iSync
Latest
iSync: Who stole my software?
Actually, if you upgraded to Lion, Apple did. When you installed the new OS, Apple decided to delete Apple software that wasn't part of the Lion distribution. It's left a lot of hacked off customers who were using iSync with some older phones to sync contacts and calendars. iSync still functions just fine under Lion, but if you didn't preserve it, Apple reached into your hard drive and obliterated it. It's not just iSync that has gone to the world of Apple discontinued software. Front Row is also a goner, probably because Apple would love to sell you an Apple TV. Front Row will work under Lion, if you can get a copy via a Time Machine install for example, though it's a less-than-optimal experience now that iTunes support has been pulled. Apple has posted a download link for a Front Row update, but not the whole app. Or follow this advice. It's a bit hard to understand why Apple does this. If they don't want to support a piece of software, that's surely up to them. It's quite another thing, however, to erase perfectly functional software from your computer. Sure iSync is pretty long in the tooth, and I expect the majority of Apple owners also have iPhones. But if you were syncing to an old Nokia or some other ancient phone, you're pretty much out of luck. Of course if you have Time Machine running, or some other back up you can get the software that way. Or find someone who hasn't upgraded and hit them up for a copy. If you are really in the weeds you could look at some paid alternatives to iSync, like Missing Sync, which works with some phones but not all under Lion. As for Front Row, there is software like Plex which is free and Media Central from Equinux which isn't. This issue is a little different from the tightening specs that have messed up Apple Mail for some, and created problems for network attached storage drives. What do you think? Is Apple being a bit too proactive for you at deleting working software?
No more iSync in Lion
Hey, you remember iSync, right? You there, with the RAZR, you remember iSync? I remember using iSync to somewhat handily sync my contacts and calendars way back in the dark ages when phones had monochrome screens and most iPods had spinning plates inside them. Then, one day, it quit working and joined the long list of "applications time and Victor forgot." Well, goodbye, iSync, we barely used ye. Lion users are telling us that iSync is nowhere to be found in Apple's next OS, along with FrontRow, Java runtime and Rosetta (as AppleInsider reported earlier this year). One wonders if a better solution will take its place (MobileMe?), or if Apple felt it was legacy cruft needing to go. What's next on the chopping block, Grapher?
Snow Leopard takes a bite out of support for legacy Palm OS devices
Still rocking that Palm Zire with your new Intel-based Mac? Then you might just want to reconsider that upgrade to Snow Leopard, as Apple has apparently decided to ditch its support for legacy Palm OS devices in the latest incarnation of iSync. That, as you may be aware, had previously acted as a conduit for Palm's aging but still available Palm Desktop software, and let folks easily sync up their contacts and other data from their Centro, Treo, Zire, Tungsten, or even a venerable old PalmPilot. Of course, that doesn't quite rise to the same level of controversy as the whole Pre / iTunes situation, especially considering that Palm itself has mostly moved on from said devices, and there are still some third-party sync solutions available for folks that want to keep the Palm OS dream alive.
Notes in iPhone OS 3.0: getting rid of that syncing feeling
When I heard that OS 3.0 was going to enable syncing of notes between the iPhone and the Mac, I was overjoyed. I use the notes app on my iPhone all the time for everything: reminders, grocery lists, and figuring out the monthly budget while I'm away from home. Having those notes sync back and forth with the Mac was something I very much looked forward to, because it made the notes app far more useful.The first few times I synced notes between my iPhone and Mac, however, I'd get a message like this one: Since I don't have many notes on my iPhone to begin with, this alert would come up every time I changed, deleted, or added a note on the iPhone. This would also hold up completing the iPhone's sync with my Mac until I confirmed that syncing notes was okay.After a few days of this, it was starting to get irritating. I racked my brain trying to figure out how to stop it.Then I remembered: iSync is still its own program (though one largely restricted to the background these days), so there ought to be a preference in it to stop this behavior.And there was. In iSync's preferences, you can set the threshold for the alert message that appears on syncing with your iPhone: You can disable the alert entirely, or you can set it to go off if 50%, 25%, 5%, or any data on your Mac will be modified by syncing with the iPhone.I'm not sure if this was set to 5% by default, or if years ago I'd set it that low out of paranoia and just forgot about it. Now I have it set at 50%, and the irritating alerts have gone away.
