Bus error: Jake Billo’s weblog

And here’s the wrapup.

• Spring 2008 term has officially ended. For the past few days I’ve been trying to relax; as opposed to creating content for the Web, there’s been a lot of Halo 3 and other video games going on.
• I start again at RIM on September 2nd. Things haven’t changed much from when I was there last, which should make for a smooth transition.
• Hardware upgraded to a BlackBerry Bold as I’m a consumer whore with company loyalty. The screen is really sharp and the new processor gives a really responsive UI. The iPhone 3G was admittedly an attractive option but had two major buzzkills: no physical keyboard, and gimped push email. I had to trade my weaselled retentions plan in for something a bit more conventional, but I’ve now got a monthly plan encompassing some text messaging capabilities.
• Warren also purchased me an Invisible Shield for the device. I highly recommend this product. Resale value will be much higher and any new iPods will definitely get one of these.
• It’s move-in time for our neighbours, which means the landlord feels the need to test out his new bowling ball by dropping it down next door’s flight of stairs repeatedly. (In all reality, he’s probably using a hammer on something, but it sounds suspiciously like my initial description.) I’m hoping that this term, there’ll be some attractive girls in the same complex - but that’s probably a long shot.

If you’re lucky enough to have a BlackBerry device running OS 4.5, BlackBerry Internet Service is now enabled for Rogers and should also be ready for most - if not all other North American carriers.

4.5 OSes are officially available for most recent GSM/EDGE devices. I’d recommend staying away from beta releases, as they contain debugging utilities and aren’t as stable as carrier-certified versions.

To find out if your device has an official upgrade available, look at the stickied threads for your device at BlackBerry Forums. These forums include the 81xx, the 83xx and the 88xx.

If you don’t have OS 4.5, you can still add Hotmail, Windows Live and AOL accounts for push email through your carrier’s BIS site.

Here’s how to activate HTML email for devices running OS 4.5:

1. Sign into your carrier’s BIS site:

• Rogers
• Telus
• Bell
• Fido

2. From the site, click Service Books / Send Service Books.

3. When your device receives the service books, go into Messages / BlackBerry menu / Options and choose Email Settings. For each account, change “Enable HTML Email” to Yes.

Part of a comment I posted at BlackBerry Cool:

With respect to WiFi, RIM’s strategy seems to be that they offer it to carriers committed to UMA. This is likely because carriers still derive revenue from UMA clients, which makes up for the offset data costs over WiFi. At present I can’t think of a CDMA carrier with UMA planned - Sprint seems to be intent on selling base stations with native 800/1900 coverage - so I wouldn’t expect to see a WiFi device on a CDMA network any time this year.

I’m going to take a break from posting links to hilarious or enraging stories in this post, and instead go back to some personal items of interest, like I did last January. Most of the links in here will be to previous posts, since quite a bit has changed for me over 2007. To recap:

I started a new business with Dave and Warren, which has so far allowed us to keep things official and recruit new clients. Our operations are slightly unorthodox, but we know what we’re talking about and our clients are typically very impressed with our work. In the new year, we’ll begin advertising for additional personal clients and begin to reposition our company image as less of a student-run computer repair service, and more of a solutions provider for your home, home office or small business.

I also began a position at RIM in May, leaving IBM and my technical writing position. As it stands, both places are really decent working environments - I’d have a hard time choosing one over another. One thing I did pick up from the experience is that not only is it necessary to be proactive when free food is offered, but occasionally the best move you can make is to try and make the best of cheerleading-style corporate events. During my next corporate experience, I’m setting a goal to get more involved in the student events being offered.

In June, I had several technology-related posts. Since then, I’ve cancelled my TekSavvy account because my home phone line has too much interference when DSL traffic crosses it, and I don’t look forward to installing a POTS splitter in the dead of winter. Their service was quite excellent, and when I move out eventually I’ll likely choose them as a primary provider.

I’ve updated Windows Home Server to the final release, which seems to be serving files across the network quite well without issue. The server system now has 2.1TB of disk space, which is currently being used to store episodes of Heroes (another addicting TV show!)

Chris Fitzpatrick actually paid his hosting bill, just in time for the US dollar to let the loonie be the man for the first time in thirty years.

The cell phone and wireless technology in Canada posts got some decent traffic. I’ll have more details on a recent data development with cell providers very soon.

My HOWTO post on swiping music from MySpace didn’t get the attention I’d hoped for, perhaps because the process is slightly more complicated than “OMG, start up Sound Recorder!”

Finally, Facebook applications are still idiotic, although with liberal use of the “X” button I’ve been able to reduce my exposure to their toxicity.

