Commenting on a recent article from The Wall Street Journal about the iPhone’s lack of support for proprietary Microsoft Exchange email servers, Daring Fireball’s John Gruber writes that the WSJ’s suggestion that 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, “isn’t about making it easier for corporate users; this is about making it easier for corporate IT departments that have chained themselves to Exchange.”
Gruber writes, “The pressure isn’t going to be on Apple to license proprietary technology from RIM or Microsoft. The pressure is going to be on IT departments to support open standards like IMAP, which the iPhone supports.”
“Apple’s answer to the enterprise ‘problem’ isn’t to kowtow to the Microsoft Exchange hegemony; it’s to point in the opposite direction, and show how much better things can be with open industry protocols like IMAP and CalDAV and with simple web-based solutions,” Gruber writes.
Full article here.
Chipping away at the empire from all angles until the whole thing crumbles.
“I met a traveler from an antique land who said, ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert . . .'”
Who knew Shelley was forecasting the demise of MonkeySoft!
Exchange Sucks… however… you can use IMAP on it — though the IT dBags will be scared to turn it on since they think it opens some sort of security hole…
by security hole i mean job security.
IMAP, AJAX, PHP, JAVA, etc. is in fact the new world order. Open Source has been steadily improving in functionality, usability and security. Now anyone wanting to sell proprietary wares had better be providing real value add. The IT morons better get with the program, or take their pop drinking, sorry asses down to the unemployment lines real soon.
Rock on Steve!
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Apple has added a QTVR spin for the iPhone:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/360/
AppleInsider reports this morning that the first shipments of Apple (AAPL) iPhones arrived over the weekend, touching down quietly at a handful of U.S. drop locations.
*:QTVR
I’m running Safari 3 beta. QTVR doesn’t appear to work. Anyone else?
One more thing® …
The other day, I was running VMWare Fusion to use M$ Outlook at work. When all of a sudden the network came to a grinding halt. Apparently, the worm detectors failed, and a bunch of peecees got infected. So did the vm. While the IT morons ran around like chicken little, and bosses scrambled to save their precious data, I chilled. IT then went around explaining to each windblows user how to package their peecees for them to recover “what they can”. When the Chief IT bonehead got to me, in front of him I clicked twice and reverted to a previous good state in the vm, and kept on truckin’. Then to add insult to injury, I minimized the vm, returned to Mac OS X, and said loudly so others could hear: “It’s safer for me to access this filthy network with OS X”. He turned beat red.
Sweet.
Well this is interesting. Of course, this does assume that corporate people will actually want to use the iPhone. That is probably one of the biggest questions regarding the iPhone. With no hardware keyboard or Exchange support, it could be a tough sell. But, I could be wrong. We shall see.
Did I say: “beat”? Freudian, of course I meant “beet”.
Hee, hee.
But what about calendaring?!
Spark: I’ve been having unresponsive QT problems on Apple’s site with Safari 2 and 3.
P.S. Well, it’s weird. Sometimes QT works fine. I just watched the trailer for the new Disney/Pixar movie, WALL • E coming out next year.
Will there be education discounts for iPhone?
Death by a thousand cuts
MS Exchange is entrenched in good part because of its calendaring feature. Apple might just be better off ensuring that iPhone is compatible with Exchange. If it required a special download, with added fee to cover M$ licensing, it would be fine. Since Apple has already provided Windows compatibility for iPods, and M$ Outlook compatibility for iPhones, why not Exchange compatibility?
My IT department is a MS whore – let it suffer!
I’m really not sure what’s up w/ MDN and their sudden turn to say as many insulting things as possible about IT, but it’s starting to get really hostile in here. I’d imagine a large segment of the readership of a site like this are IN the IT business, no?
For what it’s worth, IMAP is generally not supported when there are superior alternatives available. It’s MUCH MUCH more vulnerable than MAPI and the BB and GOODLINK secure implementations.
IMAP also dosen’t support calendaring, and per the published specs, there’s no mention of iPhone supporting any OTHER remote/shared calendaring standard either (e.g., DAV)
IMAP also doesn’t support any kind of push as a standard, so using it means getting your email messages on a delayed schedule versus getting them WHEN THEY ARRIVE.
Although, lookie here, the iPhone will support an IMAP push technology for Yahoo! mail. What’s that about standards? They’re perfectly happy to ignore standards for the sake of their partnerships and for the sake of advancing some NON-standard that they think is superior.
This isn’t about open standards. It’s about Apple’s unwillingness or inability to support the leading secure collaboration techs, like GoodLink and Blackberry, NEITHER of which is tied to MS Exhange (both support Notes, and BB supports personal POP mailbox redirection).
And while you’re all following MDN’s torches and pitchforks after the evil, intolerant IT world, has anyone in the IT world actually made any actual claims about NOT supporting iPhone? Or are we just gonna lynch ’em to be sure? Just wondering.
