.FLYINGHEAD LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
.TITLE Macintosh support and Outlook ideas
.DEPT
.EDNOTE It’s a big month for the Mac in PalmPower. A reader has some critical comments about PalmPilot support for the Macintosh. Plus, another reader shares some interesting ideas for using Outlook with the PalmPilot.
.SUMMARY It’s a big month for the Mac in PalmPower. A reader has some critical comments about PalmPilot support for the Macintosh. Plus, another reader shares some interesting ideas for using Outlook with the PalmPilot.
.H1 Macintosh frustrations and caviar dreams
I’m a PalmPilot fanatic, with a Wintel laptop at work and a Macintosh laptop at home. And it’s great that Palm has supplied host software for both Windows and MacOS. A big part of the value of the PalmPilot is that it is a connected organizer: it can share information with the applications on your computer. But the sad fact that the PalmPilot is a whole lot less connected to Macintoshes than to Wintel machines.
The Windows desktop software is version 2.1, while the Mac desktop is stuck at version 1.0. The Windows software supports the Expense app and email, while the Mac software does not.
Palm Computing provides tools for software developers to synchronize their Windows applications with the PalmPilot, but not the corresponding tools for Mac apps. As a result, on Windows a good dozen Personal Information Managers (PIMs) can HotSync data with the PalmPilot, and developers are swarming to provide other apps with data synchronization. Over on the Macintosh, only one application can HotSync data with the PalmPilot, and that only by disabling the standard desktop software, losing the Memo Pad.
Even within the narrow bounds of what both the Macintosh and Windows desktop software supports, the Macintosh software is extraordinarily sluggish and unreliable. I routinely get timeout errors when performing a HotSync between the Macintosh desktop with my PalmPilot, while the Windows desktop synchronizes with no problem. When I attempt to enter several appointment into the Mac Calendar function, the software gets slower and slower until adding a single appointment takes over a minute. At this point I have to quit the desktop and re-start it. And even launching the Mac desktop application takes forever.
There is some good news: last month, Palm released a utility to update the Mac connection software. This is good, but it’s still just a drop in the bucket.
.PAGE
I could go on, but the point is clear. Palm Computing is pushing forward its Windows desktop and conduit software, but the Mac side is nearly stagnant. Why is this? Sure, PalmPilot owners with Windows machines may outnumber those with Macs by ten to one, but that still adds up to tens of thousands of customers suffering with inadequate Macintosh software. How come the splendid success of the PalmPilot hasn’t paid for at least a handful of engineers to fix these problems?
I’d be grateful if PalmPower magazines could put these questions to Palm Computing and publish the answers.
Jim DeLaHunt,
PalmPilot fanatic, Windows user, Macintosh owner
http://www.jdlh.palo-alto.ca.us/
.EDNOTE We certainly understand the frustrations of Macintosh users (we use Macs as our primary desktop as well). The Macintosh Pilot Desktop is functional, but definitely needs improvement. We’ve talked to a number of 3Com people about the "Macintosh issue". Although we haven’t gotten any official answer, we get the distinct impression that 3Com/Palm has no plans to abandon it’s Mac-using customers. For more information, see Chris Brown’s article this month entitled "Solving common Macintosh problems".
.H1 Coexistence with Outlook and Netscape
Just a quick tip. I am a Microsoft Outlook user in a company devoted to Netscape products. Consequently, I have had to switch back and forth between Outlook Calendar and Netscape Calendar to keep my schedule straight. However, my PalmPilot allowed me to establish a DMZ between these two enemies. Using PilotMirror, I have a good link to Outlook. I also have installed the free Netscape Calendar synch program. I simply run a synch first to Outlook (my main calendar) then to Netscape Calendar (inputs Outlook items) and have the complete set on my PalmPilot. Hope this may be of help to some of your readers.
Love the mag, by the way. Welcome!!
Biff Pusey
bpusey@homeaccount.com
.DISCUSS http://www.component-net.com/webx?13@@.ee6ba44
