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Sure it will, if you use something like MarkSpace's Missing Sync:

http://www.markspace.com/products/android/missing-sync-android.html

The sync API for iTunes is documented and available to anyone who wants to write something that works with it. What you can't do (and what Apple somehow turned into the bad guy for stamping on) is pretend to be an iPod by spoofing Apple's USB vendor ID so you can be super lazy and not write an interface to iTunes' own sync system.

Missing Sync isn't free, but the sync API (certainly in OS X) is open and documented so you can write your own if you want to.

They could do what The Missing Sync does - funnily enough, the software that came about because Palm abandoned the Mac platform in the first place, so a 3rd party piece of software was needed to sync your Palm device.

http://www.markspace.com/products/pre/mac-features.html

They didn't need to write an iTunes replacement - they just needed to go the proper route to write a piece of software that would allow the Pre to sync, but spoofing Apple's vendor ID was cheaper that either writing their own software to interface with iTunes (and iCal/Entourage/Address Book etc), or bundling copies of The Missing Sync with Palm Pres that they sold.

There are documented ways to sync on the Mac. None of the are of the form "1. spoof Apple's vendor ID, 2.?????? 3. Profit". Interoperation exists, it's just not seamless unless you write an interface - iTunes doesn't do it all for you like it does with the iPod/iPhone.

Then how does this program work then? http://www.markspace.com/products/pre/mac-features.html

The Missing Sync has been around (and has matured into an amazing product) ever since Palm abandoned the Mac platform. Palm is perfectly capable of writing a piece of software that syncs with the Pre (or anything else it makes) just as well as the iPod syncs with iTunes. They chose not to go that route, but instead decided to spoof Apple's vendor ID (it's much cheaper).

If they didn't want to write software from scratch, they could have bundled a copy of The Missing Sync with each phone, but again that would have cost them money. They took the easy way out, which featured a method that is not allowed under the rules of the USB IF - vendor IDs are unique. If someone else is using yours, they are in the wrong, regardless of why they are doing it.

Also, the music on the iTMS currently has no DRM - it is perfectly interoperable with anyone who can play AAC files (a standard, that while patented [like mp3], is open and licenceable). The DRM initially was to appease the music industry (who had the product), and was removed as quickly as possible. iTunes even encouraged you to back up your DRM purchases to audio CD (which removed the DRM) when you purchased them, which was not ideal (quality loss when re-ripping to non-DRM) but was the best they could do until they could remove DRM entirely.

If you are having problems with Quicktime on Windows, then I suggest you reinstall it. It's never been a source of kernel panics on any windows machine I've ever used.

If zeroconf (Bonjour!) is "spamming your local network" turn off the "look for shared libraries/airtunes speakers/apple TVs" in the iTunes options.

Hold on, you think that the only competitive factor is fanboyism?

I think you are grossly underestimating the benefits of owning a Mac. What if "Apple's way or the highway" happens to coincide with what I want (mostly)?

I don't use OS X purely because of the eye candy - you can't paint me into a box that easily. There are more benefits than just the looks (which are pleasant, and heavily modifiable if you really want through third party tools).

I'm also not saying that it's perfect or there aren't things I'd like to change that are probably editable on Ubuntu (I'm still playing with that on my 15" PB - it's nice, but I'm not totally au fait with it yet), but they are small annoyances that aren;t enough to make me change to a different platform. The annoyances with W2K eventually did build up enough for me to swap to Mac, and if enough build up in OS X I will look at the options again but right now I am very happy with it. If I do change I will be keeping the hardware though - that is well worth the price for me.

There is a pervasive undercurrent that flows through /. that anyone who doesn't use some flavour of Linux is a clueless sheep who only goes for style over any function. Do you think I sit in front of this machine and flap helplessly because my shiny box doesn't actually *do anything*?! It serves my needs very well, and unfortunately carries with it the baggage that it's a hopeless bonnet-welded-shut OS that has nothing but shiny buttons that do nothing but animate when clicked like one of those toy steering wheels you can attach to a car seat for your toddler.

