July 30, 2007
Just a quick note…
I’ll be speaking at the Birmingham Software Developers Association monthly meeting on August 9, giving a talk titled…
Windows Mobile Workbench
I’m planning to discuss and demonstrate some of the resources available for coding, testing, deploying and even…shock of all shocks…training users of your Windows Mobile applications.
So if you’re a dev within striking distance of Birmingham, and have even a smidgen of interest in developing for the WiMo platform, hop on over to the BSDA website to get more details, including directions to their meeting location.
|| posted by chris under it pro, mobility, travel, virtualization || comments (0) ||
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July 30, 2007
There’s a patch out for the Treo 750.
No…it’s not that kind of patch.
It’s also NOT the Windows Mobile 6 update we’re all waiting for.
This patch is an audio driver update to resolve an error condition where the Treo can go completely and utterly silent.
I personally haven’t seen this issue, but I’m also not going crazy rocking the audio features on mine.
A few things to note on this one:
- Not a data wiping patch, but always a good idea to sync/backup your device data anyhow
- Hard resetting your 750 will require you to reload this patch
- Gotta load this patch from a memory card
BTW: Here’s a quibble. Why is the 750 called a Smartphone on Palm’s website? It’s technically a Pocket PC, when applying the simple test I outlined in my previous post.
|| posted by chris under freebie, funlab, hardware, mobility || comments (1) ||
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July 30, 2007
There’s a very simple way to know which kind of Windows Mobile device you have.
If it has a touchscreen, it’s a Pocket PC AKA Professional.
If it doesn’t have a touchsceen, it’s a SmartPhone AKA Standard.
Remember kiddos…
On Professional, Certificates = Easy-Peasy
On Standard, Certificates = !%$#&
|| posted by chris under hardware, mobility || comments (0) ||
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July 29, 2007
There’s a thread running in the Managed Services Yahoo group that really struck a nerve with me.
Who else has been finding it more than a little frustrating trying to partner with hardware companies? I’m talking box movers. PCs, servers, laptops, etc.
Because honestly…
Right now the choices come down to who sucks least. Here’s my take on a couple:
Starts with D, Rhymes with Hell? The terms of their Solution Provider program are laughably bad. No logo. Can’t even mention Dell, unless you are paying for an ad with a picture of their equipment. No returns.
To which my brain goes…
Tilt!
That’s not a partner/channel program I want to get involved with. Sounds more like indentured servitude.
HP? I’ve been looking for the way in, off and on, since starting my business. It’s kind of like a grail quest now. But I don’t have time to run around looking for some obscure clues or hidden link on their website.
And to be honest…
Even if I could find the way in, I’m not all that crazy about pimping someone else’s brand.
Building equity in a business is all about putting your name, your logo, and your branding in front of people. Not someone else’s.
Someone on one of the lists recently discussed his past stint at reselling, which he termed a “whore’s market.”
And I’ll tell ya…
I understand what he’s saying. I’ve done enough reselling to know…
It is a royal pain in the tookus. And based on what Mark’s talked about regarding his experience selling hardware…
I don’t need a big logistical and staging nightmare on my hands. Forget that!
People don’t hire me because I have vendor logos peppering my business card. In fact, I only have 1 logo other than the BWT company logo on my card, and that’s the Small Business Specialist logo.
In fact, my next batch of business cards will have the SBSC logo removed completely. That robin’s egg blue license plate is costing me too much consulting work in mid-market to enterprise customers. So it’s being nuked.
I don’t need partner programs that assume it’s the only vendor program I will ever be dealing with. All I’m looking for is something that allows me to build out the customer solutions I need, without some crazy revenue commitment or insane barrier to entry. I don’t need a bunch of other crud rolling around.
Simple for me, simple for them.
Is that too darned much to ask?
|| posted by chris under biz, hardware, opinion, rant, thumbs down || comments (1) ||
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July 28, 2007
So, the recent post on Response Point struck a chord with quite a few folks.
And even spurred a response on the RP team blog, no less.
Jeff Smith, Senior Product Manager for RP, pointed out the 100 RP system set-aside/giveaway they have for US SBSCs, which was announced at Symposium 2.0. Which is awesome, BTW.
But he also asked me via e-mail (I’m paraphrasing):
Other than physical product, what kind of resources would be helpful?
I told him the kind of stuff I like to use when evaluating a new solution. Things like…
- White papers (but ones that include different network/system design layout possibilities)
- Interface documentation
- Integration best practice documents/tips
- Technical spec sheets (since we’re talking hardware)
And prolly most of all…
- Price points
- Release dates
And since I was thinking big…
- Virtualized version of RP interface
Gee, somebody would almost think I’d done a few things concerning virtualization and emulation.
But I also told him there’s no way I could speak for everybody.
So here’s your chance…
What kind of stuff do you need, either as an SMB consultant or SMB end-user, to make that all-important Go/No-Go decision about Response Point?
Don’t be shy…the RP team’s listening.
Cuz your feedback is what they’d like to know.
|| posted by chris under biz, community, hardware, it pro, unified comm || comments (3) ||
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