Blackberry

[oldie]

A while back, didn't Blackberry systems crash and have lots of problems.
Seem to remember, that some thought security forces involved; as Blackberry
might have been used by "baddies" for secure comm's.

Maybe now spooks can listen in to Blackberry comm's more easily.
Seeing the US president using one, might not be advert it seems...

Richard (UK)

 

[joinercp]

BBM was used during the London riots

 

[oldie]

Thx joiner.  Might google sometime. Impression left with me was, that someone getting their own back, because Blackberry wouldn't co-operate. 

Richard (UK)

 

[tazcubed]

A while back, didn't Blackberry systems crash and have lots of problems.
Seem to remember, that some thought security forces involved; as Blackberry
might have been used by "baddies" for secure comm's.

Maybe now spooks can listen in to Blackberry comm's more easily.
Seeing the US president using one, might not be advert it seems...

Richard (UK)

I have to laugh at this. Yes, Blackberry did have problems.

Integrity seems to be the difference though. I'd rather have a company admit to problems than to try to shush it up. Apple via Jobs always denied problems until there wasn't an alternative (antennas, iMessage, etc). Google, as of late, has been kind enough to explain how everyone else's security was full of holes, then decided that providing patches to older handsets running Android wasn't in their interest, not to mention the sound of crickets at the latest security flaw (what, all of a sudden they're quiet?), although they have a fix now. Outages aren't nice, planned outages can be managed, but unexpected outages are simply terrible for certain critical situations.

That said, remember the days before cellphones? I wonder what would happen if the entire communication backbone collapsed.

 

[SurfNorway]

Using the argument that the POTUS uses one means it must be secure, assumes that the POTUS is the guy who's actually in charge of what's going on.

As far as the days before cell phones, many people don't realize that cell phone co's as well as governments can shut the service down at their whim, filter who is allowed on the cellular network when, etc. Ostensibly in order to maintain comms during emergencies and the like, but that wasn't possible on the same scale with copper wire landlines.

Food for thought?

A while back, didn't Blackberry systems crash and have lots of problems.
Seem to remember, that some thought security forces involved; as Blackberry
might have been used by "baddies" for secure comm's.

Maybe now spooks can listen in to Blackberry comm's more easily.
Seeing the US president using one, might not be advert it seems...

Richard (UK)

I have to laugh at this. Yes, Blackberry did have problems.

Integrity seems to be the difference though. I'd rather have a company admit to problems than to try to shush it up. Apple via Jobs always denied problems until there wasn't an alternative (antennas, iMessage, etc). Google, as of late, has been kind enough to explain how everyone else's security was full of holes, then decided that providing patches to older handsets running Android wasn't in their interest, not to mention the sound of crickets at the latest security flaw (what, all of a sudden they're quiet?), although they have a fix now. Outages aren't nice, planned outages can be managed, but unexpected outages are simply terrible for certain critical situations.

That said, remember the days before cellphones? I wonder what would happen if the entire communication backbone collapsed.

 

[Sparktrician]

Using the argument that the POTUS uses one means it must be secure, assumes that the POTUS is the guy who's actually in charge of what's going on.

It's common knowledge that POTUS was told by those responsible for his security that BlackBerry was the only device he would be allowed to use. 

As far as the days before cell phones, many people don't realize that cell phone co's as well as governments can shut the service down at their whim, filter who is allowed on the cellular network when, etc. Ostensibly in order to maintain comms during emergencies and the like, but that wasn't possible on the same scale with copper wire landlines.

Food for thought?

Actually, it was every bit as easy in the days prior to cell phones.  The fact is that the telcos maintained lists of numbers to be kept activated in emergencies as well as priority restoral lists.  Switches had pre-programmed configurations to run, should there be a national emergency, just for the purpose. 

 

[L.J]

A while back, didn't Blackberry systems crash and have lots of problems.
Seem to remember, that some thought security forces involved; as Blackberry
might have been used by "baddies" for secure comm's.

Maybe now spooks can listen in to Blackberry comm's more easily.
Seeing the US president using one, might not be advert it seems...

Richard (UK)

I have to laugh at this. Yes, Blackberry did have problems.

Integrity seems to be the difference though. I'd rather have a company admit to problems than to try to shush it up. Apple via Jobs always denied problems until there wasn't an alternative (antennas, iMessage, etc). Google, as of late, has been kind enough to explain how everyone else's security was full of holes, then decided that providing patches to older handsets running Android wasn't in their interest, not to mention the sound of crickets at the latest security flaw (what, all of a sudden they're quiet?), although they have a fix now. Outages aren't nice, planned outages can be managed, but unexpected outages are simply terrible for certain critical situations.

