Looking for Linux-Windows cross-platform PIM
I do development on Windows and have been moving more to Linux to do development there. Under Windows for many years I have used Starfish's Sidekick 98 as a PIM, giving me a calendar, address book, and notes options. I can export the address book and notes portions to CSV file formats from Sidekick 98.
I am now looking to get off Sidekick 98 in order to use a cross-platform Linux-Windows PIM application where I can share my calendar, address, and noted information on a common directory of a FAT32 drive. I have searched for such a cross-platform PIM but the few I have found seem inadequate, and a few others appear to have stopped development in the past. My needs are a program that runs under Linux and Windows, is able to share data, allows for me to import my data from Sidekick 98 through CSV files ( I realize some massaging of the data may be necessary ) and has an interface which, like Sidekick 98, allows visual folders of data for addresses and notes. Among those I have tried are: 1) Aethera: which has no functionality to import notes, and little to import addresses, as well as no way to share data which I could see. 2) SqlDesktop: looked good but was broken as far as the tutorial and help goes right off the bat. Appears to have no way to share data. Among others I have looked at are: 1) Evolution: it's Windows port seems a long time ago and far away and not necessarily in sync with Evolution on Linux. 2) Pi-Sync: Development of this appears to have stopped a long time ago. 3) Chandler: Not ready for prime time yet. Is there really no easy to use cross-platform Linux-Windows PIM which offers calendar, address book, and notes shared data, with adequate import features and ease of use ? Any suggestions would be appreciated. |
You could take a look at qtopia desktop. I run it on Windows and Linux to sync with my Sharp Zaurus.
I've never tried sharing the data between OS's on the desktop app, but I imagine it could be done. Qtopia Desktop Download Manual |
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It looks like all projects for an easy to use cross-platform Linux-Windows PIM have either given up or are not yet ready for distribution, like Chandler. That's too bad for me, since I would really like to have one that runs on both sides and can share data. I have been looking at FreeMind, which is not a PIM but which might serve my needs nonetheless, since no cross-platform PIMs are adequate. |
You could try Mozilla Sunbird and make the Linux configuration files symlinks to the Windows ones.
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I'm looking myself. Sunbird doesn't support sub todo's or multiple categories, evolution I haven't figured out how to get running as it keeps wanting more and more stuff. I prefer korganizer but the windows version (anthera or something) is very outdated.
Wife still uses MS outlook and I got her a new laptop this weekend and installed Outlook XP and it was messed up by Tuesday, it can't see her addresses. I uninstalled and reinstalled it and imported all the data from her .pst and it still does the same thing. I had forgotten how buggy that program was. I've gotten her running Firefox and open office now, would switch to thunderbird for mail if we can get a working calendar and address book. Thunderbird's address book is missing a lot of fields and the calendar (sunbird) is missing features. I filed a few feature bug requests with mozilla so maybe it some items will get added and I we could use it. if your a developer maybe you could get involved in the Mozilla stuff? The PIM question has been asked in Openoffice forums and Sunbird/Mozillia is going to be adopted. Years ago I made a small service tracking database in MS access so I've been tempted to try and make something in OOBase and see if I can read in vcards and ical and make a calendar/task system there. Maybe get a start so the developers can see what we want and then code it native. I've hacked around with kde source a little, added more metadata fields to the jpg properties for example, so I'm thinking of trying to get involved in the sunbird development. I really want to design a PIM system from the ground up, everything I've used/tried has always been modeled after paper planners, i.e. having a separate calendar and todo list and journal, etc. Some will show todo's on the calendar view but its not quite what I want. I don't like separating the data types, to me thats like putting all your spreadsheets in a folder called excel and all your msword documents in a folder called word (I've seen windows users do this, even had a manager do this so I would send my weekly reports alternating between word and excel just to make it difficult for him to keep up with). I want some sort of pim that will show me everything in one view and not make me look in a calendar view then a task view then a journal view, etc. I used to use MS outlook and one of the features it has in 2000 was a file view mode as well. They dropped it in 2002/xp and that was one of the (many) reasons I quit using MSoutlook because I used and liked it. It was like a file manager in outlook so you could easily link documents to meetings, todo's etc or assign them categories. I'm doing similar with Korganizer by using their attachment tab and placing a link to the document there but would like more. I link to a folder with pictures as well, so if I put a calendar entry on sat from noon to 4 saying 'trip to zoo' I link to the folder with pictures from that trip but would like something a little more automated, kind of like the journaling of msoffice apps in outlook but have it journal pictures and make a preview. Sunbird has a nice feature where the calendar rotates so it makes sort of a project management view (gnatt chart), with the ability to change the date range it could be a good. |
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yep, sunbird is calendar only. The address function is fulfilled by thunderbird's addressbook for that solution, but I don't think they have anything for notes.
I haven't used notes since was using MSoutlook because I always would make a note then forget about it so I started making notes in todo's and setting a reminder date on them so lack of notes isn't as a big issue for me as lack of categories or multiple addresses per contact. |
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