John at myITforum.com

BlackBerry maker, Research in Motion is now facing serious legal problems in the UK, in the form of a patent infringement lawsuit from Luxembourg-based intellectual property company, Inpro.  Inpro claims that the technology being used by RIM for their popular mobile email devices violates a patent UK patent that they have owned since April 1996.

Who’s next?

Some users of Microsoft's Software Update Services may be experiencing a minor annoyance, thanks to a glitch in the company's latest security patches, released Tuesday. The latest update may be changing the status of software updates that had been previously approved by administrators who use the service, according to Microsoft.

"If you synchronize your server after December 12, 2005, all previously approved updates may be unapproved and the status may appear as 'updated,'" Microsoft said in a note published Wednesday.

While I’m hoping that Santa brings me a few devices with Windows Mobile 5 and the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (to get rid of our middleware), Exchange 12 and Office 12 are previewed.

http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/preview/default.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/default.mspx

Privately held Visto said it is seeking a permanent injunction to stop Microsoft from "misappropriating" technology from Visto and its co-founder developed nearly 10 years ago.

Microsoft was not immediately available to comment.

The suit comes as Visto's biggest rival, Research In Motion Ltd., faces a possible shut-down of its Blackberry mobile e-mail service after patent holding company NTP Inc. won an infringement ruling against RIM.

Visto said on Wednesday it signed a licensing agreement with NTP, which already licenses to Good Technology Inc., another rival, and Nokia.

I guess Visto didn’t want to venture down the RIM road with NTP.

Visto Corporation, today inked a deal with NTP to provide (quote) "stability in these turbulent times." The two-part deal involves Visto licensing NTP patents—the same ones that got RIM into its current pickle—and NPT acquiring a stake in the company. The companies did not reveal how much equity NTP would receive.

With the agreement, Visto receives access to NTP's patents until they expire. The wireless e-mail provider already holds 25 of its own. The two companies do not beat around the bush when speaking about the reason for the deal—to prevent their own legal entanglement.

NTP co-founder Donald Stout said, "This is a clear win for mobile e-mail users everywhere as it provides them with a viable alternative to RIM that protects them from any NTP litigation risk. Users of Visto Mobile can be assured of access to mobile email and data as they are licensed to use NTP's intellectual property. We are excited about our ownership stake in Visto's future."

Anyone seen this yet?  Just stumbled on to it this morning.  It’s the Windows Live Beta site.

Go to http://www.live.com

According to Smartphone Today,

First off, you need to purchase the Samsung MM-A700 mobile phone, as it is the only handset compatible with Sprint TV. The MM-A700 goes for $400 a la carte or $300 with a two-year service contract.

The MM-A700 receives compressed video over-the-air and decompresses content through an embedded media player on-the-fly. So you’re not downloading content first and then playing it, as video services for mobile phones usually require. The handset also supports advanced audio coding (ACC) for better than usual mobile phone sound.

For ten bucks a month Sprint PCS Vision customers get "basic" Sprint TV, which consists of two to four channels-one showing movie trailers and the others playing clips pulled from the service’s premium channels.

Premium content includes streams from the likes of NBC News, ABC News, FOX Sports, The Weather Channel, and E! Entertainment, plus a few other channels. These channels go for $3.95 to $4.95 per month each. Sprint plans to add 600 clips a day to the service.

For unlimited access to Sprint TV, subscribers can choose the Sprint Multimedia Pack, which also bundles unlimited Vision Multimedia Service, Picture Mail, and Video Mail, as well as 100 SMS messages for $25 per month.

Nice that Sprint PCS forces you in to a new phone, and even nicer that it’s one of the SMALLEST screens available.  