So what now? My last official day at RIM is December 21st, after which point I’ll be returning to Waterloo for eight months in a row to make some additional progress on my Computer Science degree. I’ve received a preliminary offer to return to RIM for my current role in September 2008, which I intend to take up; we’ll see what happens in summer 2009 when my last co-op cycle comes around.

The latest news from the Bell CDMA camp is raising eyebrows - and is the first volley in a potentially upcoming wireless data price war in Canada. The Toronto Star reports that Bell has launched a promotion: the HTC Touch, a Windows Mobile-based device, is eligible for a $7 per month unlimited data addon to an existing voice plan.

Strictly speaking, this feature is not a new development, but the decision to offer the plan on a PDA certainly is. Bell Mobility customers have been eligible for some time now to purchase the Unlimited Mobile Browser package, the focus of the news article. In technical terms, what “unlimited” really means is “unlimited WAP browsing”.

This definition, while not necessarily consumer-friendly, is much less of a risk for carriers. Customers are limited to accessing mobile-enabled sites serving WML pages. Generally these sites are heavily bandwidth-optimized and require multiple Next Page operations to completely browse the remote site. As a result, carriers don’t typically have to worry about heavy users abusing the system; the $7 fee will usually be quite profitable due to the difficulty and time required to use inordinate amounts of data. Each “page” is generally delivered in under 1KB. WAP sites can also easily be cached on a proxy server, reducing the external bandwidth required on the wireless provider’s part.

Rogers, for example, began offering unlimited WAP access this year within the Rogers-specific WAP site. What’s more, it’s included with any user’s plan without an additional fee. This is more of a marketing technique, though. It only serves to advertise; point to external, revenue-generating WAP sites; and offer costly downloadable ringtones and games. As soon as users leave the walled garden, the charges begin, and they’re not pretty.

Why this plan is so important now, though, is the fact that the HTC Touch is a Windows Mobile device. It contains a suite of Microsoft applications that almost all have one thing in common: they’re Internet enabled, and they can access the full Internet - not some watered-down, proxified version where WAP sites are the only possible destinations. Instead of using a browser limited to SMS-length information retrievals, Windows Mobile devices ship with Pocket Internet Explorer. Pocket IE, while offering nowhere near the advanced capabilities of a desktop Internet Explorer installation, attempts to replicate the full Web experience as closely as possible on a PDA.

Bell, remarkably, has changed the definition of “unlimited mobile Internet” to “unlimited mobile Internet - NO, REALLY, Internet.” Windows Mobile also offers portable versions of Windows Live Messenger and Outlook, not to mention the Office suite of productivity applications. With the HTC Touch’s ability to access significantly greater amounts of data at much higher EvDO speeds, the rules of the game have been changed.

So really, what prompted Bell Canada - for a long time, the only possible phone company - to change their tune? The Toronto Star speculates that the potential threat of Rogers beginning to offer the iPhone could have swayed the decision. Since Apple has shown absolutely zero interest in producing a CDMA-compatible version of their holy grail, and Bell’s national network is rooted in the technology, there is nearly equivalently zero possibility that Bell can deliver an exclusivity arrangement for the device. This means that, much like Verizon and Sprint in the United States, Bell must convince customers that it’s not the device that matters: it’s the network and services. After all, what’s an iPhone really going to cost when data alone on a PDA is $80 per month for 500MB?

The plan also gives Bell a certain level of credibility with tech-savvy consumers. The company (in certain circles) has long been viewed as corporate, inflexible and uncompetitive. Data plans encourage a second look by knowledgeable users, who will drive additional customer adoption by virtue of recommendations.

The GSM versus CDMA technology argument is best hashed out by people on HowardForums, where thinly-veiled trolling over voice quality, network coverage and device swaps is commonplace. One thing’s for sure: Bell is in the perfect position as a carrier to offer this deal, since their CDMA-based network and provisioning structure can effectively limit this plan to eligible Touch users. On a comparable GSM network, users could buy a plan and start using it with a different device in the time it takes to swap SIM cards.

Competing carriers Rogers and Telus should be concerned for their data profits, and rightly so. Enthusiasts and savvy consumers are already taking advantage of the groundbreaking plan in the typically ‘pikey’ fashions: purchasing the device outright on a prepaid plan and adding the data capabilities; negotiation with retentions specialists for reduced data rates; and harassing customer service representatives for “official comments.” The TELUS forum in particular is filled with snarky, baiting posts: clicking a link titled Its Official, Telus’s Official Response To The Bell $7 Data Plan! “…is to deny the whole thing exists, and that Bell is just talking out of their harses, and that its not true!”

(Later on in the thread, the unofficial Telus retention offer seems to be a $15 per month unlimited email/instant messaging plan with 250MB extra data. Not bad, especially if you’re using a BlackBerry instead. ;))

Regardless of who your carrier is right now, it’s certainly a much better time to be a wireless data user in Canada - things are only looking up for the future. Any thoughts or comments about what this development means for your own wireless usage?

