Pocket Mac Pro 2.0 Reviews

[marlof]

Today I'll hopefully <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5966">get my iBook</a>. I don't think I'll do a <a href="http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,50384,00.html">unpacking ceremony</a>, but I do know I'm going to install Pocket Mac Pro 2.0, the Pocket PC sync tool for those running OS X. If you want to learn more about this, recently two reviews of Pocket Mac Pro 2.0 have been released. <br /><br />First, from the Apple world of things, Dave Marsh from the Stockton Apple Users Group <a href="http://home.inreach.com/saug/articles/pocketmac20.html">looks at the product</a> and also shows that you can synchronize over an Airport connection. His conclusion: "Overall, I'd have to say I'm really quite pleased that the PocketMac folks have come out with this product, and that it now works reliably on my HP Jornada 568. It also works with other Pocket PCs, but you should check their site for specifics before you buy since not all Pocket PCs are alike. It's taken a while for them to get it right, but now it works and I love having this functionality again. If you use a Pocket PC, you should definitely give this connectivity solution a look."<br /><br />Second, from the Pocket PC world of things, Jose V. Sumaquial, MD of <a href="http://medicalpocketpc.com/articles/review_pocketmac.shtml">MedicalPocketPC.com</a> reviews Pocket Mac Pro 2.0 as well. He seems to like Pocket Mac Pro, but still finds a need for a PC or Virtual PC, as the Pocket Mac solutions like Cab Extractor in his experience doesn't offer a 100% solution. "PocketMac offers native MacOS connectivity to Pocket PCs. No other application does this. There are other alternatives, including <a href="http://www.connectix.com">VirtualPC</a> in conjunction with Microsoft ActiveSync. PocketMac offers basic connectivity to Pocket PCs but falls short when it comes to installing applications onto the Pocket PC. [...] If you own a PC and a Mac, then PocketMac is a good means of synchronizing your Mac's PIM with the Pocket PC. However, if you only have a Mac and would like to install applications and need more complete connectivity, then VirtualPC is the way to go (but is a significantly more expensive alternative)."

[Jonathan1]

Ummm just when I thought Apple users couldn't get more bizarre. An unpacking ceremony?!?!?! WTF?!?!?! Hmm I wonder what portion of the people that do this also have little shrines for Jobs in their house? :lol: :? It really is sad. Esp the part about rather seeing pictures of iMacs then naked women. I think there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed when admiring a company and its products and THAT guy on that wired article didn’t walk across that line he was catapulted 1/4 mile over it.
I guess to an extent it really is true: Apple is more of a cult then a computer company. So when Jobs dies are Mac users going to start looking for the reincarnation of Steve Jobs the first? :lol:

[Foo Fighter]

I haven't tried PocketMac yet with my iMac. I'll give it a twirl this this week sometime.

[Mr. Anonymous]

Congrats on the new Mac. If you're not going to photograph the unpacking (shame on you!) at least be sure to take time to smell the packaging. I'm serious, nothing smells better than fresh electronics :)

[jizmo]

While we are at it, someone really *should* port the Macintosh Emulator to PPC. There's a Sharp Zaurus port of the opensource Basilisk emulator @

http://www.killefiz.de/zaurus/showdetail.php?app=615

Maybe some of the programmers here at PPCThoughts could take some time and try to recompile it to work on PPC as well? There are quite a few good utilities for the platform. 8)

/jizmo

[ExtremeSIMS]

I am pretty pleased with PocketMac Pro. I have had some issues, but I managed to work through them. It is mandatory that you have a Windows PC or VPC, though, as installing CABs does require a Windows box most of the time. I have several here at home and work, so it's not big deal for me to sync up to install apps.

Johnathon - the Ars OpenForum Battlefront (http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?a=frm&s=50009562&f=48409524) is where you want to post. ;) Seriously, I come from a Windows/Unix/Linux background, and until you use a Mac, you can not understand. It's like Japanese presentation. Nothing is just jammed into a box when you buy at a boutique or department store - it's "presented". A little bit of art and form in everything....

Marlof - time for someone (PocketMac? Users?) to fund a Quicken sync tool that will work as well!

