New User Needs Advice

[sjlesq]

I finally got a 650, and will be getting a data plan, but have some questions. As a preliminary matter, I'm a Mac user and Verizon is my carrier. Verizon has Wireless Sync. First, is Wireless Sync sufficient for getting my mac email, or is Versa Mail the better choice? I ask b/c I noticed a thread on here (and a link on Palm's web site) saying Wireless Sync sometimes disables Hot Sync.

Second, Versa Mail does not come installed on the 650. It has to be installed from the CD. I see a Versa Mail folder with a bunch of .prc files. I assume if using Missing Sync's install feature, and highlighting all these files, Versa Mail will properly install on my 650?

Third, my Missing Sync is not synching my "Memos." I double checked and I have enabled Mark Space's "Memo Pad" conduit: the Palm conduit is disabled. Is there something I'm missing? Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so, is there a way around it o fix?

Lastly, I notice the 650 has no "auto answer" feature for the phone: unless you are using a bluetooth device which I'm not. Is there an app out there that might remedy this?


Other than that, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this device.

My thanks in advance for your input.

[meangene01]

For preliminary info, I hate Macs! lol.

Ok seriously, you can use the mac's version of the Quick Install software to get Versamail going although most Treo users (including myself) swear by Snappermail. In a word, versamail sucks.

I don't know what email system you use on a Mac but I do know that you can't "sync" email on the PC. you'll need to set your Treo up (using versamail or whatever) to connect firectly to your ISPs email server.

Not sure about the rest of your issues...

[chris]

First off, welcome to Everything Treo!

Ok seriously, you can use the mac's version of the Quick Install software to get Versamail going although most Treo users (including myself) swear by Snappermail.

I second the vote for Snappermail. Awesome app. I've been using it since my 180 and swear by it.

I'm a Mac user and Verizon is my carrier. Verizon has Wireless Sync. First, is Wireless Sync sufficient for getting my mac email, or is Versa Mail the better choice? I ask b/c I noticed a thread on here (and a link on Palm's web site) saying Wireless Sync sometimes disables Hot Sync.

Stay away from Wireless Sync. I've seen too many references to it causing problems. Get the Enterprise version of Snappermail which supports IMAP. This way, you can manage your dot mac mail from your Treo or your Mac. Just to clarify, IMAP means your mail is stored on the .mac servers. When you open MAIL on your Mac, it checks the IMAP server. This allows you to check your mail from any web browser, Mail app and now your Treo.

Third, my Missing Sync is not synching my "Memos." I double checked and I have enabled Mark Space's "Memo Pad" conduit: the Palm conduit is disabled. Is there something I'm missing? Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so, is there a way around it o fix?

I hope this Mark/Space FAQ will answer your Memo question.

For preliminary info, I hate Macs! lol.

Come over from the Dark Side. SWITCH.

Oh and I hate PC's.

-Chris

[meangene01]

Mac users are all the same, lol!

[chris]

I'll let Steve respond.

[Stillrockin]

First off, welcome to Everything Treo!


I second the vote for Snappermail. Awesome app. I've been using it since my 180 and swear by it.


-Chris

I have heard many good things about Snapper! It must be good! But my vote is for Chatter! http://www.chatteremail.com

If you have more than one account, you will love that summary screen! Full IMAP support as well!

[Leone]

First off...friends don't let friends do Windows!!!!

Just wanted you to know I am the same as you...big Mac user with a Treo 650 with Verizon. Been using Macs and Palm OS for years. I, like you, use Missing Sync with Tiger OS. I had the same problem with the memos as well...

and here's what you do....uncheck the Palm Memo Pad and the Palm Memos conduit...configure them so that they no nothing and you should make sure that Mark/Space Memo Pad is configured to synchronize ...and you should be just fine.

One last thing...I hate Wireless Sync but make sure you go to the Setup Menu, click Connection Settings, click the Advanced Button and check the Enable other sync apps and you will not have any Missing Sync errors (fingers crossed)

I use Agendus Pro with the Agendus Mail program and I am not impressed with it. It's fine but not great. I also have a dot Mac account and it syncs fine with the Treo...let me know if I can help you out for anything else! Take Care...

That Leone Guy!

[meangene01]

Ok, for the record--I don't hate Macs because I love Windows; I hate Macs because

1. Apple's inability to follow industry standards for the past few decades.
2. You cant just go into a store and buy all the parts you need to build a "custom" system.
3. It costs a whole lot more (although recently the prices are getting better).
4. Everything is proprietary and if I need a new part I have to buy it from Apple (through
whatever random store is selling it) which means Apple can charge whatever they want
to.
5. Lastly, too many "artsy" people seem to think that Macs outperform PC's when in reality
they do not! I can do anything with a PC that you can do with a Mac. BTW, How many
super computers are based on Mac architecture? Zero! (http://www.top500.org/)

Now Apple did bring us Firewire which I use quite often and their systems look pretty cool so I can understand why so many people are drawn to them.

But if you want a real OS, try out Gentoo Linux (http://www.gentoo.org/)--the absolute best vesion of Linux on the planet!