Rogers has come through with a $15/month BlackBerry Internet Service plan. It includes unlimited email (including attachments) and use of PIN messaging for BlackBerry Messenger. (Update: You’ll probably have to call Customer Service for this to be added. The number is 1-888-ROGERS1; make sure you specifically mention “BlackBerry” when prompted.)

The plan’s supposed to only be available for Pearl users; I need other instant messaging capabilities on my personal device, however, so I can’t test out whether a Pearl is actually required to receive this plan.

Another new lower-cost plan added to the customer service/support site is the addition of a $25/month 4MB data plan, which is more in the range of a light email and instant messenger user. It matches similar offerings from Bell and Telus in the BlackBerry push email space.

Thanks to Howard Forums for the updated info.

From the November pricing threads at HowardForums, it seems like Rogers may be announcing a new plan to counteract a potentially similar offering from Bell.

The plan would cost $15 per month, to go along with a rumored BlackBerry Pearl promotion and would give unlimited access to BIS email, PIN messaging and BlackBerry Messenger. No word on additional access to data, but we’ll have to see if there are any packages less than $25 for 1MB.

It makes sense for Rogers to do this, considering they can still monetize their data services, and it’s comparable to T-Mobile USA’s $9.99 unlimited email plan. I’m personally looking forward to any developments in this space, both as a consumer - more wireless competition is always a good thing, especially when it comes to data rates in Canada.

Disclaimer: While I do work for Research in Motion, I don’t have any knowledge about future carrier pricing plans - I’m just an enthusiast in the matter.

Update: Well, it looks like it’s too good to be true - as seems to be the usual case whenever anybody gets excited about Rogers’ plans:

The $15 Unlimited Email plan and the $25 4 MB (pooled and non pooled) plans are on hold until further notice. as per email sent, no explanation given

I think I’ve found a group of people just as annoying as elitist Mac users. This group would be the no-holds-barred Firefox/Mozilla zealots who hang out at Spread Firefox and post Diggbait articles about the state of browser compatibility. Yes, Firefox has done great things for Web standards and interoperability of sites; it’s also nice to have the same browsing UI on Windows, OS X and Linux boxes. Yes, not everyone at Spread Firefox is drooling with glee as they report sites for misplacing a LI tag. Unfortunately, today’s target of my wrath does not meet the criteria for exemption.

It’s specifically this list that irks me today, written by a guy whose interests apparently include bashing “Micro$oft”, South Park boot screens, and writing about browser incompatibilities.

The only reason I even bring this up (and since I refuse to go into the Digg comments; they’re already at over 110 and I don’t think I’ve seen one intelligent one yet) is because Nathan links to blackberry.com as one of the sites that’s incompatible with Firefox.

Wait, hold up. blackberry.com (the consumer/promotion site for the devices) is about one of the most likely sites to comply with Web standards, since it’s also designed to be viewable on a BlackBerry device. What’s this guy on about? His complaint is specifically the Google Talk instant messenger download page:

http://www.blackberry.com/GoogleTalk/index.do Uses obsolete ActiveX junk. And Google is somehow involved with this?!?

For reference, here’s what the website says when I go to it using Firefox:

Notice

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or above is required to download this Instant Messenger.

This web page uses ActiveX controls that work only in Microsoft Internet Explorer. To ensure that Google Talk for BlackBerry devices is correctly downloaded to your BlackBerry, this site is not designed to work with any other Internet browsers.

This page is a separate application with an ActiveX control, designed to connect to your device using USB and load a Java MIDlet (which can’t be done with conventional web scripting language, so ActiveX is really the only way to go.) Furthermore, anybody accessing this page can also do it from their BlackBerry device, which also properly loads the application without the IE requirement.

For the record, I use both IE7 and Firefox at work, each for about 50% of typical usage. All my custom development works equally well in both browsers, except for SharePoint/Project Server integrated plugins (and that’s a Microsoft limitation.) Yes, it’s not entirely great that you can’t load MIDlets with Firefox, but the reality of the business world is such that you can count on a Windows/IE combination for corporate desktops; a Firefox extension/plugin for the same functionality doesn’t really make sense when there’s already a browser-agnostic way of performing this task.

A puzzling problem lately arose when I was asked (through our consulting business) to find a better contacts, calendar and task synchronization solution for a BlackBerry device and Microsoft Outlook. Typically, large business and enterprise users have little issue with this problem, since BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Exchange, GroupWise or Domino takes care of the process. That’s not the case for individual, BlackBerry Internet Service users, who have to connect their device through USB and have the Desktop Manager software perform the synchronization.

