How to Sync PocketPC to Linux?

Giggles Of Doom asks: "I am a long time Windows user who is getting ready to make the plunge and move to Linux. Microsoft is just getting on my nerves. Anyway, I have made a little list of things I do in Windows that I will still need to be able to do in Linux. A BIG one of those is syncing the data from my PDA with my main computer's mail program. The mail program will probably be KMail, unless others can suggest a better one and give reasons why, and my PDA is a Audiovox Maestro, which is really a rebranded Toshiba 'PDA-1032' running Pocket PC 2002. It has a USB cradle. What Linux solutions are there for this task? I would hate to have everything else work great, but have to boot to Windows or load VMware just to sync my contact info. Remember, I am a Windows user trying to convert, but any solution would have to be pretty user friendly."

Comments

LDAP?

[Cycon]

I was wondering the same question myself recently, although I don't mind booting into windows periodically to do the actual syncing. What I had in mind was this:

• asdf

Re:LDAP?

[Anonymous Coward]

You can go asdf yourself for all I care.

Re:LDAP?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's fun to stay at the... A... S.. D F!

Switch to Palm

[DeadSea]

The solutions for syncing to a palm pilot are much better on linux. Sell your current PDA and get one that is easier to support.

Re:Switch to Palm

[RevAaron]

It seems like a pretty poor trade- Linux sync functionality gained for the price of losing what you can do with the PocketPC and the hardware on which it runs. Why would anyone want to go and do something silly like that?

Re:Switch to Palm

[Anonymous Coward]

yeah that's a GREAT idea... i wonder why this PocketPC owner wants to keep his far superior device when he could have one with less memory and shittier hardware for about the same price?

Re:Switch to Palm

[pavera]

Right,
why would anyone do that?
besides, my palm m505 doesn't sync to linux yet either through usb, so whats he gonna gain?

Re:Switch to Palm

[Giggles Of Doom]

That isn't really a good idea for me as I just got rid of my PalmV for this one. I would try to put linux on it as well, but I don't have a restore CD so if I mess up I'd have a nice $300 paperweight.

LDAP?

[Cycon]

(please ignore previous post. Preview button/Submit button, same thing, right?)

I was wondering the same question myself recently, although I don't mind booting into Windows periodically to do the actual syncing. I have an iPAQ, also running Pocket PC 2002.

What I had in mind was this:

Sync iPAQ to Outlook under Windows, using USB cradle

Sync Outlook to an LDAP server

Sync Evolution to LDAP server (or KMail if you prefer, and LDAP is supported)

What I haven't fully explored yet is Outlook's ability to sync to an LDAP server. I'm thinking of running one of my personal linux fileserver, not just to keep my iPAQ and Evolution in sync, but to simply have a cetralized place to keep all of my contact information (calendaring would be great too though).

Is anyone aware of a better solution than just rolling my own LDAP server to be compatible with Outlook?

--Cycon

Maybe you should wait...

[misfit13b]

Pocket PC, eh? From the impression I got of your question, perhaps a hardcore 100% conversion isn't for you, at least right now. You already have the MS software up and running and assumedly licensed, so perhaps you should, for now, take it a bit slower.

If your HD is big enough, repartition it out so you can dual boot into RH8 or Mandrake 9 for a while and get comfortable enough to do everything you want to do with it. Then, when the next big Windows OS release comes out, instead of getting that and throwing more money in the MS coffer, you can just jump ship to Linux full on. By then, there will even be better support for your handheld too.

Cheers,
m13b

Homebrew it!

[RevAaron]

Provided you have some network device for your PDA- be it a serial cable (for SLIP/PPP- not USB), ethernet or wireless would work, one could whip up a decent syncing solution in a couple days' time. Wouldn't do everything, but Calendar, Contacts and Todo would be pretty straightforward.

I wonder why no one else has done it yet. I have iPAQ hardware, but I don't use PocketPC for anything but a platform for running my own PDA environment, Dynapad.

I'm confident that I could hack something together using PocketC on the PDA and Perl on the desktop within a weekend. If anyone wants to sponsor me in this, I could do this. By sponsor, I mean for a price. Not a very high price. The person fronting the money can choose the license under which it lives - LGPL, closed-source commercial product or whatever. If there are any serious takers, email me and we can discuss what email app to support and cost, and so on.

