entourage x conduit rant

M

mweier

Pixel Farmer
just got a new Palm m500 to replace our old Handspring Visor Deluxe (as HVD doesn't successfully synch with EntourageX, and its connectivity with Palm Desktop 4 sux as well...);

We had been using the beta Palm Desktop 4.0 for a while (with tolerable, but buggy results on the old Handspring...it would successfully synch & then the handheld would say it needed to be reset (even though it finished the synch)). Is it possible there's still some bad beta voodoo in the computer? I tried to manually delete the palm app folder & also the palm folder in the Library. When a reinstall of the latest Palm Desktop 4 failed, I then chose to do an Uninstall of Palm Desktop 4 (this worked). Then reinstalled Palm Desktop 4 again (successful). At this point we synched the old handspring with palm desktop, then synched the new m500 with palm desktop, thereby successfully getting all the old PDA stuff into the new PDA. Still no problems.

So, the m500 does successfully synch to Palm Desktop 4.0 (or whatever the version hosted on palm.com today). However, after upgrading to Office X r1, and installing the latest Entourage X conduit, now it won't synch at all! It starts, says (on desktop) that it's synching entourage conduit... The palm says it's synching the Address, Memo, and then Date Book...... and then the synch on desktop crashes, claiming the application Conduit Manager has unexpectantly quit.

Using OSX 10.1.4, white iBook G3-600mhz.

Is there any hope of synching with Entourage? Given this piss poor performance, we'll likely be returning the m500 & returning to the buggy but tolerable Handspring Visor... not worth $200 just to get rid of a reset request & add a rechargable battery....

"It just works" my ass!!! I won't begin to rant about how much simpler it is to get my PDA synching beautifully with Outlook 2000 on my PC. Not only didn't it require me to download a version of Palm Desktop that's different from what was provided on the CD that came with the PDA, but it didn't require me to go to Microsoft's site & upgrade OFfice & download a custom conduit. I hate all computers now, but frighteningly, I"m beginning to hate my windows machines less than the Mac....

well apparently i started ranting anyways, so I thought I'd add this EVER so helpful bit we learned from Palm Support.

us - "We've installed Palm Desktop 4.0 for Mac OSX & the Entourage X Conduit to synch to Entourage. It's not working"
palm - "what's entourage?"
us - "it's Outlook for Macintosh - made by microsoft. Same thing basically".
palm - "Oh. um what is it again".
us - "we just told you - Outlook. Only for Mac"
palm - "Oh. In that case go to google.com & search for Entourage. I think that might help."
us - "bye."
-click-
us - "whata bunch of *#$&'g morons."
 
Wasn't it Abraham Lincoln who said, "It's better to be thought stupid then to open your mouth and prove it." (Spoken sarcastically) Don't you just hate morons?
 
yup morons are annoying. So, has anyone successfully gotten Entourage X to synch with a Palm (or Handspring) PDA in OSX??

I saw a bunch of posts about minor nuisances with Company Names or something but I can't even get it to finish a synch.

Any other solutions (possibly even alternatives to Entourage X) which would allow you to synch into one big program whose contact list is accessible as an email address book? Palm Desktop is not *that* sucky as a calendar/task organizer, but it doesn't allow you to use your contacts as email addressees. Plus, hate to say it, but M$ Entourage has much more sensible & powerful interface.

Are we basically left to return the PDA & give up? Are Windows machines superior? come on, Mac fanatics, we're desparate to flip the bird to Windows & learn once & for all whether the Mac (perhaps more accurately, its apathetic and perhaps incapable software developers) has this major flaw right now.
 
Doesn't it strike you as a little unusual, that you have asked a question which many people here must have the answer to, and you are still unable to get any help? I wonder what that says about your question and/or the manner that you asked it?

As a recent switcher to Mac, I have found most Mac users, as the enlightened ones, who do not appreciate some rudeboy coming into their world and speaking down to them while at the same time, asking for their help. They don't need to prove the Mac's superiority to you. They already know what you and I have long been too dense to appreciate. The Mac is a class act, and if you can't be maybe you belong on the PC with your Outlook.

