Support for an independant version of SideKick 14

[mickygriff]

I thought I would start a thread to show how much support there is for either an individual, group or company, to provide a reworked/updated version of Sidekick. Someone surely possesses the skills to do this? Please just reply to give this indication.

 

[jeffbeal]

Thanks for taking this on. Looking forward to the results.

 

[SCOTCHEGG]

Wholehearteadly support this idea- now who will do it??
and no news of the To do / Calls patch to get us back on track for 2006??

 

[kWkW]

Does anybody else use the program binary file "TSDesktop.exe" which is 1702400 bytes long?

I'd like to provide a patch (which effectively will only work for Call entries, not for ToDo entries), but patching is only possible if we are using exactly the same program binary file.

Which other program binary files versions (Filename and file size) of Starfish Sidekick or TrueSync Desktop?

 

[Zoltan627]

I checked my machine, I looked in C:\Program Files\Starfish\Sidekick 98\Program and I could not find "TSDesktop.exe". I don't have TrueSync installed, so that could be why, or am I looking in the wrong location?

 

[kWkW]

Hello Zoltan627,

if there is no "TSDesktop.exe", how is the main executable binary file called in Starfish Sidedick 98? (And how long is this file?)

 

[BowRowser]

In Sidekick 98, the executable is sidekick.exe, and it 2,860 KB

 

[bigdent]

kWkW- TrueSync Desktop is actually a scaled down version of Sidekick. SK98 was the most powerful version Starfish ever published. Later versions, including SK2000 and TrueSync Desktop, had the identical skin, but eliminated a number of useful features (including a phone dialer, which I still use all the time). SK98 had a Y2K bug, which caused it to crash on 1/1/2000. Starfish first offered the SK98 users a free "upgrade" to SK2000, but most users objected. Then they put out a Y2K patch for SK98. If you are going to tackle the current problem, you may want to consider upgrading back to the full-featured SK98. It think the install files and the Y2K patch are still available on this site.

 

[Zoltan627]

kWkW- if you can't get the install for SK98 and the patch, I have it and can burn you a CD.

 

[bigdent]

kWkW-

I would like to comment on your post of Jan 29. Let me see if I understand this correctly:

When a date is entered into the ToDo module of TrueSync Desktop("TSD"), TSD uses "micrdate.dll" to convert the ASCII date to a UNIX format binary number starting at 1/1/1900. TSD then parses this number into the year, month and day protions. Then, in order to shorten the number of bits required in each date entry, it subtracts the binary value for 90 from the year portion.

The resulting binary year number is 4 bits, with 1990 = 0000 and 2005 = 1111. The problem is that 2006 becomes a 5 bit number, 10000, which TSD mishandles. It looks like TSD is taking the first 4 bits only, so 10000 becomes 1000, which TSD interprets as 1998.

Presumably, when TSD wants to display a date value, it converts the TSD date format back into UNIX format and uses "micrdate.dll" to convert it back to ASCII format. To do that, it would have to add back the binary value of 90 to TSD's 4 bit year register.

The simple fix would seem to be to change the binary value of 90 to the binary value of 100 in the TSD subroutines for date input AND date output. TSD would count years from 2000 rather that 1990. This would postpone the problem for another 10 years!

If this fix works, I would assume the same fix would work in the earlier Sidekick programs, which undoubtedly uses the same date module.

 

[kWkW]

Hello bigdent,

you are right: If one changed the year base from year 1990 to year 2000 (in every function operating on the weird dates), one would have another 10 years. However, the meaning of current date entries would change (so, for example, old ToDo entries would become new ToDo entries).

But even if that was not a problem, I'm currently unable (lack of time) to locate every function which translates ToDo due dates to various other date formats (like to the "micrdate.dll" date format or the date format used to display the due date in the due date column).

 

[jsc1]

Had to add my two cents here. I to, have been looking for an SK98 replacement for years. Actually, on my home and work machine, I have both SK98 and SK97 installed, because only SK97 can export the Cardlog field that I am so dependent on. I take that exported file, clean it up in a macro in Ultraedit, import it into Excel, reduce the Cardlog field to 255 characters, and re-export it into an abbreviated tab delimited file which I then suck into another obsolete piece of software, dbNow, for my Handspring Visor. I've got at least 15 years of names and addresses, and Cardlog notes totaling 3400 records. Yes, I'm getting VERY nervous that the clock is ticking and NOTHING comes close to Sidekick. I'm at the point that I only use the Address book and Notes functions, but there is nothing on the market that I can find that works as well as SK97/98. EVERYTHING is either fixed Outlook format, or such a memory or disk hog that it is useless, especially for 3000+ records. I've tried some that created a 15meg file, where Sidekicks was 1.5meg. Talk about bloat!

Yes, I'd love to see a Sidekick replacement. Just make sure the fields are all flexibly named (not like SK99), and that the Cardlog can be exported.

BTW, just before I found this thread, I tripped across a company by the name of "Satori Labs" (

http://www.sartorilabs.com),

who claim to have had some involvement with "REX and REX PRO PDAs, Sidekick PIM, TrueSync Plus synchronization engine and web-based PIM server" in their background. I wonder if someone there would help with this project, or shed some light on the possibility of updating Sidekick???

