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rkeleher
2008-11-25, 06:16 PM
I am about to purchase OmniFocus for the iPhone. I have read some of the threads on Syncing and have a couple of questions that I hope someone out there can answer:
1. OmniFocus for the iPhone requires OmniFocus 1.5. Is that all I download? Or do I download (and pay for it) and then have to download (and pay for?) something else?
2. Are there any issues with using just a USB (not wireless) connection? I do not use iDisk.
3. why do I keep seeing references to Bonjour and MobileMe. Do I need/want those to use Omnifocus on the iPhone?
Thanks!

Toadling
2008-11-25, 09:08 PM
1. OmniFocus for the iPhone requires OmniFocus 1.5. Is that all I download? Or do I download (and pay for it) and then have to download (and pay for?) something else?

To sync with OmniFocus for iPhone 1.1, all you need is OmniFocus for Mac 1.5. There's nothing else required. Be sure to check out the various discounts offered (educational and for owners of OmniOutliner Pro 3). You can save a substantial amount of money.

2. Are there any issues with using just a USB (not wireless) connection? I do not use iDisk.

Apple does not allow third party developers to transfer data or sync over a USB connection. So all syncing with OmniFocus must be done over a wireless connection. Look around at other apps on the iTunes App Store and you'll find everyone else is being held to this same restriction.

Once you get setup, however, you may find that a wireless connection is a lot more convenient than having to sync over USB. It can be very fast and, as the name implies, there are no messy wires. :-)

3. why do I keep seeing references to Bonjour and MobileMe. Do I need/want those to use Omnifocus on the iPhone?

Yes, you probably want one of these if you're going to sync OmniFocus on an iPhone to a Mac, or sync OmniFocus between multiple Macs. There are other options, but syncing via Bonjour or MobileMe is the easiest.

Note that for syncing, you only need one of these two options. There's no need for both; OmniFocus doesn't even support both at the same time.

MobileMe is Apple's rebranded .Mac service. One of the things it offers (along with a variety of other features) is online storage space called iDisk that you can access over the Internet either through the Mac OS X Finder, any web browser, or a variety of third party apps. OmniFocus uses a protocol called WebDAV to keep a copy of your database on this iDisk, allowing you to sync any number of Macs or iPhones over the Internet. Note that OmniFocus can also sync to other WebDAV servers, but Apple's MobileMe iDisk is the easiest to configure and is the most reliable.

The nice thing about this solution is the synced Macs/iPhones don't have to be in the same location or even on at the same time. And you automatically have an off-site backup of your OmniFocus database that gets updated every time you sync (handy if your house burns down and your iPhone gets stolen in the same day ;-).

Bonjour is Apple's brand name for its Zero Configuration Networking (Zeroconf) implementation. This basically allows different devices to automatically find each other on a local network (e.g. your home network, rather than over the Internet).

OmniFocus can use Bonjour to allow different Macs and iPhones to sync with each other without using remote storage (like Apple's iDisk). Thanks to Bonjour, most of the configuration is automatic. So it's very easy to setup.

The advantages are:

You don't have to pay for MobileMe.


Syncing tends to be a little faster because data doesn't need to be sent over the Internet.


It's potentially more secure because your data never leaves your local network (assuming your local network is secure, of course).


The disadvantages are:

You can't sync from anywhere. All your Macs and iPhones have to be on the same local network, which probably means they have to be in the same proximity (depending on the size and range of your network).


One Mac needs to be designated as the server. That machine and the iPhone or Mac that's currently syncing to it must be on at the same time. You can't, for example, sync your iPhone from the living room couch while your laptop is sleeping in your briefcase in the next room.


No data is stored off-site. So you don't get the advantage of automatic, remote backups.


Hope this helps and sorry for the long explanation. I hope it wasn't too much information. :-)

-Dennis