The GoldMine - Presidio CRM Blog

Google Sync Service Discontinued -- Not as Bad as It Sounds

"Google has announced it will be shutting down Google Sync and Google Calendar Sync, as part of a blog post titled “Winter Cleaning”."

This announcement was on many blogs (see the links below) and technical sites after Google's announcement of December 14 stating that they would be removing Google Sync, among other offerings, from their list of services.

Actually, the ramifications for users who depend on Google to wirelessly sync their calendars and contacts (especially those using CompanionLink from GoldMine to Google) should be very slight.  That is, if you don't own a Windows phone.  If you have one of those,well, it's not so easy.  Microsoft does not equip their phones with CalDAV and CardDAV, just ActiveSync, so Google will no longer be talking to those devices, at all. 

Google Sync has already been removed for BlackBerry users.  This change happened in November 2012, primarily because Google found little demand for the service.  Now, that removal is extending to all devices. 

This time, the reasoning for the removal is rooted more in competitive market strategy.  Google Sync uses Microsoft Activesync technology.  Google pays Microsoft to license ActiveSync.  For a multitude of reasons, Google apparently does not want to do that anymore. 

Fortunately, there is an equally good, equally stable open-source standard for syncing both calendar and contact items.  CalDAV for calendar sync, and CardDAV for contact sync, is the standard that will be used by Google for syncing contacts and calendar items to their handhelds.  Both CalDAV and CardDAV are in place on most current devices.

Both of these standards are found on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5, and Android 4.0 and higher.  If you own an earlier handheld that has no CALDAV/CARDDAV client, you may be out of luck if there is no downloadable client for your device.  If you are using the GoogleSync client for syncing Outlook calendar and contact items with Google, this will no longer work after January 30 on new installations, but Google is claiming that existing instances will be unaffected. 

BlackBerry v6 enables proprietary contact and calendar sync using a similar approach through the RIM BlackBerry Internet Service, which works well.  Click Here for more information on setting up BlackBerry this way.

If you own an iPhone 4 or 5, you won't experience a problem-- you do have to set up carddav and caldav accounts and delete your Exchange account for syncing.  In fact, here is a link that explains setting up your iPhone to sync using CardDAV/CalDAV instead of Exchange/Google Sync. 

I tried this on an iPhone 4 and it worked perfectly.

None of this affects CompanionLink, which syncs your Outlook or GoldMine contact and calendar data to Google both ways.  As far as I can tell, you should not need to adjust anything on CompanionLink through this change.

As always, if you need any help, you can call on me, and I will update this Blog with new information.

Related articles

What the end of Google Sync means to you

Google Sync, Discontinued for Gmail Accounts

Google Dropping Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync: What Do You Do? | News ... - PC Magazine

Google ousting Sync support on January 30

Google dropping Exchange ActiveSync support for Gmail next month

Google Sync for BlackBerry Discontinued, Use BlackBerry BIS Instead

Google has ended its support for, and the life of the BlackBerry - specific product, Google Sync for BlackBerry.  The Sync server went offline at the beginning of November.  The announcement for the end of life is here.  This only came to our attention because so many BlackBerry users who depend on Google Sync for BlackBerry had the same problem around the same time-- it just stopped working!

BlackBerry users must now find another way to sync their Calendar and contact data wirelessy.  BlackBerry BIS now offers instructions for setting up sync with Google, using Blackberry Internet Service.  The full instructions are here: http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/KB24204 . 

CompanionLink and GoldMine continue to update your Google account without issue, so the problem really lies with reconfiguring the handheld BlackBerry.  It is true that once you have had wireless sync in place and operating, you typically do not want to go without it. 

Basic Synchronization Troubleshooting in GoldMine

GoldMine’s synchronization capability is tremendous, and many users and sites use sync to keep multiple copies of their GoldMine database on notebooks and remotely located desktops.  The advantages of syncing are numerous.  If GoldMine is installed on a notebook, you have a mobile version that you can take with you on the plane or wherever you go.  An indirect benefit of syncing is
that you have redundancy so that your data is never inaccessible or off-line.  If you suffer the misfortune of losing your data through a hardware failure or other calamity, your GoldMine system can be restored from your syncing or ‘undocked’ copy. 

So, it’s a good idea to have at least one undocked copy of GoldMine somewhere in your business.

That undocked copy needs to be kept up to date, and you do that through synchronization.  GoldMine
Synchronization has not changed over the years, and so this brief article on troubleshooting should help you whether you have the latest version or one of the older versions.

