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MAC SURVIVAL GUIDE
Apples in the Drought: using a PalmPilot with a Macintosh
By Jim DeLaHunt
Nietzsche is often quoted as saying, "That which does not kill us, only makes us stronger". Most of the time I use my PalmPilot organizer and the myriad of add-on software available for it, I don't reach for my Nietzsche. And when I shuttle back and forth between Windows and Macintosh environments, I do so without heavy philosophy. Connecting the PalmPilot to the Windows environment runs pretty smoothly. But when I connect my PalmPilot to my Macintosh, I frequently enter a long, dark teatime of the soul.
For there is no denying it. The experience of using a PalmPilot with a Macintosh, especially when compared to the same experience with a Windows machine, is deeply disappointing. You lose features, you lose performance, you lose reliability, and you lose convenience.
Yet Nietzsche's aphorism is actually optimistic, in a twisted sort of way. And so is the Macintosh community's response to the strengths of the PalmPilot and the flaws in its Macintosh support. The flaws aren't enough to make us give up our PalmPilots or our Macs, and people have come out with some really marvelous software to work around those flaws. In fact, with the right tips and the right extra software -- much of it free -- your Macintosh can come away a stronger partner for the PalmPilot than its Windows cousin.
In this article, we'll look at the drawbacks to the Mac version of the PalmPilot desktop software. We'll list some utilities you'll need to take advantage of the Mac-oriented PalmPilot software on the Web. And we'll review some elegant and innovative utilities to cover the gaps in the PalmPilot's Mac software.
The disappointing Mac version of the Desktop software
The most important part of the PalmPilot experience is, of course, the PalmPilot unit itself, but the PalmPilot Desktop software comes a close second. The PalmPilot is a "connected" organizer, and the Desktop software is really what it is connected to. The Desktop runs on your personal computer. It contains replicas of the major functions of the PalmPilot unit -- a Date Book, a Memo Pad, a To-Do List, and more. It also contains an application to install PalmPilot software into your PalmPilot unit, and HotSync software to manage the communications between your computer and your PalmPilot.
Palm Computing has made versions of this software for Windows (of course) and Macintosh. In Figure A, you can see how this software looks on your Macintosh. Most of the software is located in a folder called "Pilot Desktop 1.0" on the top level of the disk that contains your system folder. One important part is in the Control Panels folder in your system folder.
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