I’ve discovered another “bug” in the HP 6515 Mobile Messenger.  I’ve tested it on three different Mobile Messengers with the same result.  What’s the issue?  Pocket Inbox does not support external memory cards.  I’ve got a 1 GB SD card in the device, and a 256 MB mini-SD card.  When I launch Pocket Inbox, and try to force attachments in email to the storage card, the only storage Pocket Inbox sees is the internal ROM storage.  So, I’ve only got 12 MB to store attachments.

According to HP Support, there is a fix on the way (you have to hack the registry now to fix it).  They will create a utility, now in QC, that will allow you to select the SD or mini-SD card to use for attachments, rather than internal storage.  The catch however, is that if you are required to do a hard reset, Pocket Inbox will once again not recognize external storage cards.

According to investigators, DirecTV failed to clearly advertise and promote its satellite TV services. In many cases, consumers said they were confused about the exact costs, programming, reception, sale of equipment and other contract terms that they signed-up to receive.

The result?  DirecTV agreed to pay a total $5 million to 22 states to settle an investigation.  The comment from DirecTV?  "We have reached a voluntary agreement to settle the allegation by the states, which we've denied...In fact, the agreement self-acknowledges that there is no finding that DirecTV violated any federal or state law," said Mr. Mercer.

So, pay $5 million and claim innocence.  Interesting.  According to the suit, DirecTV “also agreed to reform its advertising policies, as well as pay restitution to the thousands of customers who complained about various services, cancellation policies and fees.  But, they didn’t do anything wrong.

A few days ago I mentioned the ActiveSync Web Administration Tool.  The write up mentions you need “compatible mobile devices”.  No need to download and install this tool just yet.  The reason?  There are no “compatible mobile devices” on the market yet to test it with.  You not only need Windows Mobile 5, but you need the Messaging and Security Feature Pack.

We’re waiting on both Microsoft and the wireless carriers to deliver.

• Microsoft® Windows Mobile(TM) 5.0 Smartphone Edition
• Windows Media®Player 10 for playing music and video
• Bluetooth® connectivity for connecting wireless accessories
• 1.3 MP camera and video phone
• GPRS/EDGE High-Speed Data Access
• 850/900/1800/1900 MHz - Quad-band for international compatibility
• Large 2.2" TFT color display
• 64 MB SDRAM/64 MB Flash ROM
• Office(TM) Mobile - Outlook(TM)/Word(TM)/Excel(TM)/Explorer(TM)
• TI OMAP 850 200MHz processor
• Pocket MSN® (Hotmail®/MSN Messenger)
• Multimedia messaging - send text, pictures and sound
• Downloadable polyphonic/full-audio ringtones, graphics and games
• Stereo audio jack for listening to music

Provided by vendor MSpot, the service offers unlimited shows and movies for a monthly flat fee of $6.95, on top of regular service charges.

Would you watch a full-length movie on your phone?

Pocket PC Magazine changed its name.  It’s now Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine.  Get a free issue to keep up with all the latest Windows Mobile devices.

http://www.pocketpcmag.com/offer/freeissue.asp?offer=Microsoft%2Ecom&cf=52

Several have emailed me asking how to change the default device name in ActiveSync on their mobile devices.  While it may be fairly easy on Pocket PC’s, it’s a little more complicated on Smartphones. 

You’ll need a registry editor for the Smartphone (several are available for free or trial basis, just Google for them).  Once you have a registry editor on the Smartphone, you’ll need to launch it and navigate to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>Ident
Select 'Values'
Select 'Name'

Change the Value Data to the new name you want to use, exit the registry editor, and soft reset the phone.

The Internet search engine's stock is being added this month because it has grown so big on a market capitalization basis, that it doesn't have to wait the usual two years of being public for inclusion. Google became a publicly traded company in August of 2004.

