Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with sync

Sync Blackberry memopad to the web?

aebaxter — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:22:09 -0800

How do I sync my notes in my Blackberry Curve's memopad to a web-based service? I use Google Sync to automatically sync calendar events created on my Blackberry to my Google Calendar. I use Remember the Milk to sync my RTM task list with the tasks app on my Blackberry. What I can't figure out is how I can create notes in the Blackberry memopad app and have them automatically sync with a web-based service.

I know apps like Evernote and Backpack will let you email in notes, but I'd like something that actually syncs the memopad to the web. Does this exist? I've Googled, but I've failed to find a solution.

Syncing the macs

ddaavviidd — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:10:35 -0800

I am looking for a way to sync an ibook with an imac. I'd like to make sure all my working documents, ical, adresses, firefox bookmarks and zotero files are updated when I come home. I am spending a lot of time on the ibook (Os 10.3), working on various word documents, saving pdf files from the web and updating infos in iCal and the address book. When I get home, would there be any way to make sure these are updated on the imac (10.5) through the home wifi network?
Things I'd like to keep in sync:
-A specific folder containing word documents and pdf files
-iCal calendars
-adresses (in the Address book)
-Firefox bookmarks
-Zotero documents

I'd like to hear other's tricks concerning the syncing of these various applications.

Please help me sync iCal to my Palm before my Palm sinks to the bottom of Puget Sound

tristeza — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:28:24 -0800

Please help me sync my Palm Z22 with Mac's iCal and Address Book before I chuck it out the window. I have Googled articles and AskMe all day, followed all instructions to a T, and am still not finding success. Please help?

I have changed the conduit settings in HotSync to enable iSync, as instructed. I have set iSync to sync "iCal" and "Address Book". I have reinstalled the Palm software 5 times and factory reset my Palm 5 times.

I have synced over and over and over, and while both the Palm and iSync/Hotsync act like they're doing something (Palm says "syncing to do list, syncing contacts", spinning icons, progress bars, etc), my Palm remains empty of any information.

The weird thing is that I HAD a Palm Z22 before that DID WORK with iCall/Address Book, but it just died, and now I wonder how I ever got it to work in the first place!

I've read about an app for sale - Missing Sync - that could help, is that my only option?

Many thanks. (Comparable AskMes were at least 2 years old so I thought something may have changed since then)

Synching Google calendar with iPhone

undertone — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:27:09 -0800

Can I two-way sync GCal with my iPhone? I'm using a PC and don't have iCal or Outlook. Free methods would be best but I'd be willing to pay for something good.

Final Cut Express HD 3.5 - all imported footage is slightly out of sync!

eric1200 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:19:15 -0800

I have imported three DV tapes into Final Cut and they are all out of sync, by what seems like 1 second (but maybe less?). It's out of sync in the viewer, out of sync in the timeline, when I render it, and when I export it. However, the tape itself is not out of sync when I watch it in the camera. I read something about a "frame offset" setting in Final Cut that is automatically set to 4, but that setting doesn't seem to be in my version of Final Cut at all.

Did I import everything wrong? Is there an easy way to fix this? I'm just starting out on Final Cut and I am totally stumped.

Bluetooth Automatic Syncing Between Laptops

0bvious — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:35:59 -0800

Syncing between laptops: How can I easily and automatically sync files and documents between two laptops using Bluetooth? Ideally I want to load up one machine in the vicinity of the other and have all my recent data (documents/data/RSS feeds etc.) syncronised with NO hassle. Any good apps out there? I already have a not-very-portable WinXP laptop, with bluetooth. I am also awaiting arrival of a new ASUS EEE PC. I will probably end up installing Windows XP on it, but might opt to stick with Linux.

The internal Bluetooth was a key component of my purchase.

I am interested in using the Asus as a portable addition to my writing and reading routines. I'd love to load it up and have all my recent file changes synced on both machines without me doing anything. Just like the way iTunes syncs my iPod, but with Bluetooth as a sweet bonus.

