BlackBerry Forums Support Community

midtx350z · 06-11-2009, 03:56 PM

I work for IT in a school district and we switched to BlackBerries (8350i) and BES two days ago, we would like to set a standard background on all devices and if possible, set up a policy so users can't change the background image.

Is there a way to deploy the background image/wallpaper? If so could you guys point me to the place you do this on BES?

I tried googling this and searching within this forum but could not find any useful info, so thanks in advance.

penguin3107 · 06-11-2009, 04:25 PM

No, it's not possible to do.
BES does not have this type of control over the handheld.

midtx350z · 06-11-2009, 04:41 PM

...It just keeps on dissapointing me. We wanted to set up a policy so that users could NOT turn off GPS since we track them on a map to see where they're at and some of the younger guys like to be sneaky and turn off their GPS.

It's a lot better than the ATT Tilts we used to have though. *sigh*

Thanks

hdawg · 06-11-2009, 07:17 PM

I guess this is what it makes sense to define your requirements first and then investigate the options. Horse before the cart ...

midtx350z · 06-12-2009, 07:59 AM

Yeah, thing is though... The salespeople told us it would work like we wanted it to. Everything else on these devices is perfect, just wish it had these two features.

hdawg · 06-12-2009, 08:03 AM

Rule #1: Sales people knowingly lie
Rule #2: Sales people unknowingly lie
Rule #3: Sales people willfully lie

Always talk to someone that knows technology more than you before investing in it.

penguin3107 · 06-12-2009, 08:33 AM

^^ That's primo advice, right there.

midtx350z · 06-12-2009, 08:46 AM

Yeah, thanks primo. That was our mistake.

Why can you not set a policy on that though? They have a policy for everything else.

midtx350z · 06-12-2009, 08:48 AM

BTW, we purchased Xora to track our techs

hdawg · 06-12-2009, 08:51 AM

BES has limitations ... this is just one of them. Send an email to [email address]

with your request.

Regarding Xora .... stalker.

stuwhite · 06-14-2009, 10:52 AM

OP you will usually find that when something "obvious" isn't available, it's because of some other limitation. In the EU it's not legal for an organisation to forcibly track the location of their staff. If the BB could be set so that GPS can't be switched off, there would have to be a way to ensure that this couldn't be done for EU users. The logistics behind this and the associated compliance issues probably proved too much for RIM, so it's easier all round for them to not have the option.

noname · 06-14-2009, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midtx350z

Yeah, thing is though... The salespeople told us it would work like we wanted it to. Everything else on these devices is perfect, just wish it had these two features.

The last things you want to trust are words from Sales persons. This bunch of people know nuts about tech things and promised the skys to customers and tech support people like us ended up getting the shits.

midtx350z · 06-15-2009, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdawg

BES has limitations ... this is just one of them. Send an email to with your request.

Regarding Xora .... stalker.

Haha not even close, we have one technician for every 5 schools in our district. There's a total of 15 technicians and we need to know what school they're at in case we need them to run to a school nearby.

BTW, Xora isn't too good of a GPS tracking application.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuwhite

OP you will usually find that when something "obvious" isn't available, it's because of some other limitation. In the EU it's not legal for an organisation to forcibly track the location of their staff. If the BB could be set so that GPS can't be switched off, there would have to be a way to ensure that this couldn't be done for EU users. The logistics behind this and the associated compliance issues probably proved too much for RIM, so it's easier all round for them to not have the option.

Yeah, I understand that but for some users this (no brainer) feature is a nesecity.

And why does the EU always cause problems? Microsoft recently said they would create a version of Windows 7 that did not include Internet Explorer or Windows Media Player, just for the EU.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noname

The last things you want to trust are words from Sales persons. This bunch of people know nuts about tech things and promised the skys to customers and tech support people like us ended up getting the shits.

Yep. Agreed.

stuwhite · 06-15-2009, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midtx350z

And why does the EU always cause problems? Microsoft recently said they would create a version of Windows 7 that did not include Internet Explorer or Windows Media Player, just for the EU.

"Problems" lol. We call them rights my friend

. Don't you like the idea of not being forced to have an app embedded into the OS when alternatives exist?

midtx350z · 06-15-2009, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuwhite

"Problems" lol. We call them rights my friend

. Don't you like the idea of not being forced to have an app embedded into the OS when alternatives exist?