Re:Homebrew it!

[RevAaron]

How is this flamebait? I mean this in all seriousness.

I imagine that no one has done it yet because most Linux users with PDAs either a) don't bother syncing or b) don't have something with WinCE. I have the knowledge to create such a beastie, but as one who doesn't need the functionality of it, I think it's fair to recieve compensation for the benefit of others.

Re:Homebrew it!

[Gordonjcp]

It's flamebait because it doesn't have the phrase "micro$oft winblows is teh suck" in it.

Duh.

Re:Homebrew it!

[RevAaron]

Heh. It's funny, because I was thinking the same thing, but didn't want to bother saying it, because it too would get marked a troll. Not that I'm particularly concerned about my karma, but I just see know reason to waste my typing time. :P it's sad, because you're right.

Re:Homebrew it!

[Giggles Of Doom]

I think I can currently spare $20 for this.

"but"?

[tswinzig]

Remember, I am a Windows user trying to convert, but any solution would have to be pretty user friendly.

You meant and, right?

(It's OK ... I use Windows, also.)

Re:"but"?

[toast0]

two points... 1) grammar nazi's will point out that but is functionally equivilent to and.

2) I believe he is implying that he's trying to convert to a hard core fifty parameters on the command line and at least three or four pipes per line, but he's not there yet so he needs it user friendly still.

Re:"but"?

[druxton]

sarcasm \Sar"casm\, n. [F. sarcasme, L. sarcasmus, Gr. sarkasmo`s, from sarka`zein to tear flesh like dogs, to bite the lips in rage, to speak bitterly, to sneer, fr. sa`rx, sa`rkos, flesh.] A keen, reproachful expression; a satirical remark uttered with some degree of scorn or contempt; a taunt; a gibe; a cutting jest.

Cat got your tongue? (something important seems to

[Anonymous Coward]

The mail program will probably be KMail, unless others can suggest a better one and give reasons why

So, encapsulated in a question about a PDA, you manage to work in a bit of flamewar fodder. Classy! But now you should probably not expect to get anything but "MAIL CLIENT X IS THE B3ST EVER!"-esque responses.

Good luck!

Isn't it obvious?

[Anonymous Coward]

Linux and inferior hardware are the perfect combination.

My suggestion...

[anthony_dipierro]

Find a crack for VMWare. Run linux in the background.

First, drivers

[Jrono]

I had the same problem a few months ago. I had a HP Jornada 560. There is a linux module for connecting to some usb PocketPC devices (I am not sure if it's in the actual kernel, but it's in the few I have tried under Gentoo). It's under USB -> USB Serial Devices -> USB Compaq iPAQ / HP Jornada / Casio EM500 Driver when using menuconfig (CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_IPAQ). Documentation/usb/usb-serial.txt has some more information about it. It allows you to make a serial connection with the usb device. I don't know if it would work with your's or not.
I never got that part working. You might have better luck with a serial cradle. I had to use VMware to sync with Outlook. This is why I sold my PDA and bought a Zaurus, which has it's on synching problems under Linux. I know, this is definately not the ideal solution.
Other than that, there is SyncCE which has some tools for the connection.

Linux on the hand-held

[aminorex]

I suggest using Linux on the Toshiba as well. See handhelds.org and linuxdevices.com.

Re:Cat got your tongue? (something important seems

[Rick the Red]

Funny, but if I used a PDA for email I'd want it to be my only email reader. So the issue for me would be how to sync it to the mail server, not how to sync it with a desktop mail reader.

What is the value in having email in two places? Where do you answer it? Where do you file it? If the answer is "the desktop PC" then why sync up your PDA? If you just want to have some email on the PDA for reference, why not transfer it over as text files?

This site explains how..this is what I do....

[xtremex]

Syncing WinCE to Linux

Win4Lin

[Anonymous Coward]

Spend $50 or so bucks and buy Win4Lin and run windows 98 on your favorite linux distro.

