Google defines 100% Web

Google today posted an excellent article about bringing customers to a world they call 100% web. Interlockit.com has helped numerous customers move their businesses to the cloud ranging from 1000's of users to sole proprietors. Defining the vision we share of 100% web will help future customers better spot the numerous cloud pretenders.

"This year cloud computing went mainstream, and the conversations moved beyond "this is a way to cut costs" to "this is a better way to run my business."  While many IT vendors have now adopted (or co-opted) the term “cloud computing” to describe a wide variety of technologies, most don’t deliver on the true promise of the cloud. Hosting single-tenant server products in a data center is not cloud computing. Nor is requiring customers to install thick client software. These solutions lock-in customers to multi-year release cycles, leave them with the significant costs of managing client software, and expose sensitive data on insecure devices."

You can read the complete Google Enterprise blog post here

How to create mailing labels from Google Apps

After much experimenting here is a way to do mailing labels from your Google Apps for Business/Premier Edition contacts:

1. If you're only using Google Apps from the web interface, install Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook (requires Business Edition), don't import anything, run it, and allow it to finish loading your contacts.  No need to wait for it to sync the first 1 Gb of your email.
2. Open Microsoft Word (2007 or 2010 in my case), choose Mailings, Start Mail Merge, Labels, and select your label format.  Mine was Avery US Letter 5160 Easy Peel Address Labels.
3. Click Select Recipients, Select from Microsoft Outlook Contacts.  (You can fine tune the filters and the list of contacts again later by clicking Edit Recipient List from the toolbar.)
4. Click Address Block, Match Fields.  Beside "Address 1" choose "Home Address" or "Business Address" appropriately.  Change all the remaining address fields such as "City" to "(not matched)".  Since addresses in Google Apps are free format they don't parse consistently into the appropriate fields so choosing Home Address in Address 1 and clearing the rest of the fields gets around this problem.
5. Click Update Labels to make all the labels the same format.  Click Preview Results.
6. Select All (Ctrl-A) and change fonts, sizes, and line spacing according to your preferences.
7. Finish and Merge to a new document for further editing or send it to the printer.  You're all done!

P.S. I tried exporting the contacts into Google csv or Outlook csv format,  and converting them to an Excel spreadsheet using Excel or Google Spreadsheets but this gave me too many issues with the formatting of the addresses.  Maybe your contact list is cleaner than mine.  If you know another way that works well please share the knowledge and post a comment.

Family members, your Christmas cards on their way...

How to synchronize your Google Apps Calendar and Contacts with your Blackberry smartphone

As posted here on the official Blackberry blog, phones with Device Software 5.0 or higher can do wireless calendar and contacts synchronization without installing Google Apps Sync for Blackberry on the phone.

We've tested this out and it works but there are a few caveats:

• It causes many duplicates whereas we have not seen this issue with the Google Sync tool.  You can use the Google Apps Contact Merge option to clean them up later.
• You can't tell the phone to "Sync Now" like you can from the Google Sync icon.   If you create a contact on the phone it is immediately added to Google Apps.  However, we added a contact to Google Apps and after 3 hours it still hadn't arrived on the phone.  It's definitely not a push contact sync like Google Apps with the iPhone or Android.
• You can't sync multiple calendars like the Google Sync tool can.
• You can't specify how many weeks forward and back to keep in sync.

So the only advantage is that you don't have to install the Google Sync tool on your phone.

We recommend continuing to use the Google Sync for Blackberry tool.

Certainly give us a call at interlockit.com for assistance.

Android wallops Blackberry

Back on March 21, 2010 I blogged about the cost savings of using Android phones.

The Globe and Mail reports that Android phones account for a dominant 44 percent of the consumer smartphone market in Q3 2010

We're big proponents of the cloud because we're saving corporations lots of money on their IT and putting them on a continuous innovation curve; but we'll miss the billable hours from configuring Blackberries. :)

With an Android phone you sign it into your Google Apps account and you're done.  Email, Calendar, and Contact sync starts working immediately.

Tip:  Only buy phones with version 2.1 or greater of the Android OS.  And make sure the manufacturer is going to upgrade it to version 2.2 which is faster and adds flash player support.

In Canada we recommend the Google Nexus One from Videotron, Samsung Galaxy S from Rogers, HTC Desire from Telus, Motorola Milestone from Telus, and the HTC Desire Z from Bell

Enjoy!