That said, remember the days before cellphones? I wonder what would happen if the entire communication backbone collapsed.

Absolutely !!! Blackberry was very forthcoming with issues unlike Apple or Google. Their solution has been QNX the heart of BB10 which is leaps ahed of anything on the Market right now.

 

[jeh]

Blackberry as a phone/OS is DOA. End of story. A text book example of leading the market and being eclipsed within a few months of the release of the first iPhone, followed by an onslaught of copycats. Instead of trying to innovate their way out they used the keyboard as a crutch, put out a bunch of crappy, incomplete phones, and a tablet they could not give away. Too little, too late.

[member=9122]CrazyLarry[/member]: Encryption has nothing to do with my point. The government has standards that companies have to be certified against (which may or may not included encryption requirements) before they can be used for certain applications. A lot of the Blackberry stuff happens to certified (though probably not the current products). The certification process is onerous so a lot of companies don't even bother. In Blackberry's case its really all they have going for them. You have to search high and low to find one in the wild and the people I have seen with them are forced to carry them for work and most of them have another phone (Samsung or Apple) on them.

Currently Apple is at the top of the pile with a great product and north of 90% of the profits in the mobile arena. On the Android side Samsung's flagships are great, but aren't selling as well as expected and the rest of their gazillion models have no margin to speak of. Google could/can make(s) a good phone, but like everything else they do it's a half-baked effort with no real marketing attempt. Windows phone is the only thing left and while some hardcore Windows users will buy it they probably won't put a dent in the mobile arena. The vast majority of people want stuff that just works and are reluctant to jump ship to another brand.

As for Linux it's but a pipe dream it will ever used on anything other than servers. I've listened to how it will replace all OS's since the mid-1990's and there has been zero movement in that direction besides a few hardcore nut jobs who are willing to stick it out at all costs to avoid using Windows or OS X. This is the same group of people who insist on being able to customize their phones, when the rest of world (99.9999999%) just wants a phone that send/receive calls, text, Instagram and does FaceBook. I'd add email to the list, but it's days are numbered as virtually none of the youngsters under 25 even bother with email.

 

[bkharman]

I have had BB as one of my customers for 5 years now. One thing they have done very well has been building a very robust and resilient infrastructure to handle all aspects of messaging. Emails, messages, etc all have a highly sophisticated architecture that is pretty solid

That being said, Apple is also my customer (and my phone of choice since 2007) and they are polar opposites. They both are great, but at different things. I don't want to get into it (and won't for NDA reasons), but they are both great to deal with! 

There is actually a large amount of new startups in Waterloo as a result of the talent let go from RIM.

Cheers. Bryan.

 

[Blackberry]

Nothing of value to add to the conversation other than my nickname and sign on is Blackberry and I use an I phone.

 

[jeh]

True, but there are more pertinent apps for the Android variants and the iPhone.  I agree that the BlackBerry O/S is better and more secure.

Go on, I'll bite. How is Blackberry OS more secure than IOS.

 

Take a look at the phone POTUS uses.  It's a BlackBerry.  The security folks won't let him use an iPhone.  Precisely why?  Ask them.  Just the fact that BlackBerry is the phone of choice used extensively in high security environments tells me a great deal.  Samsung fell on their rear ends with the Knox add-on.  iOs and Android are definitely improving, but BlackBerry has been there for quite some time.  You might want to look at this blog.  For sure, Android and iOs devices offer far more bells and whistles for the end user than BlackBerry, but for reliable security, right now, my money is on BlackBerry.  That may change tomorrow...

I would not use the government as a baseline related to anything security related. Their track record is abysmal across the board. Nothing says stodgy and out of date like someone carrying a BlackBerry. All they have left is their supposed security. The real risk with RIM is that they are on the verge of bankruptcy. Their cashflow is lean which means stones get left unturned, priorities change, and the head nerds leave. Other companies (Samsung and Apple) have raided RIM for the best employees.

BTW you are referencing a BlackBerry blog which is hardly an unbiased source and it is far from it. The reality is the Andriod (mainly Samsung) and iOS devices are overtaking the world and RIM is withering away, but a shadow of itself. If there is anything to learn it's that you have to continuously innovate (you call it bells and whistles, but there is a lot more to it than that) or you can be like RIM and sit on your laurels as their customer base withers.