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synced with the right desktop data), and the desktop computer port to which the PDA is connected. KPilot offers to autodetect this, which you should always try. If it cannot autodetect your connection (and you have ensured that the actual hardware connection is working, as described in the previous section), try specifying either /dev/ttyUSB1 or /dev/ttyUSB2 (or even higher numbers) if you have a USB-connected PDA, and /dev/ttyS0 or /dev/ttyS1 if you have a serially connected PDA. On the next page, you will be asked which desktop application set you want to synchronize with; pick the right one for you here.

Once you are set up, you can give KPilot a try. It will have started kpilotDaemon automatically if it was not running yet.

During the following steps, keep an eye on the HotSync Log window in KPilot; there could be important information here that can help you troubleshoot problems. If you see the message "Pilot device /dev/ttyUSB2 does not exist. Probably it is a USB device and will appear during a HotSync" or something similar, that's nothing to worry about.

Now press the HotSync button on the cradle or force a synchronization in whichever way your PDA does this. If you see "Device link ready," plus many more progress messages about the various conduits, things should be going fine. Notice that if you have a lot of applications installed on your PDA, the synchronization progress can take quite a while.

What can you expect to work on Linux? Synchronizing the standard applications, such as calendar, address book, and notes, should work just fine. For many other commercially available PDA applications, there is no Linux software provided, but since KPilot is able to synchronize Palm databases without actually understanding their contents, you can at least back up and restore this data. You can also install the application packages themselves by means of KPilot's File Installer. Even the popular news channel synchronization software AvantGo works nicely on Linux.

Things that typically do not work (or are very difficult to get to work) are access to additional storage media such as CompactFlash cards, and applications that perform additional functionality for synchronization (such as downloading new databases from a web site as part of the synchronization process). A typical example of the latter category is airline timetable applications. So if you have a Windows computer available (or have configured your computer to be dual-boot for both Windows and Linux), it can be a good idea to still install the Windows desktop synchronization software. For day-to-day activities, Linux and your PDA (at least Palm-like PDAs) are an excellent combination.

Figure 8-45. KPilot performs a synchronization

Work is currently being done on creating a unified synchronization application called KitchenSync. Once this is ready, the intention is to replace not only KPilot and other PDA synchronization packages but also the many smaller packages for synchronizing your Linux desktop computer with various types of cellular phones. KitchenSync is a work in progress, and you can find more information about it at http://www.handhelds.org/~zecke/kitchensync.html. Another program that aims in a similar direction is OpenSync.

Groupware

Helping a group of people coordinate their work or private lives—their calendars and task lists, their notes and address books, and so forth—presents one of the rare opportunities for computers to actually solve a real, everyday problem. Imagine being able to change a meeting by dragging a text box to a new time slot in the calendar application, and having the software system automatically inform all other attendees of the change, ask them whether they still want to attend, and update their own calendars automatically. Such software, which supports groups of people who are interacting, coordinating with each other, and cooperating, is commonly referred to as groupware .

For all but the simplest needs of very small groups, it is usually sensible to store the information that is to be shared or exchanged