar in the cloud and go.

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Anti-Spam with Microsoft Exchange

jasonslater — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:06:27 -0400

Finding the right tools to face spam head on is a complex road with so many solutions on offer and different requirements to deal with. For example, do you block all open relay traffic? What if in doing so you miss an important order? Do you manually check all incoming email? It's impractical right (and probably legally questionable)? We currently use a multi-tier system involving various different manufacturers solutions combining hardware and software platforms - recently though we've been looking at what the Anti-Spam solutions built into Microsoft Exchange 2007 Server may provide and so far we're feeling pretty positive about them but it's going to take a huge leap of faith to move away from our existing spam filter.

Using the New-ExchangeCertificate cmdlet for OCS…

tkopczynski — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:03:15 -0400

I ran into an interesting problem the other day. Basically, one of the admins at my client site needed to a Server Authentication certificate for an OCS pool he was bringing online. Naturally, considering this is OCS, the certificate needed a bunch of Subject Alternative Names (SANs). So, I told him to submit a CSR and I would get it approved.

However, there was just one problem. When he submitted the request, the Windows CA barfed stating:

"Denied by Policy Module 0x80094800, The request was for a certificate template that is not supported by the Certificate Services policy: WebServer/MyCustomWebServer"

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Both of them need to be looking over their shoulders for Linux players

Microsoft Subnet — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:42:38 -0400

While IBM and Microsoft duke it out for what they think is market dominance, small players like PostPath are moving in. (More to come on this. Talking to an enterprise user today who has yanked Exchange for PostPath, even though the compnay's 400 end users still use Outlook. Watch for details on this user story on Microsoft Subnet.

Imagine Cup 2008 Final Competition Paris

Rand Morimoto — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:49:11 -0400

Welcome to my Imagine Cup 2008 blog! This year's worldwide finals are being held in Paris, France! This is my 4th year as head judge of this global competition that identifies the best college students in the world in the field of technology. Between July 2nd and July 9th (2008), I will be blogging the events and activities of the competition...

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Open source could doom Exchange, one IT pro believes

Microsoft Subnet — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:21:17 -0400

The following post is a guest blog from new Google Subnet blogger Garett Kopczynski who this week launched Network World's Google Watcher blog. Kopczynski is an IT professional for the city of Keene, N.H., and has been involved in the transformation of the IT group as it increasingly explores cloud computing and Google Apps. He writes: I am seeing the evidence of a fundamental shift to open source. The clunkiness of the IT world I have experience with brings to mind the time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and mammals waited in the wings.

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Nokia's latest eSeries devices launched

Keith Shaw — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:34:30 -0400

Nokia today launched the E71 and E66 models, the latest e-mail devices from its Eseries product line. The E71 includes a full QWERTY keyboard, while the E66 has a slider design. Both devices include Microsoft Exchange support preloaded on the device, along with other personal and professional messaging options. The device is expected to launch in key markets next month, with a cost of 350 euros ($542 this week) in Europe. Both models include support for attachment viewing, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. Internet mail support includes Gmail, Yahoo mail and Hotmail, as well as support for Nokia's Intellisync Wireless E-mail platform and third-party e-mail providers like System Seven and Visto Mobile. The phones support the latest Ovi services, including maps, music and media sharing, along with HDSPA network support, wireless LAN support and assisted GPS (A-GPS). Both phones also include a 3.2 megapixel digital camera with auto-focus. For enterprises, the phones include a built-in encryption feature for both the device's memory and the memory card (up to 8GB cards supported), as well as integrated mobile VPN support, device lock and wipe features.

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iPhone 2.0 release slated for early July

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:22:06 -0400

Will it support MS Exchange Server for RealTime OL email?

New iPhone steps up to the plate

Alex Lewis — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:10:30 -0400

The new iPhone launches in exactly one week and the buzz is well, inconsistent. It's certainly not the mobscene that it was during the initial launch, but this time it's a different group of people talking. At the initial launch all the Apple diehards came with kool-aid by the jug to pray at the AppleStore/iPhone altar. Recently business folks and power users have begun to take the iPhone seriously as a business tool, not just a toy that's capable of also making phone calls. Kevin Rose, of digg.com fame, talks about the launch and the rumored $200 price point here.

