I am at a Microsoft event in Christchurch (New Zealand), co-presented by Intergen New Zealand . Groove was a key focus of the video, looking at how bi-directional synchronization between different systems could be supported. The centre has funded 28 projects since 2002, and Microsoft puts up to $1 million a year into the Center (in New Zealand). The event is focused on how to use various Microsoft technologies for emergency response. You can learn more about the initiative at Microsoft Citizen Safety Architecture, at www.microsoft.com/csa .

When I was using the Bold with a Microsoft Exchange Server account, email, tasks and calendar items would all synchronize seamlessly. With my shifting away from Exchange for email, I can't do the task and calendar synchronization at the moment. Both phones are on full contract with Vodafone New Zealand. I have been using an evaluation unit of the RIM BlackBerry Bold for two months. In short, it is the best BlackBerry that I have used to date (vs.

NewsGator is dropping its online synchronization service for its RSS feeds, in favor of Google Reader. " Along with Google Reader synchronization for FeedDemon, NetNewsWire, and the NetNewsWire iPhone app, Newsgator will discontinue Newsgator Online, Newsgator Go!, OpenXchange added new features into version 6.10 NewsGator Social Sites a Million ... NewsGator said that one million business users are using Social Sites, its social networking integration for SharePoint. "

would ask lots of questions on provisioning and directory/address book synchronization - especially if you have split environments (an on-premises OCS and Office Communications Online) or hybrid environments (Communications Online but Exchange and/or SharePoint on-premises). These services open up new possibilities for businesses to control costs while continuing to enhance the productivity of their employees,” said Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division. “Customers Microsoft announced this week (Monday, March 2, 2009), that its Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), was available for trial in 19 countries.

Colligo Networks is getting ready to release Version 4 of Colligo Contributor, and they are holding a webinar on June 30 to discuss the new version. " Google announced a sync add-on for Outlook, allowing Outlook users to synchronize their Google Apps data with Outlook. " Certus, a large IBM Business Partner in New Zealand, expanded into Australia by purchasing EoS Solutions. ...Tags: Webinar on Colligo Contributor 4.0 ... Join Barry Jinks, Colligo's Founder and CEO and Dave Foster, Vice President of Product Development as they discuss how SharePoint is

Microsoft claimed it is making the move as a result of rapid customer adoption, global scale and improved efficiencies from new software (such as Exchange Server 2010), but it's more likely the company is simply making sure it remains competitive with Google and IBM's offerings. The software giant says it is sticking to a schedule of rolling out new capabilities to Microsoft Online Services every 90 days. " More - Long catch-up post today, with news from last week while I was busy in Singapore ... Microsoft BPOS Price Reduction ...