I've been a portable computer advocate for YEARS.  In fact, until my most recent job, every computer that I've used for work AND personal use over the last 12 years has been a laptop.  Personally, aside from a cost perspective and justification, I don't know why corporations continue to buy desktop computers.  Laptop/portable computers tend to make a workforce more productive, and more efficient.

When I got my MacBook Pro in 2006, the one big problem that I thought I saw with it was the lack of a docking station for it.  While its nice that its pretty much a desktop replacement in and of itself, using it in a desktop setting, with a desktop keyboard and mouse is problematic... you have to constantly plug and unplug peripherals from the computer's expansion ports.  Doing that over and over again can really stink, especially when you have audio and video involved as well. 

Ener the USBVGA Dock from StarTech... Is it the solution that I've been looking for?  Let's take a quick look and see...

The StarTech USBVGA Dock

HARDWARE
As you can see from my setup, below, my MBP sits in the center of my desk.  I've got a 4 port KVM that allows me to pop between my desktop, my old freelancing laptop, and my MBP. 

If I want to use my MBP at my desk, with my KVM-A (which includes audio, but minus the "M" for my 19" LCD and the A for audio because there's no easy way to connect the monitor) or the speakers without a ton of cables hanging off this thing), I have to attach my LAN connection, and a USB connection for my KVM.  If I want to use my desktop speakers, I have to disconnect them from the KVM-A and connect them directly to the MBP. 

I have to do this

EACH...

and...

EVERY...

time

I use my MBP at my desk, if I want to use my mouse, full size keyboard, monitor, and speakers.  Plugging in and out all of the cables each time I use and am finished using my MBP is a real pain in the butt.  Honestly, I put the full blame on Apple for this.  They purposefully designed ALL of their laptop computers without a convenient way of connecting and disconnecting any desktop peripherals to and from them. 

After a while, plugging and chugging all of the cables got really bothersome...AND as much as I wanted to use all my desktop peripherals, including a 320GB USB drive I use for Time Machine, I stopped doing it.  After a little while longer, I really began missing those peripherals, too.

Thankfully, the folks at StarTech solved my problems...at least on the Windows side of my MBP; but more on that in a bit...

The Dock behind my MBP (pay no attention to the HTC BlueAngel next to it. The Great Oz has spoken!)	The back end of the Dock.  It comes with 4 USB 2.0 ports. Audio ports are on the right side.

The dock is about 2/3 the width of my 15.4" MBP, and about as thick. The fact that this thing does everything that any other port replicator does, but pushes it all through USB is amazing; and I love the audio-video thing... totally awesome!

SOFTWARE
The Dock, in and of itself, isn't all that compelling.  There really isn't anything to the hardware, in and of itself, that will compel you to pick it up.  The goodies all come in the form of the drivers.  This is where the Dock really shines.  It supports the following features:

• Audio (including playback and record)
• Video (up to 1600x1200x32; up to 1280x1024x32 on my MBP) on both a primary and extended monitor
• LAN (10/100)
• 4 Port, USB 2.0 Hub

Pushing all of this via USB 2.0 is pretty cool. I have no idea what the divers actually have to do in order to get all of this to run through 1 USB 2.0 port, but its pretty cool.  There are however, a few limitations.  If you're running Vista Ultimate, like me, and you use Windows DreamScene, and you try to push video to an extended monitor, it won't work.
 

If you're running Vista Ultimate AND DreamScene, it won't work with the Video driver enabled.

Installing the drivers is pretty easy.  Just drop the CD in the drive, and you're pretty much set.  The PC's screen may flash a bit during the install, but don't let that worry you.  You'll be good to go after its done and you bounce the box. After that, its pretty much just a matter of attaching your peripheral's cables to the Dock and then plugging the Dock's USB dongle into your computer.

You can see the Dock driver's icons in the screen's below.

The Dock's app icon is the UVD icon in the upper left corner of my System Tray.

Right clicking on the app's icon in the System Tray brought up this menu

If 1024x768 isn't big enough for you, don't worry...

I was able to push 1280x1024 with 32k colors with the Dock.  Pretty cool!

Rotation - This function didn't work for me, using ANY of the VGA settings.