I would also LOVE for all recent RSS feeds to be downloaded in FULL and sent to the Asus, ready for me to read on the train.

Any hints would sure be grand

Help Me Survive Windows Mobile 5!

Gideon — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:56:01 -0800

While waiting for the new iPhone, I sold my old one. Now I'm back on a Cingular (HTC) 8125 with Windows Mobile 5 (it can't be upgraded to 6!) And I want to make the best of it without spending any money. I'm on a Mac, so I need to figure out the best way to deal with that, too. I've learned to hate the device, unfortunately. Compared to the iPhone it's slow, clunky and insanely frustrating to use. But, I'm using it for the next two weeks and I need to find ways to make it work without pulling out what is left of my hair.

I'm on an iMac, and have Outlook in parallels but don't use it. Right now I'm using Plaxo to sync my contacts into Outlook and then to the phone, but the calendar isn't working at all (something on Plaxo's end.) So at least my contacts are working. I'd like a way to sync my calendar/tasks. I had MarkSpace Missing Sync but with the upgrade to Leopard it no longer works and don't want to pay for the upgrade.

I've installed PointUI which certainly makes the primary movements on the device nicer.

What else can I do to make this more pleasant? Other programs you'd suggest? Any free way to sync my data directly from OSX or a clever way to keep Outlook in Parallels and my iCal synced?

Thanks for all the help!

Anyone had any success using Apple's portable home directory feature without OS X server or a linux server?

Brian Puccio — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:09:00 -0800

I've read this, this, this and a bunch of other sites. I've got a Mac Pro and a Powerbook I'd like to share home directories over, but I'd rather not purchase OS X Server or get a small machine up and running Linux to deal with authentication (LDAP). Anyone authenticate locally, but still use the portable home directories? Alternatively, anyone just unison their entire /user/ directory? Thanks!

I think my Blackberry is assuming I'm Buck Rogers and I'm going to make it to the 25th century.

rileyray3000 — Tue, 20 May 2008 10:14:45 -0800

Everytime I sync my blackberry with Outlook 2007 my task due dates get screwed up. By at least 500 years. Really. Is this a problem with outlook or does Microsoft know about my plan to get cryogenically frozen at some point? So here's the specifics: I have a T-mobile Curve model blackberry (though it also happened with my pearl), Outlook 2007 (though it also happened with Outlook 2003) and windows vista.

Basically I usually put my tasks down with no due date. When I do this, and when I sync, it changes the dates on the blackberry and on the outlook to something like "due Dec 13, 2347."

Granted, when I PUT due dates in, I have no problems. But when I add a task to be done quickly (usually on the fly on the blackberry) and I DON'T put in a due date, the next sync, it tells me I should get it done by the time the aliens take over.

So what's the deal? Anyone else have this problem

Alternatives to Dropbox?

TooManyGadgets — Sun, 18 May 2008 06:31:01 -0800

Looking for software that's available now that's similar to online service Dropbox (http://getdropbox.com/), but not necessarily online. I've been looking for software that's kind of like what Dropbox demonstrates in the video on its homepage, in that:

- it synchronises files across multiple machines,
- it does so instantaneously (and with delta compression), and
- it is cross platform.

Dropbox fits the bill in that regard, but:

- it's currently in beta, and
- it currently seems difficult to get an invite.

As far as I've searched, I've not been able to find anything similar. Although I like the idea of my files being always-available in an online "cloud", the primary feature I'm looking for is the foolproof, transparent synchronisation.

A bonus feature of such software would include the ability to add an external drive as a synchronisation point, so that I could plug in the drive, have the software automatically update the drive's copy to the latest version, and then be able to detach it and store it somewhere safe.

I don't think what I'm looking for currently exists outside Dropbox, but I'm happy to be proven wrong. :) Any ideas?