Announcing: Norada Solve 360 CRM and Project Management Software

A common customer question is "How do I share my contacts with others?"

After much research we have signed on as a partner for Norada Solve360 Customer Relationship Management (CRM).  We compared it to Zoho, BatchBook, insight.ly, and Salesforce.com (which we use internally but will be switching).  The Solve360 user interface is fantastic, simple to use, yet powerful.  Google Apps is not just an application but a platform into which many products can already integrate. 

When you combine Norada Solve360 with Google Apps, Mailchimp/Constant Contact, Freshbooks, plus Mobile contacts and calendar synchronization you have the ultimate integrated platform for superior customer relationship management, marketing, sales results, project management, time management, and invoicing.

The real time integration is suberb and is an excellent showcase of the advantages of cloud computing.

Solve360 pricing starts at $40 per month for 3 users which is a huge bargain compared to the market leader Salesforce.com at $195 per month for 3 users.

Norada Solve360 is seeing huge growth and we're proud to be a business partner.

Why the iPad and iPhone need cloud based applications

Some might decry that the lack of a physical keyboard and the limitation of only being able to install applications from the App Store mean that the iPad can't be used for "real" business work.

But if your company is already using cloud based solutions like Google Apps, or Salesforce.com the iPad is perfect for the business professional on the go who doesn't need a full laptop.

And soon Google will release the ability to edit Google documents on an iPad or Android device allowing you to edit a spreadsheet from your iPad simultaneously with a co-worker on an office PC.

P.S. We've seen many iPad and iPhone users incorrectly setup their phones using IMAP, POP3, or the Google Mail icon on their phone.  Yes, it's counterintuitive but a Google Apps account gives you Email, Calendar, and Contacts sync via Microsoft Exchange Active Sync technology on the iPad or iPhone.  The official Google iPad and iPhone setup instructions are available here.

Or give us a call at Interlockit.com and we'll walk you through it.

70% of Canadians have a wireless device

Integration with mobile devices is a critical component of any email and document management solution.

A study released by firm iSuppli Corp shows that 73.4% of the earth's population has a mobile phone.  In Canada, 70% of our population has a wireless device.

You can join a live webinar for businesses on 9/23: Google Apps for mobile.  Click here for more details and to register.

For additional reading:

• http://www.isuppli.com/Mobile-and-Wireless-Communications/News/Pages/Global-Wireless-Subscriptions-Reach-5-Billion.aspx 
• http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/09/21/73-4-percent-of-the-earth%E2%80%99s-population-has-a-mobile-phone/

Two-factor authentication for Google Apps released

This is powerhouse stuff that was normally only available to larger enterprises...  Organizations like the brokerage house BMO-Nesbitt Burns use expensive RSA SecurID two-factor authentication solutions for employee remote access.  Google is bringing the same two-factor authentication capability to our Google Apps customers through the use of mobile phones for no additional cost.

Ultimately any system open to the Internet is only as secure as your passwords.  The problem with passwords is that employees tend to over use them across many websites and systems.  Even if you force regular password changes many employees will rotate a single character leaving it easy for former employees to guess.

With two-factor authentication the employee must supply the password (something they know) and a one-time verification code from their mobile phone (something they have).

Only cloud computing can deliver rapid innovations like two-factor authentication at such a low cost and with no upgrades to install.

And by the way, 1 million businesses have adopted Google Apps in less than 12 months bringing the total to 3 million businesses and 30 million users.

At Interlockit.com we're always available to help with your Google Apps setup.

For more details visit: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/09/more-secure-cloud-for-millions-of.html

Google Apps User Rename

There are more friendly tools for renaming Google Apps users that you can purchase but GAM (Google Apps Manager) is free and can do user renaming plus much more:
http://code.google.com/p/google-apps-manager/

It's command line driven.  We use it for various batch operations like turning off webclips for all Google Apps user accounts.

With the ability to rename users there is no need to backup and restore user accounts just to change their email address.

Google Apps: Rapid innovation in the cloud versus hosted applications

Wow, Google is rolling out a massive number of improvements to Google Apps in a short amount of time!  I count 87 entries so far on the blog for 2010, which is an average of  ~10 per month.

