How to fix Sync Services issue to wirelessly sync Outlook calendar with iOS devices using Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac

As of today, MobileMe stopped using Sync Services, Apple’s own platform for data synchronization between your programs and supported devices. As we pointed out, this has affected recently released Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 which relied on the platform to sync Outlook calendar with your iPhone. As a result, Mac people must physically connect their device and sync via iTunes, which kills the purpose of push calendar in the first place.

Alternatively, you can change your email client and go through the email server supported by the Mail app. Sounds like too much hassle just to keep your Outlook calendar and iOS gadget in perfect sync.There’s a workaround that lets you wirelessly sync Outlook calendar with your iOS device via Windows – on  your Mac.

You will need Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac to run Outlook for Windows side-by-side with your Mac programs, courtesy of the virtualization technology. Boot Windows inside Parallels Desktop for Mac and install the latest version of MobileMe Control Panel for Windows which supports calendar sync between Outlook for Windows and the MobileMe cloud. Unfortunately, Outlook for Mac had no such solution at the time of this writing. Run the MobileMe control panel applet from the Start > Control Panel menu. Provide your MobileMe credentials and click the Sync tab. Choose “Outlook” from the Calendars drop-down menu and hit OK.

It’s also good practice to set the applet to sync with MobileMe continuously.

This way, any changes made to your Outlook calendar will be immediately beamed to the cloud, which will in turn push them down to your authorized iOS devices and vice versa. Also, don’t forget to set up MobileMe account on your iOS device. Here’s how…

On the home screen of your iOS device tap Settings and then “”Mail, Contacts, Calendars”. Make sure Fetch New Data is set to Push. Tap Add Account, choose MobileMe and provide your MobileMe account information, then tap Save. You can choose whether to sync your MobileMe mail, contacts, bookmarks, notes and calendars. Naturally, we want to ensure that Calendars is turned on.

The outlined method, of course, requires you to manage your calendar in Outlook for Windows inside Parallels Desktop for Mac. You will also need a MobileMe subscription ($99 a year) because syncing won’t work with a free trial account. Happy syncing!
Source:- 9to5mac

Nielsen: iPad maintaining choke hold grip on the tablet market

Various market surveys pegged Apple’s share of the holiday tablet market anywhere from 75 percent to more than the 95 percent Steve Jobs claimed at the iPad 2 introduction last February. Research firm Nielsen is out today with a new survey that in fact shows Apple growing its US tablet share rather than decline amid more than two hundred tablets swarming the market. The survey, which was fielded in Spring 2011, shows Apple controlling a whopping 82 percent of the US tablet market.

    With new entrants like the Samsung Galaxy and the Motorola Xoom, the market for tablet computers is heating up in the United States, even though iPad continues to dominate the conversation – and market.
Interestingly, Samsung (four percent), Dell (three percent) and Motorola Mobility (two percent) devices collectively have nine percent market share, the same as the Other category. Other interesting observations reveal that tablets continue chipping away at other computing devices, namely our desktop and notebook computers…


One in four tablet owners spend less time playing game consoles and 32 percent use their notebook less often or never. More than one third of tablet owners (35 percent) use their desktop less often or never. The survey also shows the iPad and tablets per se cutting into sales of dedicated devices – 27 percent of surveyed consumers are using their e-reader or media player less often each after buying a tablet.

Nevertheless, dedicated e-book readers remain popular due to their e-ink display technology, low price and convenience. A recent IHS iSuppli report spells gloomy future for paper book printing as consumers turn to e-books.

On the other hand, makers of dedicated e-book readers are thought to be seeking ways to expand into the tablet market. Amazon is rumored to have an iPad challenger in the works and Barnes & Noble confirmed in their Form 8-K plans to release “a new e-reader device” on May 24.