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Palm Desktop Replacement?
rueger asks: "Almost from Day One I've found the Palm desktop and handheld software to be sorely lacking. The Address Book only allows you to record one address, not one for home and one for work, and only lets you sort or search by name and company name, not by city for instance. The calendar won't let you link contact names to appointments which again seems an obvious missing feature. I've been looking for a software replacement that would add these features and more, and still sync with my Palm (well, Clie). Outlook is not a possibility for all of the usual reasons. What I've found is that there are some very nice PIMs out there, but most won't hot-sync. Those that do, like Time & Chaos, have no more functionality than the Palm software, and lack some features that I use. What are other handheld users turning to? Is there an Open Source replacement?"
Or first list on a Google search:
Palm Desktop Replacement Comparison Chart
Alex.
http://john.redmood.com/organizers.htmlt ml
http://www.ypsolog.com/docs/comp/other/pim.html
http://www.ms.lt/ms/projects/toolkinds/organize.h
The odds are good that you'll find something that works.
I personally use Ecco Pro, Shadow Palm and DateBk5.
But then again, I'm a zealot.
I know a lot of people like to bag on Evolution, but I've found it works quite nicely when synchronizing to my Palm m500 over serial. I'm using Debian stable, and there are a couple of packages that you will need besides evolution. I believe they were evolution, gnome-pilot, and gnome-pilot-conduits (apt should get all the proper dependencies). Although, you still only get one address (business) on the Palm side, I believe this is a limitation with the Palm addressbook software. You can keep multiple addresses in Evolution, but only the business one will show up on the Palm addressbook.
Nathan's blog
"Outlook is not a possibility for all of the usual reasons."
The 'usual reasons', for the most part, apply to Outlook Express and not Outlook 2000/XP.
"Derp de derp."
I can't speak for the desktop version of their software (I only use the Palm edition), but I've been very happy with Agendus by Iambic. It remedies many of the issues you raise.
They have full versions of their software for both Palm and Windows.
DiscDividers tabbed plastic CD dividers: divider cards f
Well, the Herf tag doesn't seem to be working, so let's try this again. You missed a WWW in the Ecco Pro address.
The ______ Agenda
To replace your HotSync software, take a look at the jSyncManager. It's an Open Source, pure Java, and will run on all your different operating systems. It features an Object-Oriented "jConduit" plug-in system to allow different applications to use it for their synchronization services.
The two downsides currently with running the jSyncManager on the desktop are:
Brad BARCLAY
Lead Developer & Project Administrator,
The jSyncManager Project.
I think the biggest hurdle you'll run into is that the Palm itself has a rather limited data model for things like address book entries, dates, etc. Sure, you can make a PIM that does way more, and you'll find lots out there, but none will be able to reliably sync all your data to the palm. If you only use the palm to READ the data, you might be ok, but if you enter data on your palm it might be incomplete when it gets shipped back to the PC. Also, if you edit data on the palm you might break the "links" that the PC software maintains.
Really what's needed is not just a better PIM on the desktop, but also a better PIM in the palm itself.
The newest version of the Palm desktop has a number of new features, including new contact fields - these will not migrate to an older palm (i.e. less than OS 5) but they stay on your desktop until you upgrade.
I've been using the new desktop w/an older palm for a while and I'm pretty happy.
As for linking entries to appointments, do you really need that, or is it just something that would be nice to have? Generally I've found that people who bitch about the Palm interface haven't really sat down to think about what they really need. They're too busy trying to micro-manage their lives instead of using the tool for what it's good for. They give themselves the illusion that they're really being productive because they have a list of all of the people involved with the appointment linked to their appointment. This functionality is mostly a toy, and after spending 20 minutes setting up an appointment and linking the contacts, most people give up on their organizer altogether.
If you're seriously constrained by the Palm interface, you maay want to consider a different device. Perhaps a Pocket PC or something with a PIM that's more like Outlook would do better for you?
Hope this helps!
The JSyncManager sited doesn't even link to any conduits (let alone any PIM ones.)