Lots of good systems management packs in this download.  Sessions included in this download, including demos:

ADD-50: Windows Server 2003 R2 Technical Overview

ADD-51: Storage Management Features in Windows Server 2003 R2

ADD-52: UNIX Interoperability in Windows Server 2003 R2

ADD-53: Identity Management in Windows Server 2003 R2 Active Directory Federation Services

MGT-02: Planning and Deploying Systems Management Server 2003

MGT-03: Troubleshooting Systems Management Server 2003

MGT-10: Technical Drilldown:Systems Management Server 2003 Operating System Deployment Feature Pack

MGT-11: Microsoft Solutions for Windows Update Management

MGT-12: Best Practices - Security Update Management with Systems Management Server 2003

MGT-21: Planning and Deploying MOM 2005

MGT-22: MOM 2005 - Microsoft Management Packs

MGT-23: Securing Your Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Environment

MGT-24: Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Performance and Sizing

MGT-30: Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 for Exchange Deployments

MGT-31: Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 for Active Directory

MGT-40: System Center Reporting Manager 2006 Overview

MGT-41: Systems Center Capacity Planner 2006 Overview

MGT-42: Introduction to Data Protection Manager

EXC-06: Exchange Performance Tuning

SQL-05: SQL Server 2005 Security

Back in June of this past year, BenQ took over the Siemens mobile brand.  As most know, the Siemens sx66 Pocket PC phone has been my primary phone since March.  Siemens did a nice job on this device, and I’ve been waiting to see what they come up with next. 

When BenQ took over, they also acquired the rights to use the brand name for 18 months.  During an interview during the conferences held at the time, The CEO of BenQ said “The Siemens brand will continue to exist for 18 months after the partnership kicks off. At that point, the time will be right to bring products to market under a joint brand name.” In addition, customer services will continue to operate unchanged and there will be no local change of management”.  

I’ve been browsing both the main BenQ site and the US BenQ site.  Just wondering what they plan on doing with the acquisition.  It’s been six months, and nary a word.

Caught this article in the NY Times:

A man in Nashville has admitted that, in trying to shock a colleague with a joke, he put false information into a Wikipedia entry about John Seigenthaler Sr., a former editor of The Tennessean in Nashville.

Brian Chase, 38, who until Friday was an operations manager at a small delivery company, told Mr. Seigenthaler on Friday that he had written the material suggesting that Mr. Seigenthaler had been involved in the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy. Wikipedia, a nonprofit venture that is the world's biggest encyclopedia, is written and edited by thousands of volunteers.

Mr. Seigenthaler discovered the false entry only recently and wrote about it in an op-ed article in USA Today, saying he was especially annoyed that he could not track down the perpetrator because of Internet privacy laws. His plight touched off a debate about the reliability of information on Wikipedia - and by extension the entire Internet - and the difficulty in holding Web sites and their users accountable, even when someone is defamed.

Rumor has it that the 8125 from Cingular will launch in the next week or so (2125 launched 12/12).  I think I may have just spotted my next PPC upgrade.  Should have Windows Mobile 5, 128MB SDRAM and 64MB flash memory, quad-band EDGE, Bluetooth, WiFi, MiniSD, and 1.3 megapixel camera.

Patent holding company NTP Inc. has rejected an offer by BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. to settle their legal battle and the two sides are not negotiating, NTP co-founder Don Stout said Friday.

Stout said RIM made an "unacceptable" written offer Thursday to settle NTP's patent infringement lawsuit, which could shut down the popular BlackBerry e-mail service in the U.S.

"They have responded yesterday in a manner which is unacceptable, so we're not negotiating," Stout said. "We're not sitting down trying to work out details. In other words, they didn't come close.

"They might make another counteroffer. I don't know. That may be coming," Stout added. "But the current offer is unacceptable and not one we're going to negotiate."

OK, seriously.  Litigation aside, I’m scratching my head with this one.  I just read an article on the CRN web site.  In it I read, “Surrounded by an aura of uncertainty, Research In Motion remains a player in the wireless communications market. RIM’s latest BlackBerry, the highly anticipated 8700c, offers a plethora of functionality.”

