synchronization

Apple apologizes for its MobileMe "push" service (Update)

Apple is the master of hype. Normally, it lives up to that hype. But in its 3G iPhone launch and now with its MobileMe synchronization service, Apple has fallen down. Flat.

Billed as an upgrade to Apple's .Mac service (to which I have subscribed for years), MobileMe is anything but. In fact, as The Register reports, it's not even the push email service that it purports to be. It's IMAP, just as .Mac was.

Email is managed through IMAP, and strictly speaking is pulled by polling the IMAP servers every minute, though that gives a reasonable impression of being pushed....

[C]hanges made using the desktop application are not instantly or automatically reflected on the iPhone or within The Cloud. Such changes need to wait for a synchronisation process, a lag of up to 15 minutes, before they are propagated between the platforms. Not only that but anyone trying to use some of the more advanced IMAP capabilities, such as the APPEND command, will find the MobileMe service unaware that any changes have been made to their e-mail account, at least until a good-old SMTP delivery triggers notification.

Is it really that big of a deal? Perhaps not. But it's also false advertising on Apple's part, and an unworthy "upgrade" on a service that for years has only had one major benefit: The name ".mac." I don't want a lame ".me" email address, and I'm finding that I don't really benefit from the changes to the .Mac service.

Are you getting more mileage from MobileMe?

UPDATE: I just received this from Apple:… Read more

Killer Download: Sync up your systems with ease

One problem almost all laptop users have experienced is not having the "latest version." I'm not talking about a particular piece of software, a driver update, or even the laptop itself. I'm talking about that moment when you're on the road or at a conference and you smack yourself in the head because you forgot to get the "latest version" of that important file off your desktop PC. From there, it's a scramble to call your co-worker, roommate, or significant other to find a way to get the latest version to you.… Read more

Sync folders fast

This Java-based freeware program synchronizes files and folders, even across network drives. Light but lacking any personalization features, Directory Synchronizer is an early beta, but looks promising.

Befitting a program possessing such a small footprint--the EXE doesn't require an installer, since it's only 22 KB--there's not much to this application. Directory Synchronizer can be set to sync based on either date or content. Users can preview two folders that they're thinking about syncing with the Compare tool, and simply check off a box to exclude a subdirectory from the process.

Users can also save sync tasks, … Read more

Back up and synchronize files between multiple PCs for free

Nearly all broadband Internet accounts come with storage on the ISP's servers, but I'll wager not one in 10 broadband users ever store anything there. That's a shame, especially if you find yourself schlepping a USB thumbdrive or rewritable CD full of your personal files from computer to computer. There are dozens of free utilities out there that make transferring files between your local PC and an FTP or Web server as easy as dragging and dropping. The two I've been using are the open-source FileZilla FTP client, and 2Brightsparks' SyncBack, which is also available in … Read more

Share and synchronize your Outlook and Google calendars

Since I started synchronizing my e-mail inboxes a few months ago, I rarely even open my Outlook mail client. I much prefer seeing the messages sent to my ISP's POP account and those sent to my Gmail account together in my Gmail inbox. But I still have to open Outlook to view my calendar, which I've been using for years, even though I now put many of my nonwork appointments in Google Calendar, which I can access from my iPhone or any Internet-connected PC.

I thought I found a free program that would let me synchronize the two … Read more

Egnyte keeps work group files in sync--for a price

Egnyte is a new business groupware application that's rolling out at the Web 2.0 Expo. It's entering a very crowded market--the product is can be put in or near the same buckets as business wikis, groupware apps such as Groove, Sharepoint, and Collanos (review), and pure Web 2.0 apps such as Basecamp--but at its most basic it's a file synchronization engine.

By the way, it's pronounced like "ignite," not like "egg night."

Egnyte lets you designate directories, individual files, and e-mail folders for sharing. You can collect several items … Read more

Tubes: Simpler file sharing

Tubes, a new app going public Tuesday, is a peer-to-peer file-sharing and -synchronization system that can make it very easy to distribute files among multiple users and computers.

It's the application I've been looking for to solve this real-world problem: Every other year, my wife's family gets together for Christmas. This past December, her four siblings and their families gathered in her parents' house in Baltimore (the family doesn't believe in hotels, so it was cozy). There were eight digital cameras in operation. After the holidays, we all scattered back home, and the great photo archive … Read more

ThinkFree, or not

The makers of ThinkFree, which gives away online alternatives to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, are planning to sell premium, Web-based software by the end of the first quarter of 2007. ThinkFree will charge between $5 and $10 per month for its premium online edition, letting you synchronize files saved to the Web with the work on your desktop. Does this mark the beginning of the end of the free ride for online software? Not really. ThinkFree's downloadable software will remain $50, while the current ThinkFree Online will become the Basic Edition and won't cost anything.

As other … Read more