This is a fundamental difference between true cloud computing and the hosting of applications.  Quickbooks for example (not Quickbooks online which is not availabe in Canada), is an excellent accounting application but having it hosted doesn't elimininate the work of installing patches, learning the significant changes from the prior version, and preparing for any major impact to your current business processes.  However, for certain businesses hosting Quickbooks in a data centre is a great option that eliminates the headaches of running your own servers, provides simple remote access, and ensures backups are stored offsite.  At Interlockit.com we've helped customers move a variety of applications into data centres but we always do a cost comparison to the alternatives before making the recommendations.  Sometimes the hardware or software requirements mean running it on the customer's own servers is the better option.

I like this analogy from one of the articles below:  "Buying the services of a traditional hosting provider is like renting a set of electricity generators, whereas a cloud computing provider provides an electrical power grid. The idea is that a cloud computing provider makes it extra easy to treat computing resources like a pay-as-you-go utility service."

NetSuite, SuccessFactors, Salesforce.com, Freshbooks, these are all true cloud computing applications that provide continuous innovation for all of their customers.  The learning curve is small because small changes are made on a continuous basis.

Remember the big learning curve when switching from Microsoft Office 2003 to 2007?

Subscribe to the Google Apps official blog to keep up with all the changes at http://googleappsupdates.blogspot.com/

Subscribe to the Microsoft Online Services/BPOS blog at http://blogs.technet.com/b/msonline/

For additional reading:

• Salesforce CEO: Private cloud is not real cloud 
• The differences between Hosting and Cloud Hosting 
• Cloud Computing versus traditional hosting

Google Apps IT Executive Summit in Toronto

Join Interlockit.com and the Google team in Toronto to discuss if Google Apps – the cloud-based suite of email, calendar, IM, and collaboration tools – is right for you. You'll hear from a customer why they switched, their experiences with deployment, and most importantly, the results. We'll also provide an overview of our Postini services which include spam and virus filtering. This will be a great opportunity to talk with other IT professionals and Google representatives on moving to a cloud-based model, and how to evaluate the benefits of Google Apps for your company. You'll learn: • Why companies have switched • How Google manages security and privacy • Best practices for deploying Google Apps • How to effectively implement change management

	When Thursday, August 26 8:30 am – 12:00 pm
	Where Delta Chelsea Hotel 33 Gerrard Street West Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1Z4
	RSVP Register today. Space is limited so please RSVP early and answer "Interlockit" in the field "Who invited you to this event?"

Do Canadians avoid Cloud Computing due to the Patriot Act?

Having sold U.S. based SaaS solutions for over 5 years we occasionally encounter prospective Canadian customers that use the U.S. Patriot Act as an excuse to avoid cloud computing.

Note that as far as the Federal Government knows the Patriot Act has never been used to access Canadian data.  Consider also that your customer's data is far more secure on Microsoft's or Google's servers than it ever will be on their own server in their own office.

My editorial opinion is that ensuring you have secure passwords is far more important than being concerned about the very remote possibility that the U.S. government might access your data.  1 in 3 Canadian jobs is related to international trade; to require the data to be located in Canada limits a business' opportunity to utilize the best solution at the best price and makes us less competitive in the global market. 

Would you be willing to pay 5 to 10 times more for the same service in Canada?  I did the costing analysis with 2 large SaaS companies and that was the reality of the numbers.

For further reading:

• Treasury Board of Canada: Frequently Asked Questions: USA PATRIOT ACT Comprehensive Assessment Results
• IT World Canada: Don’t use the Patriot Act as an excuse

June 2010: 88% of all email is spam

According to Symantec, in the month of June 2010 88% of all email was spam.

So in other words 88% of the traffic handled by your on-premise email server is unwanted.  Why pay for the wasted bandwidth or manage hardware and software for something that is easily managed externally for a very reasonable cost?

The two major players in hosted spam management and email archival are Symantec MessageLabs and Google Postini.

Our recommendation is Google Postini.  It protects over 18 million users, is straightforward to configure, can be automatically synchronized to your Microsoft Exchange/Active Directory (or LDAP), and costs less.

• Postini TCO calculator

At Interlockit.com we're happy to make the deployment process painless for you.

