Why the Google "i-link" will be a good thing and tinkering with OS X?

I recently had the opportunity to try out the iMac and I must say that I have been quite impressed by the operating system. It reminds me of the old Unix days and my slight delving into Linux. This system is so flawless and so natural that I had to pinch myself several times to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. It was so unobtrusive.

So, one of the things that I had to do with this great device was to find a spare Lifedrive hanging around - a friend just happened to have one that he hated, but would not give up - therefore sitting on a shelf gathering dust. So I thought, wouldn't it be great to see how this device works with The Precious.

Well, my friend told me that there was no need for the Palm Desktop software for the Mac, simply because it was just useless ( I hinted that he may actually like his Lifedrive a bit more if he followed the directions of Palm once in a while). He preferred to use a program called i-sync that comes standard with the iMac. Well, the program itself was quite nice. It boasted immediate synchronization with a number of phones, including my Nokia. Access via bluetooth or USB was very simple and it appeared to link the iCal (the calendar program on the mac) quite nicely, not to mention the address book.

Mac's iCal
Absolutely amazing calendar program

So, would it work on the Lifedrive? Well, I did the set up on the imac, introducing the machine to the Lifedrive and it appeared to recognize it without problems.

I then loaded up my friends Lifedrive with a number of addresses and a few calendar dates. He already had a full cache of addresses, appointments etc. in his iCal and address book in the mac. So the sync process would be easy to see.

The results unfortunately were not so stellar. Yes, I was amazed that the program actually worked with the Lifedrive. Essentially, any innovative program that works with the Lifedrive is cause for celebration. However there were a number of problems.

Google Calendar
Notice the similarities with Apple's iCal

First, the iCal format is essentially the same as Google's format. You can place several calendars together to form one calendar, with color codes to separate individual appointments. For example, if Jill has a calendar with her appointments and Sam has a calendar with his appointments, you can superimpose the two or separate them with the click of a button. The result on the Palm is no separation of the meetings. So Jill's meetings coincide with Sam's. In addition, the contacts in the address folder are under the title "other," instead of being separated into their respected folders. The system broke down a few times during the syncing process, hanging for a while. Thus, I would say that this was extremely unreliable and not the best for the Lifedrive. But for the Nokia, a totally different kettle of fish.

Now, there is possibly a solution with another Mac program called Missing Sync, but I have not tried this out yet. It is said to be a bit more stable and more intuitive when it comes to separating Contacts and iCal synchronicity.

For what it's worth, I understand that another solution may be around the corner. See the title for further information. This solution would probably be the answer to many Mac owners who have had trouble using the Palm with the iMac and Palms' less than adequate support for the Mac, choosing to stay the Windows route.

Windows Vista Calendar
Notice the resemblance to Google and Mac's iCal

However, even Palm may run into trouble at the end of the month when Vista comes out. Why? Well, if you take a look at the beta version or corporate edition of Windows Vista, you will notice a very interesting thing. The entire calendar program resembles iCal !!!! In addition, the website touts the iCal protocol interoperability (" Using Windows Calendar, you can subscribe to calendars hosted on websites in the .iCalendar format, and then view those calendars alongside your own..."). Thus, a solution for multiple calendars must be found by Palm in their next rendition of Garnet. It is also the reason why the company that has chosen to follow Apple's way of doing Calendars -Google- (Open source people harken that I pay homage to you first - since the Mac and now Windows players emulated your original designs), may end up leading the calendar wars and leaving everyone in the dust. It would appear that they have found a way to synchronize all of the devices, across the board, including Palm and Windows Mobile, using the iCal and open Calendar format. We know that it can be done, because CompanionLink Software appeared to be one of the first commercial companies to do this.

There are others working on this project, albeit more quietly. One programmer who was at one time posting on PalmAddicts (Shawn Grimes) had a project named Syncplicity (Syncplicity.com), but apparently ran into problems with this. His last post on his web site was June 13, 2006 on the subject. Obviously, we all applaud Open source projects, but I think that everyone is awaiting the Google conduit. It won't answer all of the Apple questions, but it should benefit both Mac OS X and Vista owners. One problem for Mac owners remains the dearth of software compatible with Mac for transferring to the Lifedrive directly. But you need to have back up software in the event that everything crashes. This is particularly true for mission critical applications -- Splash ID, OB and Internal Medicine textbooks, ie. The Washington Manual.

But the most important non-third party application is the calendar. It is what Palms do! The idea of being able to synchronize this with any computer or through the air is mind boggling and makes this an essential piece of software. I do not derive inspiration for appointments or calendar events while sitting in front of my computer. It is usually when sitting in front of another computer, walking down a hallway, conversing with someone else or just opening my Lifedrive. This is a conduit that must happen and I am happy to say that we are not too far from its final release.


LDD.

Addendum: No Lifedrives were harmed during the writing of this article :).


Images and quotes taken from Google.com, Apple.com, Microsoft.com and