[:haripu:]

I have a .Mac account. I have a G4 and and an iBook. And I have iSync. Which has been around for how long now, year and a half? Can you image that I still can't get iSync to do the simpliest of task? How hard can it be to take data from my G4 and store it on .Mac, then take this same data and copy it down to the iBook. Which is the only thing I want it to do. I never ever need or want to copy data in any other direction.

But it just isn't duable. It works once, the very first time. But as soon as I try to update information from my G4 to .Mac it tries to change data on my desktop computer! Add 350 things, delete 280 other! That is not what I want, and there is no preference to avoid that!

Why didn't they just add an option that reads "opload only" or "download only"? I don't get it. This is not the ease of use I am used to when I use Apple products.

Does iSync work well for you?

[Art Vandelay]

Works great here. You might want to try going into iSync and resetting all devices and try again.

[:haripu:]

Originally posted by Art Vandelay:
Works great here. You might want to try going into iSync and resetting all devices and try again.

Yes. It always works the first time. I just upload everything to .Mac. But on from the second try it insists on adding or deleting things on my computer, which I don't want.

[Art Vandelay]

You have something funky going on then. It will only add or delete stuff on mine that has actually changed. I've been using it since it came out with three computers, two different phones, and an iPod. Never had a problem.

[BZ]

You don't need iSync. You need Panther (10.3) and iDisk.

Click on iDisk and choose "Automatic Syncing"

Has been working for me for 6 months keeping all my data on my G4, .Mac and Powerbook in sync.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/idisk/

BZ

Originally posted by :haripu::
I have a .Mac account. I have a G4 and and an iBook. And I have iSync. Which has been around for how long now, year and a half? Can you image that I still can't get iSync to do the simpliest of task? How hard can it be to take data from my G4 and store it on .Mac, then take this same data and copy it down to the iBook. Which is the only thing I want it to do. I never ever need or want to copy data in any other direction.

But it just isn't duable. It works once, the very first time. But as soon as I try to update information from my G4 to .Mac it tries to change data on my desktop computer! Add 350 things, delete 280 other! That is not what I want, and there is no preference to avoid that!

Why didn't they just add an option that reads "opload only" or "download only"? I don't get it. This is not the ease of use I am used to when I use Apple products.

Does iSync work well for you?

[ShotgunEd]

I use it to sync bookmarks and emails and contacts across 2 macs and a cellphone. Its awfully useful.

[cpac]

yep - so the consensus is, and I agree, having synced .Mac, my phone, my iPod, an exchange server, and another mac, that iSync works.

It sounds like either:

(1) you're too paranoid about what iSync does to let it go through the "adding" and see what result you get;

or

(2) you don't really want to "sync" anything - just want to keep copying the info on your G4 over to the iBook and ignore any changes made on the iBook.

if it's (2) you're after, you're better off making a script to just copy the file over to the iBook via file sharing or finding a shareware product that does just this. The challenge/point of syncing is to merge changes made in two different places, not to always overwrite changes - that's just good ol' copying...

[:haripu:]

Originally posted by cpac:
yep - so the consensus is, and I agree, having synced .Mac, my phone, my iPod, an exchange server, and another mac, that iSync works.

It sounds like either:

(1) you're too paranoid about what iSync does to let it go through the "adding" and see what result you get;

or

(2) you don't really want to "sync" anything - just want to keep copying the info on your G4 over to the iBook and ignore any changes made on the iBook.

if it's (2) you're after, you're better off making a script to just copy the file over to the iBook via file sharing or finding a shareware product that does just this. The challenge/point of syncing is to merge changes made in two different places, not to always overwrite changes - that's just good ol' copying...

You may have something there. Both of it may be a little true. But it's hard not to get paranoid when iSync states that it is going to delete 280 of my entries.

Thanks for the information guys.

[JKT]

It sounds as though you are wanting to do a Backup and not a Sync. Synching is making both machines equivalent to each other (so anything new on one machine is copied to the other and vice versa) - a two way process. Backing up is copying the data from one machine to the other - a one way process. This is why there is a separate app called Backup for this very purpose.

[:haripu:]

Originally posted by JKT:
It sounds as though you are wanting to do a Backup and not a Sync. Synching is making both machines equivalent to each other (so anything new on one machine is copied to the other and vice versa) - a two way process. Backing up is copying the data from one machine to the other - a one way process. This is why there is a separate app called Backup for this very purpose.

Point taken. But it is not entirely true.

It's not just some random data I want to backup, but specifically my bookmarks, my calendars and my adress-book. Knowing I have the latest version of them on my desktop machine, I'd like to have the opportunity to say: Take the data as it is from this machine. I don't want my calenders merged with the one on .Mac as I may have deleted some entries. Merging would bring those back, won't it? Or am I just being paranoid here, again?

[cpac]

Originally posted by :haripu::
Take the data as it is from this machine. I don't want my calenders merged with the one on .Mac as I may have deleted some entries. Merging would bring those back, won't it? Or am I just being paranoid here, again?

it's generally pretty smart syncing, and if it has a conflict, it will generally ask you which device to use as the master - If it's not going to really kill you, I'd go ahead and try running a sync and seeing if it works. If it doesn't, you really just need to create a simple script that copies your addresses, calendars, and bookmarks from the desktop to the iBook for you automatically.

[Spheric Harlot]

That's what "reset all devices using this computer as a master" is for.

Erases your phone, your iPod, and .mac and replaces the info with the current state of your desktop.

Deleted entries stay deleted.

-s*

[genevish]

Originally posted by :haripu::
Does iSync work well for you?

It works for me, although I'd like native Palm syncing, without that stupid Hotsync Manager hack.

I got a good example of how nice it is when I helped a friend get his phone syncing with AddressBook over bluetooth. It seemed really easy, bu tthe addresses just didn't show up. We tried several things and were getting frustrated, but then realized the phone was set to show the wrong addressbook...

Now he just puts his phone on the desk and selects Sync from the menubar.

[itai195]

The only thing that would make iSync better would be if it worked with Entourage

It syncs my G5, .mac, PDA, iPod, and cell phone without a hitch. I don't really use the PDA anymore, though.