You can ignore these. Read the ‘fine print’…

So here’s to another 10 years Ted! Congrats.

See Ted’s blog post on their party.

My last 2 posts talk about a 2nd key Microsoft suggested we use to stop the crashing.

Didn’t work for me. One of my clients had their Outlook profile recreated, and the problems came back, so I did what I wrote up in my Redux posts, and found I had to go back to my original fix.

Here

Again, the problem seems to be obscure (Microsoft doesn’t even know why it happens at this point), but here’s the ‘official’ answer for 2003:

For Outlook 2003 we just have to create the key under 11.0 instead of 12 .0 so the registry path would be

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Options\Mail

I called back a couple hours later and was told – about another hour, and I also inquired as to what the issue was. Cut fibre connection, just south of Kanata (near Richmond on Fallowfield Rd.).

Really not great Rogers. 1 point of failure – I understand something like 97 nodes are out in Ottawa. ONE fibre line? Ever heard of ‘redundancy’?

Talk about putting your eggs in one basket.

When’s the next price hike? Gotta keep that share price going up, right?

This may or may not apply where Telus is the ILEC (me being in Ottawa), so YMMV.

My last post wasn’t entirely accurate, sort of. My phone was actually considered a consumer account – even though it’s now a business phone. Subsequently the CSR who ‘put’ me on the the new tether plan actually didn’t (not happy about this at all). Instead, I was put on some other unadvertised plan which included 1GB of data for $60, with NO tethering.

I figured this out the day after my last blog post & recently got my latest bill, which included $73 for the tethering I had done the previous day. I was calling in to add VPN support, as my Telus contact told me it wasn’t included & would cost an additional $5/mo. So they’re basically charging to unblock port 1723 (why am I not surprised?).

When I called to add this ‘feature’ the rep informed me tethering wasn’t included on this plan & I had been misinformed.

So I called my contact & said WTF, and after some investigation found out it only applied to business accounts (‘Business’ Email & Web 45). Apparently, the plan was introduced Dec 1, but again, YMMV depending on your region.

I’ve since taken steps with a new Telus WBS (Wireless Business Solutions) rep to have my account converted to a Business account, so I’ll then get the plan I was expecting in the first place.

So I believe it to be true, and will confirm when I see it on my next bill. So far I’ve had verbal confirmation from a Telus data specialist & the WBS sales guy who’s making it happen for me (and had lunch with today). Don’t know yet if this includes port 1723, but for an extra $5, it’s still a good deal if tethering is there.

I just signed up for the Business Email & Web 45 plan – it’s not online yet, you gotta call in. My sources tell me it became available here in Ottawa (assuming all of Ontario at least) as of December 1st.

What does it include?

From what the CSR told me – unlimited everything except voice (web, email, texting) & $8/MB if you’re roaming in the US.

And guess what – this includes TETHERING!

Wow. Never thought this day would come. I hope I’m not jumping the gun, cuz I’m only going by what I was told on the phone – haven’t seen anything in black & white yet, and as of right now, the business plans web site @ Telus look like they’re being worked on.

And it all started with portability – I love competition.

All I can say at this point is that it just works better. Things are snappier. As Paul Thurrott said in a recent Windows Weekly podcast and blog post, 64-bit Vista is really a non-event as far as having issues goes.

My Dell D630 also now supports 4GB SO-DIMM’s, so I’ll be upgrading to 8GB when prices on those puppies comes down (somewhere ~$600 each – yikes!).

Lovin’ the “I’m a PC” campaign from Microsoft, BTW. Finally, Microsoft got it right.

Is it perfect – no, nothing is. As with most things there are some good and some not so good points. So here are my first impressions. . .

Good:

• It’s small with a bright screen. Easy to hold.
• Battery life is great.
• Bluetooth works perfectly.
• BPS data usage is WAY, WAY less than Exchange push. Where my office is, the EVDO signal is weak, and my Treo was constantly losing it’s data connection, and would be polling for my Exchange server all day. This was actually one of the biggest reasons for the switch (being in Canada where data rates are high).
• Easy to learn.

What I miss:

• Applications: I’m going to have to pay for some apps that were either free for WM (HandyShopper), or that I had purchased (AutoKeeper, ExpensePlus). Honestly haven’t found anything equivalent. I need (must) have a mileage tracking app that does it’s job in litres/100km. The only BB app I’ve found so far only does US gallons – HEY – RIM is Canadian! There’s a market up here!
• Touch Screen – I like having a stylus – especially the after-market ones that double as a pen. Also makes web browsing a lot more usable (as much as that can be usable on these things).
• A speaker phone – I actually miss this a lot.
• A file system I can transfer files to and from the device directly via USB.
• The little TS app for doing RDP.
• Games – come on folks, Brickbreaker is just lame – I want my Cubis back!
• My Treo keyboard – Palm got this right – RIM’s doing the best they can without infringing on any patents, but the Treo keyboard with the oval domed keys is the best I’ve used.

So I probably won’t stick with a BB forever. My goal is to get familiar with it as a user of the device so I can better relate to my clients, and even train them on their devices. The only other thing I need to do is get a new housing – long story, but my 8330 is PINK, thanks to an eBay purchase gone wrong. I figured I’d just get a new faceplate/housing, but the 8330 housing is slightly different than the 8310/20 housings, and they aren’t available yet. I guess I’ll just have to live with it for now as a sensitive new-age guy (SNAG).

I haven’t left you for good WM – I’ve got my eyes on the HTC Touch Pro – nice.

Well. First impression is ‘huh?’.

Digging into the connotations of the ad (pardon the communications theory), we can go 1 layer deep (the only layer that matters), and the ad simply becomes one meant to introduce the persona of Bill Gates (perhaps to show people that he is, in fact, a real person).

Is this meant to drive business to partners? Not at this stage. As the internal Microsoft communiqué from Bill Veghte states, “This first set of ads . . . [are] an icebreaker to reintroduce Microsoft to viewers in a consumer context.”

Even though it’s not directed squarely at business customers (where the real $ is), the fact remains that business people are also consumers. So as B.V. suggests, it’s an ‘icebreaker’ – akin to an initial conversation with business prospects where we talk about the weather and attempt to build rapport.

Is it well done? Obviously not as sharp as the MAC vs. PC ads, but then we’re comparing 2 professional actors with Seinfeld and Bill Gates, who’s never been known for being a riveting speaker, never mind an actor.

Just as with the Mojave Experiment, Microsoft is inching into this campaign and not trumpeting the virtues of Windows vs. MAC, but by trying to make it ‘people’ focused. With Mojave, they accomplished 1 thing – it got the conversation started. This ad takes it to the masses via TV.

I think it’s a reasonable approach, but I’ll be disappointed if they don’t start getting more aggressive, and soon. There’s been too much talk about businesses waiting for Windows 7, and the sooner Microsoft dispels the Vista myths, the better. Mojave did that, but wasn’t main stream. Time to get this train moving a little faster.