Interlockit.com and Microsoft BPOS

We've officially become a Microsoft Partner for Microsoft Online Services.  Microsoft BPOS gives your business the powerful productivity of Exchange Online, Sharepoint Online, Office Communications Online, and Office Live Meeting starting at $12.50 per user per month.  All services are hosted in the cloud by Microsoft and are easy to setup without the upfront costs of an on-premise deployment.

This is a natural addition to our cloud computing service offerings at Interlockit.com since we have deep experience in migrating data from legacy systems like Microsoft Exchange or other POP3/IMAP based systems.  We're also experienced in synchronizing user lists from Active Directory to cloud based services eliminating the need to manage users in two places.

Cloud Computing is a disruptive wave that provides cheaper, more convenient, and simpler business solutions that work!

Google Apps Directory Sync: Tips for Microsoft Active Directory

The Google Apps Directory Sync tool really should be installed at any mid to large corporation using a Microsoft Windows Server (or any LDAP compatible directory server).  It eliminates the need to add, change, or delete users in two different places.

LDAP Directory Sync is definitely complex with a steep learning curve.  You need a good understanding of how to create LDAP queries as there are only limited examples in the provided documentation.  However, once it's configured there should be little reason to change it.

It's our experience that in most installations you'll need one configuration file for synchronizing Users, Profiles, and Contacts and another configuration file for Groups.

If you're migrating in batches from an email server such as Exchange Server to Google Apps it's best to synchronize only users that are a member of a Security Group such as "Google Apps Users".  That way the user is created in Google Apps only after they've been made a member of the security group.

Here's a sample LDAP user query: 

(memberOf=CN=Google Apps Users,OU=Security Groups,DC=domainname,DC=local)

Replace OU=Security Groups,... with the appropriate location in your Active directory tree of the security group.

And note that Google Postini has the same ability to synchronize to Microsoft Active Directory or your LDAP directory server.

Or give us a call at Interlockit.com.  We're happy to configure it for you.

Google Apps and Docs misconceptions

The Microsoft camp frequently points out how Microsoft Office has all the features that businesses want right now and therefore wants you to conclude that you don't need Google Apps, but this misses the main point; Google Docs are complementary to Microsoft Office.

Google Docs has been providing rich real-time collaboration to millions of users for nearly four years.  You can edit and share documents from the browser from anywhere in the world.  A growing number of corporations are using it as their primary productivity software but there's no need to.

Google Docs makes Office 2003 and 2007 better because you can store any file in Google's cloud and share them in their original format with anyone on the internet.  No more guessing if you have the latest version.

Google Docs represents a real alternative for companies: a chance to get the collaboration features you need today and end the endless cycle of "upgrades".

Try it out free for 30 days.  The only thing you have to lose is a server or two.

http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/05/upgrade-here.html

More applications coming for Google Apps Customers

More applications for Google Apps will reduce customer training time on why their Google Apps accounts don't work on Picasa and other handy Google services.  Currently your Google Apps login id will only work on the core messaging and collaboration applications forcing customers to use a personal gmail account for the rest.

The overhaul is expected this fall.  More details can be found here: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/05/more-google-applications-coming-for.html

Last blog post... 4 weeks ago. What kept us busy in April

Lots on the go but having tons of fun.  Here's some of the things that kept us busy in April at Interlockit.com:

• Interlockit.com is mentioned in a PC World Article on Google Apps Sync for Outlook - note our mention of the improved return on investment with the web interface over sticking with outlook.  I am an accountant (CMA) after all...
• Hiring and mentoring of new technical staff members
• Joint presentations with Google Canada on Google Apps to a large group of franchisees in the transportation industry.  It was very successful... We'll share the exciting details in the future
• Lots of client deployments of Google Apps
• Received official Canadian reseller status for a brand of high quality internet routers.  Google Apps shines when we clean up the customer's internet connectivity and massively improve throughput and reliability.  We'll broadcast more details once we have the e-commerce site up and running
• and... my vote for best new feature among many released for Google Apps Premier Edition in April is Drag and drop file attachments

Another Update: Migrating from Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps now even easier

I've configured and fixed many Microsoft Exchange email implementations over the years but have never hung out my shingle as a Microsoft Exchange guru.  Having now put the Google apps exchange migration tool through its paces in the wild...

Here is my opinion that I'd enjoy hearing different perspectives on:

Migrating from Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 or 2007 to Google Apps Premier Edition is easier and less costly than upgrading to Exchange 2007 or 2010 respectively.

