BlackBerry Helpful Tips

I am a BlackBerry addict. There I said it.... My friends, family and colleagues should be proud. I carry it with me everywhere, and check it hundreds of times a day. I use it all the time, and even when I am NOT looking at it, the mere sight of someone checking their wireless device makes my hand reach for the holster. While some people might say that their BlackBerry, Windows Mobile device or iPhone is an extension to their Outlook/Exchange experience... I use my wireless device so frequently that I am starting to think that Outlook is in fact the extension. We live in a mobile world and wireless messaging is a terrific fix for any workaholic.

In my business life, I run a Hosted Exchange company that services the upper SMB and Mid-Markets. Our customers come from every industry and segment. The one common characteristic across our entire customer base is that email is their most mission critical application, it is very important to their business. Many of them would be crippled by a problem with their BlackBerry. As a bona fide BlackBerry junkie, I thought I should share with you a few “little known secrets” which can help you in a pinch.

Extending BlackBerry Battery Life:
I charge my device daily, not because it needs it but because I never know how much power I will need tomorrow. I like to start the day with a fully charged battery. I also tend to replace my battery every 12-18 months; this is more of a proactive decision to keep the device operating like new. If your battery is prematurely draining, I have a tip for you that might refresh your device. It worked for me. About a month ago my battery started to die by mid afternoon after beginning the day fully charged. Nothing in my daily routine had changed but the battery wasn't lasting any more. I tried the usual methods including reboot, take out the battery, let it run down and then fully charge it, all to no avail. I bought a new battery. Surprisingly, the new battery lasted a little bit longer but still did not compare to what I used to get before the problem started. Late one night, I called our 24x7x365 Helpdesk. I was both surprised and skeptical at what they suggested. I was even more surprised to find out that it worked. They suggested that I do the following:
1) Cycle your Content Protection (Security/General Settings - set it to enabled and then disabled), next cycle the device (either with Alt + Left Shift + Del or pull the battery).
2) The next step requires your BES Administrator - have your administrator send you a new policy (if you don't have a policy have them send you a blank one). This solved my BlackBerry battery problem and I hope it helps you as well.

Fixing an Erratic Track Wheel
If your track wheel is jumpy and erratic AND you REALLY WANT a new BlackBerry, Windows Device or iPhone .... stop reading now... I am about to take away your logical justification. What I am about to tell you will fix one of the most common, annoying and debilitating problems with the BlackBerry devices. If you have ever experienced it you will know what I mean. Whenever you move the track wheel the cursor jumps around randomly and it is impossible to work. The fix that I used is simple and easy. Head to your favorite electronics store and buy some Control Cleaner (Potentiometer cleaner, contact cleaner, TV tuner cleaner, etc.), it comes in a spray bottle and is around $10 at Radio Shack. Remove your battery and spray some into the track wheel, work the solution in by rotating your track wheel and pushing the button. Wait for the solution to dry before replacing your battery. When I did this, it worked the first time and my jumpy track wheel was fixed. You might have to do it a couple of times if it doesn't work. I have done this on a couple of units and have been successful both times, but I cannot take responsibility if it doesn't work for you or if something goes wrong. The way I see it, the device is garbage as soon as the track wheel starts to jump, so what have you got to lose?

I hope that you find these tips useful.

Manage Misbehaving Add-Ins in Outlook 2007

When new Outlook, or Office for that matter is released, they are generally made to be backward compatible with previous versions. Due to various reasons, some third party add-ins that functioned perfectly in Outlook 2003 might not work or even misbehave and cause problems loading Outlook 2007. Here is how you can disconnect a misbehaving Add-in:

1. If an add-in causes Outlook to crash when Outlook is loading, Outlook 2007 should prompt you to disable the add-in. If it doesn’t and Outlook crashes then use the command line outlook.exe /safe to start Outlook in safe mode.
2. Select the Tools menu, and then Trust Center.
3. Click on the Add-ins tab (on left vertical tab pane), and then click the Go button at the bottom of the page.
4. Find that add-in and uncheck the box next to the add-in to disable it and click OK.

When you get a proper patch that makes your third party add-in compatible with Outlook 2007 and you want to enable it, you can follow the above procedure and just check the listed add-ins that you want to enable. While you can access this from the Trust Center via the Add-ins tab, the easiest way in Outlook is to select the Help menu, then Disabled Items. Find the add-in on the list of disabled items, select it, and click the Enable button to enable the add-in again.

If Outlook believes the add-in is misbehaving it can automatically disable it. There are some add-ins that are disabled immediately when Outlook is installed. In all cases, enable an add-in again only if you are sure that it will not cause any problems in Outlook.

Mustansir

Resource Booking Attendant features in Exchange 2007

Anyone who has been around Exchange or been a corporate user in an Exchange environment should be somewhat familiar with the concept of Resources. Resources are still alive and well in the newest version of Exchange and are actually improved over previous versions. A Resource in Exchange 2007 is identified as either a room (like a Conference Room) or equipment (like a projector). Each of these types of Resources has special attributes that identify which type they are and how they are handled in terms or scheduling. Each type of resource is specially marked in the Address Book so they can be browsed separately and given custom permissions and properties.
Exchange 2007 introduces a new feature for managing Resources called the Resource Booking Attendant. This feature helps to manage the resources by limiting who can book resources, gives conflict information for meetings that are declined, schedules meetings during working hours only, enforces maximum meeting duration and sends an “out of policy” request to delegates for approval. The attendant can auto-accept requests if the invitee is available and also decline an invitation with details if the invitee is unavailable. Resource policies can be set by an administrator which can include scheduling permissions and available hours for the resource. The administrator can also create a resource calendar which will show what availability a resource has prior to a user booking it. Even if a resource is unavailable, a user can submit a request for manual approval. This will allow the administrator to decide whether or not to rebook a meeting to accommodate the new meeting request.
The Resource Booking Attendant is just one of many new features that help manage the Resources in Exchange 2007. It is part of the Calendar Concierge group of features that also include Calendar Attendant, Scheduling Assistant and Availability Web Service. All of these new calendaring features are designed to provide a better end-user experience regarding booking meetings and equipment in a corporate Exchange environment.

Jason