Help me rock out some automation on my spankin' new MacBook!

drgonzo2k2 — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:11:31 -0800

Help me rock out some automation on my spankin' new MacBook! Ok, so I just got my first MacBook, and this is the first time I've had a Mac portable. One of the first things I ran into was needing to setup different network locations for home and work. Then I though, "gee, it'd be great if it would just switch automatically for you." I found MarcoPolo and that's pretty cool. Now I'd like to do some other automatic things, and from what I'm reading it seems like it should work, but I can't make it happen. Here's what I'd like to do:

1. I would like to sync the documents between my "documents" folder and my thumb drive every time I plug the drive in. I take my documents with me on my thumb drive to meetings, and sometime we edit them when I'm there. Other times I edit them on my Mac, and then plug the thumb drive in to copy them over to take to meetings. It'd be great if the MacBook could just figure out which is the newest version and copy what's needed as needed. Also, there is a "personal" folder in my documents folder, and I'd like to exclude this from my sync.

2. I have a BlackBerry 8830 w/ Bluetooth, and I'd like the phone and the MacBook to work together. I don't really want to use it to make phone calls or send SMS from the MacBook (the latter would be cool though), but I'd like it to detect that the BlackBerry is in proximity and then do certain things. First, when it leaves the area, I'd like it to turn on the screensaver and the screensaver password. When I return to the area I'd like it to enter the password and disable the screensaver.

3. I've read stories of people's MacBooks getting stolen and they were able to recover them due to the MB sending them the IP address the next time it looged on to the net and also taking pictures with the iSight and sending them to an FTP site. What's up with this, and how do I make it happen?

This is the latest model MacBook running 10.5.2. Thanks for your help!

How to get Web Articles onto Phones?

meta.mark — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:05:33 -0800

How do I setup something where I can save web articles onto my computer so that they will sync with my phone? I like to read a lot and I usually find a couple of interesting articles before I get out the door. The problem is I don't have time to read them in the morning and even though I bookmark them using del.icio.us, I never actually go back and read them because I find new articles. So what I want to do is "clip" the articles, save it to my computer (so I can sync it with my phone; I don't have EDGE or GPRS) using Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1. Does anyone know how to do this? Thanks in advance!

Problems with my outgoing (SMTP) mail server with Outlook 2007.

Mr_Crazyhorse — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:56:07 -0800

Problems with my outgoing (SMTP) mail server with Outlook 2007. For some reason I was able to set up Outlook 2007 at my office just fine, but I can't get it to work at home. Incoming (POP3) is fine at the office and at home, but I can't get outgoing (SMTP) to work at all from home. I have checked and all the account settings are the exact same as far as I can tell. Really trying to work this but feeling lost. As a bonus boner, my inbox at work doesn't contain all the same received emails as my inbox at home. I'm going nuts here.

Home Settings: (Same as work settings AFAIK)

Your Name Joe J. Doe
E-mail Address joe@domain.com
Account Type POP3
Incoming Mail Server mail.domain.com
Outgoing Mail Server(SMTP) mail.domain.com
User Name joe@domain.com
Password 1234
Remember Password CHECKED
Require Login with SPA UNCHECKED
Mail Account joe@domain.com
Organization BLANK
Reply E-Mail BLANK
Outgoing SMTP Req. Auth. CHECKED
Use same setting as my… CHECKED
Connect using my LAN CHECKED
Incoming Server 110
Outgoing (SMTP) 25
Use the following type… None
Leave a copy of messages… CHECKED

Error Message when testing settings:
Send test e-mail message: Outlook cannot connect to your outgoing (SMTP) e-mail server. If you continue to receive this message, contact your server administrator or Internet service provider (ISP).

This would seem to be an issue with my ISP, but I can login fine at work with the same settings.

I'll be around checking today.

