Last weekend I reported that Apple was having major problems with the
iTunes servers worldwide during the release of the new iPhone 3G and
version 2.0 software. A few people reported to me that they have been
able to update without incidence and last night, I was able to update
my wifes phone without incident as well. With that said, it appears
that the coast is clear. Let the games begin!

If you haven’t already updated iTunes, you must do that first. Not sure
how to do that? Cradle your iPhone to your computer, when iTunes
launches it will say that there is a new version of iTunes available
for download. Go ahead and download and install it. That process should
take around 15 minutes to complete depending on the speed of your
computer and the speed of your internet link. If you are not prompted
to update iTunes, verify that you are using iTunes version 7.7.

After iTunes is updated to version 7.7, and your phone is connected to
your computer, you might also be alerted that there is a new version of
software available for your iPhone. Follow the instructions for
installing the software as prompted by iTunes. It’s very straight
forward and does all the work for you.

The iPhone update process takes much longer, so get a good book and a
cup of coffee. You will see that iTunes will download the software
(220MB), backup your phone, install the software, restart your phone,
restore your settings from your backup, and your done. There is a
little user interaction, but mostly you just watch.

When you are done, check out this tutorial on how to setup ActiveSync on the iPhone.
http://messaging.unt.edu/node/353

Enjoy

In addition to the release of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 software,
Apple has also released an iPhone configuration utility to integrate
the device into your Enterprise.

http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/enterprise/

Among the many setting the utility will set, this utility will allow you to configure an iPhone/iPod Touch for:

Passcode lock
Default Applications
AD Policies
Exchange Mail Settings
VPN Access
WiFi Access
Install Certificates

For detailed information on this utility, consult the Enterprise
Deployment Guide that is also available for download from the Apple
site.

If you test this out and has something interesting to share, I would be
happy topost your findings on this site. Just email me in Exchange.

Thank you
Jason Gutierrez

For those of you who use both Mac's and PC's, you have probably at some
time used RDC (Remote Desktop Connection) to access your PC. If you are
not familiar with RDC, it is very similar to ARD, Apple Remote Desktop,
or VNC, Virtual Network Connector. All of these applications open up a
window that allows you to work directly on your computer as if you were
sitting right in front of it. This is just like the screen sharing
feature new to Apple 10.5's iChat client.

For the past year, Microsoft has had version 2 of the RDC client in
beta. Earlier this year there was an interruption in the beta program
in which the beta version timed out and stopped working. Several weeks
later, an updated beta was released so people could continue to use
access their Windows machines.

The long wait is over! On July 1st, 2008, Microsoft released version
2.0 of the RDC client on their MacBU (Business Unit) site. To download
the RDC 2.0 installer go to the Mactopia downloads page at http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx

You may want to bookmark that page too for other future updates from Microsoft.

~jason

Just a note...

It's been a month ago since we opened a ticket with MS on the Entourage
certificate error, and they have been working diligently on it. It was
a rather odd DNS problem that didn't affect everyone who used Entourage
2008 SP1, but it did affect a significant number of people.

For UNT people, if you are using Entourage 2008 SP1 (earlier versions were not affected) on campus you would recieve a certificate error that said...

If you connected to the UNT Exchange system fom off campus then you didn't see this error.

After much testing and configuration checking and rechecking, the issue
was tracked down and last night (7/2/08) I recieved a patch from
Microsoft that worked! Hazzaa!!

I was also told that this patch made the deadline for the next
Office update to go out, so you should see it soon. Until then, if you
haven't upgraded to Entourage 2008 SP 1, hold off until that update
comes out. I'll post to this blog when I see it.

~jg

I love my iPhone. Everyone I talked to who has one loves their iPhone.
I've helped several administrators at UNT who purchased one set theirs
up to connect to Exchange (see out FAQ blog for details). Next week,
July 11, 2008, Apple will release iPhone 2.0 software update for iPhone
users as well as the new 3G iPhone. Could it get more exciting? For
those of you who have an iPhone, the 2.0 software update will mean that
you get push email to your phone from Exchange.

