iPhone FUD from WSJ

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http://online.wsj.com/public/article...f_main_tff_top

I am not going to quote the whole article but it is full of FUD about businesses and the iPhone. Evidently IT Managers are pushing back against employees who want to use the iPhone on corporate networks becuase it is "incompatible" and "insecure". What a load of horse manure. I am an IT Manager and would much rather have iPhone on my network that I can control via IMAP than some bugggy, security hole ridden piece of crap that is Blackberry Enterprise Server. Yuck!


"Mr. Caraher, technology director of von Briesen & Roper, a Milwaukee law firm,... The main problem is that the iPhone can't send and receive email through the company's corporate BlackBerry email servers. He says he is unwilling to look into workarounds, because they might compromise the company's security. "It's another hole in the system people can exploit," he says."

This guy is an idiot. He has the biggest security hole already on his network in BES and obviously doesn't even know it. And he thinks adding a simple IMAP client is goign to make things worse? Obviously this guy does not understand security at all.

While iPhones can be used for email, for now, many businesses don't plan to sync them with internal email systems that use technology from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., Microsoft Corp. and Good Technology, owned by Motorola Inc.

Duh! It is IMAP you idiots not some proprietary, unsecure, MS or RIM crap.

According to a person close to Apple, the company is expected to fight for this market

Wrong again. Where has Apple ever mentioned anything about 'fighting' for the business market. never. Hell, they won't even sell the iPhone to businesses at first! How the hell is that 'fighting for this market'. More FUD.

Apple's plan to go after the business market represents a shift for the company, which has never been a strong player in corporate technology.

Say it with me children, "Apple is not an Enterprise company, Apple is not an Enterprise company." At least that is what the reps keep telling me when I ask about new Xserves or problems with the XRaid.

"The initial plans of many companies to snub the iPhone..."

Snub? Snub? How can they snub something they can't even buy!?

While many large companies have the ability to activate IMAP, they have chosen not to because they are worried about exposing their mail servers to the public.

Umm, if you are accepting email from the Interent your sever is already exposed to the public. Thats how email works, moron. IMAP is no more secure or insecure tha any other protocol. It is all in the implementation and IMAP is a hell of a lot easier to implement securely than just about anything else.

Troy Saxton-Getty, vice president of technical operations at St. Bernard Software Inc., a software company based in San Diego, says he currently wants to support only BlackBerrys. The system becomes less reliable when other devices are introduced, he says.

Huh? Less reliable? Is RIM stuff really that bad? Wow, and this guy is a VP and his network is so unreliable that attaching a USB memory stick or adding a new IMAP client is going to bring his network to its knees. Amazing, Screw up, move up, I guess, how else did this guy get to be VP?

One way Apple could make it easier for corporate users would be to license software from Microsoft or Research In Motion for their devices that would allow them to act like virtual BlackBerrys or Windows Mobile devices. That would alleviate many of the security and compatibility concerns voiced by corporate technology departments.

Are you freaking kidding me? I mean seriously. Who the hell are the people writing this article. I am just completely dumbfounded by this statement. Do you not understand what it is that makes an iPhone an iPhone? I'm speechless, how do you respond to such idiocy? License Windows mobile for iPhone? Why do you think Steve decided to build the iPhone in the first place! Because MS Mobile, Palm OS, Symbian, et al, suck dead donkey's!


As a corporate IT Manger I can't wait to get the iPhone. My boss can't wait to get the iPhone. We have resisted Blackberries etc due to security concerns but if iPhone supports IMAP over SSL we are all over it.

There is a nice (well completely wrong actually) side bar in the print version of this 'article' that details all the 'security issues' with the iPhone but I can't find it online so I won't tear that apart as well.

Expect the nay sayers to get louder as we get closer to launch day. This one just really takes the cake. (So far.)

- SR

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Maybe as an IT Manager, you should research the other products a bit more.

While iPhones can be used for email, for now, many businesses don't plan to sync them with internal email systems that use technology from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., Microsoft Corp. and Good Technology, owned by Motorola Inc.

Duh! It is IMAP you idiots not some proprietary, unsecure, MS or RIM crap.


You do know that all three of those technologies sync nearly your entire Outlook over the air? Tasks, Calendar, Contacts, Mail all over the air. IMAP is only email. Plus, now you have to open up SMTP relay, if you want secure outgoing email.

I do know that RIMs entire communication from device to BES is secure.

One way Apple could make it easier for corporate users would be to license software from Microsoft or Research In Motion for their devices that would allow them to act like virtual BlackBerrys or Windows Mobile devices. That would alleviate many of the security and compatibility concerns voiced by corporate technology departments.

Are you freaking kidding me? I mean seriously. Who the hell are the people writing this article. I am just completely dumbfounded by this statement. Do you not understand what it is that makes an iPhone an iPhone? I'm speechless, how do you respond to such idiocy? License Windows mobile for iPhone? Why do you think Steve decided to build the iPhone in the first place! Because MS Mobile, Palm OS, Symbian, et al, suck dead donkey's!

It's an idea! Palm does it with Blackberry Connect. Apple would have to build an entire backend server and network to achieve with Blackberrys can do. I'm not sure if you realize the advantage of knowing that your calendar on your device has been updated by your assistant when you are on the road.

And yes - I am an IT Director.

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Slashdot has a discusion thread abouthis article as well

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?si...17&threshold=5


and some intersting commentary on this blog as well

http://daringfireball.net/2007/06/exchange_exchange

- SR