God bless your little hearts.

three months of iCal data missing

lorimer — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:56:33 -0800

iCal disaster. All records before a certain date are gone. This is true -- and the date in question is the same in each case -- for all my daily iCal backups over the last 30 days. I urgently need to recover these records if possible. I started using iCal on the 15th of September 07. As of some point more than 30 days ago, all my iCal data for the dates 15 sep 07 through 25 dec 07 was deleted. My iCal records now start as of 26 dec 07, and appear to be complete from that point on.

I sync iCal with my BlackBerry using Missing Sync (MS 1.0.1 / iCal 2.0.5 / Mac OS 10.4.10 / BlackBerry OS 4.2). I've been doing this daily since mid-September.

My Blackberry has over 22MB of free memory and is currently at its fullest point ever, so I doubt this has to do with a free-space issue. (More evidence for this: the other categories I sync this way [Memos and Address Book] appear to have all their records intact, including many I haven't touched since before 26 dec.) I've checked the bb in case it did have pre-26-dec cal records, but it has exactly what iCal has.

I only have my last 30 days of daily iCal backups (since mid-jan). When I revert to any of these backups, the data has the same issue (records start on 26 dec). I can't imagine what is significant about the 26th of December (no Christmas-related travel, new devices, changes in syncing/routine, or manual software updates [and nothing is set to auto-update on my computer). I know the sep-through-dec records all existed in mid-December, because that's the last time I went back through my records.

I urgently need to get those three months of iCal records back if there's any way. I'd pay money if the erased data could be recovered from my HD (however, my HD is usually at around 90% capacity, with large files that change often, so it's not likely that any deleted info survives for long). I don't do any syncing over a network or with a third party, and I'm BIS not BES so there's no corporate backup of my BB data.

I've clearly learned "in the future, keep backups much longer." Right now, please help me work with what I have and think of any way to recover the deleted records.

Please help me with synchronising cleanly

dance — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:34:21 -0800

Mail.app + Nokia e61 + gApps IMAP I would love to get my already fairly nifty Mail situation properly synchronised. At the moment, Google Apps handles my email for me and I access it via POP with Mail.app. It is also forwarded to MailForExchange where I am able to sychronise it with my Nokia e61. If I'm out, therefore, I can access and reply to emails. When I get back, though, my sent items in Mail do not reflect mails sent from the phone because gApps had nothing to do with that. In addition, emails read on the e61 are still unread in Mail.app.

What I would love to do is begin using IMAP with gApps but without disturbing the current archive of email I have in Mail.app and begin accessing my email on my phone by that method also.

How can I do this? Do I have to drag my folders into the IMAP folders? This is Mail 3, by the way.

A->B instead of B->A?!?!?

notsnot — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:39:13 -0800

How to recover from sync-ing a RAID 1 the wrong way? So I bought a couple 300G drives a while back, put 'em in RAID 1, and one of them died. Ijust now finally got around to RMAing the defective drive back to Seagate. Mind you, for the last nine months I've been using this single drive as a repository for all my photoshop work (all the RAW files are on another RAID pair).

So last night, I hooked up the fresh drive, turned on RAID in the bios, designated the two drives as a RAID group in the POST ("hit F10...") doohickey, and went to Windows. There, I ran the Nvidia media manager, saw both drives, and told it to sychronize the drives. This morning, I woke up and looked at the drive letter represented by these drives....and it's empty. In fact, Windows sees an unformatted drive. Best I can tell, the Nvidia program synced the drive with all my beautiful data to the empty drive, instead of the other way around.

WTF do I do now? First thing, I shut the machine down, and turned off RAID in the bios, so I can see both drives, both looking to Windows like unformatted drives. I'm unsure what I can do now to save my data! (Yes, I know I should have backed the fuck up. I didn't.)

Other information: ASUS M2n-SLI, Seagate 300G drives, Phenom/8G RAM. I'm not near the computer until this evening, but wanted to get y'alls thoughts.

