Silicon Shecky

I have an Android phone, and I enjoy it. I don’t care for the iPhone. That being said, Apple has one huge advantage over Android.

The Android Smartphones are popular. The work well (for the most part), and are reliable (again for the most part). The open development community for apps has produced some great free applications, that you would have to pay for on iOS. There is a drawback to Android though, and it is something that by all rights should be more of a strength.

When you look into the world and history of Operating Systems, you see a bloody trail over security. Which OS is more secure, which one addresses security problems the fastest, etc. The Open Source community has always claimed that because more people can look at the code, patches can come out faster, and in the Desktop arena this definitely seems to be true. In the world of Smart Phones though, this “advantage” is lost.

The problem is not directly Android or Google, or the Open Source community. The problem is in Manufacturers, and even more so on the carriers. There is a process for patches and updates. Google writes an update, tests, sends to the manufacturer who tests, approves and then sends to the carrier. Android is so customizable, and on so many different manufacturer’s phones that this process has to happen for each model, each customized OS, and each carrier.

Now we are getting into a situation with this long protracted system of updates. Holes being found in the systems are there for months, possibly years before a patch gets pushed out. In this age of phone upgrades every 18 months, of more mobile applications for smart phones, more people banking and shopping off smart phones, and the upcoming Near Field Communications, updates for security need to happen a lot faster. The risk of more and more identity theft is growing, and the slowness of the pipeline is maddening.

Now add on that every manufacturer has been customizing the Android OS to try and differentiate itself from the others. How many more security issues can this raise. How many of the mods are creating security holes (we won’t go into other issues these mods cause)?

Yes, Apple has to go through the same sort of pipeline, but Apple has only piece of hardware (with different chips for GSM or CDMA) and just the carriers to deal with. Its a much shorter pipeline, and Apple can cut a carrier off from future iPhone releases if it wants to. Android needs to come up with something similar soon, especially with all the malware that has been coming out for the platform already.

Going from Blackberry Enterprise 4.1 to Blackberry Enterprise Express 5.0.2 looks like a daunting task, but really it is not that tough.

So there I was, ready to find the stash of nukes I hid somewhere. In anticipation of the migration from Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2010 coming up real soon, I had to upgrade our BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server) to the most recent version. the prior guy who had gone through 2 weeks of Blackberry training kept putting it off, coming up with excuses, and now is no longer with the company. I had done what anyone should do. I read up on the product and learned how to do the upgrade. Then the worst thing happened. Upon running Windows Update and Rebooting, the Blackberry Server came up but only enough to be pingable. I couldn’t remote into it, which meant so much for doing everything after hours.

First thing in the morning I went to our server room at the office where the BES is located, forced a hard reboot and the server came up normally. then came the task at hand. Few small things about going from BES 4.1 to BES Express 5.0.2. First you have to completely uninstall 4.1. Second, 5.0.2 is extremely slick. Once installed, and I got the users added into it, the majority of phones were found and automatically connected, as if they had always been on the 5.0.2 version of the BES. There were a couple of problem phones, but for the most part, all the planning on having to reactivate 50 Blackberrys went to the trash.

Sometimes, when things get done right, good surprises happen. Just never let it stop you from planning for the worst case scenario. Next step will be the final Exchange Migration.

The iPad and Tablet craze is upon us. The amount of these devices out in the business world is increasing at an extreme rate. I recently got an iPad from work, and here is what I think about it.

Being in the IT Consulting field, one has to keep up on the latest fads. The iPad is the biggest of these fads right now, and I was able to have my office get me one so I could learn it and support it. Besides My office, a lot of my clients are getting these nice little devices in.

The iPad itself is a neat idea. The form factor, touch screen, and clarity of the device makes it something people want. Then there is the “it” factor, which means everyone wants one. For uses such as games, note taking, and e-mail, it works fantastic. The speed of the processor is adequate, although it does hang a bit at times. Its multiple tab web browsing ability works nicely also. I can understand why people tend to be so up on it, but like everything there is a downside.

First thing I noticed was no built in apps for PDFs or Word Documents. The ability to at least open these items so one can read them is essential for any business class device. I am not saying edit these items, cause there are pay for apps you can get that will give you a full Office suite of tools. I mean just Acrobat Reader, or an Office File Viewer is really needed.

Also, the size. I have a Samung N120 Netbook, which I loaded with Ubuntu 11.04, and it is almost the same size and weight as the iPad. Yes, the iPad is quicker to access, but the Netbook gives me a full keyboard, and with Ubuntu on it, a full office suite for no more cost than the device itself. Then there is the price difference. Most Tablets are starting at about $500 (The first gen Galaxy Tab 3G is costing less with a Verizon data contract) and that is usually for a 16GB Wi-Fi only version. Netbooks start at $250 and have at least 160GB of storage. The iPad is even more restrictive as you do not have any USB ports nor SD card slots to expand storage on it.

The downsides from my perspective are why I don’t think the iPad is a proper business solution at this point. When you have something that gives you more versatility and storage such as a Netbook, at around half the cost, you have to wonder why the iPad is doing so well. In the near future tablets like the iPad will be more business savvy, but right now, its a neat, overpriced, toy.