If I have Palm contacts & calendars in Gmail already before syncing a Droid...

[Lock-N-Load]

So, I am a long time Palm user. I have a Centro and recently, just testing, moved all my contacts to Gmail and "some" of like 10 years of Calendar data (but not nearly all of it) - an no Memeo's or Tasks.

Well, my Droid should be here in a few days and I wonder.. should I kill off and delete my test Calendar data and my contacts from my Gmail account?

I plan to use that CompanionLink to do a 1 time sync of my Palm data and want to mitigate any issues and just have a nice clean port over.

Best to remove what I have done OR leave what I have done since CompanionLink and Google will sort it out (redundant entries).

Thoughs?

 

[takeshi]

I suggest syncing from one or the other. If you want to sync Memos and Tasks and CompanionLink will handle it (not sure what it will sync to on your Droid though) then go with it.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

oh, I am going to use CampionLink for sure (it is talked about here) BUT the question is to delete what I have put on my gMail account or let it ride and CL and Google will sort out any redundant entries and update any changes I have made since putting that data up on my gMail account (which I never updated again BTW).

It is a 1 time deal/move to get the data over...

 

[mikelcan]

I would delete the data from gmail and only use the compaionlink since you are going to use it regardless if had the data in gmail or not. I had a friend that did both and the process to remove duplicates was less then perfect. He thinks he lost a contact or two via that process as well as some duplicates were not detected. I can not prove or disprove his opinion on what happen. Thus if you can prevent the need to sort it out later it is probably better safe then sorry.

Mike

 

[Clcto]

I agree with Mikel. For a first time sync, it is always a challenge if you depend on Software to decide what is duplicate and what is not. Software cannot read, and doesn't know a lot of things that people know. So a contact Bob Smith and Robert Smith will be considered two contacts. In some cases two legitimate Calendar events may be considered one because they share the same details.

It is better safe than sorry. Better still to always back up before trying new software and a good reminder that if you back up to a CD ROM you have a nice archive in case your hard disk crashes. Just an idea.

CompanionLink DOES HAVE dupe detection. For contacts it matches last name and work phone number. It works pretty good for records that have both. If your records lack those two fields, it works less well and goes very slowly. For Calendar it matches Date, Time and Subject.

I would also suggest synchronizing Tasks if you want. CompanionLink for Google will put them in the Calendar on Google. This is because Google lacks a task API. They work pretty well there, and will automatically sync to the Calendar on your Droid as well.

Alternately, you can use CompanionLink USB to move Tasks and Memos directly to the Droid. In this case, CompanionLink USB has it's own Task and Memo app that works a lot like Outlook on the PC.

I hope this information help, and your one time sync is successful. One time sync is free from CompanionLink. You have 14 days to try it all and get it right. After 14 days if you wish to continue using your Palm Desktop for data entry or backup, you can pay $39.95 for a lifetime license to CompanionLink.

Wayland Bruns, CTO
CompanionLink Software, Inc.
www.companionlink.com

 

[Lock-N-Load]

thanks guys.. I tend to agree to wipe all my online content and start fresh.

The contacts and calendar and attached notes seem to be the big plus.

I was aware you/they sync'd the Tasks and Memos in a way I did not want - as part of the Calendar - so was looking at other options.

BUT Cicto I had not read about the USB method.. I wonder how well the CL Task and Memo apps work AND do they correctly carry over the data and place it correctly in your Task and Memo apps? Is there a web link on your site - as your site is very deep - that shows these 2 apps?

Also, please advise... when I download the software, I have not yet, do I also get the USB product and the Task and Memo apps so I can do the 1 time sync of my contacts/notes and calendar/notes and then use the apps... or is the USB option a different download?

BTW, I have no intentions to ever use the Palm Desktop again - never do/did use it - except to backup - as I only use the phone...

 

[Lock-N-Load]

I think I found it...

Sync Palm Desktop with an Android phone using USB cable | CompanionLink

the USB option that talks about "CL USB Sync" that has a "proprietary" calendar, task and memos and contact... not sure if I like the "proprietary" nature

Sync Palm Desktop to Google and Android-based phones like the Motorola Droid | CompanionLink

the wireless method


seems like maybe I want to go the wireless method for contacts and calendars into Gmail and then some sort of after market apps for the Task and Memos

 

[Clcto]

seems like maybe I want to go the wireless method for contacts and calendars into Gmail and then some sort of after market apps for the Task and Memos

Yep that's it.