How GoldMine Syncs

GoldMine uses a “caller and listener” model for synchronization.  For every synchronization that occurs, there must be a system that ‘calls’ and a system that ‘listens’ for the caller and responds. 
On most GoldMine systems the undocked, remote or mobile system does the calling, while the main office server that hosts the main license for GoldMine does the listening.  Once the caller
contacts the listener, the listener authenticates the caller by verifying the license number and software version of the caller.  Once the listener authenticates successfully, it will accept the caller’s incoming data (called a ‘transfer set’)  and create a transfer set of its own to send to the listener. 

Both systems keep track of the date and time they last heard from each other and update their
respective databases accordingly.  Every new record, change to a record or deletion of a record is logged and tracked, with the objective being that both GoldMine databases should reflect the contents of the other, assuming that sync is set to sync all records and the information for all users.

Troubleshooting GoldMine Error 10061

The most common problem encountered with GoldMine’s sync is error 10061, which simply means that the caller is not successfully contacting the listener.  This always means one of three things:  either the listener is not listening, the caller is calling the wrong IP address, or something is blocking the caller from contacting the listener.  Let’s look at each. 

 Cause #1: "Listener not Listening."

You will need to have access to the listening system to troubleshoot this.  GoldMine listens for
remote callers in one of three ways:  As an application that is running on the desktop with the process monitor showing “Awaiting Incoming Call”; or in silent mode on the system tray, again showing a process monitor running with the same message; or as a service.  With the first two ways, you can check the process monitor.  It needs to state “Listening for incoming IP Connection” to show that the listening process is active, as shown below.

If there is no sync agent running, the listening process may be running as a service.  To check, go to
the Start button and type ‘services.msc’ in the search field (Windows7, or the run field (XP)).  You’ll get a services window, showing all the services running on your system.  Scroll down and look for ‘GoldSync’...

The service may show that is started, which would be normal, or it may show nothing.   The absence of the “Started” label means that the service is not running.  Right click on the entry, select
start, and see if the service will start.  Often with GoldSync the service will say “starting”
which is untrue;  the service WAS starting at one point and then did not. 

The only way to remove this is by uninstalling and reinstalling the service from the GoldSync Admin center.  If the service will not start, or shows ‘starting’, likely there is a problem with
the permissions for that service which will need to be corrected.  You should call your solutions partner at this point for a fix, but you can still get synced up.  Read on.

If the service is broken, you can start GoldSync within GoldMine by going to the GoldSync Administration Center, and clicking on “Tools” and then “GoldSync Agent”.  This should start GoldSync within the application (check the process monitor) and you should be able to synchronize.

If you cannot get GoldMine to run the sync service (i.e., it will not appear in the GoldMine Process Monitor window), try restarting the system.  If that fails to resolve, you should remove the server and services from the GoldSync Administration Center (right click and delete the server and services after noting the service names). Then recreate them by right clicking on "Servers" in the GSA and selecting 'new'.  GoldSync will pick up the name of the machine you are on as the machine to run the GoldSync service.   Sometimes GoldSync loses track of the correct server name, and recreating it will resolve
this. 

Still Not Syncing? Cause #2: Something Blocking

If you have checked the service and it appears to be running, you can now turn your attention to the second common cause of sync problems, something blocking the caller from calling the listener.  This is often due to firewalls being put into place, or your VPN client not being connected. With firewalls, there are known problems between GoldMine’s sync service with ESET and AVG, Norton 360, and
Kaspersky, among others.  To test, disable your firewall on the listening and the calling system and retry.  If you see the process monitor on either system become active with “Sending Serial Number”, “Receiving Serial Number”, “Sending Serial Number Result”, you have sync running! 

To resolve the problem permanently, you must ensure that your firewalls allow for the transmission and reception of data through TCP port 5993. 

With a VPN client not connecting, this will require more troubleshooting of your VPN, of which there are many types.  Since we use and recommend Hamachi VPN quite often, we will continue with a few tips on that product.  If you are using Hamachi, you need to ensure first of all that Hamachi VPN is running on both the listener and the caller.  If everything is OK with Hamachi, you will see a small blue circle on your system tray, with 3 white dots and a white outline, as shown.

 Double-click the Hamachi icon to maximize the Hamachi client.  You should see a green light on
the top of the display for your own system, and a green light for the system you are attempting to connect with.  If greyed out, amber or red, you have a problem with the VPN connection.  Often restarting the system(s) (if possible) will resolve the problem.

