Re: sync issues with evo 1.2.1

[Brian Goodyear <bgoody look ca>]

Reply to "David A. Desrosiers" <hacker gnu-designs com>

Thanks for your reply Mr. Desrosiers...I appreciate it.  Sorry if I
sound frustrated.

>>I have a Serial>USB converter because my laptop doesn't have a serial 
>> port so I believe this may have been complicationg the issue.  ANyway, 
>> on the Evo site it says that if you use a USB device with Evo you have 
>> to put the Device setting to Serial not USB.  This seems to work albeit, 
>> not regularly.

	>It sounds like you have other problems lurking there.

	>1.) What version of gnome-pilot are you using? The latest is 0.1.71,
>and you should be running that, and no other. 

All this started from downloading Evolution using their Red-Carpet thingie.  
They don't use gnome-pilot (as I'm sure you know) but a ximian subset.  The 0.7.1
 version doesn't exist as far as Red Carpet is concerned.  I checked on RPMfind
and did in fact see 0.7.1 in the non-ximiam version but only for Rawhide.  I tried
to install this but got the usual dependency missing things.  I will wait until
Ximian gets up to speed.

	
	>2.) What distribution of Linux is this? Assuming you bought it (as you
>stated below), what has the tech-support team offered you for
>suggestions when you called them for support? 

It is Redhat 7.3. I used up my tech support and don't consider this to be a
$50 problem. I believe you when you say that the 0.7.1 version will fix it.


	>3.) Thousands of people are happily sync'ing their Palm devices with
>Evolution, using USB, serial, and IrDA connected Palm handhelds. Perhaps
>you have a configuration issue that is preventing your consistant
>syncronization. 

>> ANother problem is that it doesn't import/sync the Palm address book 
>> categories.  Anyone know of a solution to this.

	>Yes, the solution is to configure it properly. It definately does
>syncronize them properly. Have you enabled the conduit to Syncronize,
>and not Copy from handheld or Copy from Desktop? 

Yes the conduits are set to Syncronize.  I tried it a number of times,
even entering my categories in Evolution address hoping that might trigger
something but no go.

>> It's so frustrating.  If Linux programmers have any hope of their OS 
>> being accepted by other than the fringe, this simple matter of being 
>> able to sync a Palm (hardly new technology)with a good program like 
>> Evolution, has to be solved.

	>I think you might be confused. There is no "Linux, Inc." who is trying
>to make an OS "acceptable" for the masses, or for desktop use and market
>share. There are plenty of Linux companies who would like to create a
>workable BUSINESS around that venture, but Linux itself does not exist
>for that purpose. It does what it does, and the ONLY thing Linux
>guarantees, is that it will consume your time. That's it. If it doesn't
>work for you, then try another, and another, and another, or don't use
>Linux. 

	>Seriously though, ALL of this is done in the SPARE TIME of thousands of
>volunteers, who get *ZERO* support from 90% or more of the vendors. We
>don't have documentation, APIs, etc. to work from, so we do what we can
>to make things work, and when they don't, it takes time to figure out
>why. If the linux developers had the infusion of cash and resources that
>the commercial counterparts had, it would be much more "polished" than
>it currently is. For now, you get what you paid for, which in most
>cases, was nothing. 

Yes I understood all that.  I came to Linux 3 years ago from OS/2 which had
similar deficiencies on the software front. Most people seem to complain
because some game doesn't work but that is not my case.  I just want to
be able to use it in the business. Write a letter, send a fax, use the
Palm, have an accounting program, have a backup program. That's where my
 frustration comes from.

For example I paid $300US for a backup program, an additional $300 for
support only to discover later that it only works with one of my machines.
I have looked for another but it seems that all the ones currently for
sale or under development use tapes.

I am not sufficiently skilled to use the command line utilities that 
most people use, nor can I afford to take a chance that they may or may
not work.


>> IMHO no business is going to even consider moving over if they have 
>> to leave such things behind.

	>Great. Linux is (and has been for nearly a decade) successful on its
>own merits. I personally use it for all my desktop, development, office,
>and other work, and have for over a decade, daily. For me, it is much
>more successful than the faltering (lackluster) alternatives such as
>Windows and Macintosh OSX. Each person has their own opinion, and that
>is mine. If Linux works for me, and not a single other person in the
>world chose to use it, it is still successful. 

What are/were you using for accounting?  As far as I know the only
business accounting package less that a $1000 is put out by Appgen
and they just released the Linux version about a year ago.  I know
because I was one of their test rats.

	>Remember, the point of linux is to create a "free Unix for PCs", not to
>create a competitor to Microsoft or Apple. Linux *COMPANIES* may have
>that goal, but the various hundreds-of-thousands of Linux *DEVELOPERS*
>do not necessarily share that vision, myself included. 

>> I realize the challenges, don't get me wrong, I'm not just whining.  I 
>> support and buy any Linux software that has some use for me and my small 
>> business.

	>Have you helped contribute or motivate those Linux vendors or
>developers in a way that helps them prioritize their goals differently
>to satisfy your particular needs? Have you even communicated them to the
>people who are best suited to help? 

That's what I am trying to do now, I hope.  What I am saying is that
I have the desire, the money and the time, but I'm not a programmer and
I'm not a gamer and I don't care about music or decorated desktops or 
playing DVDs.  I run a small business and I want to be able to go to work
using this OS and a small set of basic business tools.


>> Back on topic...is it possible for someone in Ximian or Gnome to contact 
>> Judd Montgomery, the author of J-pilot.  His syncing works.  Why 
>> reinvent the wheel.  He may be amenable to helping out.

	>J-Pilot, gnome-pilot (and Evolution), K-Pilot, etc. all rely on a core
>subset of functions that are provided by pilot-link, a package I
>maintain. The maintainers of J-Pilot, gnome-pilot, and pilot-link are
>all on irc almost daily at various times, and we all work together to
>make sure we don't break anything in each other's packages. Maybe you
>should join us there and see if your issues could be solved easily. The
>info is on the main pilot-link.org website. 

Thanks a lot for the invite....I'll try to see if I can find a program
to do that with.  Thanks for you time and information.
Brian