Acronym Description
ESN
Electronic serial number
The ESN is a unique number that identifies a BlackBerry Smartphone for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Mobitex® networks. The ESN is printed on the label on the back of the BlackBerry Smartphone underneath the battery.
The first section of the ESN is the service provider distinction code assigned by the Governing Body for Wireless Communications. The second section of the ESN is the serial number of the BlackBerry Smartphone.
The ESN is comparable to the IMEI, which is used to identify BlackBerry smart phones for other networks.
MEID
Mobile Equipment Identifier
The MEID identifies a BlackBerry Smartphone for CDMA and Mobitex networks. It was created to replace ESNs, which are nearing exhaustion.
ICCID
Integrated Circuit Card Identifier
An ICCID is a unique number assigned to each SIM card. To see the ICCID on the BlackBerry Smartphone, go to Options > SIM Card.
IMEI
International Mobile Equipment Identity
The International Mobile Equipment Identity is a unique number that identifies a particular piece of wireless equipment (for example, a BlackBerry Smartphone).
It is 15 digits long. The IMEI is printed on the label on the back of a BlackBerry Smartphone for Global System for Mobile communications® (GSM®)/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks.
The IMEI is comparable to the ESN, which is used to identify BlackBerry smart phones for CDMA and Mobitex networks.
IMSI
International Mobile Subscriber Identity
An IMSI is a unique number that identifies a SIM card. It is 15 digits long and is made up of a 3-digit country code, a 3-digit service provider code, and a 9-digit unique ID.
PIN
Personal identification number
A PIN is a unique number that identifies a BlackBerry Smartphone. It is printed on the label on the back of the BlackBerry Smartphone underneath the battery.
SIM
Subscriber Identity Module
A SIM card is a smart card that identifies the subscriber, the service provider, and the mobile phone number. It is inserted into the BlackBerry Smartphone.
Not all wireless networks use SIM cards (for example, CDMA does not).

HRT is the Host Routing Tables. It is entries sent from the Carrier.
When you highlight the above entry and hit register now, it registers it with the wireless network. Updates the device details onto the rim relay and sends down carrier specific icons or applicants.

PIM this stands for Personal Information Management. A PIM handles your address book, calendar, tasks, and notes. A BlackBerry has PIM because it has these. Your desktop Microsoft Outlook is a PIM software program. Macintosh users have Entourage, as well as simpler PIM components such as iCal. PIM’s are frequently designed to synchronize to each other, such as between a BlackBerry and Microsoft Outlook.
Synchronization; is used to maintain the same version of files on multiple computing devices. For example, calendars and address books
On a Blackberry need to be synchronized with the PIM on a computer.
Short Message Service (SMS) is a communications protocol allowing the interchange of short text messages between mobile telephones. SMS text messaging is the most widely used data application on the planet.

Multimedia Messaging Service, MMS for short, is a cellular protocol standard for sending messages that include multimedia objects (images, audio, video, rich text).

Bluetooth is a wireless protocol utilizing short-range communications technology facilitating data transmission over short distances from fixed and/or mobile devices, creating wireless personal area networks. (PANs).

Wi-Fi Is the trade name for the popular wireless technology used in home networks, mobile networks, video games and other electronic devices that require some form of wireless networking capability
BIS stands for Blackberry Internet Service. Basically, this is a service from your provider that lets you receive email and access the internet on personal Blackberries
BES: Blackberry Enterprise server. Connects to messaging and collaboration software: Microsoft exchange, Lotus Domino, Novell GroupWise, on enterprise networks to synchronize email and PIM Information between desktop and mobile software. Coincidentally, “bes” also happens to be the Dutch word for “berry”
Also referred to as BES setup i.e.. Are you setup BIS or BES?

WAP: Wireless application protocol: used in network communications in a wireless environment. Its main use is to enable access to the Internet from a mobile phone or PDA.
A WAP browser provides all of the basic services of a computer based web browser but simplified to operate within the restrictions of a mobile phone, such as its smaller view screen. WAP sites are websites written in, or dynamically converted to,WML (Wireless Markup Language) and accessed via the WAP browser. Also known as mobile access websites.

Well BES 5.0, so far anyway, sucks. It sucks to get set up, the interface sucks, the it policy area looks like something that was designed as a rough draft on a white board and then just put into the product and so many other issues I really can’t list them all.

So far so good, really enjoying the 5.0 OS

Honestly,

Is the ability to move flagged messages, forward calendar appointments, really that ground breaking? accessing public folders ( which by the way, Microsoft is getting rid of anyway, or moving away from and towards sharepoint ) really going to make you move to a platform that we have proven isn’t very stable and well documented?

For me and my clients, so far that answer is a resounding no.

So lets talk about the Transporter

The transporter has two different modes

In live mode, you can move user accounts when the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server instances
in both the destination BlackBerry Domain and the source BlackBerry Domain are running. If
you choose this mode, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server instances in both BlackBerry Domain
instances must use different SRP IDs.
In this mode, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server instances in the destination BlackBerry Domain
must be running. This must occur so that the BlackBerry Enterprise Transporter can monitor
the organizer data synchronization and calendar synchronization processes and IT
administration commands (such as Resend IT Policy or Switch Service) that the destination
BlackBerry Enterprise Server instances send to the BlackBerry devices to complete the
migration process.

In bulk mode, you can move all user accounts on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. During the
migration process, you must turn off the BlackBerry Enterprise Server instances in both the
source BlackBerry Domain and the destination BlackBerry Domain. In the destination
BlackBerry Domain, however, you must turn on the BlackBerry Administration Service.