To help out those that currently use Microsoft Exchange:

• Feature debate: Exchange wins in some areas
• Prefer to manage your own in-house servers: Exchange wins
• Entire company loves Outlook: Exchange wins, or maybe not?
• Too much important historic email sitting in Outlook offline email archives: winner?

I'll pause there.  Please comment publicly on blog.  We do moderate all postings but only for politeness, not for opposing opinions.

Update: Migrating from Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps now even easier

We've put the new Microsoft Exchange migration tool through its paces and it's definitely delivering beyond expectations.

What is most impressive is the ability to do parallel processing.  It's now feasible for us to migrate hundreds of users in a single night.  Thousands of users could be done over a weekend with lots of time to spare.

This tool will definitely reduce the cost of customer migrations.

Android Phones and the Google Nexus One from HTC

I've now had sufficient time to put the Google One Nexus through its paces and I fully recommend it to all Google Apps customers.  It's a beautiful phone.  Businesses can save big on IT labour because setup is as simple as turning on the phone and signing the user into their Google Apps account.  Everything instantly integrates; email, calendar, and contacts.

Ask your IT department how many hours they spend on Blackberries, iPhones, and Windows Mobile devices and drop me an email (or comment if you don't mind making it public).  Since I'm a professional accountant I'm interested in calculating the ROI across a range of samples.

Here's what I now recommend to corporations running Google Apps for phones:

1. Google Nexus One running Android OS 2.1.  End user can completely configure it themselves.  It's unlocked so you can swap your Rogers Sim for an AT&T Sim and save big on roaming charges when you travel.  Only minus is that you need to install EasyTether or PdaNet for modem tethering with your notebook.  The LG Eve didn't require extra software for tethering.  I look forward to testing a phone like the Motorola Droid which has a hardware keyboard to see if the setup is just as simple as the Nexus One.
2. iPhone - You have to carefully read the documentation to get the full experience.  We usually help the IT department do the first few but the integration is excellent and second only to the Android.
3. Blackberry - still the preferred unit for speedy typing of emails on the go but it's really showing its age with too much complexity.  It still integrates wonderfully with Google Apps but the IT department definitely has to configure it for most users to get full email, calendar sync, and contacts sync.

Earth Shattering news: Migrating from Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps now even easier

For me as an insider this is teary-eyed stuff.  Customers should care because data migrations to Google Apps from Microsoft Exchange will be easier and more cost effective with this tool.

And our team and I will get to spend less nights waking up multiple times to check on desktop data migrations.  Getting ahead of myself... Let us put it through the paces on our own internal Exchange Server test beds first.  Overall Google has always impressed me with the quality of their product releases.  There are third party tools that do the same but most were poorly documented.

• Migrating from Microsoft Exchange now even easier

Welcome to Canada, Google Nexus One!

I've placed my Nexus One order and will report back on its suitability for business executives as compared to the LG Eve and Blackberry Bold.

Why the Nexus One?  Because I get to deal directly with Google and don't have to wait for Rogers to release software updates.  Our Rogers LG Eve is still on Android OS 1.5.  The Nexus One runs on Android OS 2.1.

The LG Eve running OS 1.5 can't invite multiple attendees to a meeting which is important for the on the road executive.  This was addressed in Android OS 2.0 plus with 2.1 you get Turn-by-turn GPS, Google Earth, etc.

Nexus One now compatible with the AT&T 3G network and shipping to Canada
Rogers Wireless: Welcome to Canada, Google Nexus One!

I'm also keeping an eye on the Samsung Galaxy Spica for $450.  If Rogers release OS 2.1 for the Spica it should be a good phone and less expensive than the Nexus One.

DocVerse joins Google

Google Docs is simply awesome because I can edit and share my documents from any computer instantly from anywhere.  However, it still has to coexist with the 600 million users of Microsoft Office.  It's a pain to remember to upload your Excel spreadsheet to Google Documents every time you change it.

This is the problem that DocVerse solves.  Google just acquired them.  I look forward to seeing how Google integrates DocVerse into their solution offering.

Backup Solutions

I did a business process review with a customer yesterday and we both realized that their years of documents and contracts were stored on a single computer with zero backups.

