And Another Thing

Jon Honeyball has a thing or two to say about synchronising Outlook with anything that does not have a Windows label.

I am getting heartily fed up of the Microsoft mindset that says all my information has to sit in Outlook and I can, if I am lucky, synchronise this to my Pocket PC. I know they have recently announced Bluetooth support, but has there been any noise at all regarding synchronising your mobile phone (and I don't mean Smartphone)? I guess this is all too much to ask.
      Why is it that everyone insists that the universe rotates around their products? I know some phones are finally coming out with connectivity solutions that allow you to hook them to your PC and synchronise to Outlook, but this is usually through Bluetooth (which the PC doesn't support) or IRDA (which most PC's don't have either) or through a fantastically expensive cable (which your bank manager doesn't want you to have). And woe is me if I decide I want to use a Palm instead of a Pocket PC. Suddenly, I have to rip out my ActiveSync and shovel in Palm's synchronisation software. If I have a Nokia phone, then I need the Nokia connectivity software.
      I would have thought Microsoft would want to be in the centre of this universe, and not just with the devices that run Microsoft platforms. Everything is happy in the Microsoft camp if I use Pocket PC for my iPAQ and Smartphone 2002 for my phone solution, but other than that, I can go stuff my head in the sand - sorry, I mean "leverage the opportunity for third party development partners." (Got to get the old L and P words in there somewhere!)
      There are other people who understand my needs a little better, such as Apple with its wonderful (if still beta) iSync software. Here any data from any device ends up on all the other devices, as appropriate. At the moment, the list is limited to some Bluetooth phones and the Palm family, but at least Apple have the .Mac online platform too, and the iCal calendaring product that makes Outlook look like a dowdy has-been. Of course iSync also synchronises to the awesome iPod which in its new 20Gb format that is so far out in front as a personal data thingy that it leaves everything else standing. And it can sync computers together, like desktop Macs and laptop Macs.
     At the end of the day, I want my data in my devices. I don't want to be forced to carry just one device with me all the time, like the iPAQ; I want to choose between the range of devices available to me on a day by day basis. So today might be a cellphone and iPod day; tomorrow might be iPod and iPAQ and cellphone; the next day might be a cellphone and laptop day. I want - no, that's not right - I demand that my information is made available to me on all of them! If I enter something into my cellphone, it should appear on my iPod and everything else too. If I modify a meeting request on my iPAQ, it should be in my laptop and my desktop and everything else too. Anything less is simply not good enough, and I will not accept the feeble "opportunity for third party development partners" excuse much longer.

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