.KEYWORD macsoft
.FLYINGHEAD MACINTOSH SURVIVAL GUIDE
.TITLE Claris, Conduits, and QSync for your Mac
.OTHER
.SUMMARY Mac champion Jim DeLaHunt again comes to the rescue of Macintosh users in this great article. There’s a new Mac Desktop on the way and Jim gives you a sneak preview. Plus he tells you about new ways to connect your Mac applications to your PalmPilot apps, and showcases a really slick way to link the QMate checkbook program on the PalmPilot with Quicken on your Macintosh.
.AUTHOR Jim DeLaHunt
Fellow Macintosh enthusiasts, in this installment we continue our look at the downs and ups of using a Macintosh computer and PalmPilot organizer together. In the last two installments, we looked at the parched landscape of the PalmPilot Desktop software 1.0 for Macintosh, along with some really nifty utilities that no Mac-wielding PalmPilot jockey should be without. Like camels or Land-Rovers, they help you along your journey.
This time, we’ll explore some lush oases of full-fledged Macintosh applications that integrate well with the PalmPilot. We’ll also at evidence that the drought is coming to an end, that full-fledged Macintosh support may be on the way!
.H1 Rain clouds to end the drought
Before we go on, the good news is that Palm Computing is making improvements to its Mac desktop. It seems that every week, there is more promise of Mac-related support on their web site. The bad news is that this means this article is likely to be out of date by the time it is published.
Palm Computing has accumulated Mac-related press releases onto single web page. You’ll find information there on Mac support, and links to several press releases. We’ll summarize the present information here. Be sure to check back with Palm at http://palm.3com.com/newspromo/mac_index.html for updated information between now and, say, October.
And remember, the news bodes well, but so far Palm has not actually released anything. Rain clouds promise the end of a drought, but you can’t drink them. Similarly, press releases are just so much vapor.
.H1 Dry conduits
The software market teems with organizer software for personal computers. They generally keep your calendar, a list of contacts, a to-do list, and interesting links between the three.
You may have software such as Now Contact, Now Up-to-Date, Eudora Planner, or Microsoft Outlook Express 98. You may be wondering, "how can I synchronize these apps with my PalmPilot?" The answer is, you can’t yet. Hopefully you will by the end of the summer. (There is a note about Now Synchronize, below.)
Why the delay? The answer lies in the conduit. A "conduit" is a special piece of software which allows data to transfer between software on your personal computer and the PalmPilot Desktop directory. The HotSync software carries the data the rest of the way down to applications in your PalmPilot. On Windows, Palm has provided kits which software developers can use to create conduits. As a result, there are many Windows organizers which can exchange data with PalmPilots.
However, Palm Computing didn’t release similar kits for Macintosh software developers until April of 1998. They are still pre-release, not final. If you want technical information read about the Conduit SDK on Palm’s web site at http://palm.3com.com/devzone/conduits.html
.H1 Claris Organizer comes to your PalmPilot?
The first organizer for every PalmPilot Mac user is, of course, the PalmPilot Desktop software itself. Palm Computing has recently announced its plans for upgrading this application. You can read their press release at: http://palm.3com.com/pr/macintosh.html
According to Palm, the new software will be based on Claris Organizer, which they bought from Apple. Apple had broken up Claris Corporation, the Mac software maker, and so it seems this is where one of the pieces ended up. According to Palm, "Palm Organizer seamlessly integrates calendar, contacts, tasks, notes and intelligent features such as drag-and-drop scheduling, user-defined custom views and powerful printing options in one easy-to-use, compact application." When they deliver that, I’ll be one happy PalmPilot user.
They have forecast release by "late summer". They say that all PalmPilot owners who have purchased the current MacPac version 1.0 will be able to download the new software from the Palm web site for free within the first 60 days after release. It will also be available in retail locations, as the new Palm MacPac, for the same approximately $15 price.