This process is less than ideal for small business users, cost of which is only one factor. (You can get a free copy of BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express for one user, which is expandable for up to fifteen users with additional client access licenses.) Unfortunately, it’s not just the software itself that users balk at paying for - you have to be running Exchange Server, Novell GroupWise or Lotus Domino as your backend email server, which can be a much more expensive proposition than BES itself. In my client’s case, they’re running a package called AltN MDaemon for Windows, which provides OWA-like functionality through a component called WorldClient. BES was not an option in this case.

Fortunately, MDaemon (through WorldClient) does support a standardized component called SyncML. Using this guide, I was able to provide the following solution:

• The user account on the MDaemon server (userid@example.com) is accessed using the Outlook Connector component. This keeps all mail stored on the mail server, but also has the side effect of storing contacts, calendars and notes in IMAP-like format on the server as well.
• Mail coming to the MDaemon server for userid@example.com is also forwarded (using mail rules/filters) to the BIS account - in this case, userid@example.blackberry.net.
• The WorldClient and SyncML services are activated on the MDaemon server - for example, at http://mail.example.com:34567/.
• Using a component called SyncJE installed on the BlackBerry device, contacts, calendars, and tasks are synchronized with the server copies. This synchronization can be done manually, to keep data usage in check - or automatically. SyncJE is a fifteen-day trial with a nag screen, and is $39.95 to purchase.
• The following settings are used for SyncJE on the BlackBerry:
  

  URL: http://mail.example.com:34567/MDSyncML.dll (where mail.example.com:34567 is your WorldClient URL)
  Username: (the username for the MDaemon account)
  Password: (the password for the MDaemon account)
  Contacts Folder Name: contacts
  Calendar Folder Name: calendar
  Todo Folder Name: tasks

  The Zen Software site notes that “If you want to synchronise a Public Contacts, Calendar or Tasks folder instead then use the following format in the FolderName field instead:

  ./Public Folder/company.mail/Contacts”

While I can’t officially recommend this solution as the best option, it works well for my client’s needs, and may assist you with your own personal scheduling systems. For example, SyncML components may be available for your mail server, which would also work with SyncJE.

In recent months, I’ve often complained about the state of wireless data access in Canada - that is, how expensive it is to use the Web, access email and operate instant messaging over mobile devices. These incredibly high data rates make access to devices like the BlackBerry, HTC TyTN, and the obligatory iPhone limited to those users who have a business or government-locked plan with unlimited access.

One of the references I frequently cite is that Canada is worse than some third-world countries when it comes to this sort of thing.

As an aspiring developer, I’m incredibly interested in what these new devices are capable of. In order to make a serious go of Web development for mobile devices, though, it’s at least a $200 plus contract investment.

Working for Research in Motion gives an especially interesting perspective on the scenario. As a co-op student, I have a device with an (allegedly) unlimited data plan; co-ops don’t get voice (phone calls) activated on their units unless it actively relates to their job role. Since I work on BIS projects, this doesn’t apply to me - which is fine, I’d rather not place personal calls on a work device. I’m not an incredibly heavy data user by any means: I hit Google News once per workday at lunch, and I used Blackberry Maps for about 20 minutes this weekend to try and find out where MacGregor Point’s entrance was.

If I added in a bit of Facebook Mobile access, this type of data usage as a standard consumer would likely put me in a 25MB/month bracket - less than 1MB per day, which could easily be eaten up with a few Google Image searches.

Such a level of usage would require a $60/month, three year contract purchase plus whatever cell phone voice package I selected. Unless I was willing to call up my provider and argue over retention plans (which is a very popular topic at Howard Forums), I could be paying well over $100/month.

The ever-present speculation on forums and blogs to date seems to surmise that if and when Rogers is awarded the iPhone contract in Canada, they’ll be forced by Apple to reduce data rates to something more in line with the United States unlimited plans - $60 per month for a goodly number of minutes, text messages and unlimited EDGE access. Once this change is implemented, the other carriers will supposedly fall into position. I don’t have any insider industry information on this though: one would think purchasers of the BlackBerry Pearl, the highly consumer-oriented device, would already be raising hell about the situation.

As a consumer, I’d welcome lower-cost, wide availability of data plans. Just don’t count on the magical Apple product to change things here. I’ve heard suggestions of writing to the CRTC, the MP for my region, the Minister of Industry, and the Prime Minister. Would any of these things actually be the correct place to direct my concerns?

Standard disclaimer: Although I work for RIM, chances are you know just about as much as I do about future product plans, business speculation, and carrier relationships. Go check Engadget or something if you really want dirt. Anything mentioned in this post or on this site is strictly my opinion and most certainly not that of my employer. This posting confers no warranties, rights, or anything else that you think you’re owed. I’m under an NDA, so anything mentioned here is already public knowledge or my own personal speculation.