As I noted over at TheAppleBlog, Google has turned on push for Gmail on the iPhone. That means that your incoming messages will be pushed from the Google servers to your phone, instead of your phone having to call in periodically to check for new mail. It means you’ll be more up-to-date, and your phone will use a lot less of your battery’s power than if you use Apple’s Fetch alternative.
For Gmail users with an iPhone who work from home, this is great news. Often, those of us not plugged in to the corporate world miss out on the little niceties like Exchange information syncing. Google Sync, now that it includes Gmail, offers a great free alternative for those of us who’ve left our office working days behind. And it uses Microsoft Exchange technology to do it. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: apple, calendar, contacts, Email, Gmail, google, Google Sync, iphone, ipod, push, sync
The other day, some friends and I were discussing the various productivity tools and services that we rely on to manage our lives and our businesses. The usual question came up, “What application or service do you really rely on the most?”
To answer this question, I wanted to move beyond the standard CRM and invoicing tools which are critical to the day-to-day functioning of my business, and share something that might not be so obvious. The first thing that popped into my mind was file sharing and syncing app Dropbox, and even after more discussion and heated conversation, nothing could change my answer. The benefit of synchronized files and access from any PC is obvious, but as I’ve been using the service it has really become a critical part of my daily process.
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I love technology, but not when it comes to switching PCs — moving all the data and applications from one Windows machine to another is not always as easy as it could be.
I thought I’d share some tips gleaned from my latest move to a new desktop. My way isn’t necessary the best way, but it may give you some ideas when it comes time for you to make the switch. Here are the steps that I took.
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These days, when I leave my office — even if it’s just to go down the street to the grocery store — I know that I can grab my cell phone (a Treo 755p) and have my contacts, calendar, to-do list and passwords with me. They’ll even be up-to-date, if I’ve remembered to use Missing Sync to update my phone recently! And my email is always available, as I use IMAP with Google Apps.
Thanks to my smartphone, I don’t carry my laptop very much, unless I’m doing a presentation or going on an extended trip. But it’s nice to have my desktop sync with my laptop, so that it’s ready when I need it. And that’s where things start getting complicated. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: apple, data, dropbox, gcontactssync, googaby, lastpass, splashid, sunbird, sync, synchronization, thunderbird, Weave, xmarks
We’re living in a cross-platform and cross-browser world. Most web workers aren’t one-browser-fits-all.
I have two computers: a MacBook Pro and an iMac. Even though Firefox 3 is my default browser on both computers, I regularly have at least three different browsers open to do what I need to do in my work day. Certain sites only work in Internet Explorer, while others simply behave better in Chrome or Safari. Other sites are bookmarked in Safari solely for the iPhone.
Foxmarks has long been the free go-to utility for syncing bookmarks between multiple instances of Firefox. I’ve long preferred Foxmarks to Mozilla Weave which, while it syncs more information between Firefox browsers, I’ve found to be less reliable. For non-Firefox browsers, I’ve had to use my.foxmarks.com to access sites using IE or Safari that are bookmarked in Firefox.
No more. Last week, Foxmarks introduced syncing for both IE and Safari (I can’t wait for a Chrome version).
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One of the obvious needs for a Web Worker on the go is the ability to keep data synchronized across your multiple devices. Your options can vary wildly depending on your combination of hardware.
For those with a Mac on your desk but a PC in your pocket, Eltima Software offers SyncMate, a software solution to keep your Mac and mobile device connected. SyncMate Free lets you connect your Mac with your PDA or Pocket PC (aka Windows Mobile device), keeping documents, contacts, calendars and more all up to date across both devices.
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For web workers, anything that can relieve the stress of managing information will be a huge help. For instance, I manage two calendars, my personal Google Calendar and my work Outlook Calendar.
We have covered a few utilities that have tried to solve the 2-way syncing issue, but none have been rock solid enough to use full time. In fact, I’ve destroyed my Outlook calendar multiple times trying to sync with my Google Calendar. This is why I was very happy to see Google has released a Calendar Sync tool.
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As I noted over at TheAppleBlog, Google has turned on push for Gmail on the iPhone. That means that your incoming messages will be pushed from the Google servers to your phone, instead of your phone having to call in periodically to check for new mail. It means you’ll be more up-to-date, and your phone will use a lot less of your battery’s power than if you use Apple’s Fetch alternative.
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