CONCLUSION

I'm hooked... I really like this dock, and for the price, it's not bad at all.  However, there are a couple of problems that you need to be aware of.  The dock functions as intended under Windows XP and Vista.  All of my connections stay in the Dock, and I just plug in one USB connector into the left side USB port on my MBP.  After that, I'm in business.

However, according to StarTech, there aren't any Mac drivers available for this thing yet.  You won't have any trouble getting it to function as a 4 port USB 2.0 hub under Leopard or Tiger, but don't think that the LAN, audio or video connections will work...they won't.  You're going to have to pull the LAN cable out of the Dock and plug it into your Mac directly.  Audio and video are non-functional until StarTech gets the Mac Drivers out.

I've had the dock for about 2 months now, and I must say I'm very happy with it. Windows is my default OS of choice, even on my MBP; however, I am very unhappy with the fact that StarTech still doesn't have a Mac driver of ANY capacity available for the USBVGA Dock.

At the very least, I would have expected them to release a LAN driver for use with the dock.  That way, I wouldn't have to move my network cable, and I could at least use the Dock with my keyboard, mouse and network connection. I could "limp" along with my MBP's speakers and screen.

Purchasing: The StarTech USBVGA Dock lists for $129.99; and can be purchased directly from their site.
What I liked: The whole sha-bang on the Windows side. It was pretty awesome.
What Needs Improvement: The Mac experience...not so much. The device works as a USB hub, but at $130 its a bit expensive for just that.

Fellow Gear Diary Team Member Doug Goldring has written a pretty cool article on alternative Windows Mobile interfaces, exclusively at My Today Screen. The article looks at two of the bigger contenders, Spb Mobile Shell and Vito Technologies Winterface.

Sayeth Brother Goldring - 

Ever since the advent of the iPhone, it seems that there has been a race among developers to, “fix” the traditional Windows Mobile interface.  Users who were once happy with the traditional menu and today screen driven Windows Mobile, suddenly are demanding something far different.  Something that is finger friendly and icon driven.  Something that uses the new rules given to us by the iPhone, without necessarily copying the iPhone interface, or sacrificing any features.  No small task, but two of the biggest Windows Mobile developers around stepped right up to the plate and prepared to face this challenge head on.  Spb has given us Mobile Shell 2, while Vito Technologies released Winterface.   Since this has become such an indispensable component of most users’ Windows Mobile experience, I thought it would be fun to take a look at them head-to-head and see how they fare.

If you've ever thought about looking at alternative WM user interfaces, you really need to give this a read.  Not only might you find something you really like, but you'll definitely see where I feel the future of WM is headed...beyond the Start Menu.

• Wire my house for CAT5/CAT6 (expensive and time consuming)
• Install a wireless access point (vs. a wireless router. I already have a wired router, and the wireless signal doesn't extend far enough into the house from where my cable modem lives)
• Forego the above and make everyone else wait until I'm done...

While the last option is VERY tempting, its not gonna fly at the house.  I've looked into the whole wireless access point thing, but they're at least twice as expensive as a wireless router, AND the signal penetration through the house is insufficient. I'd have to have a repeater or additional access point somewhere, and that's more expensive.

Is this your situation?  I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I'm certain that everyone is in a similar spot.  However, I think I've found the solution... Enter HomeNet from Corinex.

"Create a lightning fast home network in minutes” – At 200Mbps its fast, easy to install, and has a guaranteed stable connection.  HomeNet uses Corinex Powerline technology to create a home network that is 4 times the speed of wireless and installs in about 2 minutes. Create a network to connect PC’s, IP cameras, Media Players, DVD players, TiVO, Slingboxes, and more.  HomeNet packages contain 2 Corinex adapters together and come in both Powerline and Coaxial versions."

I've yet to get my review sample, but I've got my name in the hat.  As soon as I get this at the house and installed, I'll let everyone know how well it works, and if its something that I'd recommend to everyone to solve their home networking wiring needs.  Stay tuned..!

