To some people, the most important data are contacts, calendars and events. This kind of data should be recorded the moment you encounter them, in your trusted devices, or they will be gone for sure.

It's been proven over and over again that a normal human just can't rely on their brain cells to store hundreds (or thousands) of contact entries without losing most of them. If you don't believe me, try to recall 50 phone numbers and emails of contacts that you've met in the previous month.

Unfortunately, in the multiple gadgets environment that we live in today, it's almost impossible to always enter data to only one device. Synchronization applications are essential unless you are willing to constantly copy and paste the data manually across different devices.

Working On The Windows Side

Problems arise when you have to synchronize data between 'incompatible' devices such as Mac machines and Windows machines. Even though there are signs of a truce between these two giants, they have been incompatible for so long that people are not even trying anymore.

It turns out that there is a free solution to sync your contacts, calendars and events between Macs and Windows PCs. SyncMate is the name and multiple devices synchronization is the game. We have discussed the Windows Mobile sync capabilities of SyncMate before. There's even the giveaway. This article is going to look at the use of SyncMate to sync data between Mac and Windows.

The first step would be to download and install the Windows-side SyncMate client.

Then after the installation process, you have to give the app permission to go through your Windows Firewall. Only check the "Private Networks" access as it's not recommended to access your private data through public remote access.

Then SyncMate is ready to connect. Please take notes of the used Port, Password, and IP address from this settings window. You'll need the data later.

The Other Side Of The Story

Now let's look at the Mac side of the story. Assuming that you have downloaded and installed the app, your first step would be to create a new connection. Choose "Windows PC" and click "Continue".

Enter all the data that you got from the previous SyncMate Windows client: the IP address, the Port, and the password. Then click "Continue".

The next window allows you to change the image and name of the connection. Click "Finish" after you've done.

The newly created connection will appear on the top bar of the SyncMate window along with your other already existing connections.

At the side of the main SyncMate window, you can see all the available plugins. Please note that the free version of this app has only two plugins available: Contacts and iCal. This is enough for syncing your contacts, calendars and events between the two computers. If you need other functionalities - like folder synchronization, you can upgrade to the paid "Expert" version.

When you select one of the plugins, the settings will be available on the main pane of the window. The "Contacts" settings allows you to choose the direction of the sync and what groups of contacts to sync.

The iCal settings also allow you to choose the sync direction, and the calendar to sync.

Besides that, you can also determine the time span of the events to be synced.

Should you need to change the connection settings, you can do so from the "Connection Settings" plugin.

When all the settings are done, the only thing left to do is to click the "Sync now" button at the top right of the window.

The sync indicator will appear, and all you have to do is wait for your data to be synced and then appear on both computers.

Final Note

I've tried to use the app to sync my Mac to two different Windows machines, but only one was successful. I am still investigating the reason and I haven't got the chance to try the process on other machines.

Have you tried SyncMate to sync your contacts, calendars and events between Mac and PC?  Was it successful? Do you know other free methods to sync contacts between Mac and Windows PC? Please share your experiences, thoughts and opinions using the comments below.