Well, it finally happened. I have been thrust into the world of the PDA. I have successfully resisted it for a long while now, but alas I must admit my brain is not capable of processing the complications of multiple calendars in any useful way. BG, a.k.a. Wife and JC, was graced with a Palm Z22 last year. I had tired of the endless, random slips of paper passing for calendars and to do lists lying about the house. And being the thoughtful and savvy husband that I am, I bought her the little organizer. Truthfully, I didn't know if she would take to it. She is not the most technically oriented ;) but she did! In fact, she liked it so much she decided I needed something similar...so we could share.
So, now I've got it; a brand new Palm TX. Its pretty and impressive. Just the thought of all that computing power in such a small package intrigued me. Now I could coordinate all my calendars at work and at home. Now, I could get all those contacts in one place. Now I could put my music in one place. Now I could browse the internet and check my mail from one place...Oh oh, not so fast...
It seems that there are some technological hurdles that we did not anticipate. Let me explain. The PDA is a Personal Digital Assistant. The Personal part proved problematic. What if I want to have someone else's calendar meshed with mine? Not right out of the box. No, personal means personal, not shared. After a bit of research, however, I discovered it is possible...but its gonna cost. There is a really cool service for just such a situation out there called Clearsync. I downloaded the trial version and installed the software.
It wasn't a snap, but I managed to get it working. I had to establish an account for BG and myself. BG's responsible for all of the home schedule, so it was essential that she have an account. The software installed and configured, I synced the handhelds and voia la, synced calendars that can be viewed alone, together, or side by side...too cool! Its gonna cost me about $40 a year. That part I'll have to think about, but for the trial period...cool!
The next hurdle I had to jump looks as if it will also cost me. See The Company uses Lotus Notes. It is a great application for managing databases and enterprise level communications, but very few "outside" devices play well with it. My Palm is no exception. If I want to sync, or replicate in Lotus terms, with the device, I need yet another program, back to the research...
OK, it looks as if there are three, yea I said three, programs from which to choose, Mnotes, Pylon Conduit and Pylon Pro. I chose Mnotes from Commontime to try first. I'll try the other ones after the trial period expires. I downloaded it and installed.
The installation was rather seamless. It only took me twice to get it all working. These things lack any good set of directions. Your just supposed to know how to do it if you own a handheld. The device now syncs with the PIM information from Lotus Notes, but I cannot get any of the corporate stuff, like contacts, on the device. Having my calendar and to do list is a real help and the Clearsync meshed the information well with BG's stuff.
The Mnotes software costs about $75 and is a onetime fee. I believe the Pylon Conduit costs about the same and performs the same tasks. The Pylon Pro costs around $175. The bonus with it is the ability to replicate custom databases from Lotus Notes onto the handheld. This would allow me to add things like corporate contacts or a project team room. I'm just not sure I want to spend the money personally. If The Company wanted to provide it, I don't think I would complain.
For now, though, I think I'll try to get more familier with the other features on the TX. There is plenty to do to keep me occupied. I'll let you know how it all turns out.
