1. UPDATE: Missing Sync for Palm OS 4.0.4
2. WEB STORE: Palm and Pocket PC Apps in the New Mark/Space Store
3. NEWS: Conklin Systems Acquires Online and Mark/Space Fax
4. SUPPORT: Changing Your Email Address?
5. VOTE FOR MAC: 2005 U.S. Powered Up Awards
6. PALM TIP: All About Backup and Restore
7. POCKET PC TIP: Use CAB Files to Install Software on Your Pocket PC
8. COOL STUFF: Life Balance for Mac/Palm OS

Mark/Space is pleased to announce version 4.0.4 of The Missing Sync for Palm OS. From version 4.0.2 and earlier, this release boosts synchronization speed, improves iPhoto integration with better photo scaling capability and image quality on the handheld, introduces the Mark/Space Conduit for AvantGo, a native Mac OS X conduit that downloads AvantGo content during synchronization, adds support for the Fossil Wrist PDA and Qool QDA-700 spartphone, improves MemoPad application functionality with a new sort feature and much more.

This release also fixes several issues present in version 4.0.3, including failed multiple syncs with the Treo 650, file copying from the Treo 650 and Tungsten T5 that resulted in files which could not be read on the Mac and Bluetooth syncing that would timeout early. Version 4.0.4 also improves conduit support for Tapwave Zodiac devices and fixes a flaw that prevented the FMSync conduit from functioning.

Mark/Space recommends that all users of version 4.0 download and install this free update. The installer and complete release notes are available from http://www.markspace.com/downloads.html.

If you have NOT yet upgraded to version 4.0, you may upgrade from any previous version of The Missing Sync, including The Missing Sync for Pocket PC, for only $19.95. Just go to http://www.markspace.com/missingsync_palmos_upgrade.php.

Mac users often have a difficult time shopping for software for their handhelds. How does one know what's good and what works with the Mac? How does one find Mac-specific or Mac-friendly handheld apps among all the Windows-focused stuff that's out there?

That's easy. Shop the new Mark/Space Online Store!

Whether you have a Palm OS or a Pocket PC device, we've got cool applications from Mac-friendly developers for sale in our new online store. There, you'll find some of the best handheld software available, and we'll be adding more. You can rest assured that the products we carry can be installed from your Mac, because that's our focus: providing the best handheld experience with Mac OS X.

Check out the new Mark/Space Online Store today! http://store.markspace.com/

Conklin Systems, longtime Palm OS consultancy and developer has acquired the rights to two of Mark/Space's products, Online, the terminal emulator for Palm OS devices, and Mark/Space Fax, software that allows faxing directly from a Palm OS device.

Mark/Space is pleased that Online and Fax are going where they will be well taken care of, with new versions currently in development, a fact that owners of these applications will certainly appreciate.

During the transition period, Online may be purchased from PalmGear, and Knowledgebase-only support will continue to be available from Mark/Space.

Visit Conklin Systems at http://www.conklinsystems.com/palm/.

Just a reminder: If you need to change your email address with us, both for product registration and to continue to receive newsletters, you may do so easily on our website. Just go to http://www.markspace.com/change-email.php and fill out the form. We'll take care of the rest.

PalmSource, the company that makes the Palm operating system (as opposed to palmOne, which makes the hardware), will present their Powered Up Awards at their developers' conference this May. By nominating The Missing Sync for Palm OS, you can send a message that the Mac matters, that we Mac users represent an important part of the Palm OS landscape.

Click on over to http://www.palmsource.com/events/devcon2005/awards.html and fill in the four fields necessary to vote for The Missing Sync for Palm OS.

Category: Productivity
Application: The Missing Sync for Palm OS
Company: Mark/Space
Email Address: (Sorry, you're on your own here!)

Thanks for taking a few seconds to vote for The Missing Sync and the Mac!

As long as you leave the Backup conduit turned on, The Missing Sync will back up your Palm Powered handheld every time you sync. If you double-click the Backup conduit in The Missing Sync's Conduits view, you also have the option of backing up ALL files and databases from the handheld, even those files that are not normally backed up (such as certain password storage applications that keep your important data encrypted).

One advantage that The Missing Sync for Palm OS has over HotSync Manager is it's restore capability. When you restore a handheld with HotSync Manager, every file ever backed up from the handheld is restored, including old applications that you may have deleted months ago. In some cases, the restore cannot complete before the handheld runs out of memory. This is especially true with the Tungsten T5 and Treo 650 devices, because of their new file system.

When you use The Missing Sync to restore a handheld, only the files that were present during the last backup are restored. This means that you are assured of having enough space to complete the restore, and it means that your device will work as expected.

Another thing that The Missing Sync does differently is archive deleted files and databases from the handheld. When you delete a file from the handheld, our Backup conduit moves the backup of that file into an Archive folder. You can then manually restore something that was deleted in the past, even after you've performed additional backups. To restore an archived file, just drag it to The Missing Sync's Install window or Dock icon, then perform a sync.

So where do we store the backed-up and archived files? The tilde character (~) below represents your Mac OS X user's home folder, /Users/[YourUserName]/.

Backups: ~/Documents/Palm/Users/[YourHandheldName]/Backups/
Archives: ~/Documents/Palm/Users/[YourHandheldName]/Backups/Archive/

Customers often tell us that it's hard to find Pocket PC applications that can be installed without a Windows PC. Most applications for Pocket PC devices come in a .EXE file, an installer that can only be executed on a Windows desktop or notebook.

However, there are applications available in .CAB (Cabinet) format, which can be installed to the Pocket PC from a Mac with The Missing Sync for Pocket PC. Using The Missing Sync's Install feature will ensure that the application is properly installed on the handheld and available in the Programs window.

Mark/Space is working with developers to ensure that more Pocket PC applications are available in .CAB format. You can find many of these applications in the new Mark/Space Online Store http://store.markspace.com/.

If you are looking for an application that Mark/Space does not sell, we are putting together a list of Mac-installable and Mac-friendly Pocket PC apps on our website. You can check it out here: http://www.markspace.com/pocketpc_macfriendly.html.

With each newsletter, we will feature a developer or an application from our new online store. This month we are featuring the award-winning Life Balance software from Llamagraphics.

Life Balance Mobile for Palm OS
http://store.markspace.com/product_info.php?products_id=57

Life Balance for Mac/Palm Conduit Bundle
http://store.markspace.com/product_info.php?products_id=58

Life Balance is a time and task management program that helps you focus on what's really important to you and actively balance the often conflicting demands of career and personal life. Life Balance emphasizes the intrinsic importance that you've assigned to your projects and life goals, rather than arbitrarily filling every slot in your calendar. This helps you to spend your time and energy on what matters to you the most.

Internally, Life Balance uses fuzzy logic math techniques to balance all these competing factors. As a result, it can provide you with an easy to use, sorted list that makes it simple to figure out what is the most important thing that you can do right here, right now.

Here are just some of the cool features of Life Balance that set it far apart from other To Do and Task managers:

• A built-in outliner so that you can organize your tasks into projects
• The ability to reprioritize all the tasks in a project by dragging a single slider
• Dependencies, so that Step B won't appear on your list until Step A is finished
• Routine tasks, like laundry, can be scheduled to happen with a flexible interval rather than scheduling for a particular day and time
• Lead times to gently bring your attention to approaching deadlines
• Integration with the schedule in your Palm's built-in Date Book
• Pie charts that provide feedback on how you are spending your time
• Unique "balance" feature nudges your to do list to help to bring your actual time and effort allocation more in line with your desires

from the team at Mark/Space!