Syncing a Handspring Visor with Ubuntu Warty (was: Mobile phone/PDA combo that will sync with Ubuntu)

[H Postma]

hi Brian,

> "This palm has a NULL user id. Every palm must have a
> unique user id in order to sync properly. If it has
> been hard reset, use restore from the menu to restore
> it, or use pilot-xfer. To add a user name and ID use
> install-user, i.e. install-user "name" 12345. Read the
> user manual if you are uncertain."

There was a mention in another thread that this userid indeed gets set
on your handheld the first time you sync. So the first program to talk
to your visor should take care of this. For me, this is evolution (is
that gnome-pilot or jpilot? I'm guessing the former). When you set the
preferences in evolution, it asks you if you have ever synced with
this device before. At that point, I think it refers to the setting of
the user id. Try fiddling around with the settings of evolution or
gnomepilot to get that dialog back. My best guess is it will set the
user id upon syncing. No idea about jpilot, but I'm assuming sth
similar can be done.

Perhaps you can copy the userid that evolution found/set to jpilot? 

> Anyone have a clue what all that means? It is true
> that I haven't used my Visor since a hard reset where
> I lost all of my data (no backup), but I didn't think
> it could use an install-user "name". I had slightly
> better luck with GNOME Pilot after I set up my profile
> with a name. I got my contacts into Entourage and
> could export them as VCards, but Thunderbird, which I
> use, doesn't handle VCards. Even after setting up a
> name in GNOME Pilot, JPilot still gives me the same
> message.

Yeah, I would kill for a thunderbird/palm sync under linux (it
supposedly works on win32). Filters in evolution have always been
buggy for me, not so in thunderbird.

Cheers, Henk