Help Desk Consortium 9 January 2007 Minutes

PDA Testing Initiative - 1/9/2007

Sent out surveys last year re: PDA usage to campus

• Wiki created with results

HD created testing initiative focused on setting up PDAs and connecting to CITES services such as calendaring, email, applications; tested connectivity, features and functionality

Blackberry

• Account creation simple, access to wireless carrier (Nextel, Vorizon, etc.)
• Email:  Easy to set up multiple email accounts on Blackberry from Gmail, Yahoo, Express Email, etc. 
• Calendaring:  Difficult to get Oracle calendaring to sync with Outlook
• The WebStore has the Oracle Connector client as part of the complete download on their site, and it can be used to sync
• Applications tested so far:  IM, fee-based (MSN, Yahoo, etc.), SSH client, others
• Impression:  not as useful because free applications are limited, many are fee-based; however, extremely popular, more apps likely to grow over time
• Older versions of Blackberries not as user friendly; newer “features” such as a full qwerty keyboard are included on latest models

Treo 700p, Verizon

• Windows Mobile 5 not supported with Oracle calendar
• Averages 2 days of battery life as a data provider, but testing has not included phone plans
• Couldn’t find an SSH client to work on Palm OS
• Remote desktop access to a computer resulted in access with a lockup
• Small screen would inhibit usefulness as well
• Can be used as a wireless modem for a laptop; works decently well for those in need
• Email
• Versamail comes with installation CDs, works with Exchange and Express, though not at same time
• Email interface a bit clunky when simultaneously dealing with multiple email messages
• Snapper mail
• Works with Express
• In IMAP form only
• Doesn’t support Exchange
• Calendaring
• Works with Oracle calendaring
• Web interface for Oracle can be accessed
• VPN
• Antha VPN client does work with our VPN
• Mostly used for “in a pinch” use – laptop is still more convenient, but good for cutting down on extra gadgets needing to be carried
• Screen protectors vital to avoid scratches
• Optional (separate) hard carrying case helps protect against bumps, falls, etc.

Getting started

• CITES provides support for cellular phones, PDAs, BlackBerries and Cellular Modems
• Verizon, Nextel
• CCS provides support on the equipment itself, voice plans
• Several websites for support information
• Brian Levine, Tim Newcomb – departmental users who have provided collaboration and consultation on PDAs

Customer questions, comments

• Can we just get rid of Oracle calendar?  Calendaring seems to be one of the biggest needs, yet many of the products don’t sync with Oracle calendaring
• Web page of Oracle calendar seems to work acceptably, though awkwardly
• Is there anything we can do to ask for calendaring to be improved?  Yes, we can ask for improvements from the vendor, but improvements tend to lag behind.  A sync email server would help mitigate some of the challenges of working with the desktop sync client
• Could web sites, applications have different accessibility for PDAs?  In other words, can pages be created to fit into PDAs?
• Aren’t we a generation or two behind on Oracle calendar?
• Yes, but we are seeing other institutions reporting their upgrades to v.10 of Oracle calendaring didn’t bring users much in the way of new functionality
• Palm seems to sync well with Oracle, but does Blackberrry?
• Yes, but will need Outlook Connector for syncing
• Are you using the personal version of Blackberry?
• CITES has used its own Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) for the last couple of months
• Announcement to be made soon on continued support of a BES
• Mostly likely will support the BES survey, but individuals will have to purchase their own personal client
• Timeframe for support:  late February
• Next two weeks will get the decision on whether or not to move forward, most likely will
• Without BES, the BlackBerry is just an electronic notebook
• What kind of questions are individuals seeing?
• How do I make this work with my current setup?
• I work with X, but my faculty member has Y – how do I support this?
• Would like information about the cumbersome things noted today – faculty trying to use something that doesn’t work so well on PDAs
• People think the PDA is just a small laptop, but it’s not – Thunderbird, for instance, doesn’t work with PDAs
• Could use a chart with brands tested, those available thru University, with the features supported/provided
• HD is creating this chart already along with instructions on how things can be set up
• Would like to send people to a place for advice on starting up – what model, what features, etc?
• HD and CCS can provide some of this functionality today – CCS for plans, models, etc; HD for features, application integration
• HD will take redirected customer contacts from departments
• Customers are buying the devices before they know anything about them, departments stuck with faculty/staff-chosen products
• Most of the things talked about today are Phone/PDA combos – is this your focus?
• Our survey of customers and IT Pros asked “what are you seeing,” “what are you using?”  Results:  smart phones – one device to rule them all
• Also doing vendor trials, can possibly do trials of specific products at request of campus on a trial basis to produce recommendations to campus
• Any of this being tested on Mac OS?  Most instructions seem geared to Windows products.
• So far, no.  This is a noted concern, however, and we will make attempt to test on Mac OS as well.
• Any need for Linux support?  Not likely, since more users on Windows and Mac.
• Important need for feature list and how each device works with various OS platforms
• Users have combinations such as Exchange email on Palm, calendar on Oracle, laptop on Mac, etc
• Same device can work with services very differently per configuration
• We expect certain interaction from CITES – getting these devices on the network, for instance – need to build a user community to share information about PDAs, tablet PCs, etc
• Allow users to show each other why a particular solution works, harnessing the power of many users’ experience
• Can create a home in the CITES wiki for people to share information and resources on PDAs, tablets, etc.
• Can students get to the Wiki? 
• Open to IT Pros for support purposes, not to students or other users
• Trying to create campus service (i.e., public wiki) to provide additional access, need more departmental voices asking for this
• Important to think of PDAs in different light than as “small computers” – they’re not great for storing email, writing documents, etc.; they’re best used for convenient access to resources
• Can purchase additional features from some PDAs to expand beyond base features
• PDAs are good supplement/complement to traditional laptop or desktop
• How hard to backup?
• Keep track of user name…
• Otherwise depends on device – some apps can be synced/backed up to desktop, others don’t sync
• Can take a long time to back up data on PDA