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PSA: Beware upgrading to Missing Sync 6.0.1 [Fri, 28-Sep-2007 5:21 PM]
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Dear Lazyweb, think twice before upgrading to Missing Sync 6.0.1.

I upgraded from 5.1.2 to 6.0.1 primarily because I wanted the new "SMS Log" app that archives the SMSes on your phone in a readable, searchable way.

However, they also replaced the "MemoPad" application with a new "Notes" application. Unfortunately, the new one is full of bugs:

  • If you have (say) 5 "notes" pages on your Palm, and you've edited a single character in one of them, then when you sync, you get a warning dialog about how "more than 5% of your data has changed". Because 1 note is more than 5% of 5 notes, you see. The only way around this is to change the sync settings globally to never give that warning for anything. Which is, you know, bad.

  • It re-orders your notes pages randomly every time you sync.

  • If you change a note on the Palm, sync, then launch the "Notes" app, your change isn't there. You have to quit and restart "Notes" a second time for it to show up. Their support goons had the audacity to call this intended behavior.

So, don't buy that upgrade. But if you do, it's possible to continue using the "MemoPad" application from version 5 with the rest of version 6:

  1. Run the Missing Sync 6 uninstaller.
  2. Run the Missing Sync 5 installer.
  3. Just force-quit the installer instead of rebooting.
  4. copy /Library/Application Support/Palm HotSync/Conduits/ MarkSpaceMemoPadConduit.plugin to your Desktop.
  5. copy /Applications/Missing Sync for Palm OS/Mark:Space MemoPad.app to your Desktop.
  6. Run the Missing Sync 5 uninstaller.
  7. Run the Missing Sync 6 installer (don't reboot yet).
  8. Move "Mark:Space MemoPad.app" back to /Applications/
  9. Move "MarkSpaceMemoPadConduit.plugin" back to /Library/Application Support/Palm HotSync/Conduits/
  10. Now let the installer reboot (maybe you don't need to do this, I'm not sure).
  11. Launch MissingSync and check the "MemoPad" conduit and un-check the "Notes" conduit.

Ok, but now you might find that the "Photos" conduit doesn't work any more. Apparently the MemoPad conduit from v5 interferes with it somehow. You can work around that by forcing the "MemoPad" conduit to run last. Edit /Library/Application Support/Palm HotSync/Conduits/MarkSpaceMemoPadConduit.plugin/ Contents/Resources/English.lproj/ConduitInfo.plist and change "Priority" from "3" to "2".

There, wasn't that simple?

Let that be a lesson to you: never upgrade.

linkReply

Comments:
[User Picture]From: [info]artkiver
Sat, 29-Sep-2007 2:52 AM (UTC)

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That's the second apple-y thing to not upgrade this week!

That said, having used missingsync in the past, I've saved a lot of sanity by never using it ever again and instead getting a phone that worked natively with isync/syncservices. Syncing over bluetooth=tehwin and not even the iphone does that yet...

In general I find the more I do to be selective about buying things that are designed to work with other things, the happier I am, because the hacked up solutions to force things to work with other things tend to lead to more shit and headaches in the end.

Yeah, brilliant summary there.
[User Picture]From: [info]dr_memory
Sat, 29-Sep-2007 4:25 AM (UTC)

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Let that be a lesson to you: never upgrade.

No shit. I made a bigger mistake: I got so enthusiastic about the SMS log feature that I upgraded to 6.0.0. Which promptly shit all over my calendar sync, because apparently they never bothered to test it with categories. Several weeks later, 6.0.1 is still unebelieveably slow, but at least it usually syncs sucessfully.

Being a PalmOS user is like having a big "Kick Me" sign on your back these days.
[User Picture]From: [info]heresiarch
Sat, 29-Sep-2007 8:11 AM (UTC)

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missing sync has pretty much always been a headache for me. which is too bad, because i like the idea of syncing my treo with various things on my mac and not needing palm desktop. but in practice, it always breaks, and upgrading always makes it worse. like, right now, my MemoPad doesn't actually sync at all. it hasn't worked in months, maybe longer. i've just stopped trying to use memos at all. which is actually rather annoying. if only apple would come out with a smart phone that would actually work on my network and not cost nearly half my teaching salary.
[User Picture]From: [info]jwz
Sat, 29-Sep-2007 8:25 AM (UTC)

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Hah! The iPhone doesn't sync memos at all.

I found Palm Desktop to be even flakier than Missing Sync. Apparently syncing is rocket science.
[User Picture]From: [info]heresiarch
Sat, 29-Sep-2007 8:30 AM (UTC)

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i think you mean neurosurgery. apparently rocket science is actually rather easy, at least nowadays.
From: [info]funkeemonk
Sun, 30-Sep-2007 1:44 AM (UTC)

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Shameless plug: You can try out http://www.funkeemonk.com/funkeestory if you're looking to back up your SMS/MMS. IMHO, it does a better job of it anyway - although the UI needs some work, which is forthcoming in the next 1.1 update.
From: [info]funkeemonk
Wed, 31-Oct-2007 4:59 PM (UTC)

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FunkeeStory has now been renamed to Phone Journal, and you can check out a video demo of what it does at http://www.funkeemonk.com/phonejournal/