pdas:

rick petersonmarc scarborough

Rice University

unsupportable(?)

supporting

the

Copyright Statement

• "Copyright Rick Peterson and Marc Scarborough 2007. This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the authors. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the authors."

goals:

(marc)

1 - share the complexity

2 - explain the technology & offer options

(rick)

3 - open discussion on your solutions

(the group)

pdas

Let’s start with “p”

personal

pertaining to persons, as opposed to things

*from wiktionary.org

d

digital

1. Having to do with digits (fingers or toes); performed with a finger.*

*from wiktionary.org

a

assistant

3. A software tool that provides assistance in

some task.*

*from wiktionary.org

which gives us…

and makes

life

complex

and supporting

pdas

challenging

but…why??

first…

pdas

personal

VIP

another VIP

and it’s the eighth deadliest sin

envy

and when the VIP arrives

oh no, not another BLACKBERRY user

unless of course they’re running

in which case

(but that’s another story)

but if they’re are using, let’s say

there may be issues

with over the air (OTA) sync

contactsemail

calendartasks

and any 3rd party software

ConsilientNotify.netOthers?

with duplicate(ing) contacts

with weird calendar events

added costs, models, and ROI

and with people expecting perfection

bottom line?

these issues/complexities

are nothing if

VIP

wants

second…

pdas

digital

have to do digital things

-create, send, receive email-manage contacts-make and keep appointments

digital information access

Personal preference +

in a world of…

approx. 1 BILLION cellular phone subscribers

where approx. 40% replace phones EACH YEAR

and where all smartphoneswill DO wireless:

emailweb

calendarcontacts

tasks

there exists complexity

oh - and 1% of that market by 2008 will be owned

by…?

THAT will play well with the enterprise

which leads us, finally…

pdas

assistant

need for more capable assistants

with enterprise tie-in

what can help?

Web 2.0 & pdas?

from http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

mix, match, and mutate

“build applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them.”

tim o’reilly

from http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

p - personal preference

a - an enabled assistant

d - digital info needs

more features

and more capability

in the pda’s future

and it’s up to us to help

Now… Marc

proper homage duly given to Dick Hardt, CEO of sxip.com and his presentation/style at:

http://identity20.com/media/OSCON2005/

from which some of the style of this presentation has shamelessly been stolen

Supporting the PDA atRice University

Marc Scarborough (marcs@rice.edu)

Rick Peterson

(rick@rice.edu)

In This Issue

• Why PDAs are hard to support

• Challenges we face at Rice

• Our available options

• What we did at Rice

• What you can do

• More resources and Q&A

• Applause

Why is supporting PDAs so hard?

• Different devices require different back end systems to function– Exchange, Blackberry Enterprise Server, etc

• Cell providers offer little to no help– Most assume the back end is there and well

understood

• There are so many devices– People choose devices before deciding on services– Not just cell phones anymore

Why is this so hard for Rice?

• No Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES)– Rice uses Oracle Calendar– BES does not “synchronize” with Oracle

• Microsoft Exchange is an alternate, fee-based service for our users– Rice uses more traditional email services (Cyrus)

• Money– Devices, Data Plans, Licenses are all expensive

Options for Oracle and traditional Unix email

• Oracle does offer some sync options– SyncML (“wireless” pull)– PocketPC and Palm Sync Clients (“tethered”)

• Most smartphones now have full IMAP(s) email clients– There are also many third party email clients

What is SyncML?

• SyncML is an open standard designed to synchronize information across multiple types

of networks to and from multiple types of devices and platforms.– Non-vendor, non-os, non-application specific– Works over standard networks (wired, wireless,

cell, etc) and protocols (HTTP(s), SMTP, etc)

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressorare needed to see this picture.

CalendarServer

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressorare needed to see this picture.

WebServer

SyncML -Like HTML, but for PIM

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressorare needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressorare needed to see this picture.

Internet

HTMLOver

TCP/IP

SyncMLOver

TCP/IP

Support for SyncML

The Compatibility Question

• Rice Technologies– We now know what services we can offer

• IMAP, SyncML, ActiveSync

– We now know more about the mobile devices• Windows Mobile, Palm, Blackberry, Symbian (iPhone?)