How to make Thunderbird + Blackberry = Thunderberry?

fox_terrier_guy — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:55:16 -0800

How do I get my Blackberry 8203 contact list on to Thunderbird? Through a miscue (read I'm an idiot), I inadvertently created duplicate contacts in Thunderbird. How? Don't know. Then I deleted the duplicates using a Thunderbird extension, but (and this is where the idiot part comes in) I deleted the wrong ones.

Now I have lots of names but no phone numbers on my TB
I have lots of names + phones numbers on my BB.

So, how do I make BB + TB = 1?

I do have the BB desktop manager program, but it doesn't seem to allow for this er, unique situation.

Any assistance would be gratefully read and diligently followed if it seems physically appropriate.

Syncing iCal and Google Calendar under 10.5

jaimev — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:08:56 -0800

Two-way syncing between iCal and Google Calendar under OS X 10.5? I'm trying to complete the calendar sync trifecta between an old Palm Pilot (cradled to a Win2K box), Google Calendar. and an iPod Touch (docked to an iMac).

The Palm--Google Calendar connection is working (using CompanionLink), and now I'm trying to get the Google Calendar---iCal bidirectional love going.

I know about Spanning Sync but $65 (1/2 the cost of Leopard) is a bit steep for this one function. BusySync 2.0 is cheaper, but unreleased. GCalDaemon is free but it doesn't appear to support Leopard yet.

Are there other, free solutions I should be looking at?

Will someone marry my keyboard?

skylar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:29:26 -0800

I've just bought a Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Keyboard 7000, which comes with the matching mouse (8000). It works great with my Windows XP computer, as long as the computer is on. Once I switch the computer off and attempt to restart, the Bluetooth connection is lost and the computer won't start, citing the lack of a keyboard as the reason. Only by repeatedly fiddling and resynching can I get the computer started up. Can anyone suggest how I bond these three devices in permanent holy matrimony?

How to sync Palm and Google Calendar on Linux?

vilcxjo_BLANKA — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:04:14 -0800

How can I sync my calendars with linux. I use only linux. I have a palm device and a google calendar. I want to keep them both in sync, or at least to synchronize some of the events. I may have other Google calendars to sync if this seems to work. How can I keep these together. I know that Google calendar can export to .ics format. I looked at the SyncML implementations, but I couldn't make any sense of them, and they seemed to not be linux friendly.

Thanks.

Is there a way to use a google calendar and outlook exchange without completely mixing the two and can they be synced differently on different computers?

D Wiz — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:12:43 -0800

Is there a way to use a google calendar and outlook exchange without completely mixing the two and can they be synced differently on different computers? I have a work computer and a home computer (both Windows XP). At home I use google calendar. At work they use outlook exchange. I am now in the market for a PDA phone. I am looking at both WM6 Pro and Palm. I will probably end up with the palm but I am not sure at the moment. (I have unlimited data on my phone if that makes a difference.) Ok... those are all the background details.

Here is the question: I want the PDA to only partially sync with my work computer and completely sync with my home computer. Meaning I want my calendar/schedule from work to upload to the PDA but I don't want my personal address book or other information to be saved to the work computer. At the same time, when I sync at home, I want my personal calendar on the PDA also. I want both calendars to be visible on the PDA but when I go back and sync it at work, I don't want my personal calendar to be synced with my office computer. Is there a way to do this? Can calendars be kept separately? Also, to do this, is it preferable to use WM over Palm OS or vice versa?

iPhone Sync Help

Argyle — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:23:52 -0800

iPhone Sync Help - I am helping move my wife to a new computer. She currently syncs her iPhone to the older XP computer. She wants to sync her iPhone on the new Vista computer. What is the best way to do this transition to ensure we do not lose her contacts and other non-music information?