Sync folders to your iPhone with iPhone-iSync
Aptly named app, eh? Yeah, it'll obviously have to change prior to final release to avoid the full force of the Apple police, but name controversies aside, it looks like we've got a winner here. iPhone-iSync's eventual goal is to enable full PIM and iTunes synchronization from Macs, Linux, and Windows PCs to iPhones and iPod touches -- but the interim beta functionality is still pretty hot, offering simple folder sync instead. Automatic sync can be set up, too, which suddenly makes Apple's fanciest iPods among the coolest pocket drives on the market. Better than AFP, is it not? Only Macs are supported with the final beta release that's floating around at the moment, but look for it on ModMyiPhone shortly with Linux and Windows support.[Via TUAW and Appletell]
Reminder: Apple keeps an official list of iSync-supported devices
No matter how you identify with the computing aspect of your life being able to take your contacts and calendar on the go can be pretty invaluable, especially if you have more than three friends and your iCal has more colored blocks than a Rubix Cube. But how can you figure out which device(s) on your wishlist will actually work with Mac OS X's built-in syncing app, iSync? Should you dig through the annals of individual manufacturer's support pages? Or perhaps post across multiple forums for someone - anyone - to answer the call of your syncing questions? No I say! Do not go gently into that convoluted mess of neglected support docs and clunky forum systems!Bad literature jokes and drama aside, Apple maintains a pretty up-to-date list of iSync-friendly devices on their own. If you're definitely looking for a phone that syncs, this list should help make the decision pretty black and white. However, I say this with a word of caution: while this list is thorough and updated fairly often (typically listing new phone models before they hit the street), it isn't 100% complete in that Apple doesn't always list related model numbers. For example: Cingular had a Sony Ericsson w600 available for quite some time, and it was listed at Apple's iSync devices page. I picked up an unlocked w800i a while back (killer non-Smartphone with a great camera, by the way) - a similar phone with a near-identical version of the OS that synced perfectly fine with my Mac, but Apple didn't list the w800 line until that phone officially came to US Cingular stores. Why is anybody's guess, but the point is: if you have your eyes on a phone that is related by model number to a phone on Apple's list, chances are that it should work with iSync just fine. That said, if you aren't too familiar with a phone that isn't on this list, you should probably still hit up a couple forums to make sure before you thrown down hundreds of dollars on a device that might not actually shake hands with iSync (in other words: that's a disclaimer so you don't sue me).Lastly, for most Smartphone devices which aren't on this list (outside of Symbian, of course), there are always products like PocketMac and the Missing Sync which can handle syncing BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices.
Nokia rolls out iSync plugins
One of the great joys of Mac OS is arguably its unified device synchronization under the auspices of iSync (insert cookie-cutter statement regarding iPhone irony here). For S60 users, that joy just got a little more all-encompassing and more official, thanks to a bounty of fresh plugins released by Nokia to support the latest and greatest models for calendar and contacts synchronization in OS X 10.4.9 and above. Heck, even the barely-released N76 is on the list, so if you're rocking Cupertino's and Espoo's finest, get thee thy plugin and prosper.[Thanks, Abdul A.]
Ghost Action GTD gets things done with iSync
As if enough GTD apps aren't already landing (or still in the oven), a new kid has just hit the block in the form of Ghost Action GTD. It takes a more basic GUI approach to getting things done, with the addition of full-featured syncing. Like Actiontastic, Ghost Action GTD syncs with iCal, but it goes one big step further by syncing with anything that plays nicely with iSync, including PDAs and even your iPod. A 14-day trial can be had from Ghost Park Software, and a license goes for $19.95.
Nova Media Address Book plugin for Nokia, Sony Ericsson phones
German-based Nova Media landed on our radar last year with their iSync plugin that supports more phones than Mac OS X's default set. Not content with mere syncing, however, the company also makes an Address Book plugin, recently updated with more supported models, that allows phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson to shake hands with Apple's contact manager for all sorts of phone call integration. Sending calls to voicemail, replying via an SMS, logging the call and even starting one are all possible from within Address Book. And while AB supports these operations with the default batch of iSync-supported phones, Nova Media's Address Book plugin enables these operations with a large set of Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones that Apple likely never will support. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a demo available for download, but at roughly $8.50 USD (Euro 6,50), I bet it would be hard to go wrong. After all, I can say from personal experience that $8.50 would be a small price to pay for the satisfying ability of clicking a button in a Mac OS X dialog to send someone directly to voicemail.