.H1 The Wadi of Now Synchronize
A wadi is a dry riverbed in a desert, where no water flows, but may one day. And that summarizes the noble attempt of Now Synchronize by Now Software. They did the best they could, in the absence of proper conduit support from Palm Computing, but what they were able to achieve isn’t very satisfying.
The combination of Now Up-to-Date and its sister program, NowContact, form one of the premier personal information managers on the Macintosh. Now Software came up with a product called Now Synchronize to synchronize PalmPilot data and Now Up-to-Date data. You can get a demo version (of Now Synchronize, Now Up-to-Date, and NowContact) on CD-ROM or by download from their Web site: http://eudora.qualcomm.com/uptodate/syncro/pilotmac.html.
When you install Now Synchronize, it essentially replaces the standard PalmPilot Desktop 1.0 application with its own version. Now Synchronize synchronizes the Date Book, Address List, and To Do data from your PalmPilot organizer with corresponding data in Now Up-to-Date and Now Contact. Instead of being able to see your phone list in the Desktop app, you go to Now Contact. Various pieces of the PalmPilot software on the Mac, such as the HotSync control panel, appear with different names and version numbers than usual. There’s no direct way to get at the Memo data in your PalmPilot.
There is one big advantage of this arrangement, which is that it works at all. I was able to install the software successfully and exchange data with my PalmPilot. However, it has several drawbacks. I certainly found it cumbersome. However, it has worked just fine for some people I’ve corresponded with. My recommendation: go ahead and buy your PalmPilot now, buy the MacPac, wait for the updated MacPac.
In the meantime, here’s a tip for you NowSynchronize users who want access to their Memo data too. Install the Mac Desktop software. Find the Pilot Desktop application, and make a copy of it. Now remove the Mac Desktop software. Then, install Now Synchronize. Look for the Pilot Desktop folder, which contains the Now Synchronize application. Drag the copy of the Pilot Desktop application into that folder. Now, you can run the Pilot Desktop application to read and edit Memo data. However, you should leave the data which Now Synchronize controls (Date Book, Address Book, and To Do) alone. For more information, see Qualcomm ‘s Software’s support Web page at http://eudora.qualcomm.com/techsupport/#kb.
.H1 The oasis of QMate
If Palm Computing doesn’t provide a conduit kit, what’s a Mac software developer to do? Well, if you are Steve Dakin, you do plenty! He is the developer of QMate, a companion to Quicken personal-finance software, and its Mac partner QSync Mac. QSync is a shining example of how good a connection you can enjoy between aftermarket software on your PalmPilot and on your Macintosh.
.FIGPAIR A QMate and QSync combine to partner your PalmPilot with Quicken.
QMate is a PalmPilot application that lets you record cash, checks, and credit card purchases on your PalmPilot. When you HotSync, all your QMate records are copied to your Macintosh.
Then you run QSync, a Macintosh application, shown in Figure A. QSync copies the data transferred to the PC by HotSync and converts it to a QIF (Quicken Interchange Format) file. You can then import the QIF file into Quicken, and voila! Your purchases are now in Quicken. The genius of QSync is that it is able to reach directly into the file of QMate records, even without Palm Computing having provided a conduit kit to help. The downside is that you have to run QSync manually after performing a HotSync, but on the plus side, QSync is streamlined so that once it’s set up, running it is nearly a one-click operation.
There’s much more great Mac software out there. I’ll run down some of my favorites next month.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Now Up-to-Date, and NowContact are available at http://eudora.qualcomm.com/uptodate/syncro/pilotmac.html.
Visit Qualcomm ‘s Software’s support Web page at http://eudora.qualcomm.com/techsupport/#kb.
Find out more about QMate on Steve Dakin’s web page at http://www.wco.com/~sdakin/qmate.html.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Jim DeLaHunt is an independent PalmPilot software developer. In his spare time, is an engineering manager with a multi-national software company and a tenor with local opera companies. He can be reached via E-mail at jdlh@jdlh.palo-alto.ca.us.
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