Has anyone tried to sync the new Palm Z22 (<$100) with the Mac address book and calendar? I did it successfully with my last Palm (a Zire 31, filtched from my backpack), but don't know if this new, cheaper device will work as well. Must sync with Mac programs as I have all my addresses already stored on Address Book and dates on Calendar.
I picked up a z22 the other day to replace my "old" original monochrome Zire.
I used the MS conduit with my Entourage with the Zire. I have since moved to the Apple Mail app and iSync. I'm finding the same problem as others have reported: Address fields often don't sync unless you switch them from "work" to "home" and vice versa. I'm finding iSync not very customizable and am considering getting the Missing Sync app. I've fiddled with iSync enough. It seems a simple thing to do but iSync just can't do it.
As of yesterday - with the release of The Missing Sync for Palm OS version 5 - there really are not very many reasons to ever launch iSync again!
This new release offers Mark/Space Contacts, Events and Tasks conduits which are configurable to a greater degree than iSync, support additional fields on your Z22, and work directly with iCal and the Address Book, requiring no interaction with iSync or the iSync Palm Conduit. And, they work flawlessly!
The Missing Sync for Palm OS includes improved AvantGo and MemoPad conduits, provisions for synchronizing selected folders on your Macintosh to a Palm device or secure digital card, Finder-level mounting of a secure digital card as a read-writable storage device, and conduits to interact with iPhoto and iTunes.
It also plays well with third-party conduits, but would appear to eliminate the option of using e2Sync - a 'virtual iSync device' - as a means to synchronize Entourage simultaneously.
I downloaded Missing Sync last night and it looks pretty good so far. Most of the addresses on my Palm had an extra space in there (I think that's Address Book doing something). But where I had "Home" it put "Home" on the Palm and the same for "Work". I don't need the iTunes, photos or folders functions (right now anyway).
The one thing that didn't work was the memo app. I get this message in the log:
"Missing Sync detected a conflict for MemoPad Database (MemosDB-PMem). One or more of the following conduits conflict:
Mark/Space Memo Pad (Mark/Space MemoPad)
Palm Desktop (Memos)"
This is something I've always wondered about: How does syncing work? Does it look at all devices and update all to the information that's the most recent?
The conflict exists because of the presence of the Palm standard Memos Conduit in your active Conduits folder. To resolve the conflict, simply move the offending Palm conduit to the Disabled Conduits folder.
Synchronization works by comparing the data in mapped fields on different devices and incorporating the data it finds in such a way that additions, changes or deletions to data made anywhere are reflected everywhere when the process is complete. When dissimilar data appears, the process chooses the latest data to distribute, based upon the time stamp associated with the data in that field.
Hmmm. I'm not able to find any Palm sepcific Memo conduits.
I've looked in Users/Library/Application Support/Palm HotSync/Conduits
That folder is empty and there's no "Disabled" folder.
On the HD under "Library/Application Support/Palm HotSync/Conduits" there's a whole bunch of MarkSpace conduits. There is a also a "Disabled Conduits" folder that only contains a file called "Apple" and another folder called "iSync Disabled Conduits" that has a bunch of stuff in it.
The first location was the wrong one - the second location is the correct one.
Take all of the conduits presently located in the
b iSynd Disabled Conduits
folder and drag them into the
b Disabled Conduits
folder. That third folder is an artifact from the Palm OS Syncing procedure which first appeared in iSync 2. Some moron on the Apple development team apparently thought that one disabled conduit folder was not sufficient, and wrote the routine to create another. Confusing, I imagine, just about everyone but him.
Apple is the Finder name of the iSync Palm Conduit, and it should remain in the
b Disabled Conduits
folder.
The
b Memos Conduit
and its predecessor, the
b Memo Conduit,
are both Palm-supplied conduits from the Palm OS 4 and 5 environments. Likely, the installer for The Missing Sync 'patched' these so that they appear with icons used by The Missing Sync. The actual Mark/Space conduit used to synchronized memos appears as the
b MarkSpaceMemoPadConduit.plugin
in the Finder. It's the only memo related conduit that should be in the active
b Conduits
folder.
That's sort of like asking folks to tell you what you should use a car for if you don't drive. 🙂 Either you have a use for the Palm or not. I doubt folks here know what you do day to day so probably can't tell you what you should do with your Palm.
Do you you need access to your iCal data while you are out and about? What about your todo list? Most cellular phones can only sync limited calendar data, and few handle the todo list. Do you need access to your address book info? Most cellular phones only sync phone numbers. Do you need to carry various data in a memopad for reference? Do you want to jot down note while you are out? What about having access to "secret" data that you could store encrypted on your Palm? Do you want to carry some photos? Do you want to play some quick games whiel you wait at the Dr. Office? It can go on and on.
You should look at what the Palm does, and decide if you have a need. You don't buy a toaster and then start deciding if you have any desire to make toast. 🙂