Does the EU also make the car manufacturers remove the stock stereo from their cars? I mean the fact that a car manufacturer forces people to use the stock one is unethical. I'm sure Pioneer and Sony are losing a LOT of market share. Personally I'd like to buy a car that comes with SOME kind of stereo rather than none at all. If I want to, and I'm into car audio, I'll get a better stereo.

Anyways, nobody is forcing you to use IE, IE is part of the operating system made by Microsoft which just so happened to make WMP and IE.
If someone really wants to use something else they will, it's as easy as going to the website for that specific browser and installing it. For the regular user, there is no point in confusing them, do you really think they'll be able to tell which browser works best for them when they see a list of browsers like (IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome, etc)? They'll have no clue what they're looking at. And either way, if it's for a business user, he'll have to install IE most of the time for their online apps to work.

stuwhite · 06-15-2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midtx350z

Does the EU also make the car manufacturers remove the stock stereo from their cars? I mean the fact that a car manufacturer forces people to use the stock one is unethical. I'm sure Pioneer and Sony are losing a LOT of market share. Personally I'd like to buy a car that comes with SOME kind of stereo rather than none at all. If I want to, and I'm into car audio, I'll get a better stereo.

Anyways, nobody is forcing you to use IE, IE is part of the operating system made by Microsoft which just so happened to make WMP and IE.
If someone really wants to use something else they will, it's as easy as going to the website for that specific browser and installing it. For the regular user, there is no point in confusing them, do you really think they'll be able to tell which browser works best for them when they see a list of browsers like (IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome, etc)? They'll have no clue what they're looking at. And either way, if it's for a business user, he'll have to install IE most of the time for their online apps to work.

Your comparison is flawed. I can remove the stereo from my new car in seconds, replace it with another and have no issues whatsoever. It will be hassle-free and not in any way change the car as it is not an embedded part of the car, as is how it should be. In fact I have done that with virtually every car I bought. I tried to uninstall shipped-wth IE6 once and ended up rebuilding the OS. Just coz MS have done it for years, doesn't make it right.

We should all have the right to choose what we put with our OS, it's just an OS. If you like IE and WMP you can install them or buy the OS version which has it embedded. I like the idea that the OS is the OS and the apps are the apps. It doesn't hurt you that MS have to provide choice over here, and it certainly won't hurt their sales. They will sell just as much OS product, and they get paid whether I take IE or not.

midtx350z · 06-15-2009, 06:41 PM

But your car(s) started out with a stereo in them. Would you buy a car that didn't come with a stereo at all?

I really hope Microsoft creates Windows 7 without any browser at all. If they can't include their own browser in their own OS, I dont think they should be forces to include some other companie's browser.

Can Safari be completely removed from Mac OS? (this is a real question that I don't know the answer to)

penguin3107 · 06-15-2009, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midtx350z

Can Safari be completely removed from Mac OS? (this is a real question that I don't know the answer to)

Yes, absolutely.

stuwhite · 06-15-2009, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midtx350z

But your car(s) started out with a stereo in them. Would you buy a car that didn't come with a stereo at all?

I would love to, truly. I like to choose what I use and have a new stereo in same day usually. And the point is that I can swap it out hassle-free, that's what the EU really has a problem with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by midtx350z

I really hope Microsoft creates Windows 7 without any browser at all. If they can't include their own browser in their own OS, I dont think they should be forces to include some other companie's browser.

Couldn't agree more. They make the OS and that should be it for as-shipped. The problem Europe has always had with MS is that they use their position as leading OS supplier to push apps on you without a fair choice. No one is saying they shouldn't be able to supply them or that they aren't good, just that we should choose what we put on top of our OS, not have stuff embedded within an OS when we may not want it and don't need it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by midtx350z

Can Safari be completely removed from Mac OS? (this is a real question that I don't know the answer to)

Honestly don't know but I would have thought the EU would already be on their case if it couldn't.

midtx350z · 06-15-2009, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuwhite

I would love to, truly. I like to choose what I use and have a new stereo in same day usually. And the point is that I can swap it out hassle-free, that's what the EU really has a problem with.

Couldn't agree more. They make the OS and that should be it for as-shipped. The problem Europe has always had with MS is that they use their position as leading OS supplier to push apps on you without a fair choice. No one is saying they shouldn't be able to supply them or that they aren't good, just that we should choose what we put on top of our OS, not have stuff embedded within an OS when we may not want it and don't need it.

Honestly don't know but I would have thought the EU would already be on their case if it couldn't.

So I'm assuming the EU is already on the car manufacturer's case?

What's your input regarding REGULAR users that can't even tell the difference between an internet browser and the blue 'e' on their desktop?

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