[BobbyG 38]

Hey all...

I am a newbie to BBF and to the BB (I don't own one yet)...but not a newbie to forums in general. Also, I'm a Mac convert for about 2.5 years. I'm a happy VZW customer looking at a "New Every 2" upgrade and wanting a smart phone. I'm looking hard at a Pearl with VZW. I have many buds telling me to suck it up and get the iPhone...trust me, I've done the research and realize that it would solve most synching/compatibility issues...but I'm not an AT&T fan for many reasons.

As on aside, I own an iPod Touch which I love. Also, I've had AT&T twice (with Sprint in the middle) before VZW and each time swore I would not go back to AT&T unless there was a compelling reason. So far, the iPhone hasn't been the compelling reason...especially with my iPod Touch. I don't want to get into a "who's got better service" argument as those are argued well here on BBF.

My game plan is a Pearl with Missing Sync (for contacts and notes) and Google Calendar syncing for my calendar (I have reasons for that too). My question is backing up everything. Do I need to back up on a Windows computer? I've got an Intel Macbook but would love to keep Windows off of it. Plus, I have the feeling that I may be getting another BB as a "gift" from work soon. "Work" for me entails the worst firewalls/user agreements imaginable so I'm still looking for my own personal smart phone...don't want a Windows Mobile device (as a converted Mac person) nor a Palm device (while I once was a Palm OS fan, I realize their decline). I'm thinking a BB is for me.

Sorry for the long post for my first. Any assistance/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Respectfully,

Bobby G.

[BobbyG 38]

No love from the Mac/BB brethren?

[WFLDEng611]

No you do not need to B/U on a PC. Your address book and iCal are your B/U. I use PocketMac because it is free and that is what VZW and RIM support. I have not used MS to render an opinion. If you use PM, there is an option to B/U using .Mac. One real disappointment with PM is the calendar syncing, but if you are going to use GoogleSync you won't have to worry about that. You can turn off calendar syncing.

Theirs the love ;)

[BobbyG 38]

Thanks for the response! Since my last post, I've actually come across a BB/Mac person and chatted with them about the questions I had. They said the same thing. The reason I use GCal is the fact that my work is MS based and its IT policies are super strict. I'd never be able to use my work computer to sync my (future) BB. I am able to access GCal from work however, and the new BB/GCal sync program seems to be the best thing to keep my calendar sync'd up. Thanks again for the info and for the love

[afterhours]

Originally Posted by BobbyG 38

Thanks for the response! Since my last post, I've actually come across a BB/Mac person and chatted with them about the questions I had. They said the same thing. The reason I use GCal is the fact that my work is MS based and its IT policies are super strict. I'd never be able to use my work computer to sync my (future) BB. I am able to access GCal from work however, and the new BB/GCal sync program seems to be the best thing to keep my calendar sync'd up. Thanks again for the info and for the love

Wouldn't suck for you to get an external hard drive and use time machine, too. You cannot have enough backups but you can have too few. Hmm.. that should be my sig line.

[BobbyG 38]

Good point. And you're right...that would make a good sig line. I got a new MacBook for XMas...as well as a new 500 GB external HD. Have used the MacBook extensively...not so much the external HD. No excuses. Need the time (work, family, etc.) to figure out my optimal backup solution. Really want a 1TB Time Capsule to backup all the Macs (MacBook, PB, and Mini) and use the new external HD to back up media only. Anyway, my (future) BB concerns relate to strict IT policies at work. I've got my cal b/u solution in GCal right now, and my contact b/u with the VZW solution (which I know doesn't work with the BB). I think I now have my BB game plan. One last question...any issues using MS Missing Sync for normal Mac duties and using DM on Windows (via Bootcamp) for installing apps? In other words, are there any BB issues with using two different OS's for different functions? Thanks in advance. I appreciate all the knowledge (and all the questions that have been answered via my research on BBF) that I've learned here.

v/r

Bobby G.

[WFLDEng611]

No, I use PM to do my normal syncing and the heathen box for installing apps. When you go to the dark side to install apps make sure your syncing for calendar, contacts, notes, ect. is turned off