• Push vs Pull– Push

• Server-initiated synchronization, like Blackberry (instant email)

– Pull• Client-initiated synchronization, like traditional email

(checking every 15 minutes)

Compatibility Chart - DashOracle and Cyrus

ServersService Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESOracle Calendar No No Yes No Yes No NoCyrus Email Yes No No No No No NoMS Exchange Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

Sync TransportsEmail and PIM

T-MobileDash

(1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server,(3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option

DevicesDevice Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESDash (WinMo) Yes No Yes (3) No Yes (3) No NoTreo 680 (Palm) Yes Yes (1,2) Yes (3) Yes (1,2) Yes (3) Yes (1) YesBlackBerry 8100 No Yes (2) No (4) Yes (2) No (4) No Yes

Email and PIM Sync Transports

CingularBlackjack

Compatibility Chart - DashMicrosoft Exchange

ServersService Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESOracle Calendar No No Yes No Yes No NoCyrus Email Yes No No No No No NoMS Exchange Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

Sync TransportsEmail and PIM

(1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server,(3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option

DevicesDevice Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESDash (WinMo) Yes Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes (1) No Yes (1) NoTreo 680 (Palm) Yes Yes (1,2) Yes (3) Yes (1,2) Yes (3) Yes (1) YesBlackBerry 8100 No Yes (2) No (4) Yes (2) No (4) No Yes

Email and PIM Sync Transports

T-MobileDash

CingularBlackjack

Compatibility Chart - Treo 680 Oracle and Cyrus

ServersService Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESOracle Calendar No No Yes No Yes No NoCyrus Email Yes No No No No No NoMS Exchange Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

Sync TransportsEmail and PIM

CingularTreo 680

(1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server,(3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option

DevicesDevice Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESDash (WinMo) Yes Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes (1) NoTreo 680 (Palm) Yes No Yes (3) No Yes (3) No NoBlackBerry 8100 No Yes (2) No (4) Yes (2) No (4) No Yes

Email and PIM Sync Transports

Compatibility Chart - Treo 680 Microsoft Exchange

ServersService Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESOracle Calendar No No Yes No Yes No NoCyrus Email Yes No No No No No NoMS Exchange Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

Sync TransportsEmail and PIM

CingularTreo 680

(1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server,(3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option

DevicesDevice Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESDash (WinMo) Yes Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes (1) NoTreo 680 (Palm) Yes Yes (1,2) Yes (3) Yes (1,2) No Yes (1) NoBlackBerry 8100 No Yes (2) No (4) Yes (2) No (4) No Yes

Email and PIM Sync Transports

Compatibility Chart - BB 8100 Oracle and Cyrus

ServersService Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESOracle Calendar No No Yes No Yes No NoCyrus Email Yes No No No No No NoMS Exchange Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

Sync TransportsEmail and PIM

BlackBerry8100

(1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server,(3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option

DevicesDevice Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESDash (WinMo) Yes Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes (1) NoTreo 680 (Palm) Yes Yes (1,2) Yes (3) Yes (1,2) Yes (3) Yes (1) YesBlackBerry 8100 No Yes No (4) No No (4) No No

Email and PIM Sync Transports

Compatibility Chart - BB 8100 Microsoft Exchange

ServersService Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESOracle Calendar No No Yes No Yes No NoCyrus Email Yes No No No No No NoMS Exchange Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

Sync TransportsEmail and PIM

BlackBerry8100

(1) Microsoft Exchange, (2) Blackberry Enterprise Server,(3) Requires third party software,(4) Investigating possible option

DevicesDevice Pull Email Push Email Pull PIM Push PIM SyncML ActiveSync BESDash (WinMo) Yes Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes (1) Yes (3) Yes (1) NoTreo 680 (Palm) Yes Yes (1,2) Yes (3) Yes (1,2) Yes (3) Yes (1) YesBlackBerry 8100 No No No No No No No

Email and PIM Sync Transports

How can I prepare?

• Know what technologies the services you currently offer use

• Become familiar with what technologies are compatible with which services

• Develop consistent responses to similar questions

• Educate and train IT Support Staff

Push Services - Beyond the Blackberry

• Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync– Great for those with Exchange servers– Includes some non-Microsoft devices (Symbian,

Palm)

• Third-party– Offerings from Consilient, Good and IntelliSync– Multi-device support

• ASP/Hosted– NotifyLink

Third Party Products and Services

• ASP/Hosted– NotifyLink (Blackberry)– Motorola GoodLink (Mulitdevice)– Nokia Intellisync (Multidevice)

• Client Support– Synthesis AG (SyncML for Windows Mobile

and Palm)– Nexthaus (SyncML for Blackberry)

Third Party Products and Services

• Email Clients– Snappermail (IMAP for Palm)– ProfiMail (IMAP for Windows Mobile and

Symbian)

Links• SyncML

– http://www.openmobilealliance.org/tech/affiliates/syncml/syncmlindex.html• Consilient

– http://www.consilient.com/• NotifyLink

– http://www.notifycorp.com/• Synthesis AG

– http://www.synthesis.ch/• Nexthaus

– http://www.nexthaus.com/• Snappermail

– http://www.snappermail.com/wireless/email/• ProfiMail

– http://www.lonelycatgames.com/?app=profimail• Motorola Good

– http://www.good.com/corp/index.php• Nokia Intellisync

– http://www.usa.nokia.com/A4179064

Thank you!Any solutions to share?