[Rooster99]

Not calling you out, Bla1ze (too much respect for you to do that), but you were the author of the Crackberry announcement below :

Outlook contact and calendar information via USB sync coming to BlackBerry Link | CrackBerry.com

Here's the quote on the USB sync :

"Our first major update for BlackBerry Link coming in the next few weeks will include the ability to import contact and calendar information directly from Outlook to your BlackBerry 10 smartphone. Full two-way sync will be added in the next update shortly thereafter."

They hit the target with the first update - good for them! But missed on the second, most important one. Any word on what they're saying now? The silence is deafening.

- R.

[saxxman]

Ahmen! The wait sucks!

Posted via CB10

[Bdot-1]

"Coming soon"

[joeldf]

I remember BlackBerry saying that 2-way sync will come "before the end of the year". So they still have 8 months to hope we'll forget about it.

Actually, I think we'll hear a whole new round of outcries once all the new Q10 users find out about the lack of 2-way syncing. At least those that skipped the Z10 and don't know about the missing feature in the new link. I only know about it from reading these threads to know what to expect once I upgrade to the Z10 in the next two months.

[Judson50]

Wait, I thought this was done OTA? For instance, you make a calendar event and it OTA to your outlook in your desktop computer or you delete an email and it is deleted on the server (without BES)

I thought it had the same capabilities as an ios/android now when it comes to sync???

[Rooster99]

Wait, I thought this was done OTA? For instance, you make a calendar event and it OTA to your outlook in your desktop computer or you delete an email and it is deleted on the server (without BES)

I thought it had the same capabilities as an ios/android now when it comes to sync???

It does do it OTA. There are those of us who need/want it via USB,, which is a capability BB7/Desktop Manager had.

- R.

[HotFix]

It does do it OTA. There are those of us who need/want it via USB,, which is a capability BB7/Desktop Manager had.

- R.

I'm curious, why do you want to do it over USB versus OTA? I'm not saying you shouldn't want to, just that I am not envisioning a scenario where that would be the preferred/necessary option.

[Rooster99]

I'm curious, why do you want to do it over USB versus OTA? I'm not saying you shouldn't want to, just that I am not envisioning a scenario where that would be the preferred/necessary option.

I've been over this many times, as have others, so rather than re-type everything, I'd suggest you Search for USB. Here's an example of what you'll find - lots of people saying "Dinosaur" and others replying "My need!" : http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...utlook-768367/

- R.

[HotFix]

I've been over this many times, as have others, so rather than re-type everything, I'd suggest you Search for USB. Here's an example of what you'll find - lots of people saying "Dinosaur" and others replying "My need!" : http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...utlook-768367/

- R.

My first thought when I see someone complain or ask about something isn't "Before I try to offer any assistance I will stop and go search the forums to see if this has been discussed before on the off chance the poster has already explained it elsewhere". My apologies if you and others have posted about this before, I was just trying to be helpful.

I stopped about 3 pages in to that link because it was people complaining BlackBerry should add support for it with no clear examples as to what the issue is/was. If the issue is not being able to sync your contacts and calendar wirelessly, I guess I don't understand why you wouldn't want to use a free 3rd party hosted solution. Using a 3rd party solution allows you to enable access to that data from anywhere in the world not just your handheld and your local desktop. That's just me though and if that is your issue then I assume you have your reasons.

Sorry for annoying you.

[Max Findlay]

For contractual, legal and privacy reasons, I (and loads of people like me) cannot put PIM information in the cloud or transfer it OTA. Certainly, I would lose a substantial amount of my work (and risk legal action) if I was discovered to have transferred PIM information OTA/ via the cloud -- at least outside a hermetically sealed wireless environment. In any case, lots of us have serious doubts about the security of the cloud and - perhaps more importantly - about the integrity of cloud storage operators in various parts of the world. Organisations running servers in the US or the Far East / Eastern Asia, for example, have a poor track record in maintaining privacy in the face of national regulatory requests for access to individuals' information. I only want to share personal information with people I choose to share information with, not with all and sundry. USB sync gives me that. OTA/the cloud doesn't.