So BRK 4.1.6 has issues that RIM knows about and refuses to fix for whatever reason. Either they don’t have developers to do it, or they are pushing everyone towards BES 5.0. Whatever the reason is, it really is sad that they won’t even publish a KB article addressing the problem. So many companies have build entire infrastructure around this software, and to not acknowledge this problem is lame to say the least.

I’m currently writing a code to parse sms logs and pull them out for specific users. If you want to beta test this for me, let me know.

Keep in mind, I’m not a very good writer.

For month’s I knew I would be going to WES. And honestly, I figured it was only a wireless conference. It won’t be a big deal. I will learn about some BlackBerry stuff. Then I read about the people from the support forums going too. I got excited and scared, either this is going to go really well, or no one is going to talk and we are just going to chat away on our BlackBerry’s.

I arrived at WES at around 2:00pm (my flight was delayed, we sat on the tarmac for two hours while they fixed something with the plane, then got on a new plane, it was a nightmare). I finally arrived at WES. I walked into my hotel room, threw down my bags and headed on down to the conference area. I meet up with my company’s rim contacts at the lounge and chatted about BES for awhile. Then I get really anxious and want to meet some people from the community. So I email Knottyrope, and after some confusion (ok seriously, he said I’m wearing a blue shirt, that is really the best you can do, there has to be 6000 people at this conference, and you tell me to meet you in the conference lobby, which is like a football stadium, and tell me you are wearing a blue shirt?) Finally after 6 or 7 emails I find Knottyrope and we chat for awhile. We decide to see what kind of trouble we can get into, so we wander down the hall to see Jsanders and bumblepie walking towards us.

I knew Jsanders from face book, but I had no idea bumblepie looked like. Right away my first fear of it being awkward was alleviated, and we began to chat away from the beginning. So we chat for a bit, we meet up with some people from blackberryforums.com and some boxtone people. Then I have to go set up my company’s booth at the solutions showcase. So I get in and set up our laptops and get the demo scripts ready, the solution showcase opens. The only way I can describe it is like black Friday at a Wal-mart. There were so many people coming in to check out the solutions. I took some time to walk around and check out what other people were doing. I was most impressed with Google and Zenprise. Google made a HUGE announcement with their BES connector. So after that, we went upstairs and we all hung out in the lounge for awhile. After a few drinks, I headed back to my room. I went to bed at about midnight because I wanted to be up early the next day.

The next day, after sitting at the booth for 8 hours, I wandered up to the support forums party and met the crew. When I first saw Krypto, my first thought was, “ Krypto looks like my little sister”. I honestly thought Krypto was a guy up until WES. But in my defense, it’s really hard to read what someone’s sex is from the technical forums. Then I saw a table that had enough empty liquor bottles to build a fort. I assumed this is where Andy was sitting. I walk over and say hello to Michelle and Greg again. They introduce me to the gang. Tanzim was on his BlackBerry for the first 10 minutes I met him, which is understandable, I’m the same way. So we start drinking, chatting, and making jokes. So I see jmrmb80, and I ask the question that everyone wants to know. What the heck does your name stand for. He explains it to me, but makes me promise if I tell anyone he can kill me. ( no seriously though, its just his name initials or something, I think. I was pretty intoxicated at that point. )

So after we leave the party, I head back to my room to do some work. I reboot a server, and then head down to see will.i.am. He put on a really good show. I found Andy, but I was not able to find anyone else. It was a pretty big room. So after I head upstairs to the boxtone lounge, where we really got to know each other. It was a really good time to just chat, and talk about the future of the support community. Unfortunately, I don’t remember anything about this conversation because I had enough liquor to kill a small herd of elephants. I think I told Michelle I didn’t like her at first, but I don’t really remember.

So enter Wednesday, and I am at the booth all day and in and out of sessions. I meet up with Andy Bumblepie and Jsanders and we walk around and chat for awhile. We agree to meet up at the ATT party later. So I hit some more sessions. Its around 6 o’clock and me and my boss decide to catch a cab over to the ATT party. We got the ATT party and they had fantastic finger foods. We watch Kenny Logins rock out. He played all the hits. Well, by all the hits, he played that song from top gun, and foot loose. After ATT I said goodbye to everyone as I was leaving the next day. I ended up saying goodbye and hello, because we kept ending up at the same place. So we all end up at Planet Hollywood, which was my favorite experience from WES. We just sat around and talked. We celebrated bumblepie’s 21st birthday. We got her a lot of shots, and as far as I know, she slept for the next 20 hours after that. So around 1am, I headed back to my hotel room WES was pretty much over for me. It was an amazing experience. It was much more then some techies getting together to talk about nerd stuff. It was people who shared a passion for technology and helping people, finding other people who felt the same way. It was refreshing. To all those that couldn’t make it, you were well represented and spoken about.

Screw up

noun

1. a serious mistake; blunder; mess
2. a person who screws up

So I came into work today to hear that a SQL cluster had been down for 2 days, making it so no one in this fortune 500 company was getting BES email for 2 days. How does this happen. How can any company not have any measures in place to prevent this from happening? is it gross incompetence or is it just lazy. Are you going to tell me you don’t notice type of stuff.

In other news, I’ve been doing work with bes 5.0 lately, I’m not really impressed. Does not seem very user friendly. The framework engine is crap, and the user portal isn’t much better. Service pack 1 in September though.

WES was one the best events I’ve ever been to, I learned so much about so many different aspects about this business in a short amount of time. I learned about the new blackberry’s, BES 5.0, and whats next for the mobile industry. I met and talked to all of Tangoe’s competition. All I’ve really learned though is.

Tangoe is the future.