[CorpITGuy]

=Happy CorpITGuy

Hooray!
PC World's Techlog Live From Apple's iPhone Event: Microsoft Exchange Support

[jokell82]

This will be good for the few people at my company that use iPhones (myself included). I just wonder if we'll have to keep our VPNs up to use it, or if it will work outside of the VPN like the Blackberries do.

[vln2]

Long overdue. Still best thing that happened since last June.

[kman42]

This is great for Exchange users, but what about the rest of us? I can't believe Apple would offer ActiveSync without simultaneously releasing a .mac upgrade that would allow regular users to have over-the-air syncing of contacts, calendars, and tasks.

kman

[CorpITGuy]

Looks like it won't be coming till June? Ack!

[frdmfghtr]

Originally Posted by kman42 

This is great for Exchange users, but what about the rest of us? I can't believe Apple would offer ActiveSync without simultaneously releasing a .mac upgrade that would allow regular users to have over-the-air syncing of contacts, calendars, and tasks.

kman

Maybe Apple will...if .mac starts supporting OTA syncing like that, I just might get a .mac account.

[Drakino]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

I just wonder if we'll have to keep our VPNs up to use it, or if it will work outside of the VPN like the Blackberries do.

This will be up to your IT department. If they open the Exchange server up to access outside the firewall, then no VPN is required. ActiveSync is very much a solution that gives IT admins flexibility on how they want to set it up without having to forward all e-mails to a 3rd party company outside of the IT groups control (RIM) to get them onto a device.

[QSilver]

This is good news, indeed. Maybe now the stalling by the IT department will end in less than four months.

[surferboy]

I agree- what about mac users that use Leopard server in their offices or .mac users? I assume there will be push calendar OTA sync solution for us? Astounding if not.

[GuillaumeB]

Well what does that clearly mean the average Joe who just want to receive Gmail as push on the iPhone?

Gmail is not based on Exchange so?

My gf has the Push option on her Blackberry and she receives Gmail as push.. I dont get it. Isn't Gmail supposed to have the infrastructure - a server running Exchange - to provide Push?

[zanyterp]

for those who have experience with active sync....what type of information is needed to set up the access on other devices? Or does it depend on how my IT dept set up the access? Seems one of my colleagues recently replaced his blackbery with a new device and needed a code to enter on his phone to get the sync/email push working.

[zanyterp]

Another question before I forget to ask my colleagues at work who may already be using active sync: how does the contact integration work? Do the exchange contacts overwrite my mac address book contacts? Or do they reside together ? Or is it to early to know what will happen with iPhone? For those who use it currently or have in the past how does/did it work?

Thanks!

[Drakino]

Noone knows how the iPhone will deal with Contacts with ActiveSync, or rather people that do know can't say currently.

I do hope it is easy to separate home from work, as I'd like the corporate address book on my iPhone for e-mails and such, but would prefer my personal contacts to stay off the company servers.

[zanyterp]

thanks drakino. I was afraid the answer would be something like that but I had to try. In addition to keeping my personal contacts I'd also not have my work contacts stored on my home mac

I was also wondering if any know how it works in the winMobile or RIM world as far as contacts go.
Thanks!!

[CorpITGuy]

Generally, ActiveSync likes to combine all of your contacts. Apple would have a third-party mechanism for keeping them separate, if there were to be such a thing...

By its nature, ActiveSync will sync all of your devices and programs... Outlook on your work PC, Entourage running Exchange on your home Mac, your Windows Mobile phone, etc... I don't see why the iPhone would be any different.

[Bearsfan34]

Watching the SDK announcement, there appear to be checkboxes for using ActiveSync to sync Contacts if you want to. For me, I don't want work's contacts anywhere near my iPhone or MacBook...I've combined my personal Address Book with just the work contacts I want access to at all times. This will be VERY handy for me, while also great for those on staff here who don't even have a personal web account & use Exchange for EVERYTHING.

I'm the IT guy here, with 4 iPhone users (soon to be 5), and I can't WAIT for ActiveSync. Everything will be turned on/allowed for full access.

[QSilver]

I've been using Outlook for contacts & calendar on a Dell laptop with sync to an iPhone (iTunes media stuff comes from an iMac). It doesn't really bother me that the Exchange server "knows" anything about my personal contacts. I'm not really expecting anyone to be able to do anything with that info. And work contacts on the iMac? Would be no big deal.

The ultimate solution (not that I think iPhone SW 2.0 will do this) would be to have personal contacts sync between the iPhone & iMac, and work contacts sync between the iPhone & Dell. The iPhone has both sets of contacts, the individual machines have their own, and any changes made on the iPhone to one set or the other gets sync'ed back to the correct computer.

The way it works now (personal contacts in Outlook, all contacts up-to-date in Outlook, occasional copies back to iMac to keep AddressBook updated) is fine.

Just my $0.02.
QS

[CorpITGuy]

I combined all of my contacts a long time ago. Personal contacts often become business partners and business partners become friends. I have one life... not two. That's how it all makes sense in my mind, anyway...