Google on Monday formally announced full support for the CalDAV protocol along with the release of a small piece of software for Mac computers that lets users easily link up their Google Calendars with the iCal application.
Google had previously launched CalDAV support back in late July, however, consumers had to manually add their calendars directly to CalDAV-supporting applications like Mozilla Sunbird and Apple's iCal. The new Mac utility, named "Calaboration" simply lets users plug in their Google Calendar username and password to send Google calendars over to iCal. The benefit of doing this is the two-way sync. This means whatever changes you make on either end will be synced up to both every few minutes.
I gave Calaboration a spin this morning, and after restarting iCal, it worked without problems. With the current implementation you're able to see other people's schedules, as well as reply yes, no, or maybe to calendar invitations. The only problems I ran into early on were syncing errors where iCal would not let me write data to Google's servers, which was remedied with a closing and reopening of the program after the initial CalDAV setup.
You can grab Calaboration here. If you're a Sunbird user, there's a simple provider extension that does the same thing.
Calaboration lets you pick which Google Calendars you want to sync up with iCal. The same thing can be done in Mozilla's Sunbird or any other calendaring tool with CalDAV support.
(Credit: Google)Mac users who use Google Calendar and iCal to manage their on and offline calendaring have had to use a myriad of third-party products to keep the two in sync. That's changed now that Google is including CalDAV support as part of Google Calendar's built-in functionality. This means you'll be able to make changes in iCal and have them instantly reflected in Google and vice-versa. Previously that data swap was a one-way affair, with users simply subscribing to their Google Calendar feeds in iCal.
CalDAV is a standardized sharing protocol, allowing you to access the same set of data with others to edit and sync data changes between multiple users. On a workflow level, this means people with access to edit your Google Calendar will be able to make changes in both iCal and Google Calendar that will sync up with both.
To make use of it on a Mac you'll need the latest version of iCal, which comes with OS X (Leopard). It has native support for CalDAV subscriptions, as does Mozilla Sunbird, but Google says it's currently not supported.
One thing to note is that the current iteration of CalDAV support on Google's part is not perfect. The support article on known issues is somewhat lengthy, with show-stoppers like the inability to create new iCal calendars from Google Calendar, and reminders and alarms not moving to the other platform when created. Until some of those issues are ironed out, getting perfect sync will require one of the many third-party tools that does the legwork for you (see Calgoo, Spanning Sync, and Plaxo).
[via Google Operating System]
Calgoo, the Java-based app that syncs up your online and offline calendars (previous coverage here), launches its second version today, and has graduated from a closed beta to a public download. With the update comes support for iCal, Microsoft Outlook, and both tiers of Google Apps (free and premiere). It's also undergone a face-lift that makes it similar to Apple's iCal with a touch of Outlook.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Calgoo does require a small download, but what's nice is that you can create appointments and schedule your Google Calendar without going online. The next time you're able to connect, Calgoo will sync up your changes.
The one thing that seems to be missing from Calgoo is an e-mail client that ties in with Gmail. If you're used to Outlook for scheduling and e-mail it seems right to have both services in one place, and with Calgoo it's oddly absent. Since Google isn't providing an offline app for Gmail (besides POP3 support), it would be great to have it in the same place as your Google Calendar. In the meantime, Calgoo provides a great solution for pushing your Outlook calendar to Google Calendar without uploading giant CSV files.
GrandCentral, the cell phone enhancement service we covered last year, is adding really handy customizable instant call widgets to their service next week. The new widgets work a little bit like Jaxtr's widget we checked out in December. You can create customized voicemail widgets with personalized greetings for your callers. There are three different styles of widgets to choose from, and they can be placed on social networking profiles, blogs, or Web sites.
GrandCentral is also adding a way to share your voicemail with other people by letting you embed it like you would with their call widgets. There's arguably an issue of privacy here, but on more than one occasion I've received a voicemail that I've wanted to forward to friends and family without having to deal with the cumbersome voice interface from my mobile provider.
During the demo last night at O'Reilly's ETel Launchpad event, GrandCentral's CEO Craig Walker showed the use of the new widgets in an eBay auction, which actually looked like a neat way for potential buyers to ask you questions without having to disclose your personal number. Whether answering buyer's queries over the phone compared to e-mail is a good use of your time is questionable, but the interface is very slick.
GrandCentral still hasn't sorted out some of our original qualms by employing a mobile interface or a plug-in for calendar apps like Outlook and iCal to help manage call rules. Regardless, it's a compelling service for people looking to manage their phones for personal and business use.
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