need specific advice on methods to get email and syncaddressbook/calendar/etc. between several machi

[Mike Levin]

Hi all -

I'm looking for advice on how to stay connected to my email,
addressbook, appointment calendar, and bookmarks. I'm new to OSX and the
options available there, and am now all confused about the different
software and possible mechanisms out there for sync'ing, etc. (what's
Entourage? How's it compare to Outlook, Eudora, etc.? What's .MAC? is it
relevant? etc.) I have the following setup. At work, we have a Microsoft
Exchange server handling email sent to my main office email address. I have
a desktop Mac (older G4, w/ OS9, but could be upgraded to OSX if needed)
running Outlook (not Outlook Express, the full Outlook) in my office, and a
laptop at home (soon to be an OSX powerbook). Sometime soon I also hope to
get a PDA of some sort (probably a PDA/cell phone combo). I'd like people's
advice on software/structure suggestions for the following two problems:

1) I can get my email at work with Outlook, which connects up to our
Exchange server. I cannot use it to get POP3 email from other email
services, because the Microsoft Outlook client for Mac does not have a POP3
module! Also, I cannot use Outlook at home because (according to my
sysadmin) they have the network set up so that the LDAP (whatever the hell
that is) is inaccessible from outside our internal firewall. Is there
anything that can be done? I am able to check it using this web-based
interface, but that's not convenient at all... And, is there any solution
which would let me run the same, decent email client on both machines? That
way, at least at work I could get both POP3 email and my Exchange server
email. Does Entourage do that? How does Entourage compare with Outlook - is
it a similar product? It would be great if the email client also let me read
newsgroups. By the way, I'm on Comcast cablemodem at home; is there any way
to get the newsgroups from a machine outside my home? Last time I tried it,
I think the Comcast news server refused connections which were not from one
of "their" machines. Any way around that?

2) What I'd like to do is to set it up such that I have access to *one*
calendar, contacts, and hopefully bookmark database. Whether it be through a
separate server or by sinc'ing to one of the machines, I'd like to be able
to make changes to any of these on any one of the machines (PDA, laptop, or
office Mac), and have the updated info be available to the others. Right
now, my calendar is on Outlook in my office, and is not visible from
anywhere since it's stored on my local machine. Same for the addressbook.
What's the best solution for keeping a single place for all this stuff that
can then be accessed remotely? Outlook is a pain anyhow, since the calendar
reminders won't pop up unless I run Outlook and click on the calendar thing,
so I wouldn't mind changing to another software.

So, thanks in advance for any suggestions for a decent way to keep connected
to my info, as seamlessly as possible!

Mike Levin

 

[Mickey Stevens]

Hi all -

I'm looking for advice on how to stay connected to my email,
addressbook, appointment calendar, and bookmarks. I'm new to OSX and the
options available there, and am now all confused about the different
software and possible mechanisms out there for sync'ing, etc. (what's
Entourage?

It's an e-mail program with high-end Personal Information Manager
capabilities. Entourage X (the OS X version) can connect to the Exchange
Server. Entourage 2001 can only retrieve Exchange mail.

How's it compare to Outlook, Eudora, etc.?

It's similar to Outlook for Windows. It's different than Outlook for Mac
because it can access regular POP and IMAP e-mail accounts. It's different
than Eudora because it has calendar, tasks, and notes, and can connect to
the Exchange Server.

What's .MAC? is it
relevant?

That's an optional service from Apple, and with it you get an iDisk, web
space, e-mail account, etc. You can learn about it in detail here:

etc.) I have the following setup. At work, we have a Microsoft
Exchange server handling email sent to my main office email address. I have
a desktop Mac (older G4, w/ OS9, but could be upgraded to OSX if needed)
running Outlook (not Outlook Express, the full Outlook) in my office, and a
laptop at home (soon to be an OSX powerbook). Sometime soon I also hope to
get a PDA of some sort (probably a PDA/cell phone combo). I'd like people's
advice on software/structure suggestions for the following two problems:

1) I can get my email at work with Outlook, which connects up to our
Exchange server. I cannot use it to get POP3 email from other email
services, because the Microsoft Outlook client for Mac does not have a POP3
module! Also, I cannot use Outlook at home because (according to my
sysadmin) they have the network set up so that the LDAP (whatever the hell
that is) is inaccessible from outside our internal firewall. Is there
anything that can be done? I am able to check it using this web-based
interface, but that's not convenient at all... And, is there any solution
which would let me run the same, decent email client on both machines? That
way, at least at work I could get both POP3 email and my Exchange server
email. Does Entourage do that?

Yes, Entourage can retrieve mail from Exchange and POP accounts.

How does Entourage compare with Outlook - is
it a similar product?

