Apple OSX Lion & Microsoft Exchange: The End of Fanboy Days - Shelly Palmer

Back in April 2011 I wrote a scathing review of Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac I was specifically distressed by the highly touted addition of Microsoft Outlook because after careful testing I could reach only one conclusion it sucks My solution for the total suckage of Outlook for Mac 2011 was to run Microsoft Office for Windows 2010 on the Macs around my office using a program called Parallels that in simple terms allows you to run Windows and Windows compatible programs on your MacThis suboptimal solution became even more suboptimal as we added more people to Microsoft Exchange So some intrepid souls decided to try something radical they used Apple Mail iCal and Address Book to interface with Microsoft Exchange Low and behold praise be to Jobs it worked There were happy Mac Fanboys all over the office singing the praises of Cupertino and loving the fact that Apple was in the business of doing businessHallelujah Apple got its enterprise on Time for Snow Leopard sock puppets We were all thinking about making the switch But just as quickly as we had fallen in love with the Apple MailMicrosoft Exchange solution came the End of Fanboy Days OSX Lion 107xThere are many wonderful things I can say about Apples OSX Lion operating system but compatibility with Microsoft Exchange isn39t on the listAll of our new MacBook Air computers came with OSX Lion 107x preinstalled As I am fond of saying my MacBook Air is simply the finest computer I have ever owned except for one small issue iCal under Lion is incompatible with Microsoft Exchange A few minutes Googling the error message confirmed our worst fears amp8211 Apple knows about the bug and has done nothing to fix itThe issue is subtle but it is a deal breaker Under certain conditions you can39t send and receive meeting requests and get the title of the meeting to show up in iCal You get a blank meeting When it happens the first time you assume that you have done something wrong After a few more times you ask your system admin what39s up By the 10th time you lose your meeting info you type the issue into Google that39s when the enormity of the situation hits you You39ve just opted into a workflow that is completely useless for the doing of business with 92 of the business world Want a list of compatibly issues just search for your favorite flavor amp8211 it39s not prettyTo say that we did everything to solve this would be to understate the issue No eclectic technogeeky trick was left untried Bribes to friends at Apple calls out to hackers even a FB plea to Fanboys around the world all to no avail The ultimate solution is so sad I have named it the End of Fanboy Days We are now the proud owners of a bunch of 17quot HP ProBook 4730s running Microsoft Office Professional over Windows 7 Professional HP39s Value Added Reseller VAR channel rocks If you ever need a bunch of computers that are sturdy built for business free of bloatware and ready to use when you get them call your favorite HP VAR Talk about flawless integration with Microsoft Exchange everything works so perfectly it39s sinfulI still carry my MacBook Air For me it is still the ultimate computer in the galaxy I don39t mind having the crippled Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 running on this computer because I don39t do any administrative functions with it But if I didn39t have an executive admin and an administrative assistant who keep my calendar I would have to choose between crippled Outlook functions or nonfunctional appointment compatibility in iCal Two unacceptable optionsIf you don39t use your computer for business and don39t have to have a computer that is 100 Microsoft Exchange compatible nothing here really concerns you However if you are truly trying to use a Mac running OSX Lion 107x as a business tool to interoperate in Microsoft Exchange environment sadly it is truly the End of Fanboy DaysShelly Palmer is the host of NBC Universalamp8216s Live Digital with Shelly Palmer a weekly halfhour television show about living and working in a digital world He is Fox 5 New Yorkamp8216s Onair Tech Expert WNYWTV and the host of Fox Televisionamp8217s monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Livingamp160 He also hosts United Stations Radio Networkamp8216s MediaBytes a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology media and entertainment He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC an industryleading advisory and business development firm and the President of the National Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences NY the organization that bestows the coveted Emmyamp174 Awards Palmer is the author of Television Disrupted The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2nd Edition York House Press 2008 the seminal book about the technological economic and sociological forces that are changing everything and the upcoming Overcoming The Digital Divide How to use Social Media and Digital Tools to Reinvent Yourself and Your Career York House Press 2011 For more information visit shellypalmercomRead all Shelly39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Shelly Palmer ReportCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Apple OSX Lion & Microsoft Exchange: The End of Fanboy Days - Shelly Palmer

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