The whole problem is that Google only has Partial support for Tasks, and no support for Notes (Memos). So there's no sync to either one. Android has no tasks app, and no notes app. That way, Google doesn't look bad, because there's not only no sync, there's no app to sync to. Besides they are copying iPhone which similarly lacks Tasks and Notes.

For the direct sync (USB Sync app in the Android Marketplace) the sync program supplies Task and Memo Apps which are patterned on what long-time Palm users are accustom to. The list order, fields, category and note capabilities are the same. We continue to work on them, so in a few weeks there will be some non-palm Outlook features like category colors, and the ability for one task to belong to multiple categories.

Memos also are patterned after the Palm Treo apps. Fairly simple right now, but also optimized for anyone who has a very large number; like 600 memos, from their Palm Desktop.

CompanionLink is free to try and use for 14 days. So it's ideal for one-time sync. But naturally, we feel you'll be impressed enough to realize that periodic backups are useful just in case your phone gets lost or dropped, to keep the data on the PC.

I hope this information helps.

Wayland Bruns, CTO
CompanionLink Software, Inc.
www.companionlink.com

 

[Lock-N-Load]

so.. correct me if I am wrong, but for me I see:

STEP 1: I download the 14 day trial of the "wireless" option and I can just select to do Calendar and Contacts (nothing more) and it will carry over all my calendar events and contacts AND the attached notes that I have for each into Gmail?

then...

STEP 2: I can download the 14 day trial of the "USB" option and opt to just move over the Tasks and Memos into your Droid app "CL USB Sync" and bypass the whole calendar and contacts via USB.

result...

this way.. I get the usability I want from Gmail (contacts and calendars with all my years of notes and events) and I get your proprietary app that seems to mimic the Tasks and Memeos functions Palm users are use to.

Agreed?

 

[Clcto]

Yes. That will work.

We never anticipated the PC side product would go to both directions. So the two products need to be run one-at-a-time as one will overwrite the settings of the other. But both are clear. Be sure to double check the settings for Conduits to be sure the right ones are turned on in each direction.

It looks like we better change that. So on our next push, we'll insure that both CompanionLink for Google and CompanionLink USB can be installed in running on one computer. Alternately, you can use the CompanionLink Professional Trial which will allow you to set up two profiles, one for each sync.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

thanks... you have been super helpful

having not run your CL USB Sync - from how it sounds - my only concern is I kind of want Memos and Tasks to be stand alone apps rather than some apps within a larger app. That way, each has an icon as an app. Cleaelr that way as I would not have an app that has 3-4 apps in it of which I only run 2 of them.

Make sense?

Also, do we just manually check for updates of your droid app or are we notified some way an update is available as you add some of those new functions you mention early on.

 

[Clcto]

Lock, we tried it. About two updates ago we made Memos and Tasks stand alonw. But to me, it really messed up the main icon area to have one app add three icons. Just looked funny.

In the long run, we will be adding more apps to our app. Contacts (our own list which won't have the size limits of the Droids list), Calendar, Tasks, Memos, Expenses, Opportunities, and more. If we had one app add seven or eight icons to the desktop it would scare a lot of people.

Right now it's two taps. One for CL USB Sync and the next for Todos. We're actively looking at ways users can configure or hot-key it as a single tap or keystroke.

On Droid, you get a notification when an App gets an update. Then you can download at your leisure. Our app is only program code, so it's pretty small, and downloads in a few seconds.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

well... not a good start

it is syncing now and in watching my Google Calendar it is not carrying over ANY of my daily events + notes on my calendar!!

it is carrying over only repeating events - but not events + notes I put into the calendar - which is all the data I wanted to carry over.. the key stuff I needed...

what the heck? ugh!

 

[Lock-N-Load]

just got off the phone w/ Tech Sup... this is certainly an issue and now I have to provide a log file and ..... well, we will see. makes no sense, what's the point if you can't get your events + notes. something is broken here. I am bummed as it stops me from moving to my Droid ASAP as I need that Palm Centro data daily

 

[Clcto]

Lock, be sure to set your date range for your data. Start with a fairly narrow range, no more than last 90 days. See if that works. Then set it back farther and farther.

Google has some limits on old data, and also how much data it will tolerate. If you "breaK" their limit, the symptom is that newer data simply doesn't load or display.