FYI: You can sync your PIMs via local USB with your Android phone using Deja Office

[LandSurveyor]

I still run into too many situations where MS is about all that will work for me. I've got a linux laptop at home and love how fast and easy it is but still need, and see no reason to replace, Outlook.

Having smartphones isn't bad, but the PDA was all about the user. Smartphones are for someone else's benefit. The OS provider, the carrier, etc. What they want and what we want are never going to be the same thing.

What Hook has discovered is a workaround to return at least some of the control to him. It's really sad that we have to resort to this.

[tbessie]

It sounds like a decent setup; but I'm at the point where I'd like to get away from Outlook (and MS in general). But I like the 'back to a PDA' comment. I agree.

Interesting issue with email addresses. I find the pres. of CL to be a bit too sensitive; but I wonder how I'd react if the email address were racially or religiously offensive? Tough question.

There are lines, and I think a racially offensive or religiously offensive email address might be a bit much. But darn, now I can't use me@allahlooksfunny.com or me@jesusisgay.com! ;-)

- Tim

[Hook]

Well, the final piece has fallen in to place and I am now dizzily happy with my setup. I just tried out Companion Link's hosted sync. This is an OTA service that allows me to sync from anywhere using either wifi or 3G.

The sync is encrypted (AES 256) and passes through their secure servers. The data is not hosted-- this isn't a cloud service that allows you to view your data in a browser. It simply passes encrypted data from one device to another. It gives me full Outlook sync with Android with the *only* feature I liked about Google-- near real time OTA syncing from anywhere. I went to the dentist this morning. Was given my next appointment in 6 months. Put it in Deja Office. When I got home and opened Outlook the appointment was immediately added.

You can try it for free (just skip the payment button-- don't know exactly how long it will let you go), but like everything else at Companion Link, this service costs money. A subscription is $10 a month (yes, after paying $50 for a conduit control panel). I fully understand anyone here who is a bit outraged that this stuff is so expensive. I suspect they get away with it because I think they probably have a large number of enterprise clients.

However, if I can get exactly what I want, I am willing to pay for it since no one else seems to be offering it to me at a lower price (in fact, no one is offering me what I have here at any price). It's my decision, other people can make their own choices.

I tried using their free wifi sync but it was too quirky. I believe the main problem is my network keeps changing the IP it wants to assign. I remember I used to have some problems with that with my TX. This just works right out of the box, so to speak.

I am happier with my handheld now than I have been since the heyday of using my TX. I finally have what I was looking for when I put down the TX in April 2009 and set out to see if I could make a Smartphone work. I finally have PDA 2.0

[Hook]

An update. First of all, I have continued to be incredibly happy with this setup after all these months. It is clearly the best PIM experience I've had since my Palm TX. I am very happy being free of Google and being able to use Outlook to its full potential. There are quirks here and there --as there always was with Palm too-- but I really have what is very close to the experience I used to have with Outlook syncing to Beyond Contacts on my Palm TX. Including, once I discovered the secure wireless sync, reliability.

However, they just introduced a new USB syncing method. It takes a little on the front end to set it up-- it uses the same procedure you have to use to get screen shots if you are not rooted. You have to download the SDK (which means you also have to have a Java JDK) all of which so you can download an Android USB driver and install it. This isn't Companion Link's fault. It is the idiotic way Google set up access to the USB driver.

The next time you connect your Android device, the hardware wizard comes up (the one you used to ignore and go to mass storage mode). You point it to the location of the driver and it installs.

Yes, a lot of hoops, but from this point on, you simply connect your USB cable and hit sync. No mode to select, no erratic reliability because Android is a little flaky during unmounting and remounting the SD card. Just connect, sync, disconnect. Bing. Bang. Done. Like Palm.

This method is still in beta and I don't know if there is anything they can do to make the initial hoops easier, but it is totally worth the effort to set it up and it is working very nicely for me so far. Will report back if that changes.

[Hook]

An update. First of all, I have continued to be incredibly happy with this setup after all these months. It is clearly the best PIM experience I've had since my Palm TX. I am very happy being free of Google and being able to use Outlook to its full potential. There are quirks here and there --as there always was with Palm too-- but I really have what is very close to the experience I used to have with Outlook syncing to Beyond Contacts on my Palm TX. Including, once I discovered the secure wireless sync, reliability.

However, they just introduced a new USB syncing method. It takes a little on the front end to set it up-- it uses the same procedure you have to use to get screen shots if you are not rooted. You have to download the SDK (which means you also have to have a Java JDK) all of which so you can download an Android USB driver and install it. This isn't Companion Link's fault. It is the idiotic way Google set up access to the USB driver.

The next time you connect your Android device, the hardware wizard comes up (the one you used to ignore and go to mass storage mode). You point it to the location of the driver and it installs.

