Sync Center in Windows Vista: One Stop Shop for All Your Synchronization Needs

[Kris Kumar]

We synchronize our PDAs and Smartphones, sync music files on to our portable music players, and sync documents between multiple computers at home and work. For each of these sync operations, we use different applications. Microsoft is recognizing the importance of keeping the information in sync and the need to consolidate multiple applications or interfaces into one. And while doing that, improve the user experience by providing easy setup of sync rules, better conflict resolution and error handling. Sync Center in Windows Vista is Microsoft's solution to our ever growing synchronization needs.

http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Kris-Sept05-SyncCenter.jpg

The above Sync Center screen shot is from the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005 image gallery and for a higher resolution image, check out this (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/pdc/gallery.mspx) location. Very little information is known at this time about the Sync Center. The Windows Vista Beta 5219 build that I am playing with, does not recognize Windows Mobile devices. I had to install the good old ActiveSync. :-) Which I am sure will not be needed once the Sync Center is completely implemented. I am guessing that ActiveSync might either get rolled into the Sync Center or there maybe a new version of ActiveSync for Windows Vista, which will reside as some sort of plug-in within the Sync Center, instead of being a stand-alone application. This presentation (http://216.55.183.63/pdc2005/slides/DAT317_Potter.ppt) [PowerPoint file] made for PDC 2005 (http://commnet.microsoftpdc.com/content/downloads.aspx) talks about the goals of Sync Center and what the developers need to do to plug-in their synchronization tasks into the Sync Center. I wonder if they showed a Sync Center demo with Windows Mobile device at the PDC? :?

[Andy Sjostrom]

I went to Potter's presentation on the Sync Center but there were no mention of PDAs, phones etc in the actual presentation. I had wanted to queue up to ask him to position Sync Center and ActiveSync but there were so many others in line before me and I had to rush to the next session.

The purpose of the presentation was more to explain how developers can plug into the Sync Center for their own purposes.

However, from most of what I've read about Sync Center it does seem to be The Sync Place moving forward. For example: http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windowsvista/experiences/connected.mspx

Knowing the VAST amount of issues being dealt with in ActiveSync, I don't anticipate using the Sync Center for any WinMobile-syncing any time soon, though. IF this is Microsoft's future sync track even for "our" devices, then my guess is that it won't happen until 2007. But that is only my guess.

[Kris Kumar]

Thanks for the comments, Andy.

So am I correct in guessing that Microsoft does not want to commit to merging ActiveSync into the Sync Center? :?

The screen shot I have posted in my original post is from the PDC image gallery, that has a reference to the PDA.

And in Potter's presentation, the slide titled "Synchronization Today" had screen shots of ActiveSync, File Synchonization and I believe a Nokia phone [:?] sync application in the background. I wonder what Microsoft is cooking? It seems like they want to merge all the sync into one place. But the more you analyze the data, it seems like the details are sketchy. :?

[Jason Dunn]

I'm waiting to hear back from a Microsoft PR person for more info on this topic, but I have a very strong hunch that we'll still need ActiveSync. They just went through the huge task of re-writing 4.0 from scratch, which they wouldn't have done if Vista was going to obsolete it. :?

[encece]

Unless the coding of active sync gets merged into SyncCenter....which could have been one of the background reasons for the re-write?

[Fritzly]

They just went through the huge task of re-writing 4.0 from scratch, which they wouldn't have done if Vista was going to obsolete it. :?

I hope they are already working on 5.X or at least 4.XX.
AS 4 is giving me all kind of problems. And yes I am using it with my JAsJar therefore with a WM5 based product; it shipped with the device so I consider it a "commercial released software".

[Kris Kumar]

They just went through the huge task of re-writing 4.0 from scratch, which they wouldn't have done if Vista was going to obsolete it. :?

Hmm..I think they will have to rev it when Vista is launched it, if it is going to be a separate app. Because I installed 4.0 and the toolbar icons dont show up. Not sure if it is a Vista bug or an ActiveSync issue. None of the other apps I have installed seem to have that problem. I know it is too early in the beta. :-)

Following text is from the Microsoft website for Windows Vista: Connected. (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/connected.mspx)

Easily connect to what you need

Device synchronization: Windows Vista provides one place for you to quickly and easily set up and synchronize the devices that you depend on like cell phones and PDAs. You can easily manage the information that you share with your devices and insure that they are up to date and in sync with your computer.

[Kris Kumar]

Sync Center team's blog: (http://blogs.msdn.com/SyncCenter/) hopefully they will be answering a lot of our doubts in the future.