[Rooster99]

My first thought when I see someone complain or ask about something isn't "Before I try to offer any assistance I will stop and go search the forums to see if this has been discussed before on the off chance the poster has already explained it elsewhere". My apologies if you and others have posted about this before, I was just trying to be helpful.

I stopped about 3 pages in to that link because it was people complaining BlackBerry should add support for it with no clear examples as to what the issue is/was. If the issue is not being able to sync your contacts and calendar wirelessly, I guess I don't understand why you wouldn't want to use a free 3rd party hosted solution. Using a 3rd party solution allows you to enable access to that data from anywhere in the world not just your handheld and your local desktop. That's just me though and if that is your issue then I assume you have your reasons.

Sorry for annoying you.

The issue isn't being able to sync wirelessly. It's not being able to sync using a USB cable (hence the title of this thread). As for the link, yes there is a fair bit to wade through but many posts are quite clear in their reasons for needing or wanting a USB vs OTA sync. There are multiple reasons.

In terms of my initial response seeming dismissive, I can see that and apologize for it. Your question could have come from 2 directions - curiosity and wanting to help, or laziness and a lack of willingness to entertain a set of requirements different than your own. I must confess my response was caused by having had to respond to large numbers of posts in other threads that have been totally dismissive of any needs other than their own. That doesn't seem to be the case here.

Hope this is cleared up.

- R.

[montyl]

With all of my BB devices, I have been able to do a 2-way sync between my device, and MS Outlook running on either my desktop or laptop, which allows me to keep everything up to date, that is until PB/BB10. Now I know a lot of people will say just use Google/Outlook.com, well as Max said that is not the perfect solution nor should I have to give up my local off-line sync capabilities. The "cloud" is not perfect, and I have issues with being forced to use something like that (look at the Elvis impersonator arrested for Ricin letters).
Soooo, back to the original question: Where is my off-line direct connect sync capability????

[HotFix]

The issue isn't being able to sync wirelessly. It's not being able to sync using a USB cable (hence the title of this thread). As for the link, yes there is a fair bit to wade through but many posts are quite clear in their reasons for needing or wanting a USB vs OTA sync. There are multiple reasons.

In terms of my initial response seeming dismissive, I can see that and apologize for it. Your question could have come from 2 directions - curiosity and wanting to help, or laziness and a lack of willingness to entertain a set of requirements different than your own. I must confess my response was caused by having had to respond to large numbers of posts in other threads that have been totally dismissive of any needs other than their own. That doesn't seem to be the case here.

Hope this is cleared up.

- R.

As an enterprise email architect who has people asking him questions all day long, trust me I get the frustration with laziness. I assure you I wasn't trying to be lazy, and we're good.

For contractual, legal and privacy reasons, I (and loads of people like me) cannot put PIM information in the cloud or transfer it OTA. Certainly, I would lose a substantial amount of my work (and risk legal action) if I was discovered to have transferred PIM information OTA/ via the cloud -- at least outside a hermetically sealed wireless environment. In any case, lots of us have serious doubts about the security of the cloud and - perhaps more importantly - about the integrity of cloud storage operators in various parts of the world. Organisations running servers in the US or the Far East / Eastern Asia, for example, have a poor track record in maintaining privacy in the face of national regulatory requests for access to individuals' information. I only want to share personal information with people I choose to share information with, not with all and sundry. USB sync gives me that. OTA/the cloud doesn't.

On top of managing an enterprise email system, I deal with Personally Identifyable Information (PII) and Personal Health Information (PHI) which are subject to multiple legal requirements (HIPAA, High Tech Act, etc.) to the point where sometimes it's stiffling. I am unaware though of any situations where transfering contacts and calendars over a secure link is a problem provided the security being used for "data in transit" is sufficient (HTTPS can be made FIPS 140-2 complaint byforcing a minimum TLS configuration).

Your concerns about the cloud providers though are understandable, because while we might be able to control data in transit we can't control "data at rest" if its outside of our borders. The cloud providers I have looked at have a FISMA medium rating level and which is generally sufficient for non-PII/PHI content, but that's also a corporate solution most users wouldn't spring for.

