Syncing Your Devices – Calendars, Email, Contacts, oh my!

My job as a support and repair technician is evolving — which is only natural, as tech itself is evolving. At an exponential rate.

Years ago, my job consisted mainly of trying to cure non-booting Windows installations (remember “Error: ntldr.exe is missing or corrupt”?), getting a recalcitrant printer to ‘install’, crawling in attics and under houses “pulling” Ethernet cable, and removing the occasional virus.

Around 2007, the explosion of cybercrime forced me to become a virus removal specialist, and accounted for the majority of my hires. Affordable Wireless G networking gear pretty much ended my need for coveralls and flashlights, and I had to learn about (and master) RF ‘spectrum’, interference, and wireless security. Plug and Play’s finally maturing to functionality greatly reduced my printer install calls; but now there was “home entertainment centers” (with Dolby Surround Sound!) and “nanny cams” to install.

Today, the call coming into my shop – it seems – has a 50/50 shot of either being a nasty virus, or something like “I just synced my iPhone, and now I have three copies of each of my Contacts.” (or, “I just synced my iPhone, and now my Inbox is empty!“) We are transitioning to “cloud computing” – like it or not – and “mobile computing”.

People used to know better than to mix Apples and Windows (for one thing, it didn’t work), but today.. well most people seem to have at least one iGadget, maybe an Android phone (perhaps a BlackBerry), and their PC at home is Windows. And they expect them all to play together in some Utopian sense of “I paid for it, it should work.” Like.. the folks at Apple and the folks up in Redmond like each other, and go on picnics together.. and join hands and sing kumbaya, and the folks at Google just show up and join in. One big happy family. (I just made myself “lol”.)

“People are no longer tied to any specific location or device as they roam about getting work done on laptops, tablets, or even smartphones. The challenge is to keep everything synced so you can access the same data from each of those platforms.“

Well, here’s the real truth: it is not in Apple’s or Microsoft’s best interest to play well together, and in fact it profits them to try to “lock you into’ their products. Google? Yeah, it profits them to play nicely (and move you into the cloud) as their purpose is -> they want to learn every-single-thing they can about us, and then show us ads we don’t want to see.
Yippee.

Okay. So it’s 2011, and you want to keep your Outlook, iPad, and Blackberry all in “sync”, and you want it so, when you enter a new phone number for a Contact on one device, the Contact ‘merges’ seamlessly on your other devices with no errors, duplications, and do it in real time.
Good luck with that.

This is fledgling technology (learning to crawl), and everyone under the sun is selling some product which they claim can do this. But know this, (and I quote) “No perfect, seamless solution exists yet”.
Of course it doesn’t: this is all too new. This stuff isn’t even to version 1.0 yet, it sure seems to me. And there’s other agendas and cross-purposes in play as well (think “sales”).

But there are methods. Imperfect methods. But.. better than none, right?

For Outlook user who want syncing with iPads and/or iPhones, my (admittedly limited) experiences tell me you have two routes, really. And probably the best one is a $100/yr MobileMe account. Which, guess what? Is now closed for new sign ups (as of today?)(again, I made myself ‘lol’). But, coming this Fall, if you can wait that long, there will be a new version – called “iCloud“. Which probably will work.. and probably will stick around longer than MobileMe did… The other route is to ‘go Google’.. basically installing things so you can use Google’s (“cloud”) servers and services as your ‘middleman’. (So they can learn all your habits..)

What I suggest – if this topic is relevant to you – is you read this great PC World article: How to Keep Your Data in Sync Across Platforms and Devices

“Keeping your contacts, calendars, and other data synced across all your mobile devices and PC platforms isn’t as difficult as it seems.“

One thing about tech.. you have to constantly keep learning.. it isn’t sitting still! (TCP/IP v6 is here..)

Today’s (other) reading reco: Here is a Very Nice and Useful Firefox Add-On and Chrome Extension That Will Save You Paper

“Here is a nice Firefox add-on and Chrome extension, called iWeb2X,  that is engineered to convert a web page to a printer friendly PDF, image snapshot, or high resolution wallpaper. What sets this iWeb2X apart from the other PDF utilities out there is that no sign-up account is required and you get the following features: […]”

Today’s quote: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are!” ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Software License Giveaway: SYNCING.NET

Folks, I am pleased to announce my latest software license giveaway drawing.

The folks at SYNCING.NET have generously donated six Professional Edition licenses to me, to award to my readers. I sincerely thank them for that. So I am going to do a random drawing¹ contest from folks who “enter”. The contest will end midnight Thursday, and the winners announced Friday.

