[nobody7290]

This is kind of a rant, but since a I am in the mood for it, I post it anyway.

You want to download BES Express 5.0.4.
You have some unknown Server 2008 with nothing special installed.

Go and search with google.
the fourth link will give you something, but, only If you search in English Language, otherwise, if google guesses you are from germany you will be doomed, so I switch to english.

Navigating to blackberry.com is useless since "javascript is required".

Ok, using the google link, RIM insists to fill out a form with about 10 lines. 2 of these (country and state) depend on javascript, which will be not allowed if you dont put the site in the trusted zones.
Did that, hit reload and filled out the form.
But The download is not possible, since the download link is obfuscated with a script.

Next step: go an get something which will be able to download the file without having to change the security settings of the server: Firefox.
Again a street with a dead end, because the firefox download link will also be hidden within a script.
Back to basics, ftp://ftp.mozilla.org
Finally I am able to get firefox, since I can actually see from where the download will be coming from to add the site to the allowed zones
Download, install, and then back to blackberry.com

Fill out the form with fake information and after 20minutes, I now am able to get what I need.

I can understand that for reasons of availibility a download link might be not static, But using a reverse proxy it should be possible that the user is able to think it is.

The actual link:
"http://downloads.blackberry.com/swdownloads/SWDL11/besexpressx_5.0.4.exe?__dlmt__=1353389696_95093a24 0aef4ac4810ab1f491377fa8&ext=.exe"

does not help me, or Rim, and also 20 minutes of wasted time wont help either.

Files will be downloaded anyway if needed. Making this complicated using insecure scripting for unkown reasons will not make customers happy.

M$ also make similar things, but you are able to download patches even on a vanilla system.

I even can understand that registering myself to get a download is necessary, because RIM wants to know who is using their software. But, this must be possible by using a simple and secure browser. And, after registration, a download also should be simple. For security reasons it should be clear where a download comes from. Or if this is not possible a text like "please add downloads.blackberry.com to your trusted site zones" is the absolute minmum.

So, I you find yourself in a similar situation, download the software on your local machine first, then check the URL, then add this to the trusted zone in the internet control panel. That will save you 15 minutes of your time.

[freakinvibe]

Go and search with google. the fourth link will give you something, but, only If you search in English Language, otherwise, if google guesses you are from germany you will be doomed, so I switch to english.

What exact words have you been searching for? Blackberry cannot force Google to have a specific page in the first position on Google.de.

Navigating to blackberry.com is useless since "javascript is required".

Javascript is needed on a majority of web pages, some just miss some features without it, some just don't work at all. I don't like this either, but it is a fact.

Ok, using the google link, RIM insists to fill out a form with about 10 lines. 2 of these (country and state) depend on javascript, which will be not allowed if you dont put the site in the trusted zones.

Standard Internet Explorer on a vanilla Windows workstation allows Java Script for the "Internet Zone". You have probably tried to download from IE on the server, which is by default in an "Enhanced Security" mode that does not allow Java Script (and many other things) by default.

If you are security-aware, just download BES Express from a workstation (it will download without problem), check for malware/viruses and then copy the files to the server.

Next step: go an get something which will be able to download the file without having to change the security settings of the server: Firefox.

You are joking, right? You don't want to disable IE enhanced security and you don't want to add "blackberry.com" to your trusted sites. To be more secure, you want to download Firefox to your server that allows Java script for all the sites? You must be kidding.

Fill out the form with fake information and after 20minutes, I now am able to get what I need.

Hey, this is business software and it is free. The requirement to fill in forms is quite common for professional software. Many other vendors require you to create a login, verify your e-mail address, etc.

I have another concern with the BB downloads, for me they are dead slow most of the times, sometimes even timing out. But I don't have a problem getting there.

[nobody7290]

freakinvibe:
Today I am in a much better mood then yesterday. When problems accumulate, and you are therefore unable to do things you normally expect to be simple, I get in a rage.

google germany today will find a link if I search for "bes express 5.0.4 download". Thats fine.

But I stil stand to my other points:
Javascript should be used only, if neccessary. You really dont need javascript for creating a drop-down menu in a web-page. Also Navigating through a website should still be possible, even if javascript is turned off.
The Blackberry.com site works with java script disabled, but, you cannot fill out the form.

Firefox:
I did not want to touch the security settings of the system, installing and removing firefox seemed a simpler method. Btw. IE Enhanced security settings was off.

The problem with adding the URL to the trusted zone sites is, that, since the download link is obfuscated with a java script, you will not know the link, the page you are landing in is not in the same domain as the link.
How could I add "downloads.blackberry.com" to my trusted zones if I can not see it ?

I dont complain about filling out the form, this takes less then 30 seconds. But the whole procedure from the beginning to the end took 20 minutes. 5 Minutes is what I expect. And If I had made the attempt to begin the download on a local PC, then make a note of the domain, then, add this to the trusted zone on the server, I would have been able to make it in that timeframe.
Or, if RIM had written "please add http://downloads.blackberry.com to your trusted zone", that also would have been sufficent.

[knottyrope]

use a plain vanilla system just for download purposes with flash and java installed

I do this in a VM on my machine for site i dont want to trust on my PC.

I do allow RIM to be trusted though.

[nobody7290]

Right, I use my Mac for these purposes.
However, in this case the server was 50KM remote, 11pm in the night, and, it was the only machine running in the network.

[knottyrope]

ah, I see your point on this

drop box account could be nice for this, DL with PC and do drop box on server via a web page.