"Avoid the Problem and Go Into the Solution"
In IT there is a technology called "Client Server" which means there is a Server and a PC called the client.
A program is loaded onto the Server and a client side is loaded on the PC that allows an interface to connect to the Server Program.
The reason for this program is to centralize the data to the server to keep it secure and backed up easier and cheaper for companies.
The other part of this process is the Security of the Server that controls the PC's in it's network and the users activity.
This process has also been around for years and is implemented in Corporations to help prevent accidents that users create inside their environment.
Recently we heard a news agency blah blah blahing about a parent's child that got in trouble for having their phone out in class.
So we thought...for a second :-D that, why don't they have a Client Server app that limits the phone usage to times that are approved for use.
Servers can limit the login times, internet times, word filtering, they can block websites and pretty much anything you can think of they can and have been able to do for years.
So why don't they have a Parent Child app that recreates the Server environment?
Like modes, this can go into school mode, where the phone is not allowed to be used from school start and school closing.
You could even limit the contacts list to only be able to call the parent or guardian or emergency calling only.
They could lock down the apps on the phone and settings and really everything but the emergency phone numbers that are needed for parents to get in touch with their children and vice versa.
The apps that the child loads on their phone will be loaded by the parents phone that distributes a child side, like a client side that only allows them to connect.
Any data downloaded to the phone, texts, emails, phones calls would all be sourced at the Parents phone to prevent the child from doing or saying things to friends they wouldn't normally say.
Everything would be controlled by the Parents phone and would be scheduled to be used at certain times, like 2 hours after school, or shut down when it's time to go to bed or eat dinner.
Their entire day/week would be a set-it and forget-it type application and all data would be saved to the Parents cloud account.
Even if a child goes to a site that wasn't approved the parent would see it and would be discussed with the child/teacher/counselor etc. on whether or not this was a safe and required site.
They already have agencies that have pre-approved sites that can be downloaded and imported into the parental filter.
Most sites require you to be a certain age to view their sites, so the child's phone would already be set to an underage block to prevent them from going to bad sites in the first place.
Cell Phones for parents mean keeping their child safe, Cell phones for kids means freedom from Parents, but while under our roof you have no freedom :-D
Responsibility needs to be taught by an adult and adults need to start teaching this responsibility at a young age to help them later in life.
Client server app technology isn't that great, because of two reasons; one is that the host always has to be running in order for the client to connect.
Now technology has come along way with this type of technology in servers, but on mobile, we are still dealing with batteries that last hours, so kind of a deal breaker there.
The second issue with Client Server apps are that they can be slow depending on the amount of clients connecting to them and the resources they are using on the host, so again, kind of a deal breaker here.
So in conclusion with Client Server app solution for mobile isn't the ideal solution.
The best solution for mobility at this point of the game is the Group Policy procedure a Server administers to it's clients.
Group Policy is what controls the permissions on the client, like times the phone can be used, what apps can be used, internet lockdown, preventing downloads, settings lock out, just about anything you want to lock down on a phone can be done with Group Policy.
Their is an issue with the host system being on in order for Group Policy to work, so we thought that a clustering cloud service could be used.
Clustering is basically a secondary server that backs up the primary if an update is being done, or the system is experiencing hardware/software issues.
The Clustering Cloud Server could be accessed from another tablet or PC, but remember, once you set the permissions on the Host, their isn't anything to do.
The Group Policy will retain the schedule you set for the client side as long as one of the two hosts are available, which more than likely will be, but again it won't matter.
Group Policy is a Domain/Client solution and even in a D/C environment the Client can log in locally and can bypass the Group Policy.
This way, access to the phone services could be used without being connected to the host.
If the phone couldn't connect to the hosts for some reason won't matter because the Emergency Phone numbers will always work and locator services will always be enabled.
The next trick thing would be is Scripts:
Scripts are a bit technical, but they can be cookie cut at this point that would attach devices to your phone as you come into your environment.
Let's say you have a printer that you like to use at your house, well the script would run as soon as you log in to your local network at home and the printer would be added to your device.
Lets say you downloaded some pictures or links on your phone, well if you created a shared folder through the cloud you could transfer files back and forth real easy and no data minutes used.
Client server app technology isn't that great, because of two reasons; one is that the host always has to be running in order for the client to connect.
Now technology has come along way with this type of technology in servers, but on mobile, we are still dealing with batteries that last hours, so kind of a deal breaker there.
The second issue with Client Server apps are that they can be slow depending on the amount of clients connecting to them and the resources they are using on the host, so again, kind of a deal breaker here.
So in conclusion with Client Server app solution for mobile isn't the ideal solution.
The best solution for mobility at this point of the game is the Group Policy procedure a Server administers to it's clients.
Group Policy is what controls the permissions on the client, like times the phone can be used, what apps can be used, internet lockdown, preventing downloads, settings lock out, just about anything you want to lock down on a phone can be done with Group Policy.
Their is an issue with the host system being on in order for Group Policy to work, so we thought that a clustering cloud service could be used.
Clustering is basically a secondary server that backs up the primary if an update is being done, or the system is experiencing hardware/software issues.
The Clustering Cloud Server could be accessed from another tablet or PC, but remember, once you set the permissions on the Host, their isn't anything to do.
The Group Policy will retain the schedule you set for the client side as long as one of the two hosts are available, which more than likely will be, but again it won't matter.
Group Policy is a Domain/Client solution and even in a D/C environment the Client can log in locally and can bypass the Group Policy.
This way, access to the phone services could be used without being connected to the host.
If the phone couldn't connect to the hosts for some reason won't matter because the Emergency Phone numbers will always work and locator services will always be enabled.
The next trick thing would be is Scripts:
Scripts are a bit technical, but they can be cookie cut at this point that would attach devices to your phone as you come into your environment.
Let's say you have a printer that you like to use at your house, well the script would run as soon as you log in to your local network at home and the printer would be added to your device.
Lets say you downloaded some pictures or links on your phone, well if you created a shared folder through the cloud you could transfer files back and forth real easy and no data minutes used.