Firewall and VPN connection problems don't seem to be it?

Cause #3: Wrong IP Address

 The listening system IP address is referenced each time the calling system starts up a sync session.  While there are numerous ways for your GoldMine listening system to allow contact (routed to an external port, using the native IP address, using a VPN) it all amounts to the same thing:  the calling system MUST have the correct IP address before anything can happen.  Verify the IP address your calling system is using by either watching the Process Monitor and noting the IP address it is attempting to reach there, or by going to the synchronization wizard and checking the IP address there.    Make a note of the address.

Now, on the listening system, go to a command prompt (CMD) and then type "IPCONFIG"; the IPv4 address will be something like 192.168.0.103 or similar.  This is just a local IP address, which would work if you are connected locally to the same network the listening system is on.  If the address your GoldMine system is calling is not similar to the above, your system is likely using an EXTERNAL Ip address.  You can verify the external address your listening system is using by going to a website such as www.whatismyipaddress.com .  Finally is you are on a VPN such as Hamachi, the Hamachi client shows the actual IP address of the listening system in the client window.

So, once you've verified that the sync service is running,  firewalls are not blocking, and you are dialing up the correct IP address, you've pretty much exhausted basic troubleshooting.  Hopefully though, the problem is one of those listed above.  If that's the case, these few steps may save you some money and time.

What's the History of Mobility?

The announcement by HP's CEO last week that the HP TouchPad would be removed from the market due to low adoption got me thinking more about where things are headed with mobility.

That announcement, combined with the various recent facefalls experienced by RIM, the makers of BlackBerry, have me wondering what a monolithic world of iPads and iPhones will look like.  Of course, for years the tables were largely turned.  Apple, despite its innovative approach to personal computing and track record of really good products, was the also-ran in the workplace.  The IBM-PC (as it was known in the 1980's) or PC compatible device ran on MS DOS, and then MS Windows, and businesses standardized on it.  Apple couldn't gain a foothold.

Now, 20 some years later, the tablet battles have drawn blood from many players, with Apple (it would seem at this point) prevailing.  The iPad now occupies 17% of the mobile device market.  The iPhone, another 34%.  The only device family approaching this level of Marketshare is Android at 36%.  Comparatively, BlackBerry now holds a paltry 2% share, and the ill-fated WebOS (Palm Pre, HP TouchPad) another 2% or so.

So, in my estimate, this makes a buying decision pretty simple, but troubling.  Look at Tablet prices, and you'll see that the iPad is at the top of the price hierarchy, but there's a reason for that. It's the one everyone wants.  The problem is, there is only one manufacturer (Apple) that can make that product.  I don't know about you, but that bothers me.  Still, I want an iPad.

Although the timeline below is missing a few points, it's interesting to see the evolution that got us thusfar.  The market share stats I quote above can be seen in the timeline's current-day perspective.  Enjoy!

History of mobility: http://www.companionlink.com/blog/2011/08/a-history-of-mobile-productivity/

Use GoldMine from Your Tablet or Phone

If you need an easy, realtime way to access your GoldMine system, including calendar, contacts, e-mail, and all the other functions that you use from your personal computer, W-Mobile is a great option.  I know I've mentioned W-Mobile before, but it keeps getting better.  The new version offers two different interfaces, including one that replicates the GoldMine PE interface!  It can be used on larger screens, such as a tablet or a notebook, and gives you mobility and easy access without synchronization and without having to install all the software (GoldMIne and SQL Server) required for an 'undocked' copy of GoldMine.

The cost of using W-Mobile is very competitive at $259.00 per user, plus annual maintenance.  Installation takes 1-2 hours in most environments.

This new video describes it well.  If you have questions, or if you would like to try the 30-day free trial of W-Mobile to make sure it fits well in your business, we can arrange that as well.  Until the end of August, we're offering an additional 10% off W-Mobile if you decide to purchase at the conclusion of your trial.  Contact me for all the details.

