Syncing PIM Information
One of the things that being 100% on Linux and having a Windows based mobile phone has brought me up against is the need to sync my calendar, tasks and contacts at home (mostly to ensure I don't loose them). I had an iPAQ and a Nokia a year or so ago and I could separate work from personal simply by keeping work on the iPAQ and personal on the Nokia. However last year I decided to merge devices and ditch the iPAQ and get the HTC Kaiser. This would provide everything I needed and be compatible with works mobile email server which included push email. Everything is working as expected and I'm impressed with the push service, well it's a fake ping-to-pull rather than a true push, but it works for me! The problem I have is that I want to be able to back up my contacts, calendar & tasks using Linux at home. The reason is that I have a huge mix of work and personal contacts but the personal ones do not get synced with work (stored on SIM). Dangerous... and the reason I say that is that I don't trust Microsoft based software, all too often it fails just when you really don't need it too.
So I've looked in to the vcs/vcf/ics formats and looking around for software to do this only provides Evolution that can, in one package, do all I want but it can only publish in iCal format on to a server and this is not compatible with my device *sigh* (even though it should be considering iCal is a more grown up version of the vCalendar format (.vcs). Sunbird doesn't work out the box on Debian for some reason (which I'll guess is lib based or it requires QT version to be higher than I have – frankly I don't like anything Mozilla offer other than Firefox. I'm not prepared to upgrade a perfectly stable version of Debian just to have another ram killing application from Mozilla.
What to do... what to do... write my fecking own...
Once again I am left with the task of writing my own. I want an online service that I can upload/email contacts, tasks, calendar events and have it automatically added to my account, I want to be able to log in and see all my current tasks, latest contacts and so on. I want to be able to email vcf cards to other folks as well. All of which I want to be able to export back and sync with my mobile... never had this problem with my Palm... grumble grumble...
#1. guri
Posted about 1 year ago
Hmm...google gave me this: http://surajram.eu.org/2008/06/sync-windows-mobile-with-linux/
doesn't look perfect though.
and someone got me to try dashwire for the online/non-work stuff
but i found it a bit sucky tbh
I'd spend some more time looking but I'm too busy hacking Ubuntu 8.10 onto my aspire1 with a
#2. guri again
Posted about 1 year ago
ooh. if you can stand having Thunderbird there's a Java utility FinchSync
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/02/26/how-to-sync-your-pocket-pc-with-thunderbird-mobile-minute/
one of the comments on that thread points to another usefule thing Funambol! I have some funambol device management shizzle in my bizzle (or something like that).
hmmm. i have the same capcha phrase... ;)
#3. tek
Posted about 1 year ago
Alrighty fella! Looked at Funambol yesterday, don't like the fact it's only a binary they offer, 'specially since it'll more than likely call home for one (legit) reason or another. No /usr/src no tekky interest!
No Mozilla products for me, even though I know it might well do the job!
Same captcha phase because it's session based, thus the session was still valid and you were served the same captcha. Removing session cookie will ensure you have a new one if you REALLY need one ;-P
Cheers though, will have a look at the Dashwire stuff. Still of the opinion it would serve me best in the end if I just bit the bullet and wrote it myself. I've just finished a full on events calendar for work, so that's most of it done (which is why I was reading up on the formats over the w/e). Who knows... See if I used KDE still then I would have no issues and Kontact would (and did) suffice. Sadly (NO GLADLY) I reverted back to XFCE and yes I can do the base lib installs for KDE stuff (QT and so on) but then it's a fecking pain to link it all in to the menu editor of XFCE. By the time you've done it all you might as well just run multiple window managers... *sighs* – meant to ask you about something phone related, what's your email? or email me through the contacts page here and I'll reply! It's driver related and you being the fone geek an all... :-)
#4. Skeddy
Posted about 1 year ago
"I don't trust Microsoft based software, all too often it fails just when you really don't need it too"
Why can't they put that as a comment on the front of all their boxes? You know, like book reviews?
Agreed with everything you said here. If we can (finally) get down to an open file format for word processing and number crunching, why have we not looked into Open PIM ?
The biggest pain for me, has always been transfering contacts from one SIM to another, and the First Name / Surname combo being different (each sodding time)
Surley Open PIM should have come before Open Document Format? (Right term??)
#5. Skeddy
Posted about 1 year ago
PS - tengine bumpage?
#6. tek
Posted about 1 year ago
A format does exist Skeddy but the problem is proprietary extensions to said format linky. Also one exists for RDF/XML but with regards to that, it is then a device/software support issue. Also too many differing interpretations of the RFC's has led to yet another busted standard (or ather I should say stupid extensions. Microformats is a good start but again support lacks...
"PS - tengine bumpage?"
Eh?
#7. Skeddy
Posted about 1 year ago
Thought your tengine had gone up a version. Maybe I was just seeing things!
#8. guri
Posted about 1 year ago
dude...
http://www.dotfred.net/default.htm
does binary _or_ text
then you can grab the text file, and parse to your hearts content ;)
#9. tek
Posted about 1 year ago
Is there an example of a text output I can see? I'm not prepared to flatten my phone to be given a text file with a nightmare format heh!
#10. guri
Posted about 1 year ago
according to the documentation it's "just" a CSV.
http://www.dotfred.net/PIM/Pim%20Backup%20quick%20user%20guide.pdf
#11. tek
Posted about 1 year ago
Sorry, I wasn't switched on enough last night to have the gumption to go and read it heh!
CSV is fine as long as it isn't:
Crap,Shit,Vexing
in the way it's structured :-)