As for what OS X can offer to compete with Linux, it does have a lot more than just the shiny GUI - you can go right in at the command line if you want, and while it is likely to be somewhat alien compared to Linux, it is a fully fledged Unix core under all those fluffy pink buttons that can do just as much as an Ubuntu box can do, with the benefit of being able to fire up commercial, supported native apps (ie, no need for Wine/etc) at the same time.

I'd love for there to be a lot more of that on Linux - I am quite liking the repurposing and experimentation I am doing with my PB, but it would be nice to have a version of iTunes to put on there that worked with my homesharing from my main machine. I have worked around it (pointed the music player at the iTunes folder on my network, but it's not quite the same), and I know there are plenty of OSS ways to manage a music library and jukebox apps across multiple machines, but I like iTunes on my main box etc.

Regarding iTunes and syncing. Yes, the standard open method does much less than the full iPod/iPhone sync, but it is possible for manufacturers to "go deeper" than that by talking to Apple directly, but then Apple aren;t giving that away. I know there have been third party players in the past that have done it this way (although whether they are still doing it, I am not sure). Palm are also free to write their own sync software that can gather almost all of the same data that iTunes itself can (address book, music, iCal, photos etc - but I don;t think you can read the iTunes library file, only the XML version it spits out), but Palm decided not to do that. They did used to have a piece of software for that purpose but stopped supporting it, hence the rise of The Missing Sync, which has developed into quite an app: http://www.markspace.com/products/pre/mac-features.html - This third party app does everything that Palm was replicating by spoofing Apple's Vendor ID. That was cheaper to do than bundling copies of The Missing Sync or writing their own version.

I realise that Apple has to justify the higher price paid for entry into their closed ecosystem, where they are the gatekeepers, with the vertical integration aggressive phone SDK etc, only for people to come into that system knowing all this and yet still moaning that they can't do whatever they want because it's not open/free/etc. If it doesn't suit the purpose, they don't have to buy - that's surely why things like Linux exist, where you really can do what you like.

Completely the opposite. Go look at Apple's developer pages and SDK, they provide clearcut access to their sync services. Anyone can write a program to interface with their iCal and address book databases, like BusySync and Spanning Sync. If you have a phone-like device you want to sync, Apple offers a plugin architecture called iSync, and if that isn't good enough for you, their SDK allows third party developers to step in, like The Missing Sync.

Does a developer not want to play by Apple's rules? Fine, Apple even offers its iTunes DB in XML format for other devices and applications to read, such as the iLife library that developers can tap into, and some have.

Palm decided to throw all of these out the window and circumvent the software with a bad hack. Apple does not want to be responsible for this hack, because Apple, and not Palm, will bear all the criticism if iTunes 9.1 breaks Pre compatibility, even though it's not Apple's fault. Apple basically left the front door open for Palm to sync its device through the proper channels, and Palm decides it really wants to enter using the window instead.

No, Palm does not need Apple's USB vendor ID in order to enable iTunes media synchronization with the Pre.

BlackBerry just released their desktop software for the Mac, which syncs with iTunes.

Mark/Space produce software which syncs Windows CE devices, Palm devices (including the Pre!) and Android devices with the iTunes library.

Mark/Space and BlackBerry use the supported APIs, so they haven't had any problems with Apple disallowing their sync functionality. (Mark/Space's products have been sold for years now.) Palm are just being lazy, because they don't want to have to write and support their own sync code.

BlackBerry just released their desktop software for the Mac, which syncs with iTunes.

Mark/Space produce software which syncs Windows CE devices, Palm devices (including the Pre!) and Android devices with the iTunes library.

Mark/Space and BlackBerry use the supported APIs, so they haven't had any problems with Apple disallowing their sync functionality. (Mark/Space's products have been sold for years now.) Palm are just being lazy, because they don't want to have to write and support their own sync code.

