Josep has noticed that a new edition of BlackBerry for Dummies has been released today, to the jubilation of new BB-users worldwide. I’ve got a few Dummies books kicking around, and they’re all written with clarity, humour and expertise. BlackBerry for Dummies covers the whole slew of basic and intermediate functions, such as e-mail, attachments, the Address Book, MemoPad, Calendar and Calculator, as well as PIN-to-PIN messaging, web surfing and call functions. If you’re interested, you can pick up a copy cheap on Amazon.
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RIMarkable has pointed out a new minisite RIM has launched called Built for BlackBerry, which directs surfers to some grade-A software that’s either entirely free or has a 30-day trial. You can browse by software category, such as Games, Navigation, and News, but if you’re looking for a full-blown reference, you probably want the BlackBerry Solutions Guide. Built for BlackBerry seems geared towards hooking folks in who are new to BlackBerry software and are still figuring the full capabilities of the device. And hey, our buddies at Viigo are on there, too.
A reader just let us know about a Zenprise report they were going over, which included some crazy numbers about e-mail and stress in the workplace.
The survey found that 36% of respondents indicated that their job is ‘stressful’ or ‘extremely stressful’. However, when email is down, 74% of respondents indicated that their job is ‘stressful’ or ‘extremely stressful’. Only air traffic controllers and police officers were viewed as having jobs more stressful than that of an IT administator whose email system is down!
Wow. Respect to the IT admins out there who are dealing with stress levels comparable to that of cops. The report had a few pointers that might help keep that blood pressure down, like “be ready to assemble a cross-functional SWAT team to quickly resolve BlackBerry issues” and “consistently monitor & audit your Active Directory infrastructure”.
Thanks, Chris!
PDAStreet just let us in on a tip they found on how to ensure you’re still getting your e-mail alerts if your device is holstered. It’s just a quick setting switch, but if you’ve been having trouble, you wouldn’t know where to look anyhow.
Question and answer behind the jump, cowboy.
There’s a great, well-explained article on PCAuthority that lays out the broad strokes of BIS, BES, NOCs and push e-mail that’s useful to anyone trying to figure out what’s happening behind the scenes. Winder and Ockenden take the time to explain how to set up a BIS account to receive e-mails as fast as BES, as well as comparing Windows Mobile’s services against RIM’s. Not only is it a read that can give you some practical hints, but for those of us who aren’t entirely in the know, it feels good to have the backend technology demystified a bit.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen an update from Magmic’s BlackBerry guru, Jeff Bacon, but that’s because he’s been hard at work this summer with Bacon family barbeques in his backyard plunging the depths of RIM’s inner sanctum looking for answers to your most pressing questions. So sit back and take a load off, as our BlackBerry expert regales you with stories of glowing trackballs and the dreaded ‘red X’. Oooh, spooky.
Continue reading ‘Bacon on BlackBerry: Ringtones, trackballs and Outlook (oh my!)’
All BlackBerry users live and die with their email. But how can we know that the messages we’re sending project the proper image about us and are having their desired effect? Thankfully, the folks over at CIO have put together a great list of recommendations to make sure that you have a handle on your email. Here’s some of what they had to say about being concise on your BlackBerry:
People don’t want to write long messages on BlackBerrys — or read them. How can you deal with this fact of life? Booher’s first rule: “These messages are just as legal as anything else. If you give information that’s inaccurate or wrong, it’s just as likely to be used in court.”
Be particularly careful about identifying who you’re talking about and what question you are addressing in these brief missives, Booher suggests. “It’s extremely important to learn to be complete and clear while being concise. The skill of being able to summarize well is even more important on a BlackBerry.”
We’ve got CIO’s Top Ten list of things not to put in your email after to jump, but make sure you check out the full article as well – it’s a great read.
Continue reading ‘BlackBerry Etiquette: What not to put in an email’
After reading our post yesterday about a tethering to a Mac to a BlackBerry, Tom at Enterprise Mac has one more way of doing the job that he’s been using since May. He’s confirmed the process to work on a BlackBerry 8800 on the T-Mobile network, and we encourage any other Mac users in the house to give it a shot. It looks like it would take some work to get done, pasting scripts, and tweaking configuration, but the majority of testers claim successful tethering. Thanks to Fibble forum admin, Grant, for writing up the script!
Robb over at RIMmarkable has found a hefty reference for anyone looking for a few new tricks on your BlackBerry. The guide categorizes some 616 alliance members’ software solutions, for easy lookup and information. After a quick sign-up, you can download the 273-meg behemoth, but for the lighter readers there’s a web-based viewer too. This is a great reference for anyone looking to fill a particular task with their BlackBerry. We tend to keep an eye on new ISV additions, but now you get to see ‘em all in the same place. You can find both the download and web viewer at RIM’s site.
BlackBerrySync dug up a handy little web app by Cellsea which lets you upload audio files right from your desktop or through an existing URL, and cut it up for BlackBerry ringtoney goodness. Best of all? Free! There’s already over 20,000 ringtones uploaded by users, for your browsing pleasure. I gave the thing a shot and it hunky-dory. For quick and dirty ringtones, this is a great solution.
