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So you have a Mac and a Palm T3 with an SD card. Missing Sync for Palm OS 4 has been released: what does it offer that you don't already have?

Missing Sync for Palm OS 4 (MSPOS4) has stepped in to the void created by Palm's previously-apparent but now-declared loss of interest in Mac support. It's licensed for use on two computers at any time. If you currently own a T3, does side-grading at this point offer any benefits over Palm's own HotSync solution?

Does it do the basics? Yes.

I was able to synchronize with the following conduits: iSync (iCal and Address Book—although it seems slower than previously); Adobe Reader; HighWire Viewer; Documents To Go; iSilo Install; Memo; Note Pad; Voice Memo; PasswordWallet; and WorldMate:

I had problems getting the EndNote conduit to work at first (it kept generating multiple copies of references), and initially got errors about conduits sharing the same conduit profile and conduit manager crashes:

These errors were ultimately solved by deleting the file "com.markspace.missingsync.palmos.plist" from ~/Library/Preferences/.

Great feature: Conduit profiles

With Palm's Hotsync Manager you had the option to synchronize or not synchronize. This meant manually and individually turning off all the conduits you didn't want to run, say, if you were just installing files. MSPOS4 introduces conduit profiles, which makes choosing what conduits to run a lot easier:

Great feature: Working with SD cards

MSPOS4 provides for desktop mounting of the SD card, with the option to drag-and-drop files onto the card without having to use a card reader (see here). This functionality is supported by the "Missing Sync.prc" file that is installed on your Palm during the initial HotSync operation.

Missing Sync on the Palm can be used to automatically or manually mount the SD card on the Mac desktop. There is also the very welcome option to remove the annoying OS X debris that show up when you browse the SD card with Web Pro or BeamPRO, for example:

The Mac Finder creates numerous small files and folders on the expansion card in a folder called DS_Store that are not visible from the Finder, but are visible from some handheld applications. These files and folders store extra information such as icons and window positions. Though they clutter up file listings, they will not interfere with the normal operation of most applications. If the 'Clean up meta files on disconnect' box is checked in the Missing Sync preferences, the little files will be removed when disconnecting. This preference is on by default.

Great feature: USB + Bluetooth Internet sharing

Yes, it is possible to share your Mac's Internet connection via Bluetooth without MSPOS4 (see here), but getting this going requires some determination to say the least. Sharing your Internet connection over USB or Bluetooth using MSPOS4 is much easier—just use the Internet Configuration Assistant:

Why would you want to do this?

• Send those e-mails you wrote on the Palm while at work (without using a HotSync mail conduit).
• Synchronize web content using AvantoGo (install the provided "AvantGoFixer.prc" which fixes a sync bug; refer to the AvantGo Configuration Assistant), or an RSS reader.
• You could access the web from the Palm, although I can?t come up with a justification better than "could" - although it is possible (using WebPro) to save a page for later offline viewing.

OK feature: Working with iTunes

MSPOS4 lets you directly copy MP3s from iTunes to the SD card in your handheld. If your SD card is mounted on the Mac, the card will appear as a "source" in iTunes entitled "Missing Sync": just drag-and-drop MP3s from your Library onto the Missing Sync source icon:

It doesn't save a lot of effort over drag-and-drop onto the desktop-mounted SD card, and depositing the MP3 in the card's AUDIO folder. Worse, AAC formatted files (e.g. iTunes Music Store purchases) have to be re-encoded as MP3s before trying to play them on your handheld. Automating this, perhaps at a lower bit rate to save space, would be a truly great feature.

OK feature: Working with iPhoto

Select one or more pictures in iPhoto and choose "Export" from the File menu; select the "Missing Sync" tab and export the image(s) in the selected size (e.g. scaled to 320x480 for the Tungsten T3). The "Save" dialog defaults to the "DCIM" folder on the SD card—which must be mounted (automatically or manually) on the Mac desktop first:

The quality of the MSPOS4-exported images is not user-changeable and the default is not very acceptable: you'll get far better results using ImageReady to resize and save optimized images.

Here is a an image 320 pixels wide exported via Missing Sync:

Here is the same image optimized using ImageReady:

A handheld-only version SplashPhoto is provided, although Palm OS's built-in Photo app does the job just fine—unless you need a slideshow or more sorting options.

Update 11.02.05: Version 4.0.3 "iPhoto Plugin now uses max quality when exporting"

Update 11.11.05: Missing sync for Palm version 5 makes a number of improvements.

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