What is push? Well, right now when new mail hits you inbox, it will
sit there until your phone polls your mailbox for new mail. Basically,
it asks you mailbox if there is new mail, and if there is it will
download the header to your phone. When you want to read it, you tap
the message and it downloads the body of the message. Most people (that
I know at least) have set their phones to manually check for mail. If
you have your phone set to automatically check then you may experience
a shorter battery run. To fix this, on your phone go to
Settings>Mail>Auto-Check and set it to manual.

Push technology changes this paradigm. When a new mail message hits
your inbox, a notification is sent from the server to your phone
letting you know a message is waiting for you. This is the ActiveSync
experience. Blackberry users also have this experience where new mail
is sent directly to their phone.

For a complete evaluation of the new features of iPhone 2.0 release, check out the Apple website at:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/softwareupdate/

~jg

This blog entry is for those of you who are going to get the new 3G iPhone due out July 11th, 2008.

On Monday (June 30th, 2008), AT&T released their pricing plans for the new iPhone 3G. I did a little homework for those of you (an perhaps myself) who are considering getting the new phone. Here is what you need to know.

AT&T iPhone plan page
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/specials/iPhone.jsp?

My analysis:

We have seen a lot of new iPhone and Mac purchases this past year, and with the announcement of iPhone2.0 software, everyone is buzzing to get on board. ATT released its new rates and I noticed a few things that caused me to call ATT for clarification.

If you are a current customer (2G/edge) and want to upgrade, you will pay $399/$499 respectively. New customers and those who have ATT phones eligible for upgrade will be able to upgrade at the $199/$299 price point.

We know the plan for the 3G phone starts out at $30, BUT if you want ActiveSync to work, you will have to pay and extra $15 (total=$45) a month for the Business Plan (http://www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/iPhone3G/index.jsp)

Text messaging is now $5 for 200 messages, and $15 for 1000 for new plan purchases (3G phone users).
If you have a 2G phone (Edge), your plan stays the same, 200 messages for free.

In conclusion, 3G iPhone owners can expect to pay $39.99 for a base plan (450 min + rollover) + $45 for Enterprise data plan + $5/$15 for text, for a total of $90/$100 (not including applicable taxes) a month.

If you are a continuing 2G (edge) customer, you can expect to pay your current rate plan of $39.99 + $20 for data. After being on the phone for over an hour with ATT and Apple, a gentleman from Apple confirmed through unpublished training materials that ActiveSync for 2G phone owners will cost $0. The reason being that the ActiveSync push will happen over the slower EDGE network.

ActiveSync is part of Exchange and will not incurr additional setup and licensing fees, as do UNT Blackberry users incurr. As soon as I update my iPhone with the new software, I will publish a tutorial on how to setup ActiveSync on your phone.

Until then,

~jg

On Friday July 11th, Apple released their much awaited 3G iPhone and
the 2.0 version of the iPhone system software. Soon after the release
news started coming out that there were global problems with the iTunes
servers which caused delays in activation. That wasn't the only problem
reported though.

Those of us who didn't get the new iPhone 3G were satisfied to update
their 2G(edge) phones with the latest 2.0 software. My phone updated
ok, but there are quite a few people who reported problems during the
update that bricked their phones. The exact cause of the bricking
hasn't been determined, and at the time of this writing, a solution to
fixing a dead iPhone hasn't been made known, though I would imagine
that the solution is forth coming.

My recommendation, if you haven't upgraded your 2G phone yet,
then you may want to hold off for a little longer. It might take a week
for the smoke to clear, at which time I'm sure it would be safe to
update your phone. You might check out the update on Wednesday or
Thursday (July 16-17, 2008) before the phone goes on sale over seas.

Next week the iPhone3G is set to debut in foreign markets, and I'm sure Apple is trying to avoid a repeat of yesterday's events.

If you were one of the lucky ones to get your phone updated with out
issue, then check out my tutorial on setting up ActiveSync for your
iPhone on this site. http://messaging.unt.edu/node/353

Jason Gutierrez

I'm always coming across some little tidbit of information relating to
Apple products that are used here at UNT. Some bits are for managers,
and other for aficionados. In either case, I'll be posting things I
come across here which I hope you will find useful. If you have a
direct question that isn't covered, go ahead an email me at
jasong(at)unt.edu. Cheers! Jason Gutierrez Messaging Systems
Administrator.