PS. If you are 14, I have probably been to hard on you and I apologize. If not, get a life. "It just works!".
 
1.) I'm not 14. I've been using computers for nearly 20 years now & have seen them grow & change & get progressively more complex, not always for the better.

2.) your responses are off-topic & remarkably unhelpful. Thanks. Perhaps you'll find it more useful to offer constructive suggestions to help your fellow flailing technology users than condemning them for their frustration at an inadequate juncture of 3 pieces of software.

3.) I apologize to all for my overall air of exasperation & sarcasm. I'm frankly done with even trying to solve this problem. We're returning the Palm m500 & sticking with the less than ideal setup of synching visor with Palm Desktop 4.0 (which fails to sync contacts into the email address book). Clearly software development on Microsoft conduits and/or Palm/Handprings' desktop software for OSX is not conducive to accomplishing what I originally believed to be a simple task which was a basic feature of the devices in question. Obviously my examples of the simplicity of accomplishing this task on a PC arent' welcome here.

4.) Perhaps the more extreme Mac supremicists who seem blind to the flaws and hoop-jumping required by their computer setup would acknowledge that no piece of software/hardware comes without error (god knows Windows is a pain in the ass on a REGULAR basis), we would all grow in our abilities together. Rabidly defending the notion "It just works" in a forum dedicated to solving problems with the OSX user experience is both ironic & naiive.

5.) I'm done here. bye. (feel free to follow my post with any petty, juvenile remarks you may deem fit. You'll have the last word).
 
mweier,

Although I disagree with some of your conclusions in the previous post, in this last post, for the first time, you certainly sound more intelligent(which I am sure you are) and your desire for some help seems more sincere. I hope that you do not follow through on your promise of leaving and instead return to read this response.

I have been successfully syncing with a m500 and Palm desktop and/or Entourage for some time. I don't think there are that many issues. Apple will be releasing iSync at the end of September and this MAY eliminate a lot of the current methods of syncing and/or problems. I think alot of vendors are taking a wait and see attitude to determine where Apple will be leading us. Because of this wait, I think alot of users are probably taking the sames stance.

Additional advice, this particular PDA forum on macosx.com obviously receives very little traffic and as such is not a very good source of help. I feel that if you would have originally posted in the Software forum(I know you posted it in the right place) and with a little different attitude, you may have gotten the info you wanted.

Also, "It just works" is a hard statement for any company to back up. As a extremely experienced PC users for over 20 years, as both a salesman, teacher, consultant and technician, I can wholeheartedly tell you the truth. Yes - The Mac is better. Better in almost every way, except price. A better Apple line should be, "It just works, most of the time" as opposed to the PC tag line of "It just works, sometimes".

To me, the difference between the Apple product line and the PC, is just obvious. But everybody is free to their opinion. Please don't leave the Mac community because you got frustrated, it will get better. I am a business user and I know how agravating it is sometimes. Good Luck.
 
mweier,

I have decided to exercise a little patience and wait for iSync, check it out and see how it works, before I make any hasty decisions. Now, for the time being, it means that I either go back to my winlaptop, which I don't want to do, or continue to use my Palm keyboard with my Vx, and wait for the day when I can sync my data safely. My data is present on my Palm, and I use it every day. I just have to input with my keyboard and keep it up to date that way.

I would recommend a little patience. When the conduit for Entourage was first released, I managed to trash my Palm's data. (Thank God for backups!) Then, after trying several times to get a decent sync, I decided to just wait.

Hang in there.
 
Does anyone know if the newly announced (by Handspring) "Palm Desktop 4.0" is any different from the one which has been on Palm's site for months, but was previously unsupported by Handspring?

http://support.handspring.com/esupp...nView.jsp?ResolutionId=8562&ResType=Spotlight

I assume it's different, since Handspring has refused to support Palm's 4.0 for OSX release for over 6 months now; However, given the version number, it would appear to me instead to just an announcement that Handspring will now begin to support it.

As I wasn't getting too great of results before with the palm desktop 4.0 that was hosted on Palm's site, I don't want to bother trying this one if it's just the same thing.
 
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