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Syncing Addresses, Calendar, & Tasks with Windows?
DJDaveET asks: "I'm a Windows XP user who has embraced OS X as an additional tool in my arsenal. It's a wonderful OS and the machine is a joy to use. My one major problem is thus -- currently, I'm a heavy Outlook user on my two Windows boxes. I use Outlook to manage my email, my contacts, my tasks, my calendar, etc. I currently use the fusionOne
service to keep those two computers and my Samsung I300 phone all in sync with one another. I need to have that same information on my PowerBook. I don't really care what applications they go into, as long as they're all available. Integrated would be wonderful. I'm not in a position to be able to completely abandon my Windows boxes, so I'd like the Mac to play well with the others. How can I keep the data all in sync? What apps should I use on the Mac for the appropriate parts -- email, tasks, calendar, contacts, etc?"
I'd settle for something to sync Outlook w/ Entourage. They're both MS PIMs so you'd think....
I'd love to have an OS X native Exchange server client too, but for some reason MS doesn't want me to have one. Wonder why.
Getting contact | calendar etc apps to play nicely across windows and OS X borders on impossible from what I've seen. Hopefully someone has had some success, but I haven't.
You could get a Palm, and sync it to one of the Windows boxes. Then sync one way to the Mac (from the Palm to the Mac) and you are done.
-- Two men say they're Jesus. One of them must be wrong. - Dire Straits
How about using softwindows and then running outlook? I've done exactly this on pre OS X macs.. not sure if there is an OS X compliant version of softwindows yet or not.
If privacy had a tombstone it would read "We did it for your own good" . -- John Twelve Hawks
On the Mac side there is a great app called now up to date and now contact developed by Power On Software that might be the PIM you are looking for on the mac. Hope that helps.
I am not positive but I believe Apple is working on a solution for your problem right now. Sometime this month iSync should be released. It's entire purpose is to sync handhelds, phones, addressbooks, iCal etc with the same information.
You can get information about it here.
"Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
I would put that the other way 'round, myself. After all it's Microsoft that isn't giving you a platform-independent solution in this instance, not Apple.
Like I always say there are millions of people who use Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook to do their Microsoft Exchange email and who type things in Microsoft Word and calculate things with Microsoft Excel, etc, etc, etc...and who see no problem with this. I myself do.
OK, sorry about the rant. Email shouldn't be a problem, anything that does POP3 or IMAP4 (damned near anything) should be fine. I recommend Mail or Entourage or even Eudora or Netscape Messenger. Calendaring is a bit harder. It's not too tough to do a one-way, read-only deal for your Mac (just sync your palm on the PC and then sync it palm-overwrites-Mac on the Mac), but having true interactive exchange calendaring on the Macintosh is another thing.
There used to be a Mac Outlook client but it's a dead product now I think. It certainly wouldn't run in OS X, anyway. The Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit is making hints that they are about to remedy this situation but there has been no official word thusfar. I'm betting that in six months they give us a full-featured or nearly full-featured outlook client
You like your Macintosh better than me, don't you Dave? Dave? Can you hear me Dave?
While there is no easy way to go outlook -> Entourage, I made a similar conversion last year.
Here's what it comes down to:
Install Netscape / Mozilla on your PC. Import your mail. Then install Netscape / Mozilla on your Mac, it should be able to read your mail (same format). You could then pull it into the PIM of your choice.
You'll have to run Outlook:mac in classic. I've done it, works perfectly then connect to the server at fusion using this. It will get all your calender, address, email, everything. Just another outlook client. as for a osx one don't know if or when.
l t.asp? navindex=s10#Outlook
got here
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/download/defau
it's not a method of synching your laptop but you can have a VNC like (better even) connection to your system at work... and using a nice ssh tunnel you can do it securly from anywhere in the world.
we still need a damn os x outlook client
fucking MS assholes... well they won't have a choice when apple stops booting into os9 hehe
-- sigs suck --
You are right. That is one MAJOR PROBLEM. You better fix that right away.
What about the creation of an iCal program for the PC that sync's with .Mac's cal and address book. This would allow you to use the .Mac as your "source" and all the others would sync with it.
I don't know whether anyone has tried this, or is working on this, but it could be quite nice.
In addition to support for Windows, if it were done in a modular manner (and even if just the protocols were made open), you could create a version for Linux and any other platform.
It's being plugged all over the Apple web site. If you're a Mac owner I'd be surprised if you didn't know this. This makes me wonder: do you work for Apple and is this a way to get extra coverage on /. because no doubt there'll also be a story when iSync is actually released.
-- SIGFPE
Dear poster,
This question was posted by Cliff, not Pudge. Duh.
Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will! - Antonio Gramsci.