"VM Where". I love it.
The "opens up a Windows logo thing" is actually Windows running in a virtual machine from inside your Mac OS. I really don't think that buying a Windows license to sync you Palm on a Mac is the best solution. Especially when you could just buy Missing Sync for Palm for $40 that will accomplish the same thing, without having to run a virtual OS. If you really paid $225 you got scammed, unless you have a strong desire to run Windows from inside Mac OS.

Can you still use Missing Sync though?

I actually thought the Apple Palm Sync stuff was horrid and I use MissingSync on my 10.4 MBP. It was far, far better. Also I never liked Palm Desktop, it was a pain and always broke easily for me.

There's already a solution, in Missing Sync for Palm OS, which already handles synching to more recent Palm devices (Centro and Treo) much better than Apple's legacy support. I don't know anyone who has a Mac and a Treo and /doesn't/ already use Missing Sync anyway over Apple's grotty and outdated legacy Palm code. I would guess that Apple yanking Palm OS support from iSync and letting Missing Sync fill that particular slot in the Sync Services food chain is an acknowledgment of that fact.

Linked version with condensed summary. I wanted to find out more about some of them. Others may benefit too.

Ecto a blogging client (but the site seems to be down: try this for more info). Shareware, $17.95.
Transmit an FTP client. Shareware, $17.95
Sync Services -- comes with 10.4
BBedit text/html editor. $125, but worth it.
Missing Synch for Windows Mobile - synchronize with PDA/smartphones. $49.95/$39.95
OmniGraffle - diagramming / flowchart program. $79.95 / $149.95
ConceptDraw - another diagramming / flowchart program. $299
IChat AV - built-in to 10.4
AppleScript, Scriptdebugger - also built-in. No link. I'm getting lazy.
Microsoft Entourage -- part of MS Office.
Sketchfigher 4000 Alpha -- a game from the great Ambrosia Software. $19.00
TypeIt4Me - keyboard macro expander. $27
NetworkLocation - automatically trigger configuration changes depending upon where you are on the network (e.g., at home, work, etc.). $15
Apple Remote Desktop 3 - control / configure Mac systems remotely. $499 / $299 (unlimited / 10 systems)
MacLinkPlus - file conversion software (e.g., from WordPerfect documents to/from Word, and many others). $79
Parallels Desktop for Mac - virtualization software (e.g., run Win XP simultaneously with OS X). $79.
Remote Desktop Connection - connect remotely to a Windows desktop. FREE
Snap X Pro - screen / movie capture. $29
Boot Camp - dual boot Windows. I'm lazy.
PDF - Portable Document Format from Adobe? What?
Lingon - tool for making launchd scripts for 10.4.
Workgroup Manager - manage local systems - part of 10.4 Server.

---
Okay, a mildly interesting list. Here's a few more suggestions:

Cyberduck - FTP and SFTP client. Donationware.
VLC - cross-platform video viewer / transcoder.
Blender 3D - cross-platform 3D modelling / rendering.
Bookends - excellent bibliography software. $99
Celestia - cross-platform real-time 3D astronomy simulator.
Plot - a, uh, plotting / graphing program.
proFit - another plotting / graphing program, non-free. $95
WordService - adds a bunch of text reformatting tools to the Services menu, making them accessible in any program. The same page has a bunch of other useful and free services.

The original article lists PDF, but no tools. While its true OS X native support makes PDF pretty easy to use, there's still some tasks that are awkward and some useful tools out there to do t

Supposedly Missing Sync works well with the windows smartphones. I use it for my Palm Treo, and it works great. Now I just have to figure out whether it's worth switching devices.