Yes, a lot of hoops, but from this point on, you simply connect your USB cable and hit sync. No mode to select, no erratic reliability because Android is a little flaky during unmounting and remounting the SD card. Just connect, sync, disconnect. Bing. Bang. Done. Like Palm.

This method is still in beta and I don't know if there is anything they can do to make the initial hoops easier, but it is totally worth the effort to set it up and it is working very nicely for me so far. Will report back if that changes.

Just an update on the update. For some reason, this method doesn't work consistently for me. Sometimes it works fine. Other times,it tries to connect and fails. For others, it works very well. They have often said that the reason they have so many syncing methods is that there is just a lot of variability in what works best for what setup.

I've gone back to the OTA secure wireless sync, which is a subscription service, but works fist time every time for my setup.

I should also mention, however, that they are constantly updating and improving this direct USB sync while it is in beta. I don't test every one of their versions.

[koshki]

Hook, thanks very much for this help.

I recently took the Android plunge. Like you, I have no intention of giving up Outlook, and want a "direct" way of keeping my device and computer in sync.

Last week I bought a Samsung Captivate Glide to replace a less-than fully functioning Palm Pre Plus, and was pulling my hair out for a couple days trying to get my contacts entered, until I read your suggestions. Using DejaOffice and the trial version of CompanionLink, (and once I got my computer to recognize my phone), I got everything synced up in a couple minutes.

Now, with my contacts and calendar in sync, and after discovering ToMarket to replace HandyShopper, I can finally retire my poor disintegrating but valiant and trusty Treo 680, as well as the Pre, and carry just one device with me.

My needs aren't great enough that I could justify the OTA subscription service, so USB syncing is just fine.

This is kind of bittersweet for me...I've been with Palm since it was called "Pilot", and it's been hard to have a company fall apart and away from me...

[wminner]

Hook, I also very much appreciate the time & effort that you have spent to document your observations & findings along the Android path, and your plans for the future.

I'm still in Garnet transition-land and off beaten path, as I have a work-issued Blackberry, but still use a Tx as my primary life organizer and as my reliable memory. However, I recently also purchased a Kindle Fire, and trying to see what I can do with it relative to the Tx.

Based on your comments, I installed Deja Office on the KF, and a CompanionLink for Palm Desktop on my PC. Using a USB sync, I now have my contacts, calendar, memos & tasks on the KF. The CompanionLink was $10 off - still not cheap, but the value of the info on my Palm falls into the priceless category (a reason for me to have some control over the backup & sync process).

Anyway, thanks again!

[Hook]

I'm always happy when information I have shared helps someone else. Cheers, Koshki and wminner.

[Hook]

Thought it was time for an update, particularly since things have changed rather radically lately.

Anyone who has followed my on-going observations and explorations of what's in my pocket (hmmm, do I need to rephrase? ) will know that, as circumstances change, I can make fairly quick 180 degree turns. I may seem a bit fickle at times, but I prefer to think of myself as adaptive, although I am likely too stubborn for that term to apply. I just try to not bolt myself to a solution in such a way that I miss an opportunity for something that works better in a new context.

And so I come to the fact that I have returned to the cloud with my PIMs and I wanted to point out what has changed and, thus, why I have returned to this after being so happy about finding a solution for syncing directly with Outlook. It is not because that solution stopped working. In fact, the title of this thread holds true. Since last August, Companion Link syncing Outlook to Deja Office has worked wonderfully. In spite of the expense, if that's what you want and you don't want to have your information in someone's cloud, Companion Link and Deja Office is an excellent solution for all the reasons I have already given. In almost a year, with occasional troubleshooting, it has never been anything less than reliable for me.

So what changed? And what am I doing now?

What Changed.

1. The first thing that changed was that work allowed me to have FireFox. For the longest time, we were stuck with IE6 and only recently IE7. No IE8. Google calendar, as it made changes to its web format and web technology, became almost unusable. Since I can't sync from my office (no cell or wifi signals), I needed access to Google Calendar on the web. That drove me last year to give up Google and go completely over to Outlook, my preferred desktop PIM. I can't sync my work Outlook, but in the absence of being able to work with either at work, there was no advantage to Google. It just added an extra piece at home. Now I have Google Calendar back. The advantage of Google Calendar is it makes it very easy to add work appointments to my personal calendar (minimum information only I understand, but allows me to see all my blocked time at a glance).

I should point out, my problem has never been having my data in the cloud. Other than using it to target advertising which I block, I don't think my data is all that interesting to anyone. What I care about is making sure the data exists locally, not just in the cloud.