My iPod doesn't tell iTunes about music I listened to. But only sometimes!

the_W — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:54:56 -0800

I sync my nano with iTunes. I play a few podcasts on my iPod, plug it in to my computer, but iTunes doesn't notice they've been played, and resets all my podcasts. But only sometimes! Infuriating! I apologize for the length, but I have no idea how much of this backstory is relevant to solving my problem.

Okay, I'll start from the beginning. I had an orginal first generation iPod nano that I loved, syncing with my old computer, and it all worked perfectly. I also had a Griffin PowerJolt USB car charger that I used for my commute. Occasionally, if I left the iPod connected to the PowerJolt all the time, it would "reset" itself and lose all of my played podcasts. To be precise: I would start up my car and suddenly my iPod would be in the exact same state as it was immediately after syncing with iTunes. This was annoying but happened so infrequently it didn't bother me too much.

Many, many months ago I got out of my car, put my iPod in my pocket; a few hours later I took it out and the screen was cracked. I figured I was hosed, and it sat on my shelf for a few months, but a friend told me that some of the early iPod screens were defective and maybe Apple would replace my iPod for free. They did -- they replaced it with an identical model, which is perfect because I don't like gen 2 nanos and hate gen 3 ones.

In the meantime I purchased a new computer. My entire iTunes library was on the E: drive, which I set up on the new computer as the E: drive as well. I copied the itunes .itl and .xml files over, and iTunes found all my music and it seemed to work just fine.

I got my new iPod home, and plugged it in, synced it up, and everything was great. I commuted with my new ipod for the first time in MONTHS and listened to all my favorite podcasts in the car. At the end of the week, I brought it in to the house and plugged it in, and just as I described above, iTunes didn't recognize that I had played any podcasts, and reset my iPod so that it didn't recognize that I had played any podcasts either. I should mention here that it's not just podcasts, this happens with all songs.

I updated iTunes, unplugged my iPod and tested it, and this seemed to fix it. But a few weeks later, it did it again. I reinstalled iTunes, and this seemed to fix it. Then it did it AGAIN. I took the iPod back to Apple. They told me to delete my itl file and rebuild my library. I did. That's when I found out that my album art was all screwed up and rebuilding the library fixed it. Sweet! Rebuilding seemed to fix my podcast problem too... and then... once again it refused to "reverse sync," for lack of a better term. I did some more testing and determined that if I reset the iPod before syncing then it never exhibited the reverse syncing problem.

Occasionally it acted funny when ejecting: it would briefly show the regular iPod menu before the computer would make the usb device ejecting sound, followed by the usb device connecting sound, and iTunes would try to sync with it again. At times I would have to reboot to disconnect it.

I took it back to Apple, and they said they would replace it, saying they had never even heard of such a thing before and it was bound to be my iPod that was defective. I took the opportunity of getting another new iPod to test a few theories of my own.

1. Perhaps the PowerJolt developed a short in it or something, so it was randomly sending a jolt of electricity that was zapping something in the nano causing it to forget what songs had been played. I'm not getting the same symptoms as I got last time but it's still possible. So I won't use the PowerJolt with my new iPod.

2. Maybe there was some residual weirdness from copying my library over from one computer to another. I decided to *gulp* nuke my entire library and start from scratch. I uninstalled iTunes and ran the Windows Installer CleanUp utility from Microsoft. I deleted my library files and shuffled the actual music files around so none of them were in the same place. I re-added and rated 15 or 20 albums to get started, and subscribed to a few podcasts.

This was my first week with the new iPod. We had to make an emergency trip to Michigan, so I only ran the iPod off batteries, and it never completely ran out of juice. I came home, synced it, and... lost all my podcasts again.

So. I don't want to take it back to the Apple store, because they'll probably think I'm some crank, plus I don't know what they can do for me. Yes, I can keep resetting the iPod before every sync but since the original problem is intermittent to begin with this may not be a real fix. Should I be worried about the PowerJolt? It doesn't have a user-replacable fuse which worries me.