If your primary motivation to avoid Windowz Mobile is OSX hostility, you may want to look into Missyng Sync by Mark/Space. In fact, if you have an OSX machine and device that is supported by Missing Sync, get Missing Sync! At first glance, one might think this little utility is a way to level the playing field on your Mac when syncing mobile devices. It's much more! I'd much rather use Missing Sync with my Treo than try the included software for Windows. It's stunning what this little gem can do.

So, look into it before narrowing your PDA choices.

I'd strongly recommend what I use, which is a Palm T|X with a 4GB SD card. The T|X itself has great features: 320x480 screen, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, stereo with standard headphone jack, solid battery life, 128 MB of NVRAM, in-box compatibility with not only popular PIMs but MS Office files in native format. Add to that a 4 GB SD card (available for about $65 or less after rebate at Newegg.com--I use the Transcend one), and you've got enough add-on storage (which supports hierarchical folders) to store a whole bunch of multimedia as well as documents. The PalmOS isn't the most sophisticated, but it makes up for that with speed, simplicity, stability, and thousands of apps. Mac compatibility comes through apps like MarkSpace's Missing Sync, and the Palm user community is tremendously supportive, including sites like PalmAddict (for which I'm a volunteer Associate Writer). Add a Bluetooth keyboard like the compact ThinkOutside model, and you've got a serious laptop replacement that will play well with campus wireless networks.

If you need any other info., feel free to e-mail me. {Prof. Jonathan}

There are solutions out there for syncing Microsoft PDAs with Mac OS X. Take a look at The Missing Sync at http://www.markspace.com/ I have never used this solution, but I've heard good things about it from others.

This might help you sync with your Mac. If you check the screenshots section under WM5 it shows it syncing with a Cingular 8125, which is the same kit as your TMobile SDA.
http://www.markspace.com/products.html/

* Sony Ericsson phones gave me acceptable call quality and absurdly simple DUN & contact/cal sync.

* T-Mobile gave me all-you-can-eat GPRS/EDGE for $20/month and they don't restrict which devices you use or how

* iBook/OS X Panther with iSync handles all of the above. I use a Bluetooth dongle instead of a cable, I like it.

A few things I learned along the way:

GPRS is pokey but usable, similar to a 33.6K modem once it's transferring. Latency is crappy (1.5-2.5 sec !) and that's what made the connection feel slow. Great on a Palm, not so great on the iBook, but usable for email, chat, anything but fancy web pages. EDGE made big difference. Cingular & T-mo have it everywhere. With latency, EDGE feels like a normal 56K modem and browsing is just fine.

Verizon and Sprint's EV-DO data networks are waaaaaaaaaaaay faster than anything the GSM carriers have (I know about Cing's UMTS, but it's only in a few places and they've been "about a month away from national UMTS rollout" now for almost two years). Those EV-DO speeds are impressive, but the way ($$$) Verizon & Sprint sell the service and the phones that are available are too restrictive/incompatible for my needs. Basically, too expensive with too many TOS rules and the limited range of phones sucked with a Mac.

Using GSM phones means that you've got two carrier choices: Cingular or T-Mo. But it means that you've got a ton of phones to pick from, and you can switch at will- just stick the SIM card in whatever you want to use. Look around for unlocked GSM phones on eBay and spec 'em out at phonescoop.com. :-) I was surprised. Wide selection I control is good.

If you go GSM, Cingular and T-Mo (quietly) have reciprocal roaming agreements ! This means that cing & t-mo customer's phones automatically use either network's towers if they need to. In short, the REAL national coverage map is all of Cing + T-mo put together. Basically, everywhere.

Sony Ericsson does a remarkable job of building phones that play nice with other devices and sync easily. I like them, others may not, but regardless you'll be hard pressed to find a phone from a different maker that handles DUN and sync over whatever bridge you like (BT, IR, Cable) as easily. ESPECIALLY on a Mac. OS X and iSync both like Sony Ericsson.