Over the last few weeks, I've been looking at the iPhone 3G as a business tool. It's been an interesting time. I've gotten quite a large number of comments on the iPhone OS and its advantages and challenges in the Enterprise and in a business environment. Last week's comments on Calendaring, also in the Enterprise and in a business environment, created quite the off line discussion among the Gear Diary Team. Some of those comments have required me to go back and readdress some issues in this week's commentary. You can see both articles here:

iPhone 3G as a Business Tool – Part 1: iPhone OS
iPhone 3G as a Business Tool – Part 2: Calendar, iCal and Exchange

If you remember, I said that I was going to tackle the following areas:

• Operating System
• Calendar
• Mail
• Tasks

This week, I am going to modify this slightly and talk about Contacts, as well as Mail and Tasks. We're going to look at how the iPhone handles these in an enterprise setting and see where the good, the bad, and the improvements need to come. After I'm done with the analysis, I'm going to have an interesting recommendation that hopefully, will bubble up to someone over at Apple. If they bite, who knows...

Also, I wanted to make a quick aside before we get into the guts of this week's commentary... I've received a number of different comments on how this series has not touched on any other sync solution, like g-Mail, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar, etc. I'm not covering these here in any real detail – and for a specific reason: Apple hasn't provided for them as a sync solution in the iPhone or in iTunes, AND they are not an enterprise level solution.

I've got a g-Mail account and Google Calendar doesn't sync with g-Mail on the iPhone 2.x OS without some interesting tweaks (and I honestly haven't explored them). I also don't know of any mid-size or larger organization that would run their business through any cloud based mail server/service, like g-Mail/Google Calendar, Hotmail/Windows Live or Yahoo Mail.

This series concentrates on the iPhone 3G's readiness, out of the box, with the tools provided BY APPLE (Exchange support is built in, and the only enterprise/business integration component they provide) to support implementation in a business setting and/or in the enterprise. Hacking or twisting services into the device in order to get it to do things that it wouldn't/won't do natively isn't supportable or sustainable by an IT department of ANY size, and is out of the scope of this series.

That said, let's take a look at everything and see how things add up this week...

Contacts
With the implementation of the iPhone 2.1 OS, many of the issues that I had with Contacts and the Address Book have been addressed. However, there are one or two things that, if addressed by Apple, could make this applet much more user friendly, whether in a business or consumer setting.

First thing's first... the slowness with Contacts still exists, even after the 2.1 OS upgrade...Which really sucks.  I don't know about you but I have a few contacts (see below).  I've amassed these over the last 15-20 years; and I want them all with me, all the time. 

Search Bar and ABC Bar
Is it just me, or do you have a REALLY hard time using both of these search tools? The Search Bar may or may not auto activate when you open Contacts. If it does, then depending on the number of contacts you have (I have over 1300 in my Address Book), it may take a while to get text to appear in the search bar when you tap a key on the soft keyboard. I'm not certain if this is my 1300 contacts, or if it's still the iPhone 3G's problems with slowness of the Contacts app. Either way, it's not acceptable and clearly a problem that Apple needs to address.

I find the ABC Bar on the far right side of the Contacts window completely useless. I never have any idea if I'm tapping the desired letter, and quite frequently don't, which leads me to tap the same place over and over again, trying to get the contact list to move to the desired spot in my Contact list.

You do know the definition of insanity, right..? Madness appears to have set in slightly, as I keep doing this over and over again. I'm vowing to stop using the feature and just remain frustrated with the overall Search Bar. With my fat fingers, I think it gives me the best chance at successful contact searching.

Category Filters
Again, don't get me started. Sometimes, even if search works like it's supposed to, I want to filter my Contact List so that only specific one's show. Since the iPhone (in any generation) doesn't support category filters of any kind, in any applet, I'm out of luck.

Here's the capper, though... If Apple does decide to support Category filters at some point, Search needs to work with AND without an implemented filter. That would mean creating an extra search screen; with some kind of button/magnifying glass button/icon at either the top or bottom of the screen (if you stick with the current development conventions...). I'm not certain how likely this is, but if you're going to dream...

Mail
Address Lookup and the GAL
As I mentioned last time, having access to the Global Address List, or GAL gets you a lot of things. Besides being able to view free/busy time in the calendar when trying to set up meetings, you can look up addresses for, and send e-mail to, people who are NOT in your Contacts list. You can also automatically add that person to your Contacts list from the GAL when you look them up.

Without access to the GAL, I've got no way to send a message to any particular person unless I type it in manually; and then depending on what information is kept in your GAL (addresses, phone numbers, etc.) you can't add a complete Contact record to your List.

