Bob's response
I have not yet had a chance to use Entourage. However, in the December 2000 issue of Mac Addict, they cover Office 2001. You'll find it on page 44 (the abridged manual) and page 58 (product review). They offer some tips for working with Entourage that might help you. Visit their Web site at http://www.macaddict.com. There's also a MacFixIt forum on synchronizing a Palm OS device with Entourage at http://www.macfixit.com/ultimate/Forum28/HTML/000042.html.

Outlook Express only
Nice comparison article, but I only want to use Outlook Express. I don't need the other features. What's the best way to synchronize with my Palm device?

Bob's response
Outlook Express (for both Mac and Windows) is only an email client. You can't use it instead of Palm Desktop. If what you're trying to ask is how to set up Outlook Express as an email client that talks with Palm's built-in email program, the key is to configure the email conduit when you install your Palm Desktop or configure it from the Custom menu item located on the HotSync system tray tool.

Small correction
I had to write a quick note to correct one thing you say a few times in your article: You mention that it's difficult to change the categories on Contacts, Tasks, and Notes when using Outlook.

Not so. Create a new tabular view (call it "by PalmPilot category") and set grouping by the custom "PalmPilot" category. Now, to change the category of an item, you merely drag it from one category to the other. I have hundreds of items in many categories, and this works great.

Bob's response
Thanks for the information! While I consider myself to be quite proficient in this area, I don't claim to know it all (though my wife might take issue with the "know it all" part!).

The two-step
You mention that there's an option to choose conduits for Outlook Calendar to be synchronized along with the other Palm Desktop functions. If so, could you please explain how to do this? Better yet, I would rather use Palm Desktop as my primary synchronization software with the handheld and Outlook for secondary filtered synchronization with Palm Desktop. This is because I have quite a bit of personal data on my Palm V, even though I primarily use it for business, and I like the password protection of the Palm Desktop.

Bob's response
The answer to your first question is in my second article, "A step-by-step guide to configuring PocketMirror and Microsoft Outlook" at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200101/pocketmirror001.html. As for your second question, I think DataViz Desktop to Go (at http://www.dataviz.com/products/desktoptogo/index.html) might be what you'd need, but I don't know for sure. I'll be reviewing that package for an upcoming article.

Outlook or ACT! 2000
I just read your article on the Palm Desktop versus Outlook in PalmPower Magazine. I have a quick question. I am currently trying to decide whether to use Outlook or ACT! 2000 (at http://www.act.com) as my contact manager. I will be synchronizing one of these databases with my Palm Vx. Which do you think would work better?