12-18-2002, 12:45 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,350
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Bite the Apple, Get a Mac To Go
One of my pet subjects with Microsoft when it comes to Pocket PCs has been Mac synchronization. I know that the Mac is not the biggest selling platform when it comes to personal computing. But I do know that the multimedia environment that is Mac oriented might benefit a lot from a multitasking multimedia environment in their Pocket. Many Mac owners I know loved my Pocket PC, until they found out that it didn't sync with their Entourage. Past tense? Yes, because Mac owners tell me that Pocket Mac now actually works.
At the same time, I was facing the challenge of replacing my trustworthy Sony Vaio notebook. My mother wanted to educate herself in computing, that notebook met her needs and I wanted something new anyhow, so the Vaio was given to her. I don't need a notebook now as much as I used to, and if I do, it's mostly office related, Web browsing, e-mailing or light photo editing. I don't have any work related compatibility issues, and almost anything I'd choose could do what I wanted to do. I put 2 and 2 together and figured that this was my chance to learn a new trick.
So instead of going my regular route of ordering yet another Sony Vaio, I opted for an iBook. Of course, the TiBook was tempting, but for my needs it would be overkill that would have to come out of my own pocket. Hopefully the iBook will arrive soon, and from then on I'll keep you posted on the relationship between my Mac and my Pocket PCs. If there are tips Mac owners out there have for me, feel free to post them as I'm a total novice when it comes to the Mac. Heck, I might even sign up for that switch stuff if the Mac works seamlessly with all the gadgets I love. ;-)
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12-18-2002, 12:59 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 399
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ok, pocket mac syncs the PIM data on a mac, but what about if you wanted to add more applications to your PDA? Most software is written for install via Activesync on a PC platform, not Mac. If the individual .cab install files were not available for a particular PPC app, then would the Mac user be sh*t out luck? or is there a way for Pocket Mac to be able to do this for them?
I'm an IT director and have a couple of mac users that wanted to get a PPC but when I let them know that it would only be good for PIM they decided to go with Palms. Is there something I'm missing?
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12-18-2002, 01:07 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 157
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Smitty,
Pocket Mac featues a program called .cab extractor. It sucks CAB files out of EXE intstallers so Mac users can install Pocket PC software. It is a pretty elegant solution.
For more info:
http://www.pocketmac.net/cabextractor.htm
__________________
Charles Pickrell
Sacramento Mobiole Computing SIG
A chapter of the NorCal Mobile Computing SIG
www.mobilecomputingsig.com |
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12-18-2002, 01:07 AM
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Sage
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 735
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Woo hoo, congrats. I too was a total novice when I started using a Mac. I switched for its ability to work with media files and also for its geeky Unix-y OS with journaling file system. I too ditched a Sony VAIO (SR series) to go to an iBook (700 mhz 12.1" combo drive).
My advice:
1) In exchange for the seamless integration between its components and the beautiful GUI, be ready to accept the speed hit (e.g. slower MP3 ripping, screen redraw etc, and forget about encoding video) compared to the 1.x -3.x ghz CPUs that we in the PC world are used too. Fine for office work, e-mail, and web but heavy duty stuff should be done on a PC or a G4 Mac.
2) Networking does not seem as intuitive if you are used to Windows networking but once set up you can easily FTP, HTTP, SMB, etc to a mixed network.
3) Max out the RAM. 384 is great; 640 is ideal. This is the most important upgrade you can make.
4) Get an external mouse. I can't believe Apple still has that one button mouse thing going. Any USB one would do but Kensington StudioMouse Kensington StudioMouse seems to be a perfect match. Other Kensington accessories are available here. I use the FlyLight regularly.
I have Entourage and Office on my Mac but I still sync my PPCs to PC Outlook. Would like to hear your resuilts though.
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12-18-2002, 01:12 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 98
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I run a network enginnering group in a mixed PC/Mac shop (about 50-50) and I am a Mac user with a PocketPC and with PocketMac Pro 2.0. I've got users on both Palm and PPC on both platforms so I have some experience with this.
You are correct in saying that installing apps (usually) requires ActiveSync running on a PC. It's hard to get around that. Because many mac users often have one specific app that ONLY runs on PC, they usually buy a copy of VirtualPC to run that app. I run VPC whenever I need to install a new app to my PocketPC. Other than that, PocketMac directly syncs my calendar with either iCal or Entourage and it syncs my address book with Address Book or Entourage. It works very well. You can also browse and move files back and forth to and from the PPC - no real problem. It even automatically detects my PPC and tells me what type it is. All of this is extremely impressive considering they had a lot of trouble getting the info they needed from Apple and Microsoft to make the application work. I think they must have reverse-engineered most of it.
