Becoming OS Agnostic
Now that my iMac can boot Windows and I'm spending more time in general away from my computer, I'm looking for ways to synchronize my data across OSes. The easiest way, I've realized is to do everything on the web.
I've taken the first step today by deactivating POP access for GMail in Mail.app. That way I can manage all my GMail email online. If Google decides to offer IMAP sometime, I'll turn it back on. Until then, I need my email to be the same everywhere and that place is online. My school email is IMAP/Exchange, so there's not much of a synchronization issue with that, except that Mail.app's IMAP isn't too good and the school only gives us 50 MB of storage. Exchange Webmail is as good as Outlook if you're using IE, but in anything non-IE (e.g., any Mac browser) it reverts to an old version of Outlook Web Access which is terrible. Once I can spend a bit more time with Parallels, I can decide if running it 24/7 for just Outlook is worth it. If it's not worth it, I don't know what to do. Is there any way to push 3rd party email accounts through the GMail interface?
I was never a big fan of iCal and the lack of Exchange over HTTP on the Mac kept me from using Wharton's Exchange calendar, so I haven't really used an electronic calendar. Instead, I've been resorting to text files and post-its. Until Google Calendar showed up. Google Calendar has everything I need in a calendar (save Tasks), and with text messages to/from GVENT and RSS feeds, I can access my calendar away from the computer or offline.
I am still in search of a decent online RSS reader as I have yet to find something that can replace NetNewsWire. I like having a desktop client because I can read feeds offline if I have no connectivity. There is always NewsGator's multiplatform syncing solution, but I'd rather save myself the $50-$80 ($30 each for a Mac client, Windows client and $20 for the online reader) if there's a free solution available. My main requirement if I do decide to stick with NetNewsWire is that any online reader has to be able to do status syncing. I don't want to have to go through 100+ posts deciding what I've read and haven't read. This wouldn't be so much of a problem if I can find an online reader that is fast and fits my workflow (is that readflow?).
I listen to a relatively small number of podcasts and I'm so far behind that I don't need a cross-OS sycning solution. I'm backed up enough that I always have something fresh to listen to on my iPod even with only syncing once every few days. I haven't had a chance to set up iTunes in Windows yet, but I think with MacDrive I'll be able to share libraries between OS X and Windows without a hitch.
My other main concert with "going online" is that I won't have access to anything if I'm without an internet connection. There were many a time where I would be on-the-go with my Powerbook and still have my RSS feeds to read. I have no idea how good my internet connection will be in the new apartment, but if it's spotty then I'll be in trouble. Another issue is backup. Can I really trust Google and Mr. Online RSS Reader to hold my data for as long as I want it? What are my backup options for GMail/GCal, etc?
Technorati Tags: online, RSS, GMail, GCal, Google, Google Calendar, OS X, dual boot, Windows XP, Google OS, NetNewsWire, Exchange, synchronization, sync
Hawk Wings » Blog Archive » A double life: OS X, Windows, productivity, email wrote:
[...] Martin Gordon raises an interesting question . [...]
Posted on 07-Jun-06 at 7:03 am | Permalink
Eric Blair wrote:
I take it you were running the Lite version of NNW? Otherwise, you'd have an NNW and NewsGator online subscription for the next 2 years. I'ev actually been using that combination since I started a job where I can't bring my PowerBook to the office - it works pretty well. There are some snags in terms of sync status (I notice a few read posts appearing as unread, but the vast majority of the time it Just Works). I can access my feeds from anywhere and then have them saved to my desktop using NNW's persistence feature.
Every GCal calendar has a static URL for the ical file associated with it. You could setup a script that backs the file up to your hard drive.
For GMail, I'd say that POP might be your best backup option. Setup a client like Mail to download your mail but leave it on the server.
Posted on 07-Jun-06 at 8:33 am | Permalink
Mithras wrote:
Have you tried Netvibes.com? I migrated there from NNW a couple of months ago, and I'm crazy about it. One quick login, and I have a multi-tabbed page with all of my favorite feeds, an integrated podcast tuner, plus webcal and Writely access to boot.
I do greatly prefer using the 'Open directly in site' option with a tabbed browser, rather than using the integrated reader interface.
Posted on 07-Jun-06 at 8:42 am | Permalink
Mithras wrote:
Also: maybe reading something other than RSS when you're offline will be a good thing :)
Posted on 07-Jun-06 at 8:43 am | Permalink
The Plaid Cow wrote:
Being OS agnostic just adds another layer to it, but trying to do all of this on two different macs isn't as easy as it should be either.
Posted on 07-Jun-06 at 8:51 am | Permalink
AC wrote:
For what it's worth, Bloglines seems to get more mindshare than Newsgator (sorry, don't have a link handy to confirm) — and they have a small screen version that you can use on your mobile without any additional software.
I definitely hear you on NNN, though — nothing beats blasting through 300 headlines in a couple of minutes :->
Posted on 07-Jun-06 at 10:46 am | Permalink
Martin wrote:
Thanks for the responses everyone.
Eric: I'll look at the full NNW with NewsGator online as an option. I think RSS and POP are viable backup options, so that makes the transition a bit less scary.
Mithras: At first glance, Netvibes looks like a custom portal more than a full-fledged RSS reader, so it may not have all the tools or UI I'm used to. And maybe you're right about reading things other than RSS feeds when offline. I'll have to look into it :)
Plaid Cow: I know it's probably not as easy as it should be, but at the very least you can run the same pool of applications on both machines and so you can migrate preferences and other data items as-is instead of having to jump through hoops getting everything to be the same.
AC: I've had a Bloglines account for ages now, but it currently only has two or so feeds in it and I haven't used it in forever. The ability to sync with NNW makes NewsGator a much more viable option than Bloglines, regardless of mindshare. I doubt I'll find something as fast as NNW on the desktop, so the ability to sync feed status is a nice consolation prize.
Posted on 07-Jun-06 at 3:37 pm | Permalink
Jamie wrote:
I swear by NNW and NewsGator online. Its just superb. The free version works with NNWLite too. You dont have to pay anything. At least I dont :-/
Posted on 07-Jun-06 at 6:49 pm | Permalink
Wy wrote:
For gmail backup .. maybe you can run fetchmail on a linux machine to snog all the gmail stuff? It doesn't delete it from the server, after all.
Posted on 08-Jun-06 at 7:58 am | Permalink