Re:Win4Lin

[xtremex]

Win4Lin is great..I have win4lin 3 but it doesnt have USB support :(

Re:Cat got your tongue? (something important seems

[Anonymous Coward]

As far as I'm concerned, there is no point in even using a mail client anymore. With SquirrelMail connected to an IMAP Server and displayed over an SSL connection, I can see no reason to use anything other than webmail. And it has the added advantage of being accessible from anywhere with internet access (and a browser).

Compactflash.

[Anonymous Coward]

Keep your data on a compaccard. Get a CF reader that'll work with Linux.

When you want to snyc move the CF card to your PC and run your sync script.

How I use double mail storage

[Ibn al-Hazardous]

This is usefull to me, so I bite.

I have the mailing program set to sort stuff into folders (one folder for each mailing list, and one for newsletters). And ActiveSync is set to sync those folders.

Then when I sit at my desk, I read and answer all mail that needs my immediate attention (IOW that which is meant for me specifically).

At times when I don't sit at the desktop, but rather on the bus, on a café, or in the bed at night (yes my wife thinks me a dork, but she loves me anyway) - I read the mailing lists and newsletters etc.

All I miss is a decent offline newsreader for PocketPC.

Ibn

Battery life?

[Andy Dodd]

A better screen?

A more reliable OS?

http://www.med.unc.edu/~greena/back2palm/ has some good information.

I wouldn't necessarily reccommend going to a Palm proper, but a PalmOS device will be far more useful than an obscenely expensive, oversized, battery-gulping PocketPC device.

Compare and contrast:
Audiovox Thera PocketPC-based smartphone - 24 hours standby
Kyocera 6035 Smartphone - Over 6 days battery life including moderate talk time

The average PPC device is rated at less than a day or two of battery life with moderate usage, compared to a PalmOS device that can last well over a month with moderate usage on a pair of AAs.

For a non-phone solution, a Clie NR70 would be the way to go.

Re:Battery life?

[Anonymous Coward]

I always wonder does the Palm user sync their PDA everynight, or they only sync it once a week, or even once a month. why put the PDA to the cardle to recharge the PDA everyday is such a nightmare task? (or most of the Palm user won't use avantage, won't sync their latest schedule from desktop to PDA, etc...?)

You may say that PocketPC is oversized, battery-gulping PocketPC device. Expensive? I really don't agree. How much you pay for that DragonBall 66mhz + 16M Ram, and how much you pay for the StrongArm 206mhz + 64M Ram? The price you pay for NV70(DB 66) is enough for you to buy a PocketPC(SA 206), which one you think it is more expensive when compare with what provided(hardware comparison, don't go argue how much free software, bah bah bah with me)?

Both Palm and PocketPC actually fulfill 2 different market. Those who use Palm most likely is demanding something tiny and fulfill the basic req. of a traditional PDA(scheduler, phonebook, note, etc...), while PocketPC is fulfill the demand of portable entertainment(like DivX with 30fps, games, etc), alternative as a sub-notebook(like powerpoint presentation, GPS, etc...).

Compare nowadays Palm and PocketPC just like compare between a guy who is using a Pentium MMX for web browsing and a guy who is using a P4 with GeForce 4 for gaming. Both Pentium MMX and P4 able to fulfill different user's requirement. Who can tell which is better?

Let wait and see, Palm OS 5 will out soon. What so-call "simplicity" should become history. Any device with a CPU will always be extended over it original function(let think about your cell phone nowadays, let think about the computer 20 years ago and nowadays). Try to limit the function of a CPU-powered device is just like going to limit the human imagination.

I'm a PocketPC user, but I think I will switch to Palm OS 5(but not now! OS 4 will never be my choice, because I always watch anime on road. ^^;) once it was out. As I also wanna sync my PDA with my Linux and Mac too. :)

If wanna compare PocketPC and Palm, let wait until OS 5 is out. I think they're something worth to make comparsion.

Too damned painfull...

[PinchDuck]

Sorry, man, but I was in the same boat. I bought a Zaurus instead and am much happier.

Coolness

[Kyrn]

Now your slashdot coolness factor is higher than mine Giggles because you actually posted a story^^ Sorry I have no clue about linux and can't help ya.