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rodrigo_braz
05-19-2006, 08:20 AM
Hi,

I am considering switching from PC to Mac but I use a PPC heavily. Does it make sense to use a PPC with the Mac? Can I sync it with the Mac PIM, or any PIM in it whatsoever? Sync with Yahoo, things like that? Any thoughts and pointers appreciated.

Rodrigo

Guest979
05-19-2006, 06:55 PM
Hello rodrigo_braz.

I sync my iPaq 1940 with Mac OS X 10.4.6 (meaning iCal and Address Book) using The Missing Sync 2.0 for Windows Mobile, from Mark/Space. I think it works pretty well. The main points to keep in mind are:

1) Support for Intel Macs, as well as Windows Mobile 5, are both extremely "preliminary" - I would NOT recommend making this your primary organization system just yet, if you are planning to use Intel or WM5.

2) You probably realize that many PocketPC programs come wrapped inside a Windows XP Executable, which you have to run on Windows in order to extract a CAB file. Obviously, this presents a bit of a complication for Mac users. I use Virtual PC on my PowerBook, and it works, although it can be quite slow. Macintel users can just use Boot Camp (especially since it sounds like you already own a license of Windows XP), although Macintel support is, once again, not "there yet."

3) If, for some reason, you should find yourself in possession of the old version 1.x of The Missing Sync for PocketPC... don't use it. Seriously, just don't. :)
While I'm at it, steer clear of the "Lite" version of PocketMac at all costs.

Pixelnose
05-20-2006, 07:43 AM
I agree about intel and WM5. I'm saving up my pennies ATM for a MBP, but that's plenty of time for an intel native version of one of these programs to be released.

And I'm hoping that it's Pocketmac. Seriously, TMS just blows compared to Pocketmac. I know that TMS is more popular in the forums, but it doesn't change the fact that it just doesn't work while Pocketmac does. Neither in Entourage nor in ical can TMS manage to put an all-day event on the right day, and sometimes it will just decide your events should be on a different hour. And this is an issue that existsed from version 1 onwards! TMS is just clunky and buggy, and while Pocketmac isn't as pretty, it can at least be reliably expected to sync events to the correct days...

And let's not even get started with TMS and connectivity issues with bluetooth. Whether it was an iMate Jam or an iPaq 2210, TMS would just decide, ok, time to drop the connection for no real reason. Not pocketmac. Don't believe the TMS hype. Go with something that works. :p

As for exe files, yeah, those are hit or miss. There programs such as File Juicer that can see inside exe files, but only certain ones. It's better to just get the cab file if you can.

The PIM I prefer is ical, since I sync with my ipod as well, but with Pocketmac there's been no issues with either ical or Entourage (Mac version of Outlook).

Janak Parekh
05-20-2006, 10:01 PM
And I'm hoping that it's Pocketmac. Seriously, TMS just blows compared to Pocketmac.
Interesting; I've heard the precise opposite from quite a few users, and I had no issues syncing iCal with Missing Sync.

<shrug> Ultimately, whatever works for you. :)

--janak

Guest979
05-21-2006, 01:37 AM
Interesting; I've heard the precise opposite from quite a few users

Wanna hear it again? :)

I have no Bluetooth problems with TMS on my Mac - in fact, this is what finally rescued me from constant disconnecting/reconnecting caused by my iPaq's "quaint" OEM cable - this had been causing data corruption and a variety of other problems.

I have only tried the Lite version of PocketMac, but there's a program that does literally nothing. There are numerous other people across the Internet who have confirmed that it has no ability to sync any appointments, with anything. I have never heard of anyone getting it to work. Although the Deluxe version may be better, I have not seen any reason to believe that Lite has been fixed, and since PocketMac obviously knows about the problems by now, I think it is outright fraud to continue charging for a product that does nothing (if it does indeed still do nothing).

Pixelnose
05-22-2006, 03:05 AM
Yeah, that's why I posted so passionately about it. I stuck with TMS for what, over two years.. due to the massive hype across various forums, and the negativity to Pocketmac. That and I'd had good luck with TMS for my Clie n770, so I figured that it would work for ppc too.

My bad. Apparently the time zone issue, according to the mailing list, is an issue for those outside the US. And it's been around since the beginning, and wasn't even fixed in version 2. Bluetooth dropouts happen on multiple devices and multiple setups. The first was a g4 800mhz imac (lampshade) with a bt dongle, the second was a 12.1" g4 ibook 1.2ghz, with internal bluetooth. Across OsX versions too.

And the fact that they expected us to pay for bug fixes was just galling. Pay for new features, ok fine, but pay for what should have been working from the start?? No way. Time to try out Pocketmac.

And I did, and to my amazement, it's just stable, and works. What TMS for Palm once was.

It's true that Pocketmac isn't as pretty, but try both if you can (they really should be offering a demo, both these companies, if they're still not), and see which one works for you.

Edit: I suppose it needs Rosetta to work, but if you bluetooth sync, it does work:

http://www.pocketmac.net/updates.html#Intel

Edit 2: And in all fairness, apparently TMS works under emulation as well. As for WM5, both companies look to be on the case.