I woke up early today worrying about my client's data.  There are hundreds of different backup solutions to choose from.  I've tested many.  My favourite is Mozy.  Please install it or call us.  Then we can all sleep better knowing that the data is securely backed up in the cloud.

P.S. Use my referral link https://mozy.com/?ref=VX97E6 or referral code VX97E6 and we both receive an extra 512 Mb of backup space.

Throw away your USB drive

Now that Google Apps allows you to upload files of any type without having to convert them to Google Doc format you can stop carrying around your USB drive.  No more having to remember to copy that complex financial forecast in Microsoft Excel to your notebook hard drive or USB stick.  Just open a web browser at the board meeting, log-in and open the file from Google Docs.

Your Google Apps account starts with a minimum of 10 Gb's of storage.

Gmail and Google Apps Calendar management tips

I think children are sometimes the best test of whether a process is simple or not.  My 6 year old is like most and really doesn't care about daddy being late for something so I built him a schedule on Gmail and made sure it integrates with my schedule on Google apps.  He loves it!

Here's a few tips I think are worth sharing with business users from this exercise:

• Learn how "Quick Add" works.  It's a phenomenal time saver.  Enter "today 800 am Bus to School 20 min" or "wed 2 pm Budget meeting 2 hours".  Google Calendar will automatically create the appropriate appointment for you.  If you get it wrong use the Undo Link that appears as part of the yellow message telling you what you just added.
• Open your calendar, Settings, Labs (Gapps administrator has to allow labs for this to appear)
• Enable the components: "Who's my one-on-one with?", "Free or busy", and my personal and my 6 year old's favourite "Next meeting"

Sure there's a whole bunch of encouragement for my 6 year old that helps too, but now I can leave a screen open that's his schedule (coordinated with dad's and mom's) that he's enjoying keeping up with.

Yikes, I'm 2 minutes late for picking him up for the dentist.  Gotta run.

What if your notebook computer was stolen?

How long would it take for you to be up and running with full access to all Email, Calendaring, and Contacts?

If running Google Apps; as fast as you can get to another computer with a web browser; probably minutes.

If running Microsoft Outlook you have to restore from backups; or if on Exchange configure Outlook on another computer...  I'll spare you the details but probably a few hours at least.

Just had a customer have his notebook stolen while on a trip.  The data in his outlook PST file plus all his Excel spreadsheets is at risk because it wasn't encrypted nor password protected.  Identity and financial information theft is a real possibility.  Sure you can use a Windows password, but a tech guy like me can plug the physical drive into another computer and still access all the data unless it was specifically encrypted.

So buy a better notebook with an encrypted drive like this one from Seagate or upgrade to a more expensive version of windows?  Or simply pay $50/year and store your documents (even in MS Excel format) on highly secure Google Apps servers using Google Documents?

Google Apps allows all browser sessions to use https.  So no data will get transmitted nor stored on the local computer in a usable form for a hacker.

I may sound biased but I'll be recommending the Google Apps solution to my customers. :)

Huge cost savings for Canadians travelling to the U.S. with their cell phone

I've had a few clients run up thousand dollar phone bills while travelling into the U.S. For the past few years I've been swapping my Rogers SIM Card for an AT&T SIM card when I cross the border.

Here are the steps to avoid the outrageous $1.45/minute roaming charges from Rogers:

• Unlock your phone by purchasing an unlock code from http://www.gsmphonesource.com. This is required but only has to be done once. If you break your phone and get a replacement you'll have to unlock it again.
• Buy an AT&T prepaid plan from an AT&T corporate store. You have to go in person. Only the corporate stores will let you pick a number anywhere in the U.S. instead of just their local area. A prepaid plan only requires a credit card. The problem with prepaid is that you can only browse the web with the 100 Mb $19.99 data plan. It will not support BIS which is what allows your Blackberry to use it's built in software for email. Custom email apps like Gmail for the Blackberry will still work though!
• Alternative: Buy a monthly plan asking them to waive the $36 activation fee. Don't tell them you're only using it for a trip. Make sure there are zero penalties if you cancel it if you're "unhappy with the service during the first 30 days". Cancel it when you're done your trip. You must register the account to a U.S. address and it's faster if you have a US dollar credit card to pass the credit check. Pick all the options you want on the plan accordingly for minutes, voice mail, texting, and data. AT&T charges extra for tethering if you want to access the internet from your laptop via a Blackberry (or Android phone) with USB cable but this is cheaper than the $10/day most hotels charge for high speed internet in your room.
• With your Canadian SIM still installed call forward your cell phone to the new AT&T cell number. Note this incurs long distance against your Canadian cell long distance plan every time someone calls it. Alternatively, don't call forward and just check your voicemail frequently. Power down your phone. Remove the battery and slide out your SIM card. Replace it with the AT&T SIM card and test calling it from another phone.
• When you return swap out the SIM card, turn off call forwarding. If your email does not work visit http://rogers.blackberry.com or http://bell.blackberry.com and login. Enter your PIN/IMEI at the prompt. If on Google Apps you'll have to re-start or login to the blue Google Sync icon for your contacts and calendar to continue synchronizing.