If that doesn't work for you (because I suspect you have different requirements than the ones I mentioned) or you aren't willing to risk it then I understand where you are coming from. I would be willing to bet though that the majority of users asking for a USB synch mechanism don't have those type of requirements, rather they just don't want to try something different which is a shame. I'm not arguing by any means that they should switch, because I certainly don't know what's best for them, just that I think some of them might like the OTA solution if they switched.

Anway... I am just trying to learn what difficulties others are having with the product that I don't. Trying to support a product outside of your environment where the requirements and challenges are different is one of the best ways to learn it.

Thanks for your patience!

[Rooster99]

As an enterprise email architect who has people asking him questions all day long, trust me I get the frustration with laziness. I assure you I wasn't trying to be lazy, and we're good.



On top of managing an enterprise email system, I deal with Personally Identifyable Information (PII) and Personal Health Information (PHI) which are subject to multiple legal requirements (HIPAA, High Tech Act, etc.) to the point where sometimes it's stiffling. I am unaware though of any situations where transfering contacts and calendars over a secure link is a problem provided the security being used for "data in transit" is sufficient (HTTPS can be made FIPS 140-2 complaint byforcing a minimum TLS configuration).

Your concerns about the cloud providers though are understandable, because while we might be able to control data in transit we can't control "data at rest" if its outside of our borders. The cloud providers I have looked at have a FISMA medium rating level and which is generally sufficient for non-PII/PHI content, but that's also a corporate solution most users wouldn't spring for.

If that doesn't work for you (because I suspect you have different requirements than the ones I mentioned) or you aren't willing to risk it then I understand where you are coming from. I would be willing to bet though that the majority of users asking for a USB synch mechanism don't have those type of requirements, rather they just don't want to try something different which is a shame. I'm not arguing by any means that they should switch, because I certainly don't know what's best for them, just that I think some of them might like the OTA solution if they switched.

Anway... I am just trying to learn what difficulties others are having with the product that I don't. Trying to support a product outside of your environment where the requirements and challenges are different is one of the best ways to learn it.

Thanks for your patience!

You're more than welcome. Thanks for your understanding after my initial comment, and for the valuable input above.

As more background, currently the limits with the OTA syncing I've read are that with the free services (using gmail or outlook.com as a conduit), either the sync isn't complete (ex - Outlook Categories aren't supported, etc.) or it's problematic to set up or not stable - this last seems to vary by installation. The only reliable and complete way to do it is if you're using Exchange, which would force many here to go out and find a paid Exchange service (people using POP email accounts, etc.). Those are not that expensive, but before, the USB sync was free, it required zero research and added zero complexity to the user's system. There are many Blackberry users whio have neither the time nor the inclination to suddenly have to review paid Exchange hosts, select one and go through the migration with them. Not everyone using Blackberry has IT skills or IT support resources.

Personally, I'm a combination. I don't trust the cloud, and I have other things to spend my time on. Plus I'm choked that Blackberry (a) removed something I already had, (b) gave no warning that woould be the case, (c) hasn't been very vocal about acknowledging the issue, and (d) has now missed their own announced plan for when they would re-deliver this capability. Very poor handling of the situation.

- R.

[Rooster99]

Bump x 2 ...

[HotFix]

Bump x 3 ...

[Rooster99]

Have just ordered a Nexus 4 (unlocked) to see if I can get it to do this for me. If I can, I will transfer my phone number to it, and leave Blackberry behind for at least a year. My guess is that it will be at least that long before the BB10 ecosystem is where I need it to be so that a weak phone isn't holding me back any more.

I had been waiting patiently until (1) the last Link update didn't include the Outlooks USB sync as promised, and there was radio silence from Blackberry since then, and (2) the 30 day email limitation wasn't lifted for POP accounts, and has now been promised as late summer/this year or some other future point.

I've hung in there through the Storm/Storm 2/Torch but can't any longer. I hope BB10 is a success as I'm a Blackberry shareholder.

- R.

[saxxman]

It is getting very frustrating and today's version doesn't have it either!

Bummer!

Posted via CB10

[Polocoste]

I wish I could transfer my calendar via bluetooth as I could with desktop manager. Screw a cloud.