Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM-T18.810.432.34%) said on Friday that it has taken a $485-million (U.S.) hit because of recent discounting designed to drive sales of its weak-selling PlayBook tablet, that BlackBerry shipments were declining and that the company now expects to miss its financial targets for the year.
I can’t get an iPHone unless I pay 400 more. Im in a plan with sprint, Im a hostage with sprint. Im a sprint slave for another 4 months, so unless I want to pay 400 on top of the 400 that I would have to pay for the new iPhone, I’m Locked into this fucking blackberry nightmare, this ever seizing, ever thinking piece of shit that i have to pull the battery out of. How is blackberry still in business? Because corporations are blackberry puppets, and they need the blackberry network. I don’t need it. I don’t know why I even have it. It was easier to type on. Fuckit, why am I complaining for a change?
Taken from episode 228 of his very popular podcast. If you don’t know him, go here. Either way, if I worked for Blackberry (or Sprint for that matter) I would try to keep people like this happy.
The BlackBerry may not be dead, but it’s dying. New research from Enterprise Management Associates says that 30 percent of BlackBerry users in companies with more than 10,000 users will move to a different mobile platform in the next year. That would move Research in Motion’s standing in large enterprise into that of a minority OS. Today, 52 percent of users in such organizations “actively” use a BlackBerry for work purposes, EMA reports; a 30 percent reduction would bring that total to 36 percent.
Consider this virtual breadcrumbs or a Show-n-Tell. Whatever floats your boat.
This evening, I had to upgrade a BES 4.1.7 server on Domino 6.5.2 to 5.0.2. Domino will be upgraded in a wee while, but getting all third party software up to a version that supports 8.5.2. Just so you know, if you pass 8.5.1 for your BES server, you need to go with BES 5.x for support.
Post upgrade, BES would not load and went into maintenance mode for 15 minute intervals. The error on screen was
Domino prior to R5 identified, or error occured while identifying version of Domino server. Check that the BlackBerry Enterprise Server is running on Domino R5 or greater, and that the Domino server is running properly
The problem was related to DNS naming, and server FQDN names (and DIIOP hostname field). Resolve these to the correct name, restart the OS totally and all started to work again. Additionally, check your $SavedAddresses field in your server document. You may get a shock on cached IP references for your server that are stored (we most certainly did in this case).
The single technote that gave me a hint is here.
And all in all, I can say my impression of it has not been positive. I love the build and feel of the device, but there are so many issues in heavy usage that I am seriously considering moving back to the trusty Blackberry Bold.
Another few weeks and I will make my final call.
Full “in anger” working with the torch since my switchover a few days ago. Preliminary opinion is quite mixed. The feel of the device, and the slider is great. I like the weight (although it is top heavy when you slide up the screen) and slide action is solid. The screen is fantastic, and integraiton with my mac, including syncing of playlists etc works just fine. As ever, the battery life is good and there is a mass of functionality in the OS. The keyboard on the device (physical) works a treat.
Now the bad. The lock button on the top of the torch is useless. The slightest tap and it is unlocked. I have made upteen calls, and fake responses to emails (and even one tweet) accidentally this week so far. It seems to be the only lock mechanism on the device, and it is a serious minus. The touchscreen is good, but not a patch on the iPhone. Silly things like getting rid of the onscreen keyboard seem to be impossible without opening the slider.
It’s too early to say if I love or loathe this device. Another few weeks before decision time.
Currently languishing/activating in my “favoured device” cradle at the home office. The BB Torch has landed as a replacement to my Bold. So far, all I can say is it is a big change to the last device, so I will need time to get used to it. Also, it feels bigger, and a bit slower (although it is still activating).
Let’s give it a week and see.
If you are an admin, and are going to Lotusphere, this is a session that may one day, save your life (or at least your employment). Gab and I have discussed this session with RIM for months and we have both put in a lot of work. Consider it a SNT session but sponsor driven.
At Lotusphere, Gab and I will setup clustered SQL servers and a High-availability installation of BES… live. We start with a single BES server running on SQL and will setup everything on screen, and talk you though it. In an 1hour 45mins. What could possibly go wrong?
Well. Everything really. So it should be fun for you to watch. We are using our besdemo.com addresses just like last year. (paul.mooney@besdemo.com and gab.davis@besdemo.com).
So come to Europe5 in the Dolphin at 8.45am on Tuesday. It will be fun.
Onto another note. When you meet Gab Davis at Lotusphere, just say thank you. There is nobody I know that puts in more work to session creation, or vetting other people’s sessions then Gab. Don’t guess the amount of hours input on Lotusphere work from November/January. You don’t want to know.
Blackberry have scored a Vulnerability issue with 9.3 out of 10 and advises updates/patches to counteract pdf distiller issue.
