synctogether
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Possible Solution to the notMac Challenge
Late last year we mentioned the notMac Challenge. Basically they were offering a largish sum of money (now upwards of 8 grand) for anyone who could duplicate the functionality of .mac for free. Now finally Ben Spink of CrushFTP has stepped to the plate with a possible solution, and they're calling for testers. The initial reports (including from one of our tipsters) seem promising, but more real-world testing is needed to assure that Ben has met the challenge conditions (with slight modification). So if you need .mac functionality, but balk at the price, this may very well be worth checking out.The file for testing is available (dmg link) from Ben's server. Be sure to check out the discussion thread first, however.Just for the record, Mark/Space offers a similar commercial product SyncTogether, but it sells for $49.95.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Mark/Space releases SyncTogether 1.0, the alternative to .Mac syncing
Mark/Space's has at last released SyncTogether, the spawn of their acquisition of MySync. SyncTogether fills the much sought-after void of application syncing on the Mac, a niche which Apple's .Mac currently has cornered. A $50 one-time purchase which covers up to 3 Macs will allow you to sync everything Apple's SyncServices (which .Mac uses) can, with a few additional perks. For example, instead of syncing your entire Address Book between two Macs, you could keep most of your contacts private by syncing only a specific group with family members. In contrast to Apple's $100 yearly subscription .Mac service (which, to their credit also offers email, web hosting and more), SyncTogether looks to be a powerful alternative for many who are only interested in this specific feature. SyncTogether doesn't come without its disadvantages. First, if you own more than three Macs you want to sync, you'll need to purchase a second $50 license to cover those other machines. Also, SyncTogether uses a direct connection between Macs (even when you're out and about) to do the actual syncing, which is a double-edged sword: on one hand, the security nuts in the audience will likely have peace of mind knowing that their data isn't lying around on anyone's servers, but this also means that setting up SyncTogether isn't quite as "it just works" as Apple's .Mac. Lastly, and this is a major gripe many users have against Mark/Space's practices: SyncTogether doesn't have a demo. The company seems fond of forcing customers into paying up front to get their hands on the software, so all we can tell you is purchase at your own risk. Any readers care to share experiences in the comments? At the end of the day, this .Mac customer is definitely interested in what SyncTogether has to offer, especially since I'm only on board these days for app syncing and the iDisk. Still, I think I'm going to have to wait until comments roll in from those more adventurous (and financially mobile) than I before making any leaps of Mark/Space faith.
SyncTogether - a solid .Mac syncing alternative
One of the key features of .Mac is extensible application syncing. Sure, there have been roll-your-own-.Mac contests, plenty of solutions for individual apps and even a guide for switching from .Mac to Google, but none of these have offered a serious replacement for the entire syncing umbrella that .Mac offers. SyncTogether from the makers of Missing Sync, looks to change all of this. This new syncing app from Mark/Space works with many of the same fundamental apps, such as Address Book, iCal, Mail and Safari, but it employs some unique features. For example, you can chose specific groups in Address Book (instead of simply 'everyone'), and you can then share this information with other users on your home network. Want to let mom, dad and the kids all collaborate and add iCal events for Macworld 2008? SyncTogether has you covered, though it might be a little clunky to work with: local syncs sound easy, but the system requirements state that you must know a machine's physical IP if you're going to sync remotely while you're away from that machine. For now, SyncTogether is planned to drop Q1 of 2007, and until then, there is least one major question that I haven't been able to answer from Mark/Space's product page: Will it be open to 3rd parties like Apple's Sync Services? As far as pricing is concerned, users who are unhappy with .Mac's yearly subscription model will probably rejoice that SyncTogether's price is already set at a flat $49.95, but those are all the details we have for now.[Update: Our own Mat Lu clued me in (via email) on the fact that SyncTogether is very likely the product of Mark/Space's acquisition of MySync. MySync, for those who aren't familiar, *did* support any extra 3rd party apps that plugged into Apple's Sync Services, so in theory, apps like Yojimbo and Transmit should already be along for the ride, with no extra work on Mark/Space's part necessary. However, Mat also pointed out, and I agree, that it's kind of strange that SyncTogether's page makes no mention of this extensibility.]