[XmanHP548]

1.0 was a work in progress; 2.0 is a much more full-featured program that is actually useable. :P

Actually, I did have an unpacking ceremony for my Mac when she arrived, but it wasn't as nutso as the one in the Wired article :wink:

[Jonathan1]

Actually, I did have an unpacking ceremony for my Mac when she arrived, but it wasn't as nutso as the one in the Wired article :wink:

How do you determine the gender of your computer? If it has male for female USB ports? :lol:

[Jonathan1]

Johnathon - the Ars OpenForum Battlefront (http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?a=frm&s=50009562&f=48409524) is where you want to post. ;) Seriously, I come from a Windows/Unix/Linux background, and until you use a Mac, you can not understand. It's like Japanese presentation. Nothing is just jammed into a box when you buy at a boutique or department store - it's "presented". A little bit of art and form in everything....


Hey! Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Mac hardware itself. (Other then I believe its overpriced but high quality so it kinda works out in the end.)

I have problems with people going overboard with their computers and the companies that sell them. Ever see the movie hackers. The guy who gets busted and he's clinging, nude, to the leg of the fed that is dragging away his computer. Granted that's WAY extreme but still. It’s an inanimate object. Who cares?

[Jonathan1]

OK not to drag the topic off course but since I have the ear...er.....eye of Mac users. Question. What devices from my PC would work in a Mac tower if I ever decided to buy a Mac?

Specifically would I be able to use any of the following:
MS Optical Mouse Explorer (Fairly confidant)
GeForce 4 AGP(Doubtful)
Soundblaster Audigy (Doubtful)
Altec Lansing 251 5.1 Speaker (Do Macs do 5.1..?????They are geared towards multimedia so I'm guessing yes.)
Existing 120GB hard drive? (Not a freaking clue.)

I've got a fairly heavy investment in hardware on my Dell Desktop. It erks me thinking that I'd lose at minimum about $500 off of that investment if I went to a Power Mac tower. (No way I'm getting a bowl)

[ExtremeSIMS]

OK not to drag the topic off course but since I have the ear...er.....eye of Mac users. Question. What devices from my PC would work in a Mac tower if I ever decided to buy a Mac?

Specifically would I be able to use any of the following:
MS Optical Mouse Explorer (Fairly confidant)
GeForce 4 AGP(Doubtful)
Soundblaster Audigy (Doubtful)
Altec Lansing 251 5.1 Speaker (Do Macs do 5.1..?????They are geared towards multimedia so I'm guessing yes.)
Existing 120GB hard drive? (Not a freaking clue.)

I've got a fairly heavy investment in hardware on my Dell Desktop. It erks me thinking that I'd lose at minimum about $500 off of that investment if I went to a Power Mac tower. (No way I'm getting a bowl)

Optical mouse would work - that's what I use on my G4 and my Powerbook.
GeForce 4 - I doubt it. You might be able to flash it, or it may be one of the rare ones with dual capability flashed in already. Check http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/ for info.
Audigy - sigh, I wish. I bought the Live! for Mac a long time ago, and the drivers were never released for OS X. Then again, the Mac has great sound built-in. Ditto the speakers - no surround sound, unless you buy a higher-end card. Yes, Macs SHOULD have this capability, but no jazz. One of my peeves.
120GB drive - reinitialize and go.

[Jonathan007]

Greetings all! I have been visiting this site for some time now, but today I decided to join the discussion regarding PocketMac Pro. I was intrigued (but skeptical) when I learned about a product to sync my iPaq with a Mac. When I purchased my "bowl" (iMac), as someone put it, this was the first product I wanted for it. My skepticism was a correct assumption. In the first iteration of PocketMac Pro, sync'ing took approx 12 minutes. After the update, sync'ing took approx 5 minutes. A far cry from a mere seconds on a windows machine (including updating web pages on AvantGo)! Also, the synchronization screws up recurring events in Entourage, and on the iPaq. After the sync, my iPaq was telling me I had to pay rent every single day, for the next 2 years! 8O
I am pleased that someone out there realizes the functionality of owning a PPC and a Mac, but this product needs some work. More to follow...