2. When I got Google Calendar back, I found it worked better than it used to. Still only one category/calendar per item, but turns out I can live with that. I also discovered that Companion Link does a much better job than I remember of syncing Outlook with Google. Whether that is because Companion Link has gotten better or because I have become better through experience of using Companion Link (I suspect a bit of both), Companion Link makes sure Outlook and Google have the same information and it is completely reliable. Therefore, I have my local backup (And I back up Outlook weekly). To-dos are the hard part still, Google's fault, but I don't use to-dos, so not really a problem for me. In general, while I really need my PIMs, I am a PIM lightweight who considers the "Getting Things Done" methodology to be the "Finding Things To Do To Keep You From Getting Things Done" methodology, sorry. I usually can remember if I need to go to the store and can usually figure out when I'm likely to have the time to do it-- I don't need it on my calendar. It is good to keep this approach of mine in mind when looking at my recommendations.

3.A minor frustration from not using Google was not having Pure Calendar Widget. I actually got Companion Link to agree to share their database APIs and the developer of Pure Calendar widget to show an interest but, understandably, he didn't want to do it if there was no one asking for it. When I tried to get users of Deja Office to indicate an interest in the possibility of having PCW read Deja Office data, no one responded. So, since I couldn't use Google, I went without a Calendar widget. (I like Deja Office, but it has absolutely the worst widgets I have ever seen-- Sorry Companion Link folks, I know you are probably reading this). As soon as I discovered I could have Google Calendar at work and that Companion Link could really handle syncing Google to Outlook, I realized I could have Pure Calendar Widget back. That may have been the actual tipping point. PCW gives me a 30-day scrolling agenda that takes up only 2 columns and 3 rows of my home screen.

4. Given the above, it was hard to justify avoiding the ease of the OTA syncing that Android is designed for. That has never been in question. Companion Link does a great job of syncing between devices. However, syncing between devices is hard, particularly with a platform that was never designed to do it. OTA syncing such as with Google is just the easiest, most effort-free way to do it. Since I no longer had a compelling reason to avoid Google, I really had no compelling reason to want to work so hard.

At one point, and you'll see it in earlier posts in this thread, I had a lot of hope for Pocket Informant syncing with Outlook as being a good, more cost effective solution. I am not seeing that any longer. I just don't have a lot of confidence in the rate at which they are building capability. I think they are discovering how tough it is to build a desktop syncing solution for Android and are pushing more towards their own cloud solution. I don't mind using the cloud, but I don't think this explosion of different companies starting their own cloud services is going to work out that well. There will be a big shake out eventually and if you bet on the wrong service, you'll be stuck.

Companion Link has been working on this solution for years and it is still hard given that it is getting Android to do something it wasn't designed for and the proliferation of different hardware and software configurations. They manage to do a great job and, I still believe, if you want to sync with a desktop CRM without going through the cloud, they are the best solution. My changes here depend on the reliability with which Companion Link syncs between Outlook and Google. I still have high praise for Companion Link and couldn't live without it. Deja Office was only needed because it was all the desktop could sync with.


What I am doing.

Calendar: I use Google Calendar for most data entry. This allows me tio use my Calendar at home and at work. On my desktop, Companion Link syncs my Calendar to Outlook (One Way). On my devices I use Calengoo, which syncs directly to Google, by-passing the dreadful Android Calendar DB.

Contacts: Data Entry in Outlook, Sync to Gmail contacts with Companion Link, default contacts or dialer app on Android.

Tasks: I don't really do task lists. I put things that need to get done that I need to be reminded of as appointments on my Calendar.

Notes: I use the cloud based Simplenote which is the anti-Evernote. Plain text with tags in the cloud, nothing else. To me, Notes/memos are text and that's all I want. I have a simple, easy to use text editor called Resoph Notes on my laptop that syncs with Simple note and a text editing app on my devices called Flick Notes that also syncs with Simplenote. Resoph notes also automatically stores the notes as plain text in a folder on my computer-- again, a redundant local backup.

Everything is synced in real time (except when I am at work with no signals ) in the background with no effort on my part.


None of this changes that I'm not thrilled with Google or the directions the internet and mobile are going in in terms of taking your information and marketing you as well as marketing to you. I'm nonetheless willing to take what capability I can when provided, given that I really can't seem to get away from Google (if you use their search engine and their mobile OS, you can't get away from them).

Nor does it change that I consider Companion Link an invaluable tool in making this work so well for my needs. The cloud is fine, but I have to have everything reliably local as well.

Who knows. In six months the context may change and I'll change all this again. And I will if that happens. The nice thing is, Companion Link probably can accommodate whatever direction I go.

Stay tuned.

[LandSurveyor]

Life with our portable electronics seems to always be about change. I hope that now with Google, the pace will at least slow down.

Back when I worked for myself, I regularly synced my devices with my office computer. Now I keep absolutely nothing of mine of the city's computer. I'll keep business appointments on my Android, though.