If you don't have a Palm, iSync will git-r-done. If you DO have a Palm, you're pretty much going to need to buy The Missing Sync http://www.markspace.com/

The version of iSync that comes with 10.3 Panther is old enough now that it doesn't recognize some newer phones. 10.4 Tiger knows about more phones. I've used both, I have Tiger now because it cooperates better with my new SE phone.

Bottom line: After lots of experimenting and taking stuff back to stores, my recipe calls for an SE S710a EDGE phone on T-Mo over Bluetooth to my iBook G4. I get pretty solid 56K modem-like DUN performance every place I've tried (even on road trips in the boonies on the way to the Grand Canyon). Internet works fine over BT to both my iBook and my Palm through the phone. Contacts, Calendars and To-Do's sync perfectly in all directions between Mac-Palm-Phone. Call quality is typically fine (craps out sometimes, but hey- it's a radio after all). The phone was used/unlocked for $220 on eBay including the 3-yr replacement warranty I bought, the T-mo service is now $30/month for all-you-can-eat nationwide EDGE and T-Mo Wifi hotspots (on top of a voice plan), the BT dongle was $25, and Missing Sync was $40 to make my Palm sync properly.

This has been very useful, reliable and flexible for me. Good luck with your recipe !

Wow, I didn't know that Dell supported Apples OS X, or is that Microsoft which provided the sync solution for OS X?

Neither, I use Missing Sync from Mark/Space (which, incidentally, is also what I used to sync my Treo, since the Treo has shitty native OS X support too). You're right, Microsoft doesn't provide any native OS X support, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

The only problem with it (and it is a big one) is the large number of programs that are distributed as Win32 executables rather than CAB files, and so can't be installed without Windows. But (at least for me) it isn't a huge deal, because I sync it with my XP box as well.

I do believe Apple now gives away Web Objects with Tiger, which may help you with your issues in Web design. I should mention that the iTunes Music Store was constructed using that framework.

But if you are having problems syncing with your Palm device, there are good solutions. iSync is one really good one that I am currently using now, instead of Palm's Desktop.

That's exactly what I'm doing. And I noticed that if you do a clean OS install and you do a sync, you have to make sure "Force Slow Synchronization" is ticked under the icon for your Palm device in iSync to make sure data is copied over from your Palm device to your computer. Otherwise it overwrites all your data on your Palm with blank data. When I upgraded to Tiger, I had to do some strange thing to get the latest Palm Desktop to work with the iSync conduit- Palm released an update even though they officially were no longer supporting OS X. Palms are basically the only viable PDA option for Macs- I know Missing Sync can allow you to use WinCE PDAs, but I've tried out Missing Sync and actually prefer iSync (having to enter a password every time you sync is annoying). I was thinking Treo+Java+GPRS+Socket Barcode reader = inventory stock-take device for the Mac platform.

I actually have WebObjects installed and just looked at WebObjects Builder. Is it the Apple equivalent of FrontPage? I thought that WebObjects was all back-end stuff, and didn't include a WYSIWYG layout editor. I noticed that it says "Help isn't available for WebObjects builder" when you select the Help menu. I just bookmarked the WebObjects Documentation page on Apple's site. That's pretty cool- they really understate the development tools they give away with OS X.

do you suppose Apple could get their iSync Palm Conduit to work a little better?

The iSync conduit's issues are mainly due to Palm's continual lack of interest in the Mac. I read on Apple's site that the limitations of Apple's conduit are based on HotSync manager.

I have quite a few Mac friends who are switching from Palm OS to PocketPC with The Missing Sync

"It doesn't seem to want to deal with text files (there is no import feature for the Palm Desktop notepad or memo pad, for example)."

You mean 'in Windows'. In the Linux and UNIX world, there are dozens of choices in how you want to talk to your Palm.

For "text files", nothing beats Plucker when carrying text, ebooks, manuals, HTML pages, HOWTO documents, and other items. The LDP even carries all of their HOWTO documents in Plucker format. Its the only format that is freely available, openly documented, and very extensible.