SYNCING.NET is a Business Class program which enables users to sync their Microsoft Outlook data on multiple computers. Contacts, calendars, notes, tasks, email, and Outlook features will be displayed the same on all your synchronized computers. The program provides secure, encrypted syncing (that doesn’t require a server), offline editing of files, and automatic document or file syncing of designated folders. SYNCING.NET keeps all your data in ‘real-time’ sync, which is automatically maintained.

Publisher’s description:
SYNCING.NET offers powerful Outlook synchronization, backup and file sharing tools for professional and personal use. By providing unique, secure peer-to-peer synchronization with integrated Outlook syncing and comprehensive file sharing, you can access your data anytime and any place. No additional software or expensive server hardware are needed to use our tools. SYNCING.NET gives you a powerful solution that is simple, secure and affordable.

“Syncing without Thinking“. We offer the most comprehensive syncing software with the highest security and best value.

• Real-time, seamless synchronization
• Automatic, background functionality
• No server or IT staff needed

Be aware, this software is pricey (it is “enterprise grade”) but if you are a “road warrior” and you’re tied to Outlook, I agree with PC World magazine reviewer Preston Gralla’s summation, “if you need to use Outlook on more than one PC regularly, you’ll find Syncing.net is well worth the price.” (See, Editorial Review of SYNCING.NET Home Edition)

How to enter? To enter the drawing, simply click on “comment”, and enter a name and valid e-mail (so I can send you the keys) in the form. Actually commenting is optional. And, I shouldn’t have to say this, but it seems I do — multiple entries will result in disqualification. (In this contest. Entry in prior contests doesn’t count against you.)

Note: Because a license is required for each machine to be synced, I am bundling the six into three prizes of a 2-license ‘pack’ (thus, a winner will be able to sync two machines).

While this contest is for the ultra-deluxe “Pro” Edition (which has some very kewl collaboration features) I believe that the majority of readers of this site will find the Home Edition more appropriate for their needs.
A 30-day, fully-functional free trial of SYNCING.NET can be downloaded here, Free 30-day trial (which includes features of the Business Edition) Try it out yourself. (And then leave a comment. You may just win one of these valuable prizes!) Again, I thank the folks at SYNCING.NET for making this giveaway possible.

¹ All entrants will be placed into Random.org’s “randomizer”, and the top 3 results will be the winners (of two licenses each).

Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All Rights Reserved. post to jaanix.

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What is Mobsync?

What is Mobsync and how do you disable it?

One of the most popular topics here has been how to make Vista boot up faster. And one of the ways you do that is by controlling what programs automatically load at startup. (See, Manage Startup programs in Vista.)

Readers of that article have been sending me questions about a program they have found running (by using Task Manager [Ctrl+Alt+Del]) which they cannot find any startup entries for.. and thus no way to ‘turn it off’. That program is called “mobsync.exe.”

Mobsync is a small program – called a “Service” – which is used for removable mass-storage devices, like thumb drives. Mobsync.exe enables applications such as Windows Media Player and Image Import Wizard to transfer and synchronize content with your removable storage devices. It is found in your Control Panel, and most people use it for “syncing” their address books and calendars on their mobile phones/PDA’s.

Tip of the day: Follow the simple steps below to stop mobsync from running at startup, and set this service to run manually. Then it will only be used when you actually sync devices on your PC or Laptop.

1. Open Run (Start > Run, or Start > Programs > Accessories > Run) and type in “services.msc” (no quotes), and hit Enter.
2. The Services window will open. Now scroll down the page until you locate a service called Portable Device Enumerator Service, then double click on it.
3. Click on the Stop button, then click on OK.
4. In the “General” tab: use the drop-down arrow to change the “Startup Type” to Manual. Then click on OK.
5. If prompted by UAC, select Continue.

In conclusion: mobsync is not a real “resource hog”, and leaving it be won’t hurt anything. Switching it from “always on” to “as needed”, by itself, will not drastically reduce how long it takes to start up your computer, or make your e-mail Inbox ‘load’ faster.
On the other hand, there’s no real reason for this to be running all the time except for the fact someone at Microsoft thought it should. Much like you don’t need Adobe Reader running except for when you need to open a PDF file, but the Adobe folks think you’ll like the “instant response” having it running will give you. To really get at the items slowing down your boot up time, I refer you to the article listed above. (This is more of a “control thing”.. a minor “tweak”.)

A word of caution: Some of you may get the urge – while in the Services window – to start turning off other Services. Don’t. Unless you really know what you’re doing, you can really mess things up, and either “kill” Windows altogether, or get some really strange (and unsatisfactory) results. This article may help you understand, and I recommend reading it before clicking on any other drop-down arrows.. Holiday Edition: What programs should be in Task Manager?

Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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