 

New iGoldMine 9.0 Available Now

 

I am often asked if there is a SaaS (Software as a Service) version of GoldMine.  Cloud-based CRM applications, such as Salesforce.com, are often attractive to those who want web-based access from anywhere to their CRM application.  While GoldMine remains as an 'on-premise' application for now, iGoldMine provides an inexpensive means to 'publish' GoldMine (and many other of your legacy, on-premise applications) securely to the web. 

iGoldMIne enables browser-based, or thin-client access to GoldMine.  Released in July 2011, iGoldMine 9.0 is an updated offering of iGoldMine that accommodates the movement to high performance, 64 bit operating systems and tablets.

iGoldMine 9.0 supports 64 bit Server Operating Systems, such as Windows Server 2008 R2.  64-bit server operating systems offer higher performance and responsiveness and is not limited by memory- a 64-bit server will make use of as much memory as the server can access.  Older, 32 bit systems are limited to operating in 4 GB of memory. 

Accessing GoldMIne from an iPad?  Yes. If you have an iPad, there is an app available-- so you can now run GoldMine on an iPad.  The App itself is available in the iPad App Store as a free download. It is not a FrontRange-branded client and is not formally tested or supported by FrontRange at this time. For further information, see: http://itunes.apple.com/app/go-global/id441263366.

If you have remote users synchronizing undocked copies of GoldMine, you can reduce costs by centralizing GoldMine through iGoldMine.  Accessing real-time data from one centralized database eliminates informational delays and best of all, eliminates synchronization headaches-  because there is no synchronization required with iGoldMine.  iGoldMine gives remote users real-time access to GoldMine, and an additional 29 applications via the web.

iGoldMine is available at $995.00 for 5 licenses (plus $65.00 maintenance per seat) , so it’s economical compared to other remote technologies.  In the month of August, installation for 5 users is just $99.00.  You can try a full featured evaluation of iGoldMine for 30 days by registering with us at info(at)presidio.ca , or call the toll-free number:800-218-7778.

Synchronize GoldMine from Anywhere Using Hamachi

 

If you are an undocked user of GoldMine, you synchronize your data back to a central GoldMine system somewhere.  In order for GoldMine to synchronize, you must have two processes ( your system connecting to a remote sync process;  the remote system sync process listening and responding to your system sync process) communicating over TCP/IP between two valid IP addresses.  In a local network, this is not normally a problem and is easy to configure.  Once you leave your office environment though, things get a little more complicated. 

In order for synchronization to occur from a distance, you will either need to have a VPN established, or a router needs to be set so that there is an available port, forwarded back the same port on the GoldSync system.  Both approaches have their pros and cons, and have one thing in common-- if you're someone who doesn't know how to set up a VPN or forward ports on a router, you're out of luck. 

With Hamachi from LogMeIn, you have an alternative.  Hamachi is a very easy to set up VPN system that is quite secure and allows you to sync from virtually any location.  It requires no special settings on a router or series of routers, works with firewalls, and is easy to setup and configure.  As a bonus, you can even (if you want, and have access to shares on the remote system) transfer files to and from the remote system using Windows Explorer. 

LogMeIn Hamachi2 is a hosted VPN service that securely connects devices and networks, extending LAN-like network connectivity to mobile users, distributed teams and business applications. You can easily create secure virtual networks on-demand, across public and private networks.

There is a nominal cost to purchase the commercial version of Hamachi.  The non-commercial version is free.

Click here for a video that explains Hamachi.

Ready to download and try it out?

Read more: http://download.cnet.com/LogMeIn-Hamachi2/3000-2651_4-10605260.html#ixzz1NUiDdngi

SP1 for Windows 7 Has Arrived...

 

Windows 7 has been since its release notable for ease of use and lack of serious, show-stopping bugs.  Nonetheless, it has its share of warts, and Microsoft has now released SP1 for Windows 7.  This Service Pack may cause problems with versions 8.00 to 8.03 of GoldMine PE.  Although I have not encountered this, other partners are indicating that the User Account Controls are modified in this SP and may cause GoldMine to hang or otherwise be unusable.  The temporary workaround is to disable UAC in Windows 7 SP1.

More information on the release of this update is available from Microsoft here.

A review of the new SP prompting this post is on Lifehacker.  Check it out.

For additional information about other aspects of the release, see the following documents:

• Hotfixes and Security Updates included in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194725)
• Notable Changes in Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194726)
• Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 and Windows 7 with SP1 
• Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta Test Focus Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194727)

 

 

 

"My BlackBerry Reads E-mail to Me While I Drive" - This Could Be You!

I found this very cool little app for my BlackBerry last week (Thanks, James!) and thought I would let you know about it, since it is so useful.  It is downloadable for free from the Blackberry Apps store.