This is a huge enterprise level hole that needs to be plugged somehow. Apple needs to step up to the plate and build this into their Exchange ActiveSync module so that business users have the access they need. While this isn’t available now, I would suspect that Apple is considering plans to address this need in a future update. How, when or (and let's be honest...) if it gets addressed, obviously is yet to be seen; but it needs to be addressed.

Hello..? Message Priority..!
I was looking for this feature the other day when trying to send an important message on my iPhone and couldn't find it. The iPhone just doesn't seem to be able to set a message priority at all. I mentioned this to an iPhone veteran, and they responded with, "you still use that feature??"

Shuh! Doesn't everyone?! With mobile devices so common now a days, I would think that getting a note from the boss from his Blackberry doesn't send everyone scrambling like it did 5-7 years ago. Having the red exclamation point next to an unread note tells me I have to move my butt.

In fact, message priority doesn't even show up with received messages. So not only can't I set them, I can't see a message's priority on my iPhone. Also, not good. With the way things are right now, if I don't at least scan the contents of every message, I may miss the huge task that I've been asked to do for a critical project and get burned later on...

Multiple e-Mail Accounts? Multiple Signatures
Your iPhone lets you use a signature with Mail, which I think is really cool. However, you get one signature and one signature for EVERY account you have on your iPhone. Again...problem. If I've got work mail synchronizing with Exchange, I'd like my work info in my signature every time I write and/or reply to a work e-mail.

If I've got personal mail synchronizing with any other mail or account, I'd like to have a personal signature show up for messages sent and replied to on those accounts. I don't necessarily want the entire family calling, or more importantly, e-mailing me all of their cute Internet forwards to the work account.

Signatures on desktop Outlook are accessed via the Options dialog. Click the Signatures button

Having this kind of functionality is especially important when communicating with customers or vendors you work with. Having this information for them is very important; and quite honestly, I don't want to have to type that stuff over and over again in each note.

 
Outlook 2007's Signatures dialog. I have signatures for more than one mail account...

Moving Messages & Creating Folders
This one is easy... I can't create a new mail folder on the device, file messages in it, and have that sync to the device. I can only file messages in existing folders. If I want a new folder, I have to create it on the desktop, or some other interface, sync my iPhone with the Exchange Server, and THEN I can file messages in that folder. What's up with that?? I know I can do this on a WM device... Perhaps it has to do with the ActiveSync license that Apple bought. Perhaps its just the implementation of AS that they have on the iPhone. Who knows..? Any way you slice it, while not HUGE (how many people do you know with a couple thousand messages in their inbox??), this is a hole that needs to get plugged.

Before I hit the next subsection here, most of the above Mail app items just seem to be unfinished bits and bytes that just got either ignored or left off at the last minute...or again, is it just me? It really seems that, from a business/enterprise perspective, Mail was rushed in order to have it ready for release on 11-Jul-08. I really don't think it would take much development work at all to address these Mail app issues and get them coded, tested and released.

Keyboard Tactile Feedback
I've been trying to thumb out messages on my iPhone for about 6 weeks now, and the biggest problem I've got is the spell check in my thumbs. It sucks.

The fact that the device only has 2 switches (volume on/off and Sleep/Wake) and 2 buttons (volume rocker and Home), makes tactical keyboard feedback a virtual impossibility; but this is still a huge hole.

Misspellings in your text messages can be funny. Sure, having the phrase, "sold to me" turn into, "sodomy" can make anyone laugh, but misspellings in your e-mail just make you look lazy, unintelligent and stupid. I'm a frequent Twitter-er and I've got mis-tweets all the time. I hate it when that happens, especially when my flubbed tweet is, like, the only one on my home page.

Anyway, like many who learned to touch type 20 plus years ago, or recently with your Blackberry, Treo or WM device, I touch type on my devices with my thumbs. No, I don't look like Reed Richards from the Rise of the Silver Surfer blazing away with rubber thumbs; but when I get going, it’s amazing how fast I can get something relatively unintelligent in a TXT bubble. Without any real way to know what keys I'm pressing, I'm just tpyung giveridh. (Damn...!)