End result? You pay as low as $29 for 200 minutes instead of $290 or $1.45/minute with Rogers. AT&T has unlimited plans starting at $69.99/month.

Follow-up on Draytek 2950G

We've been running the Draytek 2950G for a few weeks now and the client is very happy with the results.  It balances the load between the 2 WAN ports much better than the prior NetGear router did.

Here's a screen shot of the Data Flow Monitor during a large file transfer:

And this is the NAT table showing the internet sessions split between the 2 WAN ports.  Since WAN port 1 is 12 Mb/s download compared to 1.5 Mb/s for WAN port 2 it allocates more traffic to WAN port 1.

This router is a great way to combine 2 low cost internet data lines for load balancing and fail over/redundancy.  A Rogers Business Cable line for $99/month plus a Teksavvy high-speed DSL line for $69/month should provide lots of capacity and reliability for most medium sized offices.

Bookmark Sync for Chrome

This is so handy for folks like me that work on multiple computers.  Install or update to the latest Chrome browser and you can synchronize and merge your web page bookmarks across all your computers.

Details are here:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/extensions-bookmark-sync-and-more-for.html

Prior to this 4.0 release I found Chrome had some compatibility issues with certain web sites but it's definitely the no contest performance winner over all other web browsers.

Android Phone OS makes impressive gains

I've been using the LG Eve GW620 Android 3G phone from Rogers for a few weeks now.  I'm extremely impressed by the platform but it is ready for prime time use by heavy business users?

It's awesome if your company is already on Google Apps or Gmail as it synchronizes automatically with your email, calendar, and contacts plus uploads pictures directly into Picasa.  There are no extra applications to install or web accounts to set-up like you have to with a Blackberry.  You also don't need Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) to make everything insantaneous and eliminate the typical 10 to 15 minute delay for email.  Keeping everything in the Google family certainly makes everything simpler to set-up and simpler to use.

One limitation I've run into is the inability to create new calendar appointments that include other attendees.  Also, I can't run real time stock streaming software like Quotestream, however, I've opened a ticket with Quotemedia to see if there is a work around. (Update: Open this link directly to install the mobile Java version of Quotestream Wireless.  It works but cuts off the edges of the window if you hold the phone horizontally instead of vertically)

The Android phone platform is definitely growing rapidly.  I was surprised to see that Android has 27% market share compared to iPhone's 54% market share for mobile ads displayed.

First Impression: DrayTek Vigor2950G Dual Wan Router

After much research we recently installed the Draytek Vigor2950G Dual Wan Router for a client to replace their NetGear FVS336G.  I'm impressed by its functionality and sophistication for $475 USD.  The NetGear's load balancing was simplistic and couldn't properly utilize the combined bandwidth of the customer's T1 line and Rogers Cable modem.

All of the customer's software applications are cloud computing based so our goal is to provide redundancy, yet still utilize all the bandwidth available for better performance.  We also wanted stronger QoS for consistently clear phone calls over Voip.

We configured the Draytek to allocate up to 75% of the T1 line to Voip/SIP calls.  The 75% can still be used by other traffic but only when it isn't needed for Voip.

There are certainly more expensive firewalls/routers with the same functionality.  So far it's working great.  I'll post again after we've had more time to put it through it paces.

Surf the web via your Blackberry - no Internet stick required

Who likes to pay separately for their Internet stick and its data plan?

I've been using Blackberries to surf the web from my notebook (as tethered modems) for over 3 years yet still very few people know about it.  It's never been simple to configure.  There are no additional monthly costs outside of your existing Blackberry data plan.  Make sure you have a 500 Mb/month plan or greater or it's very pricey.

2 ways to make it work via a USB cable which also charges your battery:

• The old way is complex, details are here but it can be done over Bluetooth or a USB cable.
• The new way is to install Blackberry Desktop 5.0.1 or greater and simply click the IP Modem button but this works only with a USB cable

It works on Rogers Wireless and Bell Mobility.  Should work on Telus but I haven't tested it myself.

There's no need for buying software like Tether for Blackberry. I hope this helps a few people save some money.

Connect your computer to the internet via Rogers LG Eve GW620R Android phone

I was wondering if the tricks that work on my Blackberry for modem tethering to let your computer surf the web from anywhere would work on the LG Eve Android phone from Rogers... and it does!

I tested it on Windows 7 32-bit plus Windows XP on Rogers Wireless and the speeds over 3G are excellent.  These instructions should work for Vista too.

1. Install the GW620R LG Eve USB Drivers from the LG Support page
2. Go to Device Manager, Modems, LG Mobile USB modem, Properties, Advanced and add the extra initialization command +cgdcont=1,"IP","internet.com"
3. From Network and Sharing Center, Set up a new connection or network, Connect to the Internet, Create a new connection, Dial-up, Choose LG Mobile USB Modem
4. Dial-up phone number: *99#, User name: wapuser1, Password: wap
5. Optional Step: Dial up Connection Properties, turn off Prompt for name and password, turn of Prompt for phone number so that you don't have to click the extra prompt each time you connect.

Note that there are driver issues with Windows 7 64-bit so I doubt it will work but let me know if it does.

I initially tested PdaNet for Android which works fine but requires repeatedly turning on Settings, Applications, Development, USB Debugging, plus running the app on the phone and the computer.  It also costs $25 after the trial period.

This means there's no need to purchase an internet stick or run extra software to surf the web from your notebook from anywhere!

Google Apps

This past year I did a fair bit of business strategy consulting for small businesses. Having been through the pain and heavy lifting of building a business myself it's been a lot of fun to counsel others on it.

I quickly saw a theme in small businesses where their company had grown and so too had the complexity and problems with their most mission critical system - Email. One client had implemented Microsoft Exchange for calendaring but was still using ISP based POP3 email accounts and storing all email locally on every employee's computer. Most Exchange consultants are already cringing as they read this but the client didn't know any better and why would they when their focus is on manufacturing high quality products not on information technology (IT). They were sitting on a house of cards that was going to bite them soon if we didn't clean it up but they had no budget for it.

Google Apps has over 2 million businesses using it yet it's surprisingly not well understood by the street. For $50/user/year we gave the client instant disaster recovery, a single system to manage, zero configuration of desktops, no spam software to manage, instant receipt of emails on their blackberries, and accessibility to all email from anywhere on virtually any device. Of course there were some lessons learned along the way too... such as Stockhom Syndrome with users when we tried to take away Outlook.

I enjoyed reading Chris Lyman's blog on Stockholm Syndrome and How Google and the cloud changed my company

Introducing... My Interlock IT blog

I'm a bit strange in being a professional account (CMA) with an insatiable curiosity for technology and gadgets.  I'm lucky that my wife of 16 years, Lesley, a psychotherapist, puts up with my constant tinkering and spending on the latest gizmo's.  Take for example, the birth of our first child in 2003, when I pre-built a website to host all the baby pictures and then spent too many hours trying to find a web cam that could see in the dark.  I ended up buying a camera solution from one of the baby monitor manufacturers that required too many steps to use the picture-in-picture on our TV, and had horrible image quality and lots of static... but I wasn't willing to give up.  Lesley had to stand by the TV and constantly give me feedback until I finally figured out the one spot on the wall that produced a reasonable image but required rearranging all the furniture in the baby room.  What normal wife would put up with that?

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.  For me this blog is about contributing tips that will hopefully help others with their business and technology challenges as similar contributions from others have helped me time and time again.

I love figuring out things that stumped everybody else and most of my solutions are found by scouring the internet forums for ideas. Some would say I'm gifted in my ability to make things work but it comes naturally when you love doing it.

Certainly, I also hope that my blog will generate referrals which are so critical to the long term success of an organically grown consulting firm.