The app is Drivesafe.ly: http://www.drivesafe.ly and it provides a speaking voice that reads the subject line, the sender name, and the first few words of the e-mail or text message to you. It's very useful while you're occupied with driving, of course, since you cannot and should not be playing with your smartphone while driving. However, it happens.

This way, you at least know if you should pull over to make that important call or act on an important message. It's free, though there is a "pro" version that reads more of the message and has additional features. However, the free version, barebones as it is, works just fine for me. Also available for Android, but not yet for iPhone or MS phones. 

Just remember to turn it off before walking into any room with people in it, or you may be branded as a technogeek, or worse.

Wireless Sync for GoldMine Using Google Calendar and Contacts

  
 

For a long, long time now, we've been waiting for a reliable method of synchronizing GoldMine contact and calendar data to our handheld BlackBerry, iPhone, or similar type smartphone.  If you're a small business person with one to five other GoldMine users at your office, this is a very desirable function.  Your calendar can be updated, or you can update your GoldMine calendar, while you are on the road or otherwise away from the office. 

Unless you are working for a corporation that uses a corporate e-mail or enterprise server solution (such as MS Exchange or RIM's BES for Blackberry), you may be still connecting your handheld to your system via USB and pushing the big "sync" button to update your calendar and contact information in GoldMine and on your device.  While various offerings were available for wireless synchronization, they tended to be less than reliable and were often difficult to set up.

Google has been offering its online calendar and contact sync with Outlook since April of 2008, and it has become a mature product.  I have been syncing GoldMine 8.5 and now GoldMine 9.0 with Google for the past few weeks and find that it runs reliably and is relatively easy to set up.  Google itself will sync wirelessly with Blackberry, Windows Mobile Devices, and the iPhone.  

 

You can set up GoldMine to sync with Google through GoldMine's built-in Outlook sync wizard.  It's a little cumbersome, since Outlook then syncs to Google and retrieves updates from Google, which GoldMine then sync retrieves.   I ran my tests using GoldMine to Outlook, and Outlook to Google, bi-sync (both ways) and it worked fine. 

A more direct and simpler approach, particularly if you do not have or use MS Office Outlook, would be to use CompanionLink Professional and directly sync with Google from GoldMine, any version.  CompanionLink Pro is around $100.00 (if you don't already own C-L Professional-- if you do, just update it to a current release and the capability to sync with Google is in place).

The biggest downside to wireless sync is the additional load placed on your handheld's data transfer quantities and battery.  You will notice increased consumption of both, but you can minimize this by setting your handheld to sync less frequently or manually, that is, when you decide.  Either approach beats waiting to connect with an old-fashioned USB cable, but before starting out, make sure your wireless provider's data plan is not going to surprise you with a big bill at the end of the month.

You can get started by setting up a google calendar account (you do not need to be a gmail subscriber to have a calendar account).  Click here for More information on Google Calendar and to start an account.

Once you have your account set up, you can determine how you want to sync with GoldMine.  My vote would be for the CompanionLink path, since easy is always better.  If you already have CompanionLink Professional, you will need Version 3.0, Build 3087 or later, available at no charge from the updates section of www.companionlink.com.  If you do not have CompanionLink, you download an evaluation and try it out for 14 days at no charge. 

(If you go the freebie route and use Outlook to sync up to Google, be prepared for the inevitable delay and management overhead that goes along with setting up sync from GoldMine to Outlook, Outlook to Google, and finally Google to your device. However, be assured that it does work-- use the unattended GoldMine Server Agent to sync on a frequent basis with Outlook, and then set the Google/Outlook .) 

Setting up Google sync is really done in 2 steps.  First, GoldMine to Google.  You can log into to Google Calendar to see your existing calendar information.  Try updating a calendar entry in Google and viewing the synced GoldMine calendar reflecting that update.  This has to be working first before you move on to installing Google sync on your handheld device.  One word of warning-- you will need to ensure that your handheld is blank, if you don't want duplication to occur.  Wipe out your calendar and contacts on the handheld prior to syncing with Google. With a Blackberry, for example, this can be done by using the Blackberry Desktop manager program.   One word of warning-- your intial sync of contacts will take some time, and bandwidth-- the larger your database the longer it will take.  (Perhaps its time to ask yourself about giving that GoldMine database a haircut?  But then again, that's a different discussion)

To set up your handheld with Google Sync, go to the list of supported handheld devices.  Once you have your particular handheld set up with the sync function back to Google, you will be ready to sync wirelessly, just like the big dogs.