Since installing apps isn't a daily occurance, I don't think occasionallly having to run VPC to install a PPC app is all that big a problem, but if you ARE installing apps frequently, then it might be an issue. Otherwise it works just fine. It may even work better at some things than Palm desktop 4 since PD4 appears tostill have a number of compatability problems, especially under Mac OS X.
I do want to mention one problem I've seen, though. Sometimes the PMPro application interferes with Ethernet use. Disconnecting the sync cradle/connection makes the problem go away. I've noticed this problem on my TiBook but not on a G4 desktop that I tried.
--Chris
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12-18-2002, 01:14 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 399
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Charles Pickrell
Smitty,
Pocket Mac featues a program called .cab extractor. It sucks CAB files out of EXE intstallers so Mac users can install Pocket PC software. It is a pretty elegant solution.
For more info:
http://www.pocketmac.net/cabextractor.htm |
Thanks for the solution. When we looked into Pocket Mac before it was still in beta and from what I found at the time, it would only do the PIM sync. This is great info in case we get more users that want a PPC over a Palm.
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12-18-2002, 01:21 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 480
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I'm sorry I have to say this, but, you evil, evil man. Contributing to a cult with a "father knows best" attitude...
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12-18-2002, 01:23 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 399
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by cgavula
I run a network enginnering group in a mixed PC/Mac shop (about 50-50) and I am a Mac user with a PocketPC and with PocketMac Pro 2.0. I've got users on both Palm and PPC on both platforms so I have some experience with this.
You are correct in saying that installing apps (usually) requires ActiveSync running on a PC. It's hard to get around that. Because many mac users often have one specific app that ONLY runs on PC, they usually buy a copy of VirtualPC to run that app. I run VPC whenever I need to install a new app to my PocketPC. Other than that, PocketMac directly syncs my calendar with either iCal or Entourage and it syncs my address book with Address Book or Entourage. It works very well. You can also browse and move files back and forth to and from the PPC - no real problem. It even automatically detects my PPC and tells me what type it is. All of this is extremely impressive considering they had a lot of trouble getting the info they needed from Apple and Microsoft to make the application work. I think they must have reverse-engineered most of it.
Since installing apps isn't a daily occurance, I don't think occasionallly having to run VPC to install a PPC app is all that big a problem, but if you ARE installing apps frequently, then it might be an issue. Otherwise it works just fine. It may even work better at some things than Palm desktop 4 since PD4 appears tostill have a number of compatability problems, especially under Mac OS X.
I do want to mention one problem I've seen, though. Sometimes the PMPro application interferes with Ethernet use. Disconnecting the sync cradle/connection makes the problem go away. I've noticed this problem on my TiBook but not on a G4 desktop that I tried.
--Chris
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Actually Charles Pickrell's solution sounds a lot easier. My end of the company is 100% PC based, my counterpart IT person in Chicago is the Mac person. So the the simplest solution is the best for me. Thanks for the info.
ps- I just saw WindowsXP running on one of those G4's with huge mac screen at one of the new Apple stores. I was very impressed with how it worked and without looking at the case, no one would have been able to tell it was Mac. Before that, my only experience with PC running on a Mac was the old PowerPC that had dual motherboards in them. God, were those things awful.
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12-18-2002, 01:25 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,608
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Welcome to the Mac world. I took delivery of an iBook 800 mhz w/640 RAM and a combo drive last Weds. I am very interested in how Pocket Mac works for you. Only the Pro version works with Entourage correct? I also think it's too expensive. As a temporary solution I have installed Virtual PC 5.x. This let's me run WinXP with full access to the USB ports on the iBook for Active Sync. Of course when I am home, I just sync up with my dekstop PC.
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12-18-2002, 01:29 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 33
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YES! YES! YES!
YES! YES! YES!
Comeon over to the Mac side - I switched a year ago and haven't looked back. PocketMac 2.0 finally works ok with my Maestro (and my old HP 548) and life is looking good :lol:
I do have to say though that I use Windows 2000 at work and I like it well enough for a Windows-based system. It has been pretty stable all things considered.
On the home front though the Mac has revolutionized the way that I use a computer. Trust me, you spend FAR less time trying to figure out and troubleshoot the OS on a Mac than on an MS system. OS X is downright stunning!
To all Windows users - DON'T BE AFRAID. You can keep your PocketPC and make the leap to the world of Apple!
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