I'd suggest what I use, but I'm quite happy with Palm desktop. I think that's mainly because my palm is a bedtime games platform...
click-clack, front and back. I'm not moving this car otherwise.
I've been very pleased with the Yahoo's free utility for HotSyncing my Palm with Yahoo Calendar, Addressbook and Notepad. Yahoo's tools have more features than Palm Desktop; plus, they can be accessed from any web browser.
The Address Book only allows you to record one address, not one for home and one for work, and only lets you sort or search by name and company name, not by city for instance. The calendar won't let you link contact names to appointments...
For once I am happy I haven't upgraded. Back when the desktop software was called "Claris Organizer", all of these features were possible, at least on MacOS classic. It used to annoy me, in fact, when an appointment would automatically be made with an attached address for birthdays. You could sort by geographical address, and use custom fields to sort by city. Again, this is all in the desktop edition.
I don't seem to have lost any of these features upgrading to Palm Desktop version whatever. When I Sync, second addresses end up as note attachments on the handheld, but they're there.
Has Palm actually eliminated these from the Claris original, or have they de-Microsofted them by no longer making them automatic?
I have had similar problems with both a palm and a zaurus. Neither were as useful as I had hoped. There is an application, not cheap, that provides much more usefulness for planning and contacts. FranklinCovey Planning Software provided me what I found lacking in other applications and provides Palm apps and sync conduits.
Hi, I hop this is not OT, but I'm really looking for an "as open as possible" solution to set up a Palm - Laptop and Server sync. AFAIK I could use KDE PIM and E-groupware for example but I haven't tried yet and I don't know if there are other solutions.. like Opengroupware.. any suggestion? thanks, Marco
When I bought my first handheld, I looked for every reason in the book to pick a Palm over a PocketPC. But I looked deep down inside myself and found that the most important task that I would do with the thing was sync with Outlook so that I could keep track of contacts, to-do lists, and compose email. PalmPilots didn't even come close. Everyone I knew that had PalmPilots bemoaned "synchronization" issues. So, PocketPC it was. And I've been happy since.
Life Balance is a neat piece of software for Palm handhelds. It is billed as "the to do list for real life". For every item, there is a simple slider that lets you set its relative importance. Life Balance helps you see what is most important, and what is most possible at any given time. Those who have used it seem to really like it. It's more than just a planner - it intends to help you improve your quality of life.
More detailed info is available, and it uses Apache software.
For the To-Do list, you might check out Bonsai. It's actually an outliner, but you can set outline items as to-dos and have it create those and maintain the links (caveat: I haven't used that feature). The OS5 Tasks (replaces To-Do) application is also an improvement over previous versions, but nothing revolutionary.
As far as addresses go, the OS5 Contacts application does allow multiple addresses - if you're using a T3 at least, when you're editing a contact you'll see a (+) button at the bottom of the screen - tapping that lets you add additional address areas up to a total of 3. The main thing I'd like to see added is a way to have both "public" (will be beamed/sent) and "private" (won't be beamed/sent) notes on contacts - that way I could keep my personal notes on clients (e.g. "X's wife used to work with mom. X's M-I-L is in poor health (6/2004)." and still be able to beam that contact to other folks without sending that information along as well.
fencepost
just a little off
If you're willing to spend money, Agendus is a nice solution. Very contact orientated and takes care of the Palm side. There also Agendus for Windows which has the corrosponding functionality on the desktop. It's well worth the money if you're into these sort of things.
Someone else mentioned DateBk5, which is more task orientated.
If you just want desktop access to multiple addresses, try the latest version of Palm Desktop. But this won't solve the handheld-side problem...
Finally, why not Outlook? Yes, it costs money, and yeah, it's bollocks for e-mail, but if you install and ignore it makes a handle 'universal sync point'.
DateBk5 by Pimlico Software is exactly what you are looking for and I cannot recommend it enough.
Ryosen
One man's "Troll, +1" is another man's "Insightful, +1".