Does Outlook support the vCalendar standard? I believe that this is the file format for Apple's new iCal program. So, while it isn't true syncing, you should be able to have a copy of your Outlook calendar on your Mac.
Otherwise, Rumor has it that an update to Entourage will bring MS Exchange functionality, so start holding your breath....
(Ignoring the religion and focusing on solutions...)
You have two seperate problems
Email is one. For that, you want to get your arse on an IMAP server. This will allow your mail to "live" on the server (with only a local cache on the various boxes choose to log into). Heck, moving your email to IMAP will even allow you to install SquirrelMail on an apache/php system someplace, configure it to connect to your IMAP server, and then you even have web-based email.
Contacts/ToDo/Calendar is another problem.
iCal is, frighteningly enough, among the first major-publisher apps to use "standards based" file formats (in iCal's case, it's the iCalendar format). Outlook XP and Entourage v.X use MS-proprietary file formats. There is no way to easily transfer data *directly* between the apps. They may both bear the MS name, but the development teams are adequately siloed that they may as well be entirely different products.
As as previous poster mentioned, your best bet to go between Outlook XP and Entourage is going to be a Palm-based PDA (Palm, Handspring, Clie) with an Outlook conduit on the PC side. That will take care of your to-do, contacts, and calendar between those two apps.
Later, when iSync comes along, that same Palm will be able to sync your XP data with the Jaguar-internal apps: AddressBook and iCal.
That is, I'm afraid, the best option available for you. Chances are great that you can find an old Visor dirt-cheap on eBay (a used Handspring Visor will be your cheapest USB-based Palm solution.) Your serial number will get you the Handpring PC download with the Outlook conduit.
Best of luck!
-- Niherlas
I did it this way:
Windows + Outlook + fusionOne + T39
Sync T39 with Outlook
(If your phone doesn't have BT then replace the following with IR instead of BT)
Get Bluetooth for Mac
Get MobileSync (http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware - Excellent software!)
Sync Mac with Phone.
Yay I have a subset of my calendar.
(I also imported this stuff into iCal)
Just please eveyone log with fusionOne that you want a MacOSX client! It is excellent software. (http://www.fusionOne.com/)
Something intruiging...
You could always use OLE in perl to transfer the data in to and out of the various Win programs. Then convert the data to a platform independent format. Or if you have a specific format you are looking for, chances are high that someone aready generated this interface.
perl is not just for web pages!
Hello Randy,
Although I'm very understanding of your choice, let me point out a whole new exciting lifestyle.
It's called "heavy SM and being taken repeatedly in the xxx with a large object of choice".
The only thing you need for this is a nice and shiny Windows PC (a black one preferably)
Writing a small intermediary translation layer between the exchange server and iCal?
iCal could both subscribe and publish to the translation layer, which would take care of extracting and populating the Exchange database as necessary.
I'm no Exchange or iCal expert but this doesn't sound like it would be too bad. Does it?
There isn't an easy way to export all contacts or calendar information from Outlook for whatever reason. Here's what I did and it works fine.
1) Create a share on your Windows box called "Calenar" or whatever
2) Launch Outlook and go to the Calendar
3) Open an appointment or event and go File->Save As...
4) Give the file a name and select iCalendar as the file type.
5) Repeat for any and all events you need transferred.
Note: For reoccuring events or series make sure when opening the event check the "Open the series" button. Then all occurances of the event will transfer.
Now on the Mac
1) On the Menu Bar in the Finder select Go->Connect to Server...
2) Either Browse to your computer or enter the address (smb://computername.domain/Calendar) and enter your username/password
3) Launch iCal and go File->Import
4) Navigate to the Calendar share mounted on your computer and open the calendar file
5) This will import the event to whatever calendar you have selected in iCal (ie Home, Work, whatever)
6) Repeat
The same proceedure works for the Contacts. Just save the file as vCal and throw it into the same share and use Address Book to import the data.
Use Mail App or whatever to connect via POP to your Exchange Server. Have fun with that Mac!
SeoulBrother
I don't know how useful this really is because I have yet to test it. But check out this open source project.
Although Apple's "iCal" is different from the "ical" used by the Linux community, I believe that the same code may be useful for us.
I'd hate to sound like a corporate thug - but you could try paying for some software that works both on Mac and Windows.
Lotus Notes can be installed on both Mac and Windows as a email/contacts/tasks/calendar client. There are programs out their that will sync Lotus Notes data with the PDA/phone/whatever of your choice. Lotus Domino (the Notes server) can be run on Windows 2000 Server or if you're short on cash Linux!
Like Apple's iCal, Lotus Notes is iCalendar compliant.
Go grab the latest Release Candidates from http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/down.nsf
He could use IMAP. That would take care of the mail syncing issue.
