Wanted! Address Book Sync
I work on a total of four different Mac OS X machines - two PowerMac towers, an iBook, and a new 12" PowerBook. Each machine has a semi-complete Address Book. All four, when combined, form a complete collection of both personal and professional contacts.
Right now the only way I could keep a current, duplicate copy of the Address Book on each of my machines would be to subscribe to Apple's .Mac service for about $100 a year. But...I don't need any of the other "features" they're offering. I hardly need another email address, or web space, or virus protection. I already do my own backups as well.
Through Mac related sites, I've learned how to duplicate my physical address book file over to other machines, but the process is laborious - especially with four machines not all hooked up to the same network.
For months now I've hoped that some enterprising developer would create a shareware app that could sync Address Books in much the same way, but without a monthly subscription. Which, call me cheap, is a rip-off. Even if the application was $100, it would be worth purchasing for it would be a one-time fee instead of a rolling charge.
If anyone out there is interested, I'm your first customer.
Comments
I'm beta-testing one that The Narrator from hivelogic.com wrote.
It's great! We use it to sync up the people who sign-up on our ibook with the mac at home for our cd's when we play out (I'm in a band).
I suggest you contact hivelogic.
Posted by: William at May 1, 2003 11:18 AM
Another short term solution would be to get a 30 day trial account of .Mac, sync everything up, then once the trial is over, get a different user name. I've done that for two months now, and I'm in the same boat; I have my own web space, too many email addresses, and my own backups, I just want the syncing capability.
Posted by: Pete Baker at May 1, 2003 11:49 AM
I put all my contact info into a text file. Searching is super-fast, and it gives you access to all of the great linux commands like grep, rcp, and so on.
Plus, it's really easy to sync up multiple files using a good text editor or diff or what have you.
And - this may be obvious, but it's really useful - it's a free-form entry, so you can include notes, or have your most used addresses up at the top of the file or whatever.
I do the same thing with a "notes" file, so that I can keep information about things that I want to remember, but won't. Copy and paste in the info, add a couple of keywords, and you're good to go.
Leave the shackles of proprietary standards!
Posted by: dave at May 1, 2003 12:12 PM
You should be able to synch address books through bluetooth, which is already built into OS X and your 12" PB. You may need 1 or more USB bluetooth adapters to share between machines, or get an adapter for each one. This process could theoretically be slow as well as you may only be able to sync one machine at a time, but better than a sharp stick in the eye. Additionally, you might (based on what Dave just said about keeping his address book as a text file) try Hydra, the rendezvous based multi-user editing program. Good luck, and be sure to let us know what method you decide on and how it works, and kudos on your iTunes 4 research.
Posted by: evan at May 1, 2003 12:29 PM
Do you have a handheld? Sync them all so your Palm is complete. Then overwrite them other machines.
Posted by: briguy at May 1, 2003 1:42 PM
This is desperately needed, you're totally right, Todd. This functionality *should* be a function of iSync, and because iSync only really deals with one digital hub (as opposed to understanding each hub as one member of a network) it's a bit of a disappointment to me. I'd also like to see Apple promote the Address Book as a true system-wide resource that any application can access. I'm crossing my fingers that the next rev. of Entourage will feature Address Book integration, so that when I add a new contact in that program I can also add her IM handle via iChat and the Address Book. The OS needs to become a big database.
Posted by: Khoi Vinh at May 1, 2003 4:47 PM
I totally agree with you, Todd. We're finally (and slowly) making the switch to X at work, and once I'm using Address Book on my desktop I'll need a way to sync it up with my laptop.
I found someone who started messing with the idea but it looks like he's stuck half-way. Here's hoping someone creative's found some way around .Mac
Posted by: Si at May 1, 2003 8:39 PM
You could share a single address book if you had a mounted filesystem or webdav share, it's not ideal, but it should do the job.
1. Create an AddressBook folder at /Users/shared/ on one of your Macs
2. Under each user's ~/Library/Application Support folder, remove the AddressBook folder (be sure to back up any existing address books just in case). In its place, create a symlink to the shared AddressBook folder, type ln -s /Volumes/[WebDavShare]/Users/shared/AddressBook AddressBook.
3. Drag the Share onto the Login Items so it mounts on login.
4. Make sure that all users have permissions to both read and write all files in, and including, the AddressBook folder.
This tip could also be used to share a single Mail database, Calendars, etc. across many Macs.
I haven't done this, but in theory it should work.
Posted by: Brian at May 1, 2003 11:21 PM
Set up an LDAP server?
Posted by: Tim at May 2, 2003 3:58 AM
If someone will send me a copy of an address book file (one or two entries is all I need, with each field filled in with dummy data), I'll be happy to give it a shot.
Posted by: Bob at May 2, 2003 5:06 PM
I was going to suggest synching with a palm as well-
Posted by: chris at May 5, 2003 5:27 PM
I need shared address book
Posted by: Subhasha at December 29, 2003 2:04 AM
Addres-0-Sync
http://www.slamslash.com/address-o-sync/
Posted by: Brett at March 29, 2004 2:31 PM
I just want to copy the address book from my desktop to my laptop in 10.2.8 when I travel. Is this right?: ADDRESS BOOK
replace library->addresses>
for MAIL
replace home->Library->Mail AND
home->Library->Preferences->com.apple.mail.plist
for SAFARI BOOKMARKS:
replace home->library->Safari
Did I leave anything out?
Thanks.
Posted by: Babette at June 23, 2004 8:19 PM
Forgot to add, I'm on an ethernet LAN with a hub.
Posted by: Babette at June 23, 2004 8:20 PM
