Section 14.15. iSync

14.15. iSync

If Apple ever had evidence to back up its "digital hub" hype, iSync is it.

This attractive, simple program is designed to keep the calendars and phone lists on your various computers, Palm organizer, and cellphone in perfect synchronization, sparing you the biggest headache of the modern age: inputting the same information over and over again. (See Figure 14-24.) Here's what it can keep synched:

• A Bluetooth phone . Of course, this also requires a Bluetooth adapter for your Mac (some models have it built in, or you can buy an Apple USB Bluetooth module for $50). And it requires a certain amount of technical setup (creating a phone profile, pairing the phone with your Mac, opening iSync and choosing Device Add Device, and selecting the phone). Youll find detailed instructions on the iSync Help screens.

• Other Macs . This part requires a .Mac account, but it can be fantastically useful. It means that you and a colleague (or you and a spouse, or you and yourself at the office) can keep your calendars in sync, using the Internet as an intermediary.

  To set this up, just open iSync and click the .Mac icon. Click Register, type a name for your Mac, and then click Continue.

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  Tip: In order to use this feature, you need one of those $100-a-year .Mac accounts.

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• A Palm organizer . iSync can also keep iCal and Address Book synched with a Palm-compatible organizer. It doesn't do the work itself; it relies, behind the scenes, on Palm's own HotSync software, which must be installed and properly configured beforehand. (You must also install the separate iSync_Palm.pkg software after installing iSync and Palm Desktop.)

  Once that's done, open HotSync Manager in your Palm folder. Choose Hotsync Conduit Settings. See where it says Address Book, Date Book, and To Do List? Double-click each one, select Do Nothing, and click Make Default.

  Then double-click iSync Conduit; turn on Synchronize Contacts and Synchronize Calendars; click OK; and quit HotSync Manager. You've just told Palm's own syncing software to butt out. From now on, iSync will handle these data types (Address Book, Date Book, and To Do List).

  Finally, in iSync, use the Devices Add Device command to make iSync "see your Palm, which you've put into its cradle, attached to its cable, or (if it's a Bluetooth Palm) made discoverable. To start the synchronization, press the physical HotSync button on the palmtop's cradle, cable, or HotSync screen.

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  Note: All of this leaves your Palm memos unsynched, because neither Address Book nor iCal has a place for memos. The workaround: Use Palm Desktop to view and edit them.

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  Figure 14-24. Top: For each gadget, you can specify which iCal calendar categories you want synched, which contacts, and (for a .Mac account) whether or not you want the synching to be automatic.
  Bottom: This safeguard window warns you about exactly how many changes you're about to make. (You can turn off this confirmation box in the iSync Preferences window.)

  
  

• An iPod . iTunes 4.8 and later versions handle the task of keeping your iPod updated with your iCal and Address Book info directly. (To get started, connect the iPod to the Mac and then choose iTunes Preferences and click the iPod button.) In other words, this iSync feature is an orphan, exclusively for people who dont, for some reason, have iTunes 4.8 or later.

When you open iSync, its toolbar shows the icons of any synchable devices connected to your Mac at the moment. Click the appropriate gadget on the toolbaryour iPod, for exampleto see the synching options available. Turn on the checkboxes you want, and then click the Sync Devices button. iSync does the deed.

iSync is plenty smart when it comes to resolving conflicts among your gadgets. For example, if you edit somebody's home phone number on your Palm, and your spouse simultaneously edits the same person's office number on the Mac, iSync will smoothly incorporate both changes into all copies of your address book. Unless you and your spouse both change the home number in different ways; then iSync will present a Resolve Conflicts button. Click it, and choose which info you believe should prevail.