ActiveSync 4.0 - What would you like to see?

ActiveSync 4.0 is now very much in the line of sight.
So my question is...

• What would you like to see in it?


• What would you like to see fixed?


• Which devices should it support?


• Which Office versions and other applications should it nativly support?

How can they make it better than 3.7.1?

We've got a good overview of the history of ActiveSync 3 for anyone who wants to swat up, here:
http://www.hpcfactor.com/support/syncsoft/activesync/

This might sound crazy, but ActiveSync 3.7.1 actually does what I want it to... The only thing on my wishlist would be a confirmation of deletion of items, and a bit of an improvement when it comes to looking for duplicates.

(and you mean swot, not swat )

I want an improvement of Device recognizing. Whenever I hard reset my device, it recognizes as a new device, and have to change name etc..

There's ways around that - for starters, make sure that the name is the same, then make sure that the regional settings are the same...

Add "Passthru" to my list of things that I'd like to see. This'd need some form of software on the HPC, but it'd be quite useful.

How about porting it to Linux so that people like me don't have to go onto someone else's computer to install software on their HPC!!!

- grr

Definitely would be nice synchronise any folder you want not only predefined one.

What I mainly have to compare it with is PsiWin (for Psion devices). PsiWin is less intrusive, although I'm not sure how much can be done about this, since I assume that regardless of the PC software, there's need to run ActiveSync on the device. With PsiWin, when I connect a device it immediately detects it -- no need to run anything. It also doesn't pop anything, there's just a change in the tray icon.

With PsiWin copying to the clipboard on the device copies to the PC and vice versa, which I found useful at times, when I didn't want to transfer full files.

PsiWin backup lets me select which drives to backup, so I can backup the CompactFlash and internal RAM at the same time. I don't do it on the 5mx because backuping over serial is too slow, but with the Izzi Pro I have a network card, so it becomes a lot more practical. It also keeps 3 back backups, though I've yet to use that.

Definitely delete confirmation!

It needs to retain 2.00 support. If they pull it then we wont see further MS Office 2005 support and we wont see longhorn support for CE2.

If they pull 2.00, then it's fair to say PsPC and HPC Pro will be canned too. Give it 18 months and we will have a host software problem.
It is also possible that HPC2000 could be canned - the sync logic even though it is CE3 is seperate from the PPC in many respects.

This Needs! to be avoided.

I would like to see in place ability to kill the process from the application, not have to rely on going off to command / task man / askill to close it.

Better host side Cab management - I'm fed up with finding CE host installers that place files all over the disk.

Fix for the problem where ActiveSync leaves Outlook 2000 running as a background process even after device disconnect.

Same Application iconography for the H/PC and PsPC as the P/PC and SP get.

Updated sounds

Separation of VPN, LAN, WLAN and Bluetooth in the Communication Options.

Certificates manager / Sync manager

Windows Installer wrapped, not the old & often clumsy on NT5 xpress one

Not .net code - avoids installing the framework

USB2 host driver support

ActiveSync to keep an archive of the remote system registry - kind of like a Device "system restore". When things invariably start meddling with file associations and shell settings, this would save time manually fixing it.

Cleanup wizard - quick and easy power toy style module that can compare installed applications to the application wizard logs on both the host and client and clean up the left over install and uninstall files, clear the cache out etc.

File Sync to be fully customisable as to which folders you want and where you want them sync'd with - While I'll publically state for the first time here that this is possible, it's not a use friendly process to change host or client sync files locations.

Remote Control. Seriously don't laugh. Let me be very explicit on this one.
WINDOWS CE 1.00 COULD DO IT.
Yup, H/PC Explorer 1.1 with a small client / host utility in the CE1 Power Toys could remotly control the device. Enough said.

Built in Favourites sync - yes it's in the Power Toys, and yes the PPC can do it so that it sync's for off-line transfer. All I want is to have a sub folder in my PC favourites that moves links back and fourth between the device and the host. AS has full file system access, so this should be a no-brainer.

I would like to see Pocket Contact Synchronizer integrated into AS

I'm sure I'll think of some more

Thats a lot to ask of Microsoft... Anyway the HPC is already canned. I doubt that it will be supported. But you always don't have to upgrade to Longhorn...or not use Windows at all Anyways, at least it works right now, but I once believed that hpc support had been taken out in the later 3.x versions of Activesync. It looks like the burden for developers is getting stronger by the day if this system is going to make it and really get some good software. i.e. sync, web browser, some nice games, etc.

Remote Control, hands down. I train staff and faculty on all sorts of handhelds, I use the Microsoft tool extensively to show the handheld screen over the projector. It's not that great. Slow at best memory pig at worst. Yeah I mean it slows waaaaay down as you use it. Building it in would mean an update on the code, hopefully making it better.

Besides, it's always been a favorite toy for me :-)

I agree with someone else on this thread that it does what it does pretty well already. The only thing I can think of is as Stingraze mentioned above.

Sometimes we have to hard reset and bang, we have to create a new name again. This is where PalmOne is better (IMHO). I can hard reset or even get a new palm pda and simply choose the same userid and voila, the pda is restored to its last synced condition, no renaming stunts to do.

That would be one feature I would want in AS4.0, that is if it still supports my NEC MP790 ...

Some screen shots have appeared of ActiveSync 4, Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! got them up first, and I'm not one to repost other peoples news so...

Have a lookcie:
http://www.clintonfitch.com/rumors/default.asp

Seems like every desktop task manager, pim, calendar, to-do list maker, whatever...all allow you to export data in one form or another.

I'd like to see Activesync be user configurable in that you could specify any data file created by your desktop manager program (whatever it may be) and you could select where it would be stored at on your handeld, be it under contacts, phone numbers, whatever.

Rich

You mean like using Conduits on Palm OS where you can map data fields directly into the Mobile PIM databases directly? - and specify where the PIM database goes.