Has anyone seen this device yet?  I have.  I have a test unit.  What “plethora of functionality”???  Seriously.  It’s a Blackberry.  It looks almost identical to other Blackberry’s (7200 series), no additional apps are loaded or included, it’s only running the 4.x client, so what plethora of functionality?

A few paragraphs later, I read, “The 8700c will continue to offer most of the same features as previous versions, but with a significant enhancement: wireless broadband connectivity.”  Do I really have to say it here?  Wireless broadband is a significant enhancement?  Well, OK, for the Blackberry, yes, that IS a significant enhancement.

Anyway, I read further, “One minor gripe the Test Center has about the new 8700c is that it does not include an integrated camera. Another is that the EDGE broadband modem, when plugged into a notebook computer, will not provide broadband wireless.”  That’s all they have?  One minor gripe?  They missed the CAMERA?  What about expansion capabilities?  Why no SD or mini-SD storage capabilities?  How hard would that have been?  They write in the article how easy it is to write apps, but how quickly will the RAM in the device fill up where it becomes unusable? 

One minor gripe?  That’s all?  I have a few questions.  Can you actually download attachments from email, review, make modifications perhaps, view graphics, send them back to the recipient?  Can you read adobe acrobat reader documents, or other reader documents (like Microsoft Reader docs) in their graphical format?  What about reviewing PowerPoint presentations?  Can you instant message co-workers or clients?  Can the device run any type of wi-fi when a GSM/GPRS/EDGE connection isn’t available (like indoors in a conference room with no windows)?  What about GPS?  Can it do GPS like other Blackberry’s can?  Out of the box, what can you do with it other than standard PIM and internet browsing? 

Yes, I’m scratching my head on this one.  It’s a Blackberry folks, plain and simple.  You won’t get a plethora of functionality.  Do you just want a handheld PIM?  This is your ticket.

Interesting.  Several news agencies (including the Wall Street Journal) are reporting that NTP will settle all of the litigation if RIM will agree to give them 5.7% of all U.S. earnings.  Apparently their patents (if they stick) are in place through 2012. 

According to Donald Stout, patent lawyer and NTP co-founder, RIM's response was to proffer an offer of its own that NTP found unacceptable. Apparently Stout told the Globe and Mail, NTP wants a settlement that doesn't linger and is final, or the handheld/e-mail vendor would have to cease U.S. operations.

Stout told the newspaper, "If they don't pay us a dime, then they're going to go out of business in the U.S." "We're not going to have continued warfare going on…We are not going to enter into a lengthy agreement with these guys," he continued.

Next move…

And according to Jason, it really isn’t “push”.

• The device issues an HTTP request to Exchange, which asks Exchange to report any changes that occur in the mailbox of the requesting user within a specified time limit. The URL of this HTTP request is the same as that of other AirSync commands ("/Microsoft-Server-ActiveSync") with some differing query string parameters. The body of the HTTP request allows the client to specify those folders that Exchange should monitor for changes. Typically, these will be the Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks folders.
• Upon receiving this request, Exchange will monitor the specified folders until either the time limit expires or a change (such as the arrival of a piece of email) occurs in one of those folders, whichever comes first. Exchange will then issue a response to this request that notes in which folders the changes occurred. Of course, this will be empty if the time limit elapsed before any changes occurred.
• Upon receiving an empty response, the device simply re-issues the request. This loop of issuing a request for change notifications, receiving an empty response, and re-issuing the request for change notifications is called "the heartbeat.
• Upon receiving a non-empty response, the device issues a synchronization request against each folder in the response. When those complete, it re-issues the request for change notifications.

My question of course it, is this synchronization request an actual launch of activesync on the device on the folders that changed?  Today’s version launches activesync, and boy is it a slow process syncing those changes.  Activesync over the air is just a plain and simple slow process. 

Microsoft has released the ActiveSync Web Administration Tool. 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e6851d23-d145-4dbf-a2cc-e0b4c6301453&DisplayLang=en