I tried to google for my iPod problem, but "reverse syncing" doesn't seem to be the name for what is going wrong, and doing a search for iPod syncing returns a zillion irrelevant links. I'm willing to do anything to make this work, up to re-installing Windows XP, which I just did 4 or 5 months ago when I got the new machine.

poopy google calendar

genmonster — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 14:32:18 -0800

stupid google calendar question: why won't event times display when importing a csv file? i'm trying to import a csv file of a class schedule into google calendar- everything is ending up on the right day but is not put into a specific time slot. the csv file has the times, but they're not showing up. please help?
(please keep in mind while answering: i know nothing about computers and operate my macbook by banging on it with my non-opposable thumbs)

Mismarried Mac, Mac, Mac

prophetsearcher — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 07:59:34 -0800

How can I sync, and keep in sync, my Powerbook G4 (tiger) & Mac Mini (leopard)? SoSorryForAskingThisPleaseDontEggMeFilter:

I'm surprised that there isn't a streamlined way of accomplishing what I imagine would be a routine setup, but there you have it. How do you achieve this? Help me find the best solution, if not the perfect one.

My Goal:
To be able to use either of my two computers at will, and have them stay up-to-date with one another. I use my laptop to lounge around the house, meet with clients, etc. I use the Mac Mini for intensive work. I use both for common tasks like email and working on documents.

My Setup:
- Powerbook G4 - PPC - Tiger - 80gb
- Mac Mini - Intel - Leopard - 120gb - new.
- Several external harddrives, including an iPod Classic 160gb
- One of the hard drives is a Lacie Ethernet 500gb, but I doubt my poor Internet setup (see below) can do anything useful with it. and I'm not sure I know how to use it really
- Slow internet connection with a Belkin N1 wireless router (can't change)
- I use SuperDuper to back up my Powerbook

What I've Tried:
- An initial Migration Assistant -- I get an inexplicable error message each time I attempt it. It hasn't worked. I set up my Powerbook as the target disk, the Mac Mini recognized it, but the actual sync failed.

- dotMac subscription -- I tried the demo, even though I really don't want to pay for it in the future, and the notdotmac thing just scares me. Still, it doesn't seem that it will be the panacea I'm looking for, in that it IMAPs and has a 10gb limit, which I don't imagine to be enough (I have about 8 email accounts and a LOT of attachments). And, it's pricey.

- gmail-imap-mail.app -- I've been using POP3 on my powerbook with my gmail accounts, and think it's the bee's knees. I really didn't want to go down the IMAP route, since I want the messages to be all stored locally, and instantly readable. Still, I gave it a chance with a throwaway gmail account. I saw why it could work, but it's so... very... slow... It can sometimes take *minutes* to open a simple message. I realize this is likely the fault of my ISP or whatever, but there's not much I can do about it. I might decide to bear with it if y'all convince me it's the way to go -- and if it can sync the sent messages and statuses of my email/gmail on both my machines.

My Questions: it's really all one big question, but I'll break it down for simplicity's sake
1. Should/could I use my already-used Leopard disk to upgrade my Powerbook, so I can more simply use File Sharing and integrate the systems, and use Chronosync easily?
2. ChronoSync. Has anyone used it in this sort of situation? I don't trust myself to run a sync every time I switch computers, which is what the program seems to want, to avoid 'erratic results.' I see that a new version is out soon. Maybe it will be more foolproof?
3. If I do switch to IMAP, does that mean that all of my POPped emails will be overwritten, unfiled, unmarked as read? Should I sync the messages first to the other computer and then switch?
4. dotMac. Should I give it another chance? If I use POP on each of my computers to the same account (assuming this works) - will dotMac keep them synced -- as in, what's been read, what's been deleted, what's been sent?
5. How else can I creatively achieve harmony?

I've seen the other threads on the topic, but none are as fully integrated as I hope. I apologize if this post seems fussy, finicky and finical. I'm just looking for your solutions to a similar setup.