Entourage 2008/Leopard/iSync/Palm Treo/Missing Sync

Question

I have been over all the "boards" and everyone is having the same problem syncing Entourage 2008 or even iCal with their Palms.
I have been working at it for three days, and have come to the conclusion that I can get everything to sync to the Palm but cannot sync back. So the only work around is make all changes on the computer, and only use the Palm for the "walk around" reminder, and of course, the contact info.
Not even close to satisfactory, but the only solution at present.
Let me share what I did to clean up the mess.
1. Wiped out all duplicate calendar entries in Entourage (took about five hours) and saved the database on a remote drive
2. Wiped out anything to do with PalmOS in applications and library - do not wipe out anything in the Docs folder
3. Unchecked the sync services in Entourage to the iStuff apps - rebooted, checked them again, and chose the overwrite from Entourage option
4. within a few seconds, quite magically, iCal and Address Book were accurate again. Do NOT delete any of the calendars in iCal, and leave them all checked - I still don't know what they mean, or what the **** "unfiled" is, but leave it alone!
5. Assuming you have "The Missing Sync", (this takes over entirely from PalmOS and HotSync Manager) only use the Mark/Space conduits - do NOT use any other contact, calendar, diary, date book, etc. Start off with contacts - select the "settings" - and choose Desktop overwrites handheld. It will work.
6. then do the same for "Events" - this should work
7. Then do the whole lot, but just the Mark/Space stuff, backup, any special software you have like AA Fligts, Zagat Guide, etc. etc.
8. Test changing an event in iCal and see how quickly it changes in Entourage. Same with Address Book, and vice versa. But any changes on the Palm, (so far) have not appeared on Entourage - an alteration sometimes appears on iCal or Address Book, but does not get Synced to Entourage. Therefore, for safety, make all changes and additions on Entourage until a fix is produced.
Now, there's the rub. A fix. Entourage syncs fine both ways to iCal and Address Book. I don't see why I have to use Sync Services anyway - with Entourage 04 and prior, the Entourage conduit used Palm OS and totally bypassed Sync Services (which is always running, and slows down the computer)
Apple won't produce a fix, because they want us to buy an iPhone. Therefore, it's down to the people at Mark/Space to try and fix this issue. Don't know how they can, because it really looks like an iSync problem, - Missing Sync works back to iCal and Address, but not on to Entourage.
Maybe we need a totally new third party fix that syncs Entourage directly to Palm.

Answer 1

Entourage data has never synchronized directly with the Address Book and iCal.
Traditionally, as with Entourage X and Entourage 2004, Palm user alone could choose to synchronize Entourage data using the Microsoft-supplied Entourage conduit to the Palm Desktop using that conduit, or by using the Missing Sync for Palm OS and that conduit.
Later versions of Entourage 2004 provided for a means for all Entourage users to synchronize their date with the Sync Services framework, and therefore to the Address Book and iCal. Other compatible participants included the Missing Sync for Palm OS. iSync and the iSync Palm Conduit were involved only to the degree that Entourage data moved through the framework was thereupon synchronized to a Palm device using them. Users could bypass this process and continue to synchronize their Entourage data directly to a Palm handheld using the Entourage X or 2004 conduits, with this caveat: Entourage X users could not do so under Mac OS X 10.4.x from an intel processor-powered platform.
With the release of Entourage 2008, Microsoft no longer provides an Entourage conduit for Palm users. This is no fault of Apple, Mark/Space or Palm: it is a decision solely on the part of Microsoft.
The synchronization of Palm data for Mac OS 10.5 and later users is differentiated from this issue. A primary issue involved is an apparent incompatibility with iSync 3, another is a set of issues involving the synchronization engine in iCal, which was completely rewritten for iCal 3. Neither of these issues prevent a Palm user synchronizing with Entourage through the Sync Services framework using the Missing Sync for Palm OS. Those who would prefer to use a conduit to synchronize with Entourage 2008 are out of luck, as Microsoft no longer supplies a compatible one.
The executive summary is this:
• your specific issue has nothing at all to do with Apple
• your option to synchronize a Palm device to Entourage using a conduit was eliminated by Microsoft, so…
1. take your complaint to them (and, good luck with that…)
2. contact Mark/Space to determine if they are willing to independently build an Entourage 2008 Palm conduit
I would be the first to say that Microsoft's implementation of synchronization through the framework was, and remains, rather clumsy. Again, this is an issue for Microsoft, not Apple, Mark/Space or Palm.
The Unfiled calendar in iCal is the single calendar to which, by default, all events created on a Palm device are synchronized. If you are using iSync, you can either use that calendar, or create another and delete the Unfiled calendar. I chose to name mine Palm events when I used iSync. Users of 'advanced' Palm devices with Palm OS 5.4 or later who choose to synchronize using the Missing Sync for Palm OS have their categorized events read from and written to the specific calendar for each category, and can delete the Unfiled calendar from iCal. Those users with an earlier release of the Palm OS—for example, OS 5.2 on a Treo 600—must continue to use the single Unfiled calendar or a substitute calendar into which all Palm device-created events are written. This requirement is the result of an issue with the Palm OS, and does not involve either Apple, Mark/Space or Microsoft.
Synchronization works bidirectionally IF you have properly configured your environment. Any and all additions, changes or deletions of data store components associated with any application, device or server in your pool, will reflect the same information—to the extent that such information is universally supported—after one or more synchronization events.