Pylon Conduit
Out of the virtual box, the Pylon conduit integrates the following PalmPilot and Lotus Notes databases:

• EMail (Notes mail file)
• Date book (Notes mail file)
• To Do list (Notes mail file)
• Memo pad (Notes mail file)
• Expense tracking (Notes mail file)
• Address Book (Personal Address Book)

To get started with the Pylon conduit, point your browser to http://www.gc.com and go to the products section. After downloading the demonstration file from Globalware's web site and unzipping it, you're left with a single Notes database. The database is nicely organized into a table of contents which displays installation, detailed configuration, trouble-shooting and support information in a variety of documents. The Pylon software itself comes as an attachment to the installation/configuration document.

Be sure to unload the HotSync manager (if it's loaded), double click on the Installation document and you'll be presented with a screen like the one shown in Figure A:

FIGURE A


This is the normal Pylon installation screen. Roll over picture for a larger image.

If you're installing the conduit for the first time, you'll start out by confirming that the displayed information is correct, decide which applications you'd like synchronized, then click on the install button. New to the 1.03a version of the conduit is an upgrade button which does a software upgrade but doesn't appear to change any of the configuration data. If all goes well you'll be ready to re-load the HotSync manager and begin exchanging your PalmPilot data with Lotus Notes. If there are problems however, you may be forced to finish installing the software manually.

I've installed the software six times on a total of five machines and have had to do the manual installation twice. This seems to me to be one of the areas that could use some work in the current version of the product. Being written in Notes, the installation process is somewhat dependent on the workstation's ECL (Execution Control List) configuration to work correctly. An external installation routine might ease some installation problems. If the automatic installation fails though, the manual installation process is well documented in the trouble-shooting section of the documentation. If you do have to switch to manual, the installation consists of checking the Registry for required values and adding or correcting them if required. Finally, to complete a manual installation you might have to detach the program files into the PILOT directory on your hard drive. Reset your system and away you go.

[Since this article was originally written, Globalware Computing has released a new version of the Pylon Conduit and a brand new product: PylonPro.

We're told the newer version of the Pylon Conduit has many new features and bug fixes. An updated, more standard installation is reported to resolve the previous installation problems of the earlier version. More configuration options have been added to give you more control over the data synchronization process. An improved algorithm prevents duplications. The company claims Server synchronization, central configuration, support for both public and personal address books, and synchronization of either discussion databases or web pages have been added or improved as well. --DG]