I use IMAP to sync my Outlook and Webmail.
i have had the same probelms, which at times seemed insurmountable. well i ditched the w2k! but, i would like a tablet in the future, for my expensive windows software sitting in boxes, and power-on is in the process of developing a windows version of nudc! i am certainly looking forward to this. if you remember, planner was to be a crossplatform solution when power-on purchased nudc from qualcom.
Apple laptops are effectively unusable for unix users.
I am a long-time Unix user. That means I need to have the Ctrl key to the left of the A key. This is a genuine need , not merely a want; it is based upon ergonomics. The Ctrl key is heavily used in unix, and it must be easily accessable. It cannot be off in the lower left corner of the keyboard where it is difficult to get at, and where it distorts the position of your left hand such that you can't easily type other keys while holding the Ctrl key down.
Apple desktop keyboards are now all USB. They are all OK. The CapsLock key can be re-mapped into a Ctrl key.
Unfortunately, even in this modern age, all Apple laptops have built-in ADB keyboards. The ADB keyboard is broken-by-design. It is, in general, not possible to remap the CapsLock key into a Ctrl key.
There are some exceptions, but they are horrible kludges. They are horrible kludges because the original design of the ADB keyboard was a horrible kludge. The correct solution would be for Apple to re-design their laptop motherboards to use built-in USB keyboards. This hasn't happened yet. If you run Linux, use Debian's solution. For Mac OS X users, uControl works. There are no solutions (that I know of) for either NetBSD or OpenBSD. Please note once again that the "solutions" above are in fact kludges, because of the original bad design of the ADB keyboard.
Apple is (currently) ignoring Unix users! This is not merely speculation on my part. In an on-going email exchange I am having with an Apple employee (whom I won't name) in their marketing department, the Apple marketing person directly stated to me that Apple was catering to their historic Mac customers, and is purposely ignoring the Unix market. He also claimed that Apple would soon start paying more attention to the Unix market. I won't hold my breath. Apple has been ignoring Unix users for more than 10 years. I expect that trend to continue. (Also note that my Apple contact indicated that Macs would never ship with a 3-button mouse, even though Apple intended to port almost all X-window software and deliver it either on a CD/DVD or installed directly on each Mac's hard drive. How Unix friendly is a 1-button mouse with X programs that often require 3 buttons?)
Apple has now lost two opportunities to sell me hardware. I really wanted an Apple laptop for their superior battery life, and for the PowerPC with Altivec CPU. (The Altivec is vastly superior to the x86 line for DSP.) Because I can't live with the broken-by-design built-in ADB keyboard in all Apple laptops, Sony and IBM sold me laptops instead. If Apple fixes this problem, they will sell me a PowerBook next year; if they don't, I'll still be running OpenBSD on x86 hardware, and wishing I could use a Mac.
One of my clients is the Mac-based design department of a huge, worldwide corporation that has been around for decades. The company runs Notes, and IBM, who owns Lotus, who developed Notes, set up and maintains the system. And it SUCKS.
Lotus Notes for the Mac, even version 6 Release Candidate, sucks rocks. It's like the Lotus developers sat down and said, "Okay, what's the absolute minimum of work we can do to make this thing function?"
First, it's a Carbon app, but the installer runs in Classic. What if you're not running Classic? Secondly, its installer STILL defaults to the root level of the hard drive, instead of "Applications" or "Applications (Mac OS 9)." Third, if you change that default location, you have to explicitly create the Lotus Notes folder yourself-- otherwise if you just designate that Notes be installed in the Applications folder, for example, it will scatter its myriad files around right inside that folder. Fourth, it is the most half-assed port of a PC software title I have ever seen. Scads of data files with 8.3 filenames clog up the subfolders. Fifth, despite OS X being multiuser, Notes by default does not store user-specific files like names.nsf (the personal address book) and the User.ID file in a folder specific to a certain user-- it just dumps it right in the "data" folder inside the "Lotus Notes" application folder. Sixth, there is no place I can find to designate a specific folder for e-mail attachments to be downloaded into-- they just get jumbled in with everything else in the "data" folder, taking up space, with almost no way to clean them all out without also killing a vital Notes auxiliary file. I'll finish up with a general Notes rant about how they've taken the "web browser" metaphor to a new low with the God-awful UI that Notes has.
I could go on, but you get the point. Don't get me wrong, I am no fan of Outlook/Exchange, but after having to support Notes on the Mac one day per week for the last year and then some, I *yearn* to visit my other clients that are running Exchange.
If have just wrote a smal util to export your whole Outlook Calendar to a small file that can be easily imported in iCal or Entourache. If people are interested if can include contacts and improve it. Download: iAppoint version 0.2 Suggestion: mail to Conrad Hagemans