And as a side note, we did get OSX to run on a PC in our Lab--it ran like crap, but it worked.

Also for the record, Bill Gates is evil, lol!

[kabeyun]

OK, here we go. I hate to wander (way) off topic but I just couldn't sit idly by. Those who wish to circumvent a (well-researched and informative, but a bit lengthy) rebuttal, kindly scroll on. Otherwise, set aside 10 minutes.

1. Apple's inability to follow industry standards for the past few decades.

What industry standards do you mean? If you mean interfaces like SCSI, Appple went with it because it was faster and more stable than IDE. If you mean networking, Macs, not beige boxes, were the first to encorporate Bluetooth and WiFi (pretty standard, eh?) and are famous for transparently being able to find and make available any active network connection (my PowerBook even found my Windoze-based office's laser printer through the ethernet cable I'd plugged in for internet access. Can yours do that?). If you mean peripheral connectivity, anyone'll tell you that you plug in a peripheral to a Mac and it works. No configuration crap, no driver installation crap (and woe betide you if you incorrectly install a Windoze driver: "Please insert the installation CD that came with your device"...; even our IT guy admits that Plug-n-Play is actually Plug-n-Pray). Parallel ports? They stink, and even WinTel manufacturers are phasing them out. And, in that vein, to those who believe that "industry standard" necessarily means a good thing, let's discuss lead paint and asbestos. Remember, "Think Different."

2. You cant just go into a store and buy all the parts you need to build a "custom" system.

True dat. I'll give you that one. The other side of the coin, though, is that Apple has award-winning support because it is fully responsible for what you've got and knows how to help if you run into trouble. For fun, drop a Mazda engine into a Mustang and see how much warranty work you can get from the dealer. Apple's integrative approach is what made iPod + iTunes experience the choice for 3/4 of the digital music listening world.

3. It costs a whole lot more (although recently the prices are getting better).

Sorry, but that old dog just won't hunt anymore. If you compare apples to apples (pun semi-intended) Macs are cheaper. You read that correctly. The cost to acquire computers with similar capabilities is less for a Mac OS system. Don't believe me? Read about this guy's experience. Still a doubter? You love Linux, right? See what LinuxInsider has to say about it.

4. Everything is proprietary and if I need a new part I have to buy it from Apple (through whatever random store is selling it) which means Apple can charge whatever they want to.

Depends. If by "part" you mean swapping the motherboard, you're probably right. But if you mean mouse, keyboard, hard drive, monitor, video board, RAM, etc. (what the majority of tinkerers will do, and that's already a minority of the computer-using public), you're wrong; there's an endless list of Mac-compatible third-party peripherals.

5. Lastly, too many "artsy" people seem to think that Macs outperform PC's when in reality they do not! I can do anything with a PC that you can do with a Mac.

Let's touch on that word "artsy." You put it in quotes like it's a bad word. It's a wonderful word, just like 'liberal'. Anyone who thinks otherwise (look it up) has been brainwashed by the same right-wing spin machine that sneers at enlightenment and was overjoyed when they discovered that 'artsy' rhymes with 'fartsy'. The Mac community is honored to accept that monicker. Why? Because Macs still dominate the creative industries. Think it's a coincidence that Pixar was owned by Steve Jobs? In broader terms, there's an esthetic to Apple, the machines, the gadgets, the OS, that Microsoft will never have, no matter how many blue swirls they put in Vista's desktop pattern. We appreciate beauty in a technological world. There's a reason Mac users are the most loyal consumers of any technological sector on the planet, and it ain't because "Macs suck" (I particularly like the part of that article that reports that Mac users are more likely than PC users to have a higher household income, have received a graduate degree, and to be self-employed).

BTW, How many super computers are based on Mac architecture? Zero! (http://www.top500.org/)

Um... no. Er... wrong. This page is from your own reference. The VTech array debuted as third-fastest on the planet. All Mac. Don't believe your own press? Here's an article from Forbes about it (just in case you think that the MacObserver article may be biased). And regarding your comment on price, let me draw your attention to the part of the article that states that they built this goliath at "one-fifth to one-tenth as much" as it would've cost using any other system. True, the average consumer doesn't use supercomputer arrays, but you brought it up.

And as a side note, we did get OSX to run on a PC in our Lab--it ran like crap, but it worked.

I'm so shocked. Shocked, I say. Too bad. Oh, by the by, as an up-front note did you know that Boot Camp (available now and to be incorporated into OS 10.5 this fall) lets us boot into Windoze at native speeds. And if you want live switching, there are other solutions like Parallels Desktop which lets you run Windoze in a Mac window. Now which would you rather have, a computer that runs one or a computer that runs both?

Also for the record, Bill Gates is evil, lol!

I agree, but his foundation does throw a buttload of money into education and that's a good thing.

And I'm spent. Here endeth the lesson. Thank you for your indulgence.



-K

[meangene01]

Wow, touched on a bit of a nerve did I? Well since we are already WAY off topic (which I think was my doing) I'll allow you to live in your fantasy world if you allow me to live in mine.

As for my "liberal" rant, well I'll save that for another time...:rolleyes: