Guy Ratcliffe's Blog

Why I never want to use a BlackBerry again!

2011-09-09T19:27:00.001+01:00

To start with, this is an enterprise phone, which I have been using on and off. I have used BlackBerry for some years now in this company and in my previous. I have also done Server migrations and installs for customers and marvelled at BlackBerry a few years ago…it really was a fantastic piece of kit, until now.

So, what went wrong? Well, to me it comes to usability and the platform.

Firstly, my company has started to allow other Smart Phones and although the only thing that is currently allowed is ActiveSync connectivity (i.e. email, calendar etc.) I have moved over to allow me to discuss and show customers that we are using the technology (…important for me). All this was fine but there was one problem, currently the OCS server is internal only and I can’t connect and communicate with my colleges, this is an issue for me as this is really one of the standard ways that we communicate. So I decided to bring out my BlackBerry (Curve 8900) and get everything updated so that I could have all my work through that one device.

For starters, I had forgotten my PIN so I entered it wrong (on purpose) and got a device wipe. Then I wanted to install the BlackBerry Desktop software as raising a call means talking to the Helpdesk (…oh I HATE talking to the helpdesk, they drive me absolutely NUTS!!)

First problem: Now I have admin access on my Windows XP SP3 machine (please, when oh when will we be able to get this updated!...the life in a corporate!) so I downloaded the software, installed and rebooted. Started the BlackBerry Desktop software and ….nothing. Mmmm, what’s wrong now. Some searches later and I find out that there are issues with .NET frameworks, of course this is not BlackBerry’s problem! (strange that iTunes doesn’t have these issues….neither Android) So I removed .NET 3.5 SP1 and reinstalled, probably shouldn’t be as this is a corporate desktop…and I may get fired as I’m breaking company policy, but hey I’m actually trying to actually communicate INTERNALLY here (and the helpdesk would be sending me on a wild goose chase of supported / not-supported, not allowed, bad boy, don’t know who etc.) So, tried BlackBerry Desktop and it starts!

Second problem: Now, I plug in the BlackBerry and it decides to completely reboot every time I try and connect to my PC! What is going on? So, I decide to remove the PC from the equation, install the BlackBerry Desktop MAC software and connect up that way. This has NO problems at all.

Third problem: So, at this point the device has updates so I start the updates (on the MAC) and run into “not enough space on this device” issue….ahhhhh. So I go in and remove games etc. that are installed (they came standard, I can’t stand “bricked” etc.) This now allows me, after a few tries, to install the updated firmware on the device.

Fourth problem: Right, so now I tried the device on the PC and this time it worked (must have been a software update issue on the device) and I then activate the device for the BES to get my email. All seems to be working now…and then, ah, I don’t have the Enterprise Messenger software installed and all the other messenger services are barred by the IT policy. So I fire up the Desktop Software again (App world is also barred! Ahhh) and download the OCS software…and then realise that the IT Policy stops software installations!!! Now what (and this is about 3 hours later, during work hours!)

So I reset the device using the apploader to remove all the IT Policies, connect the device to my MAC (don’t trust the PC) and install the client. I then connect the device back to the PC, now with the installed software, and activate the BES connectivity. (Why does the PC take so long to connect? The MAC is almost instant….)

Fifth problem: So this doesn’t seem to be stopping anything, but I am getting an error “Missing Outlook 2003 program BJABLR32.dll triggers error message.” Which means that yet again. This I am going to ignore!

Sixth problem: This isn’t really a problem, but a usability issue really. This device takes a very long time to restart and with all the wipes that I have had to do this takes time, much too much time.

Well, is this all BlackBerry’s problems? Are they at fault for .NET issues? And IMAP issues? For IT policies by mindless IT departments (Sorry, don’t mean to offend)

No, but it’s about the landscape, the platform as a whole. This is fine for people who don’t want to communicate, don’t want to update their capabilities as and when things in our lives change and when technologies provide a more seamless capability.

This is cool....

2010-05-17T19:34:00.007+01:00

Art on building and shapes that make up a city scape....got this from Gizmodo very cool

ENVISION : Step into the sensory box from SUPERBIEN on Vimeo.

...and kinda reminds me of the ACDC Castle gig!

Cool interfaces

2009-08-25T15:19:00.005+01:00

I absolutly love this demo, done by Johnny Chung Lee. I remeber his Wii remote video's on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgKCrGvShZs) and I'm really glad that he seems to have found a place to work on his ideas. I just hope that some of them come through the Microsoft Corporate world and end up in use in our homes and offices!

Oh, and I love the Chess board!

Thinking Digital 2009 Talks: Johnny Chung Lee - Research into Interface Technology from Herb Kim on Vimeo.

Wall Gardens and the mobile world

2007-07-04T13:42:00.002+01:00

blog.pmarca.com: Analyzing the Facebook Platform, three weeks in

"The web, after all, vanquished proprietary online services like America Online, Prodigy, and CompuServe -- the so-called "walled gardens" -- in large part because the web is a platform and the walled gardens were not."

I find this a very interesting comment. How will this relate to what happens in the mobile space? Currently we face the same issues that we had way back when the CompuServe’s of this world were in existence. I remember this well as I used the service! I also remember that when the internet began to surface I began to just use the connectivity that was provided to me by CompuServe at the time to browse the internet and stopped looking at the internal "wall garden" content. I am actually repeating this with my phone now!

What does this mean to the likes of Vodafone, Orange et al? Having been involved in this part of the industry, many of these companies are trying to change the model from being a "bit pipe" to provide extra services and capability to the mobile device. Even by doing this they are still working within the "wall garden" and are playing into the hands of what has happened in the past. Are they doomed?

I actually believe that they are. I think that the mobile industry needs to take lessons from what has happened, that is the only way that they can actually provide the extra services and capabilities. These capabilities need to be open and useable, not closed and secluded. I will be very interested how the new devices (like the iPhone!) will change the behaviour of the general user and how this will shape the mobile industry of the future.