missing sync, pocketmac redux?

[mfidelman]

Hi Folks,

Maybe 6 months ago, when Missing Sync 2 came out, I made the mistake of installing it and wiping out all my calendar and contact items. I then took a look at PocketMac, and ended up reinstalling M/S 1 - which sort of works, most of the time, but glitches more often then I'd like.

Anybody have more recent experience with M/S 2 and/or PocketMac. Have they gotten better? Should I consider switching, or is sticking with M/S 1 still the safest course of action.

And.. any sense of how many of the problems with Mac sync are really problems with Mac sync services?

Thanks Much,

Miles

[SaraBear]

I'm sticking with MS 1. It has many problems, like merging/deleting contacts, but it certainly works better for me than PocketMac or MissingSync 2 (though I did not try the latest MS update).

[d_1000]

Originally Posted by mfidelman

Hi Folks,

Maybe 6 months ago, when Missing Sync 2 came out, I made the mistake of installing it and wiping out all my calendar and contact items. I then took a look at PocketMac, and ended up reinstalling M/S 1 - which sort of works, most of the time, but glitches more often then I'd like.

Anybody have more recent experience with M/S 2 and/or PocketMac. Have they gotten better? Should I consider switching, or is sticking with M/S 1 still the safest course of action.

And.. any sense of how many of the problems with Mac sync are really problems with Mac sync services?

Thanks Much,

Miles

I have posted this a few times tonight, but I hope it helps.

Don't waste your money on Missing Sync. Started great, now all I get are errors.

Solution that worked for me…takes a little time, but works great
I am now back to Google Sync (from PocketMac and Missing Sync) and it is flawless. My iCal is linked/synced with Gcal using calaboration (there is a tremendous amount of info here also). Calaboration requires OS X 10.5 or later (since iCal does not support CalDAV prior to 10.5). iCal and my Google calendar are synced together I can change either and it automatically syncs to the other – the same is true on my Berry. I then use Google Sync on my blackberry to sync it to my Storm
1. Back up your Address Book and iCal – just in case.
2. Select a calendar in iCal and export it to your desktop – do this for each calendar separately. You now have a separate file for each calendar.
3. Delete each calendar from ical…you will need to leave one as it must have a default or dummy calendar always available. I created one called ‘temp’ with nothing in it so my iCal was completely blank.
4. Open Google calendar – or create an account, if necessary.
5. Import each calendar into Google Calcendar.
6. Import address Book into gmail
7. Open calaboration and follow the instructions.

see other posts at:

google sync

[jpostyn]

I have just upgraded to a Blackberry Curve and now need to sync my Mac with my phone.


I cannot believe that there are not stable solutions that would allow me to sync. All I need to sync are my calendar (Ical) and contacts (Addressbook).

My contacts sync correctly with both after a little cleanup, but I am unable to get either to sync my calendar.

I am syncing my calendar to Mobileme without any problems.

I have tried both. They both STINK!!!! Not does their software NOT do the job, but support SUCKS.

Does anyone know if I can sync my calendar with Mobileme sync my contacts with my Mac?

[d_1000]

Originally Posted by jpostyn

I have just upgraded to a Blackberry Curve and now need to sync my Mac with my phone.


I cannot believe that there are not stable solutions that would allow me to sync. All I need to sync are my calendar (Ical) and contacts (Addressbook).

My contacts sync correctly with both after a little cleanup, but I am unable to get either to sync my calendar.

I am syncing my calendar to Mobileme without any problems.

I have tried both. They both STINK!!!! Not does their software NOT do the job, but support SUCKS.

Does anyone know if I can sync my calendar with Mobileme sync my contacts with my Mac?

Did you see the post above yours? Google sync works great and you don't need a MobileMe subscription. It is all free.

[pkasin]

Somebody has the answer to this - I'm sure... (thanks in advance!)

I too have used Missing Sync 1 and 2... had a few problems with 1, lots of issues with 2. I too have gone to Google Sync and sync my contacts and calendar, but I do a 2way sync using Spanning Sync.

I have done my best to limit the damage to my data by getting away from Missing Sync. However, I need to sync my tasks and notes.

Has anyone found either a wireless or non-wireless way of RELIABLY syncing contacts? Every time I use Missing Sync to do it, it changes my data...Does PocketMac do this reliably now? I've also used PM in the past, but on Tiger and on an 8830, and I don't have fond memories - however, maybe Tasks/Memos now sync better. Anyone? Suggestions?

