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In a previous post way too long ago I lamented about there being no viable alternative to Outlook.  As a result, Traci and I were stuck using Outlook 2000 to keep and sync our calendars.  I attempted to use Horde for a while but without a viable method of syncing our PDAs it was a no go.

Enter Vista and two brand-new copies of Outlook 2007, setting us back about $160.  We were still on Outlook but now the new Outlook was even more bloated and slow, and its e-mail client still couldn’t seem to figure out how to manage IMAP mail any better than its predecessor.  Now we had more frustration than less.  Then Traci bought an iPhone, replacing her Palm Z22, but still used Outlook (this time via MobileMe).

Outlook persisted, like a virilent fungus growing between the toes while I burned the midnight oil looking for a replacement that would do everything we needed.  Evolution looked good but I couldn’t get it to sync with the PDA on Windows.  I couldn’t just ditch everything and move to Linux either.  OpenOffice had a stagnant project designed to replace Outlook but I gave up on that.  Syncing Horde didn’t seem any more of a reality either, particularly with the new iPhone.  We needed something special, something unique and capable to make this a reality.

Then came the iMac.

We bought Traci’s iMac first and as she explored it she discovered iCal.  Within a few minutes we realized that we could e-mail appointments to each other using iCal and that iCal could sync with her iPhone (via MobileMe).  We assumed we could use iSync to sync my PDA to iCal as well so we decided to ditch her copy of Outlook in favor of iCal, Address Book, and Mail.

The transition away from Outlook went off without a hitch for Traci but I had a problem.  The version of iSync that shipped with my Mac did not work with my PDA.  I spent a couple hours trying to get it working and then followed the advice of others on the web and bought The Missing Sync.  Sure enough, it did the job perfectly.  It was a breeze to install and configure; it practically did it all for me.  Within ten minutes I had my entire PDA synced to my Mac and Traci and I were also in sync again.  It even handled my Palm memos.  What was also cool is that it required no Palm software or conduits; The Missing Sync does it all.  It was well worth the $39.

So now it’s been a little less than a month and we’ve had no issues resulting from going Outlook-free.  iCal, Mail, and Address Book are more than capable and they’re all lightweight and responsive.  No more waiting for thirty seconds while Outlook painfully tries to read my inbox, no more long pauses while switching from mail view to calendar view, and no more unexplained crashes.  The Apple software just works, and that’s all I really wanted in the first place.