Do I have to sync?

[BarePaw]

I have access to a computer lab at school. I have a personal account on a network, but they don't let us install anything like Activesync. The computers do have USB ports though. Is there a way to move files from the PPC to the computer without Activesync?

[PDANEWBIE]

I don't suppose they would allow you to put your PPC on their network with wireless? if thats the case then you only need a network share. Other than that the only thing I can think of is use an SD card and something like the Jumpdrive Trio to plug into the USB port of the PC.

[ADBrown]

Only via Bluetooth, WiFi, or a USB memory card reader.

[BarePaw]

That's the odd thing about it. They have a wireless network, but they don't allow PDAs, just Laptops. They say PDAs are "too much of a virus risk".

[Wiggster]

They say PDAs are "too much of a virus risk".

:rotfl:

[CrashX]

I gotta go with Wiggy on that one! :rofl: :rotfl:

[Sven Johannsen]

That's the odd thing about it. They have a wireless network, but they don't allow PDAs, just Laptops. They say PDAs are "too much of a virus risk".

And these people are running your network :roll:

[Darius Wey]

And these people are running your network :roll:

It's probably unencrypted too. :roll:

[ADBrown]

That's the odd thing about it. They have a wireless network, but they don't allow PDAs, just Laptops. They say PDAs are "too much of a virus risk".

Just adopt a long-suffering facial expression, and say in a voice loud enough for other people to hear, "You DO realize that there are no viruses for PocketPCs, right?"

[Ultima]

Just do what the people did at my school...unplug one of the workstation computers to plug in a virus ridden laptop because the school won't let you on their wireless, and get the network so infected that there are several days of downtime as the server gets dis-infected and all the client machines re-imaged.... As I remember, this happened about once every month or so, and while it was happening, all the older teachers stated how this never happened with their old Mac networks.

Wait...that's not helpful, insightful, or even remotely on-topic.

If I were you, I would invest in some good backup software, unless you're using a PDA that already has some decent backup software. Most new iPaqs come with a pretty decent iPaq backup program, but I hear Sprite's backup program to be pretty decent. Doing this will allow you to backup to a memory card, which I'll assume you already have or will be investing in soon. They're not expensive. As for getting files to a computer without ActiveSync, a good card reader will do the trick just fine. I use a nice little one made by MediaGear, which cost me around $10 at CompUSA.

http://web.mymediagear.com/Default.aspx?tabid=90

This will allow you to use that memory card through the USB port on the computer. Pocket Word an Pocket Excel use some pretty funky file formats though, which I'm pretty sure a computer can't read until ActiveSync is installed (someone PLEASE correct me if I'm mistaken!). So, in those programs, use the "Save as" function to save your documents as .rtf for word, and whatever it is pocket excel offers (my iPaq is upstairs and I'm too lazy to check) when you save them to the card, otherwise the PC might not be able to read it.

If you haven't invested in a memory card yet, Sandisk is coming out with something that looks pretty damn cool pretty soon:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/07/usb_friendly_flash_memory/
That should negate the need to carry around a separate little card reader.

Also, if I haven't been specific enough, a "card reader" will also write to the memory card. This means that you could put documents onto your PDA from the computer, but be careful what file types you use. I did mention that Pocket Word and Pocket Excel save into a wierd format, the reverse is also true. The .doc files and .xls files that the regular Word and Excel use are not readable on the Pocket PC platform without special software. You need to use the "save as" function on those programs to save them as .rtf and .whatever-pocket-excel-can-use.

Lastly, you could ask them for the settings for the wireless network, um, "for my laptop, which is at home but I might bring it sometime." WiFi networks are pretty universal, so if it's a wide-open wireless network, you should be able to connect to it with no problems. If it has a network key, the same key that you use with a laptop will work on a PDA. They just don't need to know that. If they give you any fuss about it, tell them it runs an Intel processor and Windows, so it IS a laptop. I think the "virus risk" thing was just a short way of saying "I have no idea how to set that up to work, and it probably can't, so I won't bother." Typical school IT zombies....

[yankeejeep]

Too bad your IT folks don't realize that Windows Mobile is a different OS from desktop or server Windows. It is practically impossible for a virus that would infect your PPC OS to infect a standard Windows system.

That being said, it is completely possible for a document file (say, Word or Excel) you have downloaded to your PPC from another source and then transferred to a desktop system to carry something in. Many AV options out there can be set to scan incoming email and attachments automatically but not documents that are directly copied to their file systems from another attached system. If this is their concern, you're most likely not going to get a thumbs-up on a card reader being attached to one of the networked systems since it will have the same blind spot.

You should ask if the AV defense being used scans all incoming documents regardless of entry point (including direct copy into a desktop's file system). That is the only way that something from your PPC could infect the network and then it would need the file to be opened before an AV scan was done.

[PDANEWBIE]

So, in those programs, use the "Save as" function to save your documents as .rtf for word, and whatever it is pocket excel offers (my iPaq is upstairs and I'm too lazy to check) when you save them to the card, otherwise the PC might not be able to read it.

I believe thats XLS :)

[yankeejeep]

You can actually save in .doc and .xls formats in Pocket Word and Pocket Excel respectively. However, that doesn't change the fact that unsupported features get stripped from documents. Maybe you can get IT to spring for TextMaker and PlanMaker for your PPC so you can work with Word and Excel files in their native formats and with their features and options left intact.

[ADBrown]

If this is their concern, you're most likely not going to get a thumbs-up on a card reader being attached to one of the networked systems since it will have the same blind spot.

Given that they think a PDA attached to the WiFi is a virus threat, I doubt that they're that clueful.