While PalmSource seems contented to let Palm Desktop and HotSync software system for the Macintosh suffer from nonperformance , Mark / Space ’s The Missing Sync for Palm OS 5.1.2 go on to improve . It has now become an indispensable choice for any Palm OS - based PDA or smart phone owner looking to make the most of their Mac connection .
While your Treo or new Palm PDA may embark with software program that will allow it to sync with your Macintosh , the HotSync software Palm include is slow and clunky , and has n’t changed in several years — it is not up to date with changes in Mac OS X like Tiger ’s Sync Services , for example . Mark / Space , meanwhile , has incorporated a tidy sum of sweetening in its venerable Missing Sync package to keep it current , let in documentation for Sync Services . This means in force consolidation with Apple ’s iCal , Address Book , and iLife applications . It also means more robust and reliable connectivity disregardless of whether you use USB or Bluetooth to colligate your organizer to your Mac .
What ’s more , Missing Sync is now Universal and run natively on PowerPC and Intel Macs alike . I had no trouble synching a Treo 700p ( ) smart earphone to my Intel iMac using Bluetooth . On its first connectedness , The Missing Sync asks you some questions about what content you want to sync — address ledger data , for example , or calendars and tasks . It will , by default , add the Missing Sync applications programme — which lets you wax PDA or sassy sound - based memory cards on your Mac ’s desktop for easy data file transfer — along with a hand-held variant of SplashPhoto ( a photo record album practical app ) and TimeCopy , a utility that makes certain your PDA ’s clock is always synced to your Mac ’s clock .
Modern features since we last looked at Missing Sync for Palm OS ( ) include support for color - encrypt calendar category , handy for break personal project from business ones ( and matching whatever calendar coloring scheme you use in iCal ) . If you require to take picture of the nipper with you on your Palm equipment , The Missing Sync can ease — just tell it which iPhoto album or album you care to sync , and it ’ll take care of the rest period . And The Missing Sync can do the same for iTunes playlists , so if there ’s some music you ’d care to mind to without lugging an iPod , it ’s also an option .
The common regulation apply regarding the transfer of DRM - protect filing cabinet , such as music downloaded from the iTunes Store — this medicine wo n’t play on Palm PDA or anything that is n’t an authorise computer or iPod . This also reveals one shortcoming of The Missing Sync — if it happen an erroneousness , such as attempt to transplant a DRM - protect Sung it have a go at it your PDA ca n’t play — it’ll make a note in the log and will even advise you that an error has taken post — but it wo n’t provide you with any more elaborate entropy . You have to trace for the ledger entry in the logarithm to work out out what went wrong .
disregarding of whether you ’re using Bluetooth or USB , sometimes sync between a Mac and Palm gimmick can take a retentive time , depending on what you ’re doing . information update , for example , take less clock time than full substitute ; for me , it ’s usually about five instant .
The Missing Sync does an excellent job of providing you with feedback , differentiate you how far along it is in the overall process and in individual tasks , by represent you with freestanding progress bar – one shows you the procession of the full synchronization , the other shows you the progress of the specific labor ( such as installing a new covering or backing up a file ) .
Of course , The Missing Sync still allows you to configure multiple profiles for each gadget , so if you do n’t desire the software to back up your handheld each metre you sync , you’re able to specify what you want it to do .
I ’d love to see Mark / Space append some programming capability so you’re able to programme it toBack this up every [ n]th time you connectinstead of having to do it manually . And , because of the way Sync Services work , some people have report problems syncing one machine with two mack . But I did n’t try this .
Mark / Space is also making it easier for masses to buy products for their handhelds by contain a Shop check into the Missing Sync ’s port — this countenance you buy package , which you’re able to download on the spot , or grease one’s palms computer hardware accessories that can be mail to you . I reckon it ’s decent to make it easier for people to grab products they did n’t make love they needed , but there are plenty of places for me to find that content online , too .
If you use third - party software that bet on conduit — Palm idiom for passing information between the Mac and the PDA — you’re in luck . The Missing Sync 5.1 ’s backup of third - party conduits is good than ever , including the Mark / Space Conduit for AvantGo , various airlines , DocumentsToGo , PocketQuicken , and many others . Mark / Space has also made usable its programing detail for third - party Palm app developers so they can update their code .
Macworld’s buying advice
With Palm Desktop and HotSync you could get by , but The Missing Sync for Palm oculus sinister 5.1.2 makes your handheld shine as bright as your Mac does . It ’s definitely worth the $ 40 .
[ Peter Cohen is a senior editor atMacworld . ]
