Besides the Windows NT or UNIX workstation on your co-worker’s desk, or the spare Windows 95 system at home, you may encounter a need to connect your Mac to a less massive, but just as handy portable or handheld computing device. You might have a Palm VII, a Windows CE device, or maybe even one of Apple’s former Newtons or eMates. There’s no reason these devices can’t complement the services of your Mac.
Palm Computing Organizers
The Palm Computing series of personal digital assistants (PDAs), originated by USRobotics and since merged with 3Com, have become the most popular handheld computing devices, with around 70 percent of the handheld computing market as of mid-1999, despite Microsoft’s continued push for Windows CE (see the next section). The Palm organizers’ appeal stems from a number of factors–their size, the simplicity of the Palm OS, and the battery life of one or two months.
For Mac users, Palm organizers are Mac-friendly. In fact, as I was writing this book, there were rumors circulating about a Palm OS device to be sold under the Apple name. However, if you’re a Mac owner who tried connecting a Palm device with version 1 of the Palm Desktop and HotSync software for the Mac, your initial experience may not have been so pleasant.
MacPac version 1, the name for the combined software, left much to be desired. Owners of both a Mac and a Palm PDA should be sure to use Palm MacPac version 2. The new version of the HotSync software fixes many bugs, the Palm Desktop software is based on an enhanced version of Claris Organizer (which 3Com bought when Claris reorganized into FileMaker, Inc.), and many more third-party Mac products can synchronize with the Palm OS. The MacPac version 2 software is available free–whether you own a Palm PDA or not–from the Palm Computing Web site, listed in Table 8-3 along with other Palm and Mac resources.
Synchronization is the key activity with Palm devices, because they were designed not so much as portable computers but as portable extensions to your desktop computer. With a Palm PDA, you can carry your important information for the day–appointments, notepad, and phonebook, for example–while your Mac keeps a master copy from the Palm Desktop or your favorite organizer software, along with all your major computer applications. Synchronization, via the HotSync manager, makes sure that the information on both your Palm device and your Mac is the same. Mac utilities let you convert Palm documents to formats readable by your Mac applications. Third-party personal information managers, such as Consultant from Chronos, can also be synchronized with your Palm device.
Even though the Palm MacPac software is a free download, you still need to spend $15 for the MacPac to get the adapter cable that will let you connect your Palm organizer to your Mac. The cable from 3Com connects the Palm device to a Mac serial port. Those of you with iMacs or G3 towers might be wondering how that helps you with your computer’s USB ports. It doesn’t. However, KeySpan and Entrega make PDA to USB cable adapters for around $40, and at the time of writing, 3Com had announced plans for a PDA to USB cable adapter for both Windows and Mac connectivity.
Once your Palm organizer is connected to your Mac, adding software is a two-step process. First, download the compressed files from a software site such as PalmCentral and uncompress them. Next, tell the HotSync Manager software, which resides on your Mac and is shown in Figure 8-1, to install the Palm application the next time you synchronize your Palm with your Mac. The Palm OS takes care of everything else.
Since my goal here is to show that you can connect your Palm PDA to your Mac, and how to do that, I’ll wrap this up. If I were to go further, I’d just be explaining how to use your Palm device, a task better left to other sources. You might want to check out PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide by well-known Mac author David Pogue. (Trivial note: The book title notwithstanding, PalmPilots aren’t called PalmPilots anymore, due to the trademark enforcement of the Pilot Pen company. Now they’re just Palm Computing devices.)
As this book was going to press, a new player entered the Palm OS market. Founded by the ex-Palm Computing team of Donna Dubinsky and Jeff Hawkins, Handspring, Inc. released the Visor family of products–cheaper, faster, and more expandable Palm OS-based handheld devices. The Visor promises to be even more Mac-friendly, with Mac software being included on the included CD-ROM and sporting a USB-connected cradle.
Windows CE Devices
While Palm Computing devices and their kin (such as the IBM WorkPad) can be used easily with a Mac, the same cannot be said for Windows CE handheld and palmtop devices. A fairly thorough search of the Windows CE world on the Web turned up only a handful of possibilities, none of them particularly elegant.
If you are a Mac user, there aren’t many advantages to using a Windows CE device. If you must have a color screen, that’s one feature in favor of Windows CE. You could also argue the larger number of manufacturers of Windows CE devices is an advantage. Most other features are stacked against Windows CE, as far as Macs are concerned: a battery life measured in hours, a Windows-like interface, and inelegant Mac connectivity. While the full-grown Windows versions (95, 98, and NT) have some ability to play nice with other operating systems, Windows CE does not like to work with anything but its grown-up Windows siblings.
However, it’s not impossible to connect a Windows CE device (I am working very hard to resist the urge to abbreviate Windows CE as "WinCE") to your Mac. The most popular solution is to run Windows 95, 98, or NT under an emulator such as Connectix VirtualPC or Insignia SoftWindows (see Chapter 7) and install Windows CE Services–the synchronization and transfer software from Microsoft. Windows CE Services is available through the manufacturer of your handheld device.
To make the actual connection, you need a cable. PDA Concepts makes the only cable specifically designed for this purpose that I found, but it connects to the Mac serial port. However, Windows CE devices connect to a PC-standard serial communication port, a DB-9 RS-232 port. Any cable that will convert from DB-9 RS-232 to a Mac serial port should do the trick. For iMacs and those Macs with USB ports, any cable that connects DB-9 serial ports to USB will work. Keyspan and Entrega, as well as other companies listed in Table 8-1, make cables designed to connect a PDA to a USB slot.
The only option for connecting a Windows CE device to a Mac that does not involve running Windows on your Mac comes from a Japanese company, Reudo. Reudo’s XIN/XOUT III provides both a Mac serial to DB-9 serial converter cable and the XIN/XOUT III software. Small applications run on both the Windows CE device and on the Mac, and they allow you to transfer files between the two and perform basic file translation. It does not support date book or address book synchronization. And as far as I can tell, you will have to mail order this product from Japan.
Table 8-4 lists some of the very few Mac and Windows CE options, as well as a place to start exploring Windows CE Web sites.
Newton
The Newton family of portable computing devices became a casualty on Apple’s road back to profitability. However, many Newton owners truly adore their Message Pads, and it’s still possible to find software and even some accessories for Newton products online.
Newtons have standard serial ports, so any Mac serial cable that will connect an eight-pin port to an eight-pin port should work here. (The Newton Message Pad 2000 series and eMates come with an adapter for connecting the serial cable.)
The Newton OS has software that can communicate with the Mac; however, the reverse is not true. You need to find Mac OS software that will let your Mac communicate with the Newton. The official software for Newton OS 2.0 is the Newton Connection Utility, available for purchase from Apple by calling 1-888-273-3594. However, Newton user and software developer Matthew Vaughn of Lightyear Media does not recommend the Apple utility. Alternative software utilities for the Newton–MacDownload has more than a hundred–provide Newton-to-Mac connectivity, as well as extend your Newton’s capabilities. Table 8-5 points you to Apple’s support page for Newton products and other Newton sites.