 

[jsc1]

Sorry, link above should be

http://www.satorilabs.com/

 

[kWkW]

Hello jsc1,

maybe it just suffices to ask some people of
[ul]
[li]Roy Feague (Starfish development team leader)[/li]
[li]Philippe Kahn (Starfish founder)[/li]
[li]Sonia Lee (Starfish founder) and wife of Philippe Kahn[/li]
[/ul]

Lee and Kahn should be reachable by this e-Mail-Address: info@lee-kahn.com


Maybe we simply should cooperatively write a request by which we ask for
[ul]
[li]source code accesss to or[/li]
[li]source code release of or[/li]
[li]at least a bug fix release of[/li]
[/ul]
SideKick|TrueSync Desktop. This request should be drafted in a Wiki. This request should be "signed" by Names (maybe also e-Mail addresses). The more signers, the better. After some signing time, somebody should submit this petition to Sonia Lee and Philippe Kahn.


(Another approach is to get one of them at the phone and ask them gently. This might have a higher success rate, as talking with people and listening to their needs generally has a higher success rate. For me, phoning with them is difficult, as I'm not a native English speaker.)

(Sources:

http://www.satorilabs.com/company/bios.html

http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee380/9798spr/lect01.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Kahn

http://www.lee-kahn.org/htm/B_contact.htm

)

 

[jeffbeal]

I am glad to see so many top notch people working on this. My offer still stands- i.e. willing to pay for the fix.

 

[Gyula]

Re: Philippe Kahn, Starfish & Sidekick

Please note that Sidekick preceeded Startfish (and Windows). It was one the first DOS PIMs created and marketed by Borland. At this time Philippe Kahn was the head of Borland and Borland was a major player in the pre-Windows software world. Their principal products were the Paradox db program, Quattro Pro spreadsheet program and numerous high-end programming tools. Like dBase and WordPerfect(and my favorite wordprocessing program, Office Writer)Borland was not able to successfully make the transition from DOS to Windows. The company shrank and one day Philippe was no longer the president. He then went on to start-up Starfish. Sidekick "went with" Philippe to Starfish. Starfish then developed the Windows version of Sidekick (even though I'm not positive about this fact) and then subsequently brought out SK 97, 98 and 99.
Thus, to further confuse and complicate the "ToDo" issue, the original kernel or module might actually still be the-written-in-DOS (by Borland) and just tweaked by Starfish for Windows. Furthermore Borland might also have some rights to Sidekick.

 

[jimalex]

I am still trying to find someone who had anything to do with the source code. Alan Reiter, President of Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing an ex-Sidekick user has been helpful and my current hopes are on Philippe Kahn, who founded Starfish.

 

[tilltek]

I think most of us would not complain at chucking $50 into a kitty to develop a new Sidekick 98 (look and feel with improvements),
The question is, how to we do this?
I'm not going to send a cheque off to someone who says "Pick me, I can do it".
We would need some sort of body or trust worthy foundation or.....?
Aussie Ken
"Far, Far Away"
CAMIGUIN

 

[bigdent]

Getting the current bug patched may be possible, but getting SK upgraded and supported for the future is probably a pipe dream. The long term outlook for SK is dim. No one wants to deal with cumbersome legacy code. It may not run at all on the next version of Windows.

A better long term solution is to get the features that make SK so useful and powerful incorporated into a currently supported PIM. The best candidate I have found is Time and Chaos. I evaluated this program about a year ago, but found difficiencies that sent me back to SK. But I see that they just came out with T&C Version 6 in January.

http://www.chaossoftware.com/chaos6/

It already had a lot of the features I liked about SK, such as a good all-in-one desktop view and a phone dialer. Judging from the web site, T&C Version 6 may address many of the deficiencies: User configurable fields, drag & drop Contacts into Calendar or ToDos, mailing labels, email interface with Outlook, faxing, etc.

Most importantly, this company seems eager to support and improve improve their product. I plan to download and evalaute T&C Version 6 as soon as I find the time (which is hard). I recommend that other SK/TSD users do the same and post any deficiencies here. See James33's post of 7/11/05, this thread, for a good checklist. Then we can contact the product development team at Choas Software. My guess is that they will be eager to improve their product. By Version 7, we may have everything on our wish list.

 

[BowRowser]

There is something very poignant about seeing --not just users like myself-- but experienced programmers assiduously applying bits of duct tape and patch code here, there, and here again, trying to keep a pre-Windows era piece of software alive, simply because nothing else can come close to it in plain usefulness. That alone makes one want to root for the continued survival of the jurry-rigged beast.

But the plain truth is that I'd quickly (and with a fond, farewell look over my shoulder) ditch Sidekick for a more future- (hell, I'd settle for present-) compatable alternative; and while I'd gladly shell out $50 bucks for a Sidekick patch solution, I'd rather throw that towards a proper "contemporary" program, provided that it had the features desired.

I wound up on this forum after first thinking that there just HAD to be SOMETHING out there, researching the terrain, downloading and trying out three or four of them, and giving up in disgust and amazement. I don't have the free time to be installing/uninstalling unsuitable potential Sidekick replacement suitors; but I will give a look at Time & Chaos, since you've taken the time to mention it.

 

[jsc1]

I haven't seen anyone mention something that I heard a long time ago. Supposedly, Windows Sidekick (the first version for Win 3.1), came from a shareware program called "Yourways". It did not evolve from the old TSR Sidekick. I've searched for this "Yourways"/"Yourway" etc., and could never find any mention of it. It does seem like when you want to, the Internet can swallow information into oblivion. I was hoping that if I could find the original shareware version, the author might be still developing it, but as such, I haven't been able to find a thing.

Anyone else hear of this?