[d_1000]

Originally Posted by pkasin

Somebody has the answer to this - I'm sure... (thanks in advance!)

I too have used Missing Sync 1 and 2... had a few problems with 1, lots of issues with 2. I too have gone to Google Sync and sync my contacts and calendar, but I do a 2way sync using Spanning Sync.

I have done my best to limit the damage to my data by getting away from Missing Sync. However, I need to sync my tasks and notes.

Has anyone found either a wireless or non-wireless way of RELIABLY syncing contacts? Every time I use Missing Sync to do it, it changes my data...Does PocketMac do this reliably now? I've also used PM in the past, but on Tiger and on an 8830, and I don't have fond memories - however, maybe Tasks/Memos now sync better. Anyone? Suggestions?

Google Sync will also sync your contacts - between device and Google, but not back to your address book on your Mac. You can export them out of address book (on Mac) and import them into Google contacts. Now if you make changes they will be updated on Google and your device, when you sync. Unfortunately, that does not solve the problem of device to Mac w/o using PM or MS. I have chosen to just manually update them on my Mac. This works well as long as you do not have a constantly changing contact list... You can export a vCard to Address Book or CSV file for Entourage or Outlook from Google contacts...

Let me know your thoughts...

[pkasin]

Actually, I must not have had enough coffee this morning... I am using GoogleSync for Contacts and Calendar - what I meant to say say TASKS and MEMOS. (Sorry) - I have reinstalled PocketMac for the time-being just to see if using just the Tasks and Memo sync that things may work.

FYI, I am using a program called Spanning Sync to sync changes back from Google to my Mac (2-way syncing). So, I may save you a bit of time in your manual process. (it's NOT free, but it seems to work very well...).

I MAY (MAY seems to always be in upper case letters when syncing a BB with a MAC) have found my answer with using PocketMac for just Tasks/Memos, and Google Sync for the rest. It sure would be nice if it all was wireless or all USB... but for the moment, it may be working...

(THANKS! Nice dog by the way!)

[schatzman]

d_1000,

Thanks for posting about Google Sync. After nearly throwing PocketMac, Missing Sync, and my BB out a window, Google Sync has brought me back into the game. Too bad it doesn't sync Tasks and Memos, but I'm sure the folks at Google will eventually get on board.

Many thanks!

[pkasin]

Actually after playing around with PocketMac again, I went back to Missing Sync for my Tasks, Contact, and Note Syncing, and Google Sync for Calendar Sync. Still looking for a better mouse-trap.

I am not happy with Missing Sync contact syncing (it seems to lose contacts - I don't know why!), but seems to be overall less problematic than PocketMac - that's not saying much about either piece of software, though.

[d_1000]

Originally Posted by schatzman

d_1000,

Thanks for posting about Google Sync. After nearly throwing PocketMac, Missing Sync, and my BB out a window, Google Sync has brought me back into the game. Too bad it doesn't sync Tasks and Memos, but I'm sure the folks at Google will eventually get on board.

Many thanks!

schatzman-

glad I could help!

[digitalb0y]

I'm with d_1000. I never had much luck with either PocketMac or Missing Sync (though the latter beats the former by leaps and bounds for me), but Google Sync never fails me. AND... I get full 3-way sync with iCal and Address Book.app too.

Lifehacker - Enable Google Contact Sync Without an iPhone or iPod Touch - Address Book

and

GCALDaemon - Project Home

Address Book syncs 2-ways with Gmail contacts and so does the BlackBerry, iCal syncs 2-ways with GCal and so does the BlackBerry. Wireless, unsupervised, reliable syncronization. Even the facebook app stays synced and doesn't mess anything up for me, but your mileage may vary there... I read a lot of complaints about that app around here in terms of calendar and contacts integration. I even sync Rainlendar to GCal and have appointment sync from my Windows machines too.

Still waiting for Google Sync to work with tasks... they added tasks to GMail instead of GCal, which I think was totally counter-intuitive and foolish since the Calendar program can be used as a planner, but whatever. I don't care where they keep it as long as they start syncing it to things people already use. I can't be too upset though... they made me a much happier Mac/BlackBerry user than RIM ever bothered to, and I've never directly given Google a dime.