Just look at how beautiful Plucker is with the PHP documentation as one example...

"Also there seems to be no way to copy arbitrary files to the Palm - all files must be "owned" by an application. With a 256MB SD card I expected to use it to copy files between work and home."

You must mean '...in Windows' again. In the non-Windows side, including OSX, we have pilot-link which talks natively to your Palm and can do all kinds of things that the Windows tools cannot (including operating at 40% faster in some cases).

Commercial companies such as MarkSpace are using pilot-link (the core library of pilot-link anyway) in their commercial product, MissingSync which runs on OSX.

For desktop replacements, PIMs, and other tools, there are dozens of alternatives. Here are several, in no particular order (with Coralized links to protect the bandwidth of the various projects):

• Kpilot
• PilotManager
• J-Pilot
• Evolution (an Outlook clone)
• Multisync

There are many others, but these are the top contenders. They all also rely on the libraries and language bindings provided by pilot-link to communicate with your Palm device.

"Has anyone else noticed these or other shortcomings and have figured out ways around them?"

Yes, stop using Windows. Stop using the featureless proprietary tools provided by these vendors who only listen to their profit margins, not to their userbase.

Seriously

"It doesn't seem to want to deal with text files (there is no import feature for the Palm Desktop notepad or memo pad, for example)."

You mean 'in Windows'. In the Linux and UNIX world, there are dozens of choices in how you want to talk to your Palm.

For "text files", nothing beats Plucker when carrying text, ebooks, manuals, HTML pages, HOWTO documents, and other items. The LDP even carries all of their HOWTO documents in Plucker format. Its the only format that is freely available, openly documented, and very extensible.

Just look at how beautiful Plucker is with the PHP documentation as one example...

"Also there seems to be no way to copy arbitrary files to the Palm - all files must be "owned" by an application. With a 256MB SD card I expected to use it to copy files between work and home."

You must mean '...in Windows' again. In the non-Windows side, including OSX, we have pilot-link which talks natively to your Palm and can do all kinds of things that the Windows tools cannot (including operating at 40% faster in some cases).

Commercial companies such as MarkSpace are using pilot-link (the core library of pilot-link anyway) in their commercial product, MissingSync which runs on OSX.

For desktop replacements, PIMs, and other tools, there are dozens of alternatives. Here are several, in no particular order (with Coralized links to protect the bandwidth of the various projects):

• Kpilot
• PilotManager
• J-Pilot
• Evolution (an Outlook clone)
• Multisync

There are many others, but these are the top contenders. They all also rely on the libraries and language bindings provided by pilot-link to communicate with your Palm device.

"Has anyone else noticed these or other shortcomings and have figured out ways around them?"

Yes, stop using Windows. Stop using the featureless proprietary tools provided by these vendors who only listen to their profit margins, not to their userbase.

Seriously

No iSync? No Upgrade! For purely political reasons, the fine people at Mark/Space have had to sit on their "Missing Sync for hiptop" solution which worked in beta because t-mobile decided not to do PIM Sync... so.. I'll keep mine going as long as I can, but.. it'll be a treo next time, probably.

No iSync? No Upgrade! For purely political reasons, the fine people at Mark/Space have had to sit on their "Missing Sync for hiptop" solution which worked in beta because t-mobile decided not to do PIM Sync... so.. I'll keep mine going as long as I can, but.. it'll be a treo next time, probably.

The Missing Sync is the app that lets any PocketPC or non-Apple supported phone or PDA work with iSync. (Address Book, Bookmarks, iCals)

Salling Clicker is the one for using any bluetooth phone as an Applescriptable remote.

"Fortunately, a third party company, Mark/Space, has pledged to make a version of their Missing Sync client for Cobalt. It will be released later this year in anticipation of the first Palm OS Cobalt devices. Missing Sync for Cobalt will enable users to connect and synchronize information between Palm OS Cobalt devices and Macs running Mac OS X via USB, network, WiFi or Bluetooth."

