Sync my data… please!
For the last 10+ years, I have used a standalone Windows-based PIM called Time & Chaos on my work PC to track my work and personal contact and calendar data. About 5 years ago, I picked up a Palm and got it synced with my PIM. All was well with the world. Then, a year or two ago I got a Mac. And I got a Razr V3. I learned the joys of Bluetooth address book syncing between the Razr and iCal. Life was pretty good. And then my office started using Outlook, and I realized that I really needed to have my contact and calendar data there too (the work-related stuff, at least).
So now if I have a work-related entry, I enter it twice — once into my old PIM, and once into Outlook. (If it’s a personal entry, I don’t want to put it into Outlook because our Outlook data can be shared and I don’t know enough yet about Outlook to assure myself that my personal stuff won’t get shown all over the office network.) If I get new contact data for someone, I may be punching it in three times: once into my cell phone, once into my Palm or my old PIM, and once into Outlook.
I would love to make better use of Google Calendars and my Mac’s Address Book and iCal, too, but it feels like I’m in too deep already. I am drowning in contact and calendar apps.
Hasn’t somebody come up with a way to get all this stuff to work together yet? I would love to simplify things so that I have my contact and calendar data on: (1) Outlook on my work Windows PC, (2) iCal/Address Book on my home Mac, and (3) whatever my mobile device uses, so that work and home and mobile all get synced.
Speaking of mobile devices… my Razr has served me well but the 2-year contract is almost up. And my Palm is nice and solid, but Palm the company seems like a sinking ship these days. I have been thinking hard about jumping to a phone with PDA features as well. The Treo used to hold my attention, but now the iPhone’s siren song calls! My only reservations are (1) the cost, (2) the cost, (3) the cost, and (4) the certainty that I will need to look stuff up while I am on the phone, and how the hell do you do that anyway if you’ve only got one device?
Maybe Google Calendars is the glue that I need to hold all this stuff together. Web 2.0, take me away from all this!
February 4th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Hmmm, to quote the Magic 8-Ball, “Outlook not so good”.
Actually, I’m in nearly the same boat. We are plagued with Outlook at work and actually my cell phone will only sync with Outlook. But there is a zero chance of me ever running Outlook at home.
Mac’s iCal/Address Book is adequate but doesn’t sync with Google Calendar.
The iPhone would be a pretty good solution for me except that it doesn’t play nicely with Linux. While I do currently have an iBook, once that bites the dust there’s no guarantee that it’ll get replaced with a Mac.
February 4th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
What’s worse, every utility I’ve come across that claims to do Outlook syncing expects that you have Outlook 2003 at the very oldest. We’re still running Outlook 2000.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Apple just announced the new iPhone software that is coming out soon that will allow your phone to sync with Exchange (I assume this is your mail server at work) through ActiveSync which they licensed from Microsoft. If it is the ActiveSync that I am currently familiar with, this will allow Outlook to push your data to the phone. Then run Parallels on your Mac (if you have an Intel Mac), so you can run Windows XP and Outlook at home.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Yeah, ActiveSync support makes it even more tempting to get an iPhone. It’s still pricey, though.
And, woo hoo! Google Calendar Sync looks like a great starting point for Outlook-GCal. But it only works with one Google Calendar, and I already am using half a dozen. And like the other utilities I’ve been examining, it requires at least Outlook 2003. Now I really want that Office 2007 upgrade they’ve been promising at work.
March 24th, 2008 at 7:24 am
I’m a Mac user and have been successful in getting some of the sync going that may help you. Using .Mac, I subscribe my Google Calendar to my iCal calendars. The URL is a webcal protocol and can be a little fussy to get right. I’m not a professional IT guy so I just did trial and error until I got it to work. I believe there are free alternatives to .Mac to where you can publish your iCal calendars but I have no specifics in mind. That exercise is left to the student.
Vice versa, I can also subscribe iCal to see my Google calendars. My wife and kids have their own gCal accounts. That’s how we sync the collective family life calendars.
Sorry, I’m not a Windows user so have no suggestions on syncing Outlook.