Mark/Space releases Missing Sync for Windows Mobile 2.5
Mark/Space, purveyors of the Missing Sync line of software which allows all kinds of non-iSync compatible devices shake hands with your Mac, has released Missing Sync for Windows Mobile version 2.5. This update includes support for a wide array of Windows Mobile 5 devices. This update also includes improvements to syncing with Address Book, iCal and Microsoft Entourage 2004.I helped test out the alpha a couple of months ago, back when I temporarily lost my senses and *gulp* actually owned a Windows Mobile 5 device (the Cingular 8125, if you're interested). While I ditched the device because I couldn't stand the Windows Mobile OS (or: 'regained my senses'), I must say: the syncing worked well, and I would realistically recommend this app for anyone who wants or needs to make a Windows Mobile device work with their Mac.Missing Sync for Windows Mobile 2.5 is a free upgrade for owners of version 2.0, and a $20 upgrade for owners of version 1.x. A fresh licenses costs $40.
iSync 2.2
Reader Johnny W. sent this in yesterday, but it took me a while to verify: iSync 2.2 is rolled into the 10.4.6 update, and it's quite nice. A while back I had my Motorola V60 working with iSync. See, last year when I got my "new" phone, I bought a $60 cable on ebay for $20 (along with a car and wall charger). This bundle included Moto's phone tools, so I could sync with my PC. About 8 reboots later, it worked! I somehow managed to get it to work with iSync, even if iSync really didn't know what phone it was... but only a few months later, an update killed the connection. The V60 was never listed on the compatible phones chart, and I figured, given the life of phones, it was all over. Yet Apple's official list of iSync-compatible devices has really expanded with 2.2. And there's my lowly V60, along with the PEBL. One big downside appears to be Palm support. Anything with the PalmOne brand is still fine. Anything older now needs the Mark/Space app for Palm to sync. That's so lame I can't even talk about it. What am I supposed to do with my WristPDA now?
.Mac syncing UI silliness
Today's "what were you thinking, Apple?" is brought to you by the .Mac System Preference pane, iSync and that "Sync Services wants to sync more than X% of your items" popup window.In case you can't figure out the silliness that is the image I've included with this post (and I don't blame you), it's a combination of the .Mac System Preference Pane (on left), the .Mac tab of iSync (bottom right), and iSync's preferences that allow me to chose the Data Change Alert percentage threshold (top left).I recently added about 200 notes to Yojimbo on my iMac that I exported out of an old copy of StickyBrain a while ago. On my PowerBook, this obviously triggered the .Mac Sync warning of "you're about to change more than 5% of your data, are you sure you want to do this?" dialog. I then thought to myself: "hmm, since I change a lot of my .Mac stuff on a regular basis, maybe I should increase that percentage so this dialog doesn't bother me again." I haven't done this in a while, but since I came up through Jaguar and Panther I was used to tweaking .Mac stuff in iSync. So I strolled on over to the .Mac tab in iSync to - oh but wait! As you can see in the bottom right of my screenshot, it sounds like iSync is no longer used to manage .Mac information. Woops, my mistake. Maybe I should open up the .Mac System Preference pane to - wait a minute... I don't see any place in that preference pane to tweak the Data Change Alert setting!By now you probably get where I'm going with this, so I'll just leave you with a question: how on earth did this happen, Apple? With Tiger, you said that you unified and improved the .Mac user experience... by sending me to three different locations and preference systems to get this figured out?Here's hoping Leopard brings with it the Mac-daddy (haha) of updates to one of your most-pimped features of OS X.
Script to start iSync, sync devices, then quit
This Synchronize with iSync, Then Quit script is yet another one of those handy utilities that is so obvious it makes me say "geeze, Apple really should have done this themselves." Then I realize I'm talking to myself out loud, but I don't have enough money for therapy.Moving along, this script is another great one-trick pony for all you iSync users with phones and PDAs that you keep in tune with OS X. When run, the script automatically starts iSync and then quits it once all the magic is finished.One word of caution: Fraser Speirs, who created this and other goodies like the Flickr Export iPhoto plugin, has a couple of specific build instructions to follow to make this script work properly. As a final tip: Fraser also recommends (and I agree) that if you're a Quicksilver user, this is a great script to tie to a trigger for hotkey-enabled goodness.
Entourage will receive Spotlight and iSync support by March
Good news for you Entourage users: included in Microsoft's 5-year Office promise announcement was that, with the March update to Office, you will soon be able to search your Entourage emails through the beauty of Spotlight.Keeping the surprises rolling, for all you PDA sync-happy folk out there, Microsoft will also build support for iSync right into Entourage, meaning that devices compatible Sync Services will natively be able to sync with Entourage. Unfortunately, I'm *pretty* sure this ironically excludes PocketPC's, but I could be wrong. You can read more about the announcements and new features at Microsoft's PressPass announcement.At any rate, I think these major new features and updates ought to squash any doubt of Microsoft's commitment to Office on OS X.[via Hawk Wings]
