MaxLink

I never tried MaxLink: I saw that it used the default Palm databases, which I had have been filling for personal uses for about 7 years, and decided it was a no-go. No matter what else they do, if they use the built-in Palm apps, then I don't want it.

Consider Chapura Key Suite chapura.com/keysuite.php
I tested the trial successfully a couple of months ago then got distracted and didn’t buy.

Here’s why it may fix your problems:

1. Chapura installs its own applications on your Palm. So you now your Palm’s home screen will have Palm's Appointment Book and Chapura's KeyDates or whatever they call it (and similarly for the other functions of Outlook).

You can keep syncing your Palm Desktop (or Franklin Planner, I believe) with the built-in Palm apps if you like. This keeps your private data private and minimizes synchronization conflicts.

2. I also think you might be synchronizing in which I will call, “round-robin” or “ground loop.”
Maximizer <-> Outlook
Maximizer <-> Palm

No matter what anybody says, this sounds absolutely guaranteed to cause a problem.

With Chapura you do the following:
Palm Desktop (or Franklin) Appointments <---> Palm Appointments
Palm Desktop To Do List <---> Palm To Do
Palm Desktop Address Book <---> Palm Address Book

Maximizer Appointments <---> Outlook <---> KeyDates
Maximizer Hotlist <---> Outlook Tasklist <---> KeyTasks
Maximizer Contacts <---> Outlook Contacts <---> KeyContacts


For added safety, consider whether you really need bidirectional synchronization. It’s much safer to do things like “Desktop overwrites handheld” unless you really need to enter stuff on the Palm (which I find cumbersome and largely unnecessary in the age of the laptop), and probably do something similar between Max & Outlook. If I want to add someone, I’ll just open my laptop. So now we have:
Maximizer Contacts <---> Outlook Contacts --> KeyContacts
Or even:
Maximizer Contacts ---> Outlook Contacts --> KeyContacts

Specifically about your problem with contact notes, please see if there are settings to disable synchronization of notes. I am sorry I can’t help further, but I haven’t played with that yet. I also

If I get a Palm link to Maximizer contacts (unlike appointments), it will only be to pump a list of a few contacts to call while driving. So I may soon experience your problem.

Thank you for your input. That looks like an interesting software, however I'm not quite sure how it would differ from the built-in Outlook Conduits that come with the palm update for Outlook 2007. The problem seems to be on the Maximizer end where all records are duplicated when one is changed in Outlook or Palm. I'm not sure that using an alternate conduit would solve this. I'm petrified to try since I already lost a week on the initial installation.

I did find an interesting work-around for contact specific notes. That is to enter the code [[pp]] into the maximizer note to have that note sync to the client on the hand-held. I'm not sure what happens if you do that simultaneously to two notes under the same contact. It is ok, but still, my Palm MEMO section remains conspicuously barren.

You're right; my Palm knowledge is outdated.

My main thought is to consider if you really need to enter data on the Palm or just view it.

Another thought is to cough up the $250 or so per user for MaxMobile CRM and switch to WindowsCE / PocketPC. Since Dell recently canceled the Axim line, your shopping should go pretty fast.

This application claims to run PalmOS applications under Win CE.
http://www.pdastreet.com/articles/2007/2/2007-2-28-Review-StyleTap-Run.html

I've never used any of this stuff, so I'm really talking from inexperience.