Does Entourage Synch with Mobile Me?

[Xenu]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel
Email Client: pop

Apple's new MobileMe service is very different from mac.com, yet synch services within Entourage 2008 only refers to mac.com not me.com and the new MobileMe "push" services. Has Entourage 2008 been updated to synch with MobileMe? How can both synch with, say, iCal AND MobileMe?

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

Apple's new MobileMe service is very different from mac.com, yet synch
services within Entourage 2008 only refers to mac.com not me.com and the
new MobileMe "push" services. Has Entourage 2008 been updated to synch
with MobileMe? How can both synch with, say, iCal AND MobileMe?

You can do it all I guess.
Here's how it works:
Entourage can sync with SyncServices. SyncServices puts all the data in
common in a database called the Truth database.
The Truth is used for iSync (Palm, blutooth phones...) and .Mac/Me. So
it means you can use this for synching calendars and address book

The iPhone can also sync directly to an Exchange server — no Entourage
involved. It uses pseudo-push through a protocole called ActiveSync.

If Entourage is getting the data from the Exchange server, then on to
the Truth, then the iPhone and on the other hand, you set your iPhone to
get it also through ActiveSync, then you can effectively have the same
data twice on your iPhone.

Corentin

 

[Hin Chin Qui]

Hi Corentin,

This is interesting - are you saying that now I can use MobileMe to sync
directly from Entourage 2008 to the iPhone, instead of going through the
Truth?

My experience is that:

1) Using the current method (through the Truth), lots of duplicates are
created, especially for Calendar items;
2) The 'Microsoft Sync Services' daemon always hangs, and as a result, my
iPhone takes almost an hour just to sync with Entourage 2008.

Too many variables are involved in the current syncing process now:
Entourage, iCal, Address Book, iTunes, Microsoft Sync Services, SyncServer,
iPhone, Truth database, etc. Why can't it just be directly Entourage <--->
iPhone?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

Hi Corentin,

This is interesting - are you saying that now I can use MobileMe to sync
directly from Entourage 2008 to the iPhone, instead of going through the
Truth?

Yep. With the firmware version 2, there is support for ActiveSync.
Now, I don;t have an iPhone and I haven't tested this myself, but to me
it means that e-mails addresses and events should be able to sync this
way.

My experience is that:

1) Using the current method (through the Truth), lots of duplicates are
created, especially for Calendar items;

It's a nightmare that plagues all SyncService users. It usually affects
all-day events. It got tremendously better with the MacOS X
10.5.4/ENtourage 12.1.1 combination though (at least for me)
To workaround it, I always assign a category to my Entoruage events.
Categories don't sync, so duplicates are the events without a category.
I created a view for all events. All I have to do is to once in a while
sort them all according to categories and trash the ones without one.

2) The 'Microsoft Sync Services' daemon always hangs, and as a result, my
iPhone takes almost an hour just to sync with Entourage 2008.

I don't have that problem, (but again, I sync with a Palm, .Mac... but
not an iPhone)

Too many variables are involved in the current syncing process now:
Entourage, iCal, Address Book, iTunes, Microsoft Sync Services, SyncServer,
iPhone, Truth database, etc. Why can't it just be directly Entourage <--->
iPhone?

Well it would be a programmable nightmare to have direct connections
between various apps and the ipHone. It would also mean that all apps
would have to write their own synching programs.
Instead, Apple opted to have the iPhone sync through the Truth Unified
database. All third-party programmers have to do is to be able to sync
with the Truth. This has an additional serious advantage for them: You
sync to the Truth and your data is available to iPhones, Palms,
Bluetooth Phones, .Mac.....

The problem is that right now, Entourage and the Truth don't seem to be
such good friends :-(

Corentin

 

[Barry Wainwright]

No, MobileMe syncing still goes through the Truth dtaabase.

 

[Hin Chin Qui]

Hi Corentin,

Many thanks for your help and answers. I guess we'll have to wait a while
more for the perfect (direct) sync app to come out.

App developers out there, anyone listening?

 

[Hin Chin Qui]

Hi Barry,

Ok, so that means there's no point getting MobileMe if what I want is a
'direct sync', right?

Thanks again!