Mark/Space, the makers of the Missing Sync for Mac OS, will fill the void. Check out their website to read all about it: http://www.markspace.com/cobalt.html

Don't be mislead by just because it's a Microsoft product - PocketPCs work well with Macs.

I'm using an HP iPAQ 2210 with my PowerBook right now, and it syncs very well through iSync thanks to the addition of some software from mark/space. It even allows you to mount the PocketPC's storage devices as volumes on your Desktop in OS X, which I don't think you can do in Windows.

Essentially, PalmSource is not going to develop for MacOS anymore, meaning that their new devices will be unsupported. Mark/Space is stepping in to offer their own Hotsync software, which will support PalmOS 4.x, 5.x and Cobalt devices (including Clies and the Zodiac).

This will allow you to sync your device with Apple's iApps, as well as mount your storage card on the desktop, etc. Also, they claim that current conduits will work without change under Missing Sync for Cobalt.

The only real question is whether the hardware manufacturers will include a copy on their installation CDs, or if we will have to pay for it seperately.

Palm's been lagging on support for Mac for a long time, and so have many Palm third-parties (AvantGo being the worst offender). Personally, I'm glad that mark/space has been working so hard to fill in the gaps Palm has left for Mac users.

Incidentally, as a "Linux-based PDA" advocate, I find it ironic that you haven't complained that Linux syncing isn't supported by Palm at all, nor has it ever been. Surely they've got it ten times worse?

You should be able to sync to a Macintosh using Mark/Space's The Missing Sync just like I do with my ancient (over a year old!) NR-70v

PocketMac is, apparently, simultaneously expensive and worthless.

MissingSync appears to be better received.

When I first got my Tungsten T I wanted a good telnet/SSH app but couldn't find one. All I could find was MochaTelnet, ptelnet, and TGSSH, all of which either were incompatible with OS5, weren't compatible with SSH2, or just had such ugly fonts that I couldn't see what I was doing.

Then I found this program:
Online

It supports telnet and SSH. It supports file download with X-Modem, Y-Modem to VFS. And most important, it supports HIRES, so you can do a full 80x24 terminal mode and stil read it. On a fast enough connection (say GPRS), using VIM is totally usable.

It's definitely worth the $30.

MissingSync looks promising. Due out soon.

I have also read the reviews of PocketMac and am disappointed and frustrated that it seems to be expensive and worthless at the same time. The concept of Missing Sync is different and appears to be more Mac orientated. let's hope it works.

My WOOHOOO about my clie finally syncing with my mac was cut short...

You've checked out Missing Sync, right?

Ah, nice to know. Note that I said 'probably'. And you do have to pay for it, which makes the Mac a second-class platform to use a Sony Clie with.

For those on OS X, find the required software here:
Missing Sync

and Linux:
Pilot Link

Yup, I believe most Palm's will work (at least the older ones). You just need the cable. I'm betting similar solutions exist for any of the linux based handhelds also.
Several PalmOS terminal programs
Free one
linux specific article
More non-free software

Mac OS Support for Sony CLIE handhelds. Version 2.2, now shipping, adds support for the new CLIE PEG-S360. HotSync your Sony handheld with any USB equipped Mac and your Sony handheld USB cradle or cable.


http://www.markspace.com/missingsync.html

I have a Clie N710C, and I use it both with a Mac (MarkSpace sells the software for doing this) and Linux (kernels since around version 2.4.13 have worked OK with it, maybe even earlier). Sony does not officially support anything other than Windows, but that doesn't mean it does not work :-)

The MarkSpace product allows mounting the memory stick under MacOS, and on Linux, it can be mounted as a usb-storage device, it is formatted as a VFAT file system.

There are third party serial cables available for the Visor. I use one along with the serial cable for my cell phone for wireless internet access and on occasion to configure routers or term servers. You can find more information at markspace.com.