Spanning Sync tells us what's wrong with Google's free CalDAV sync

Google's free CalDAV sync with iCal would seem to be a severe challenge to non-ad-supported commercial products like Spanning Sync and BusySync.

In reality I know from past experience that Google is perfectly capable of screwing up synchronization time and again, and that they don't admit their problems.

So it's good to see Spanning Sync fighting back with a point-by-point attack on Google's sync solution. For example:

Spanning Sync Blog: Google's "Appreciated Gesture" Drives Record Sales of Spanning Sync:

... Calendars synchronized using CalDAV become read-only on iPhone. One of our biggest customers is in the process of rolling out 700 iPhones and 200 iPod touches. This lack of iPhone compatibility makes Google's CalDAV solution a non-starter for them, and for anyone else looking for bidirectional sync between iPhone and Google Calendar."

Ok, that's a wee bit of a limitation! I didn't read that anywhere else, but I believe it. I'm not willing to experiment with CalDAV sync, I really don't trust Google's ability to do this stuff.

I think what most of us want is synchronization between the iPhone calendar app and Google Calendar; we could leave iCal out of the picture. Unfortunately it's not clear if Apple will allow such an app to be deployed.

Please Google Android, Palm Centro and Microsoft ... be successful. We iPhone users need your competition. In the meantime, I'm thinking of trying BusySync and Spanning Sync again.

Mac OS X 10.4: Installing classic from a 10..2 software restore disk

Say you have a PPC machine with 10.4 and you need to reinstall Classic from 10.2 or 10.3.

To do this you'll need to follow the directions in the above link, but it turns out they no longer work for 10.2 disks.

If you have 10.2 disks, there's an updated version of the Software Restore application that you need to download from Apple:

Mac OS X 10.4: Restoring applications from a Mac OS X 10.2 Software Restore disc

...If you have Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger already installed and you want to restore your Mac OS X 10.2.x computer-specific software, you can use the version of Software Restore available below...

FMTouch: FileMaker on the iPhone

If it suppored encryption, this would help a great deal with my Palm to iPhone migration. It's "pending approval" at the Apple store:

FMTouch

... FMTouch is a powerful application that enables you to use FileMaker Pro on your Apple iPhone or iTouch.

FMTouch allows you to take advantage of the relational data structure that makes FileMaker so powerful.

Simply select the database you would like to sync to the iPhone, use our sync technology, and within seconds you can have your FileMaker database working on your iPhone or iTouch.

FMWebschool to release limited Advanced version of FMTouch July 28, 2008.

FMWebschool will release 50 copies of FMTouch Developer editions to FBA and TechTalk members.

They don't have encryption as a feature, so I've send in a request.

I'm disappointed Apple hasn't resuscitated the defunct FM Mobile for their own platform.

Synthesis iPhone SyncML Client: Sync iPhone Cal with gCal?

The Synthesis SyncML client for iPhone is available on the App store.

Synthesis AG - SyncML Client for iPhone and iPod Touch

Synthesis SyncML Client for iPhone/iPod Touch OS brings SyncML standard based data synchronisation to iPhone OS X based devices.

This allows mobile over-the-air (OTA) data synchronisation with any compliant SyncML server (such as Oracle Collaboration Suite, goosync.com, consolidate.at, Open-Xchange, MDaemon, eGroupware, ZYB, mobical, DeskNow, ScheduleWorld, neopim.com and many more)...

Unfortunately gCal is not on the list, Goolge just added CalDAV support, but not SyncML (see Palm, 2005 and Wikipedia CalDAV -- I wonder if the SyncML spec has too many issues).

So this doesn't help with my real interest -- direct sync from the iPhone calendar app to Google Calendar.

More interestingly, the Synthesis team tells us that the Apple SDK limits what SyncML can do:

... At this time, Synthesis SyncML Client for iPhone is offered as a free preview in the App Store synchronizing the Addressbook. Current restrictions in Apple's SDK for the iPhone OS do not allow accessing calendar, notes or emails...

As is usual with iPhone SDK limitations, we don't know if this will be remedied with time or whether Apple prefers to keep the competition at bay.

The iPhone user guide back button bug

This is a weird one.

The only iPhone documentation that's readable on an iPhone is the web based iPhone User Guide.

Except it didn't seem to work on my iPhone.

I could click down to any page, but when I tapped the back button I'd get a blank screen. If I force a refresh I'm back at the top menu, rather than the last page I visited.

On the desktop it doesn't render at all in Firefox.

Using Safari on the desktop (much faster!) I was able to figure it out. You have to navigate by the breadcrumb display at page top, the browser back buttons don't work.

I wonder how many people have run into this.

Apple should fix the web page. Breaking browser back buttons is rude.

iPhone task manager review

In the old days we had task managers. Now we have "Getting Things Done" managers (grouped tasks with context attributes).

Grmph.

Roses by other names basically.

ATPM has a review of what's available for the iPhone. It includes at least one that's new to me. Great resource.

Apple iPhone 3.5mm to 2.5 mm headset adapter -- use conventional earset

Now I can use my favorite Shure earsets with my iPhone

Apple - Support - Discussions - Apple iPhone 3.5mm to 2.5 mm headset ...

I bought two 3.5mm to 2.5mm headset (earset) adapters from 1800mobiles.com part number APLIPHONEHFA2. They work, I can now use my favorite Shure easets with my iPhone 2. They're very slender, so they don't add significant bulk to the earsets. $8 each, white in the picture, black when I got 'em.

If you search on this part number you will find multiple vendors, probably all the same company. 1800mobiles wasn't bad, but they sent me an invalid tracking number and didn't answer customer support emails.

Here's one vendor's description:

Apple iPhone 3.5mm-2.5mm Headset Adapter APLIPHONEHFA2

...for the iPhone 3.5mm recessed stereo audio jack, fits Apple iPhone and Rim 8300 Curve cell phone models by converting the jack to a standard 2.5mm jack for use with any universal headset such as Jabra or Plantroinics or Shure.

* Apple iPhone Adapter fits the recessed Apple iPhone audio jack, since the Apple iPhone headset port is deeper that the outside casing. This Apple iPhone headset adapter is custom designed to makes it easy and convenient for you to connect your standard 2.5 mm mono headsets into the iPhone's recessed headset port.

* Featuring a sleek design which isn't big or bulky, simply plug one end of the adapter into the audio jack of your Apple iPhone, and the other end to your existing 2.5mm headset and you're good to go.

* 2.5 mm to recessed 3.5 mm port Headset Adapter for the Apple iPhone.

* White color cord is 2 inches long.

Now I know they work I'll order a few more. I might look for a cheaper price!

Update 5/19/2010: After about 8 months of use these adapters fell apart. Then for another six months I couldn't find any working replacements. I tried several that failed. The iPhone 3.5 mm plug does not appear to be a standard connection; I wonder if it's patented and connectors need to be licensed. Recently, I found another adapter that works. I've ordered three of them.

Update 7/12/11: I broke one of my Shure headset/earsets and tried the adapter with another. Same model of earset, but on this one the adapter didn't work as well. Studying it, I'm thinking the problem with these adapters is an antenna/radiofrequency problem, not a mere connection problem. Modern phones are a bit of hellish RF environment, and earsets are a form of antenna. Antennae don't like "couplings". If I'm write, this might explain why these adapters have faded away. Maybe they never really work reliably with a high RF phone.