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Apples and Oranges?

Wed, 28 May 2008 16:45:09 -0400

While this may be a good choice for this hospital, the article compares a recent entry into the enterprise messaging space with a 10 year old application. The only reference to a newer release of Exchange is cost. For the hospital at 700 mailboxes, cost may be a factor. For other enterprises with varying needs, Exchange may come out less expensive. The hospital did not have to limit the size of 'in-boxes', but rather mailboxes. Clearly they were using the 'Standard' version of Exchange 5.5. There was a more expensive Enterprise version without that limit. Later versions of Exchange eliminate this issue of course. I realize this case study is migrating from Exchange 5.5, but it seems weak to base a comparison of messaging solutions separated by so many years.

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Exchange and OCS are out of synch

Microsoft Subnet — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:33:37 -0400

One of the frustrations users have is when Microsoft develops products in parallel and then says -- hey, they are out of synch! For example, there is no unified storage scheme for SharePoint, SQL Server and other products (though Microsoft regularly promises to create such a scheme.Sounds like this "out of synch" syndrome is also the case with Exchange and OCS.

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Could Gmail replace Exchange?

Alex Lewis — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:46:51 -0400

[url=http://www.cemaphore.com/mailshadow_g.php]Cemaphore's MailShadowG[/url] make an interesting proposition, replace Exchange with Gmail. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but it claims to "synchronize Microsoft Outlook with a trusted Internet email provider like Google, by mapping the repository that exists in Exchange (for email, calendaring and contacts) to [Gmail]". That statement alone is certainly compelling, but it asks as many questions as it answers.

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Microsoft software for the iPhone

Microsoft Subnet — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:28:07 -0400

Microsoft software engineers have been pouring over the iPhone SDK released earlier this month with the hopes of building software for the ultra-hot gadget, reports Fortune magazine. For over a decade, the Mac group within Microsoft has been porting Windows apps to the Mac, so why should the iPhone not also be privileged to become a platform for Microsoft apps? E-mail would be the most likely initial Microsoft app, the article predicts.

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iPhone gets Exchange ActiveSync

Alex Lewis — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:58:22 -0400

Last week Apple announced they have licensed the ActiveSync Exchange Push technology from Microsoft. I had to read the article twice before I believed it. Steve Jobs swore up and down he'd never license MS technology for the iPhone. Maybe he finally realized there's a lot of money to be made in competing with RIM and Windows Mobile in the enterprise.

Personally, I think this is great. This may be the final nudge I needed to get an iPhone. Okay, maybe not. First I'd need it to run on a real network, not the slower-than-molasses-in-February AT&T data network. At least activesync represents the last technological barrier, the carrier issue is just financial/political.

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Windows on a USB stick and Microsoft storage unification

Microsoft Subnet — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:27:18 -0500

Microsoft hinted at two interesting storage developments this week, reports Mary Jo Foley in her blog. According to unnamed sources, Foley says Microsoft is working on a product called 'StartKey' that functions as a Windows companion. The concept of StartKey should strike terror in the hearts of enterprise security professionals as it would allow users to carry their Windows and Windows Live settings on USB sticks or other flash storage devices (like SD memory cards).

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RE: Lotusphere leaves an impression or two

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:14:08 -0500

I'd LOVE to be involved some of these Lotus products - but we're non-profit and the Microsoft products are close to free - we're migrating from Groupwise to Exchange - boring!

RE: Keeping Exchange up and running

gbollard — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:48:28 -0500

I don't understand why it is considered acceptable for Exchange to fail. We don't have this sort of trouble in the Notes/Domino environment. Those servers can stay up for years without a reboot or patch if necessary.

That said, given the registry entries and other "difficult-to-backup" and "difficult-to-restore" settings used in exchange, IMHO the only really safe option would be a disk imaging backup solution.

RE: Lotus Notes vs. Microsoft Exchange

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:38:20 -0400

Its apples v oranges, marketing v technology, good v evil, proprietary v standards. At the end of the day if you are happy with Notes good, if your are happy with Exchange, good. I wonder how Ray Ozzie would vote today?