I reflect on the story of the Jews and the city of Jericho. Joshua and his friends circled the city once a day for six days. Then on the seventh day, they circled the city seven times, blew trumpets, and made a lot of ruckus. The city walls fell.
I’m sure for six days, the citizens of Jericho stood on the walls and pointed and laughed at the Jews as they marched around the city to no avail.
On day 7, they stopped laughing.
PC Apologist,
From my experience, you seem to be the only reasonable IT guy to ever utter a word. I can’t tell you how many arguments I’ve gotten into with IT guys who refuse to acknowledge, even now, that Apple is the real deal. There’s no comparison between Apple and Microsoft – the latter is so far gone it defies description.
Apple has started a mutl-front assualt on Microsoft stronghold.
1. Break down the barrier on single OS computers-OSX, XP, VISTA, etc.
2. Use iPod to get QT into nearly every computer in iTunes-blocks use of muti-media 9,10, etc.
3. Build palmtop computer as a iPhone further expanding QT- now breaking by force e-mail designed by MS and limiting expansion in business and personal use.
4. Lanuch Safari for windows to get people use to using a mac browser and easing switch to mac- Plus forcing by market share to write more open standards. This blocks further expansion by MS.
5. Watch people complain further how MS is breaking on our computer, MP4 iPod, and iPhone.
People will begin to look at MS as being unable to work with the most popular devices and not helping the people which only makes people finally move against MS and IT personal as road blocks.
Marketing magic….. If it works as planned MS will lose control, then they must figure out how to play when the handgun is removed from the knife fight. I can see blood coming!!!!!
The horseman is coming BILL!!!
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The people who think the iPhone will not work because it is not like what already exists have the typical “horse-and-carriage mindset”. They are so ignorant of history that they have forgotten (conveniently) that Blackberry was grafted into the enterprise. It too was once something new.
Spark
“I’m running Safari 3 beta. QTVR doesn’t appear to work. Anyone else?”
Works fine for me in Safari 3. Let it finish loading first.
Nuclear Kid –
If people talked to/about you the way MDN & company are talking about IT these last couple of days, you’d probably be ornery, too.
To acknowledge Apple’s significant contributions doesn’t mean pretending that MS’s HUGE footprint doesn’t exist. And to recognize superior Apple products doesn’t mean ignoring MS’s one hands-down-best-in-class-no-matter-how-much-you-resent-Microsoft product, MS Exchange. What ever happened to “embrace and extinguish?” Apple hasn’t fielded an alternative to Exchange, as much as we all wish they would.
Right now, today, you’re either working with Exchange, or you’re marginal for the corporate segment. Apple’s touting exchange compatibility, but what they mean is “IMAP.” None of the things that make Exchange what it is (as opposed to, say, SENDMAIL) are supported by iPhone. No amount of hate-speech directed at IT is going to change that.
Yes, IT is likely to resist the iPhone in the enterprise. The reason is that it doesn’t support the things that the enterprise user NEEDS, no matter how cool it is. When they add support for the essentials (which I expect will not be far down the road), OR when Apple fields an acceptable alternative (which they’re quite good at), it’ll be a welcome addition to the environment.
How long before Apple releases a version of OS X Server with its own equivilant version of BlackBerry software for push email to support iPhone users? Before long every corporation will need to have OS X running side by side with Exchange – and eventually discovering no need to keep Exchange with its exorbitant licensing scheme!
Having worked in the IT industry for 15 years, I would have to say that MDN’s take on the IT tends to be right on the money. With the exception of few of us (PC Apologist included) who either have interest, some general knowledge, or have expertise and personal experience with Macs, the rest of the IT world is Windows-centric and fears the unknown of Mac and Apple. At every job, I was shocked how narrow-minded IT staff and management was. In every job, I would be the one to bring in the first Mac. And every time, (without fail), they would all be fascinated by the fact that Mac can read PC disks (!!!??? This is even today, in 2007!!), how it can connect to Windows networks, how there is Lotus Notes, MS Office, Citrix client, etc…
At my current job, we have about 8000 users. There are at least several dozen that got special approval to get Macs (Graphic design and desktop publishing teams). It is still illegal for them to connect those Macs on our networks. When I can (at least in my department), I obtain an IP address for them, set them up with Active Directory access (shared ‘drives’), Office, Notes, network printing, etc. The level of stubbornness and closed-mindedness is remarkable.
While Apple’s decision not to even bother with Exchange support would be lamented by some, it is a good one. Apple is selling this as a consumer device. Many CEOs will buy it. They will demand their IT make corporate e-mail work with their new iPhone. While there is no elegant push solution (BlackBery style), IMAP with scheduled polling will work sufficiently. After all, e-mail is not to be confused with INSTANT messaging (there is IM for that, of course).
The point of this article is, Apple’s complete disregard for IT will force some change in the general philosophy of narrow-minded (here is that word again) corporate IT infrastructures. Who knows, next thing you know, Macs will start getting IP addresses on corporate networks and all…