Entourage has support for POP and IMAP accounts. However, Entourage does
not have some of the advanced Exchange features. You can learn some more
here:
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/support.aspx?pid=exchange>

If you are using an Exchange Server version older than 2000, you can only
access mail, and cannot take advantage of the new Exchange functionality in
Entourage X.

It would be great if the email client also let me read
newsgroups. By the way, I'm on Comcast cablemodem at home; is there any way
to get the newsgroups from a machine outside my home? Last time I tried it,
I think the Comcast news server refused connections which were not from one
of "their" machines. Any way around that?

I doubt it. A lot of news servers don't allow you to access them outside
the network. Others allow you to with authentication. Contact Comcast to
see if they allow it or not.

2) What I'd like to do is to set it up such that I have access to *one*
calendar, contacts, and hopefully bookmark database. Whether it be through a
separate server or by sinc'ing to one of the machines, I'd like to be able
to make changes to any of these on any one of the machines (PDA, laptop, or
office Mac), and have the updated info be available to the others. Right
now, my calendar is on Outlook in my office, and is not visible from
anywhere since it's stored on my local machine. Same for the addressbook.
What's the best solution for keeping a single place for all this stuff that
can then be accessed remotely? Outlook is a pain anyhow, since the calendar
reminders won't pop up unless I run Outlook and click on the calendar thing,
so I wouldn't mind changing to another software.

I think the best thing for you to do would be to buy a copy of Entourage X
for both computers, and update the work computer to OS X. Entourage X works
with Exchange Server 2000 and up. That way, your calendar entries and
contacts would be saved to the Exchange Server, and you'd see the same data
at home and at work. And you'd be able to access both your Comcast mail and
Exchange mail at home and at work.

Entourage includes a Palm conduit you can use. There's also a 3rd party
solution for synchronizing with Sony Ericsson phones.
<http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/MobileSync/>

The only thing that wouldn't synchronize would be your Safari bookmarks.
For that, you'd need to use iSync with a .Mac account, which might be
somewhat pricey if you're only going to use it to transfer bookmarks.

 

[David C.]

I'm looking for advice on how to stay connected to my email,
addressbook, appointment calendar, and bookmarks. I'm new to OSX and
the options available there, and am now all confused about the
different software and possible mechanisms out there for sync'ing,
etc. (what's Entourage? How's it compare to Outlook, Eudora, etc.?
What's .MAC? is it relevant? etc.)

Entourage is effectively, Microsoft's Mac OS X version of Outlook.

Can't say how it compares because I've never used it.

..Mac is an Apple service that provides an "iDisk" (internet-hosted
file storage), web pages, e-mail address, and a few other things.

I have the following setup. At work, we have a Microsoft Exchange
server handling email sent to my main office email address. I have a
desktop Mac (older G4, w/ OS9, but could be upgraded to OSX if
needed) running Outlook (not Outlook Express, the full Outlook) in
my office, and a laptop at home (soon to be an OSX
powerbook). Sometime soon I also hope to get a PDA of some sort
(probably a PDA/cell phone combo). I'd like people's advice on
software/structure suggestions for the following two problems:

1) I can get my email at work with Outlook, which connects up to our
Exchange server. I cannot use it to get POP3 email from other email
services, because the Microsoft Outlook client for Mac does not have
a POP3 module!

Do you have to use Outlook?

I use Mozilla at home and at work. It talks POP3 and IMAP. (I use
IMAP to access mailboxes on an Exchange server. Works fine.)

Also, I cannot use Outlook at home because (according to my
sysadmin) they have the network set up so that the LDAP (whatever
the hell that is) is inaccessible from outside our internal
firewall.

LDAP is a standard for network-wide directories (such as your company
addressbook.)

In general, accessing an Exchange server from remote can only be done
if you can connect to your LAN via a VPN. If your company isn't
willing or able to provide VPN access, you will be out of luck. How
do the Windows people do it?

It would be great if the email client also let me read newsgroups.

Mozilla supports this. A few others do as well.

By the way, I'm on Comcast cablemodem at home; is there any way to
get the newsgroups from a machine outside my home? Last time I
tried it, I think the Comcast news server refused connections which
were not from one of "their" machines. Any way around that?

Nope. A lot of ISPs these days restrict news server access to users
on the local network. Some will allow remote access if you use NNTP
authentication (username and password) but many don't.

2) What I'd like to do is to set it up such that I have access to
*one* calendar, contacts, and hopefully bookmark database.

E-mail can be done through IMAP - which many third-party e-mail
programs support.

Exchange's calendar, contacts and bookmark database requires LDAP
access and Outlook (or Entourage, I think.) This will require being
on the LAN or connected to it with a VPN. Otherwise, you'll have to
deal with web access.

(I've got the same problem at my office. I have to run Outlook in
order to access the calendar facility.)

-- David