For Jonathan1, it is doubtful that you will be able to move any of the guts from your dell to your mac. Windows machines address memory(as well as many other things) very different from Mac's. Your external hardware (mice, mp3 players, speakers, etc) should move over with no problems though. (I could be wrong on this one, I am still figuring out OS X for myself! :?

[Charles Pickrell]

Jonothan 007

Pocket Mac is slow because it is using AppleScript to speak with Entourage. Microsoft only recently finished commuinications API's for Entourage and I'm sure the Pocket Mac folks are already working to get them integrated into the software to speed things up. I heard that the all day event bug has been fixed. Check for an update online.

[klinux]

OK not to drag the topic off course

There is this thing called starting a new thread! :roll:

[Jonathan1]

There is this thing called starting a new thread! :roll:

Ya and like Apple users are going to immediately be drawn to that thread that isn't on the front page. :roll:

[klinux]

Well, then go to an Apple forum or the Apple site or the tons of places on the internet where you learn whether Apple works (or does not work) for you. No need to troll is what I am saying.

[Jason Dunn]

Let's keep it on topic guys - Macs and synching to a Pocket PC. Nothing else - thanks.

[Daniel]

Ok, I want to see Microsoft release an iSync plug-in for the PPC. Not to take anything away from the guys at PocketMac, they're doing a good job here but seriously, Microsoft released a conduit for the Palm to sync with Office:mac but not PPC? What's going on with that!? I still can't believe that they would prefer to support a competitors product over their own. I can see that maybe that's where the market it but still, what a pain!

Daniel

[Janak Parekh]

Ok, I want to see Microsoft release an iSync plug-in for the PPC. Not to take anything away from the guys at PocketMac, they're doing a good job here but seriously, Microsoft released a conduit for the Palm to sync with Office:mac but not PPC? What's going on with that!? I still can't believe that they would prefer to support a competitors product over their own. I can see that maybe that's where the market it but still, what a pain!
Well, this is one of the problems of MS's size - you're seeing different groups semi-unintentionally competing with each other.

I think you'll never see an iSync plugin for Pocket PC's :( The reason is simple: MS sees iSync as a competitive technology to their proprietary ActiveSync technology.

--janak

[PocketMac]

Hi all,

We ourselves would actually very much like to integrate PocketMac with iSync. There are probably a number of reasons, though, why this is still quite some time off.

First and foremost, Apple has not released **any** tools to allow anyone other than Apple to create plugins or add devices to iSync. It's as disappointingly simple as that.

While it's true that even if (when?) they do release such tools, there's still quite some work to be done, nothing can even get started until we know what needs to be done.

As for the performance of PocketMac, well, I'm sorry that you find it to be slower than you'd like. PocketMac was written and designed with the intent of making the impossible into the possible. Making the impossible into the speedy will require more work :)

More seriously, though, Charles is correct. One of the things that makes AS synching so fast is that all the parts are written by the same company, where both tools are very open and designed to allow data to pass freely between them. Historically, data exchange has not been the chief focus of Entourage. On the other hand, there are now tools which we are learning to use with the goal of speeding up the sync process considerably. Does that mean that when we're done, a sync will only take 6 seconds? Probably not. But will it be much closer to that than it has been? Yes.

Also, if speed is your primary concern, and for some people it is indeed very important, you should find the AddressBook / iCal plugins faster.

Hope that helps to clear up a few open questions. :)

Please feel free to email me at [email protected] if there's anything else I can help answer :)

Thank you,

Terence

[dMores]

going back to the mac-fetish of unpacking ...
i wouldn't consider myself a typical mac user, since i've only recently acquired a powerbook. i use the powerbook as my main computer now, but i still work a lot on windows machines.

i have to confess that when i got the powerbook, i was truly excited. and i think even more than when i finally finished building my dual-athlon system with top-end geforce and surround sound. true, i was overjoyed back then, but with the powerbook it was different. it had more of a magic touch to it.

but only since mac-os-X have i become interested in macs. had to use os9 in the SAE-college, and it sucked. videos wouldn't play smoothly (so much for macs being a "multimedia machine"), and 3D was dead slow.

g4, osX, they've done a lot for the mac platform