Tasks? What tasks..?
This one gets its own section... The OS supports Contacts, Calendar Events and Invitations, and e-Mail; but that's it. The only other piece of PIM data left is Tasks. I need my to-do items, guys!

I'm a QA Director. I plan. I write it down. I do it, and then I check it off a list. Come on! How difficult is it to write a quick little iLife program that does Tasks/To-Do's? Porting it over to the iPhone after that shouldn't be TOO hard. The implementation in Outlook isn't very elaborate, and it’s a great model to follow. I shouldn't have to rely on 3^rd party developers to address this.

I've also got Tasks synched to my Exchange Server, and would like to bring those down to the device as well. Anything that does get developed needs to sync to Exchange anyway, if you're using Exchange, that is...

Conclusion
So, after all of this, what do you think? Is the iPhone ready for implementation in the Enterprise; or in your business situation, Exchange based or not? Will you be able to use it as a business tool as it stands today? Some will... some won't. It depends on what functionality you are willing to live with and live without. Some of us will try, and will find it painful. Others, like me, will find it just annoying, as certain, often used features on other platforms/devices are simply... missing.

Security issues aside, including some sort of anti-virus quarantine and scanning (perhaps done as information is synched or backed up and NOT on the device; BUT will need to be addressed before many IT managers will allow the devices to hook to the corporate information store), my biggest problems are the disconnects and problems with the iPhone's PIM implementation.

Some features aren't completely implemented or are immature. Some items are simply missing. Some of these can also be easily remedied IF Apple steps up to the plate and addresses them; or allows them to be addressed via third party developers, though I think the latter isn't very likely.

I would love to hear your thoughts on all of this. Does Apple's current iPhone implementation work for you, or is it missing something. I admit that my analysis is just on the basics, and largely concentrates on PIM needs; and from a power user perspective in an Exchange environment.

Recommendation
The problem is that the iPhone is a consumer directed device. None of the software really has a business focus. It addresses general consumer needs. Apple is trying to capture some of the Enterprise market with the iPhone 3G, but I think the implementation is sorely lacking, and full of holes, as I've noted above. What might be the best solution, given the way I'm almost certain Apple may or may not approach these problems is for Apple to create a "business" version of the iPhone.

Now, again, hear me out for a minute... (and the following figures are very rough...)

The current, original implementation remains consumer focused. While some features may cross over, the larger needs, especially those with PIM information, can be easily addressed with another code line and life cycle. It also gives them the ability to partner a bit more with their carrier partners, getting them to subsidize the development and implementation of the software.

Here in The States, there are 2 different data plans for the iPhone 3G – a consumer data plan for $30 and a business data plan, including the ability to sync with an Exchange Server for $45. I don't really know how many consumer users are synching their iPhone 3G with an Exchange Server, but my guess is that many are. AT&T doesn't want Exchange users on the $30 plan; they want them on the $45 plan. If there are 1M iPhone users in the US (a rounded out guesstimate, based on no fact what-so-ever), AND AT&T can capture those users, they stand to generate an additional $360M dollars over the next 24 months.

If AT&T were to give Apple just 1% of those previously untapped, previously uncaptured dollars ($3.6M), that would likely pay for all of the development for a "business" version of the iPhone. Registering the IMEI of the device with both Apple and AT&T, with simple modifications to iTunes to filter these out and track them in a business user database would insure that only authorized users got access to the business version of the iPhone software, with updates.

Apple retains control. They get what they want. AT&T gets additional revenue. They get what they want; and I (remember me, the business user needing all these features), I, get what I need. It’s a win-win-win all the way around. Yes, I'm the one really funding the development here (the end user); but depending on the implementation and how all of this is addressed, it just might be worth an extra $15/month to me; but again, that depends on what and how business features are delivered. It also depends on how AT&T decides to approach users synching to an Exchange Server on the consumer data plan.

AT&T is going to have to be diplomatic about it. Being brutish isn't going to do anything. There's no difference in the network/data plan. It all runs on the same 3G network. Business users don't really get anything for the extra money AT&T makes them pay. Here, they do. With this idea and implementation, they receive value for the extra $360 bucks AT&T would make them pay over the life of the 2 year contract. So again, everybody wins.

I would like to thank my friend, Melissa Guajardo, for all the help she gave me in getting this series ready for posting.