Book Review: Take Control of Syncing in Leopard

take control syncing cover

I am very much a fan of the Take Control ebooks from TidBits Publishing. These are ebooks in .pdf format (though they are also available as printed books) designed for people who want to start using Macintosh hardware and software right away to get things done without wasting time looking for the information you need. Take Control books are well-written, accurate, and very easy to use because they're designed for easy navigation. The table of contents, as well as internal references, are all hypertext links. The ease of use begins with the Quick Start page, which lets you find exactly the sections you need to read to do what you need to do, right away, and go there with a single click. Plus, if you register your ebook, and an update to the edition of an ebook you buy is released, you can simply download the updated version.

Take Control of Syncing Data in Leopard by Michael E. Cohen, edited by Don Sellers, and published by TidBITS Publishing Inc. covers syncing your data (not backing up your data, that's a different book) between your Macs, other devices and applications from Apple and third party developers. The book explains not only how Leopard's built-in syncing functions, but also how to sync using Apple's own MobileMe (formerly Mac.com), third party applications like Entourage, other syncing utilities, as well as syncing data with non-Apple cell phones, Palm OS and Windows devices.

I'm fairly proficient with syncing data, but I learned a fair amount in terms of how to sync my data with multiple Macs and devices far more efficiently than the one-device-at-a-time method I'd been using. MobileMe does, in fact, have some genuine utility. Take Control of Syncing Data in Leopard covers a fair amount of ground in quick order, including setting up your hardware, modifying software settings, good practices for safe syncing, and a useful trouble shooting section. The book even discusses plug-ins and third party software for syncing cell phones, blackberrys, and other devices that Apple doesn't directly support. I learned about Mark/Space and Missing Sync for Palm OS from the previous edition of this book— Take Control of Syncing in Tiger, also by Michael E. Cohen. I'm still using Missing Sync for Palm OS for syncing with my Palm, and it works better than ever. That tip alone made the book worthwhile for me, but the book also discusses syncing with Entourage, with or without Exchange support, and syncing data with Yahoo and Gmail accounts.

If you're curious, there's a podcast interview with Michael E. Cohen, the author, Michael Cohen Explains Taking Control of Syncing Data in Leopard on MacVoices. You can read a detailed description and see the Table of Contents for Take Control of Syncing Data in Leopard, as well as a sample. Take Control of Syncing in Leopard is available as a .pdf ebook, loaded with hypertext links, and screen shots, for $10.00. Alternatively, you can buy a bound version for $21.99. Either can be purchased here.