Google just came out with a new sync system for Google Calendar. That’s pretty good. It will sync your calendar in Outlook up with your online calendar on Google.
But if you have Plaxo I don’t see what this brings you. Plaxo syncs with more systems, not just Outlook and Google (I use Plaxo on my Mac too, so my iPhone’s calendar is always sync’ed up with my Google Calendar and Outlook.
What do you think? Why aren’t you syncing your calendars?
I have the same Plaxo issues as Richard. It syncs up my outlook, but reaccouring and updated appointment are always problems. If one meeting in a series of reacourning appointments gets canceled, Plaxo does not update correctly. It’s a pain. I’ll give the new Google tool a try and see if it does a better job at it.
Robert
My approach is to always use Google Calendar as the “input” and then subscribe to it from iCal on my various Macs (which then syncs it with my iPhone). Even on my iPhone Google’s mobile optimised Calendar page is fine for simple input.
Yes I lose the ability to enter data into my diary on the very few occasions when non of my divices such as Laptop, or iPhone have no connection.
However I’m saved Sync Conflict Hell!
Robert
My approach is to always use Google Calendar as the “input” and then subscribe to it from iCal on my various Macs (which then syncs it with my iPhone). Even on my iPhone Google’s mobile optimised Calendar page is fine for simple input.
Yes I lose the ability to enter data into my diary on the very few occasions when non of my divices such as Laptop, or iPhone have no connection.
However I’m saved Sync Conflict Hell!
I have the same Plaxo issues as Richard. It syncs up my outlook, but reaccouring and updated appointment are always problems. If one meeting in a series of reacourning appointments gets canceled, Plaxo does not update correctly. It’s a pain. I’ll give the new Google tool a try and see if it does a better job at it.
I use 30Boxes. If there is a sync for it with Outlook, I am unaware of it. But why do I need that anyhow? 30Boxes is available to me whenever I am at a computer.
Simple and works for me.
I use 30Boxes. If there is a sync for it with Outlook, I am unaware of it. But why do I need that anyhow? 30Boxes is available to me whenever I am at a computer.
Simple and works for me.
My question is…why bother using multiple calendars?!? I have trouble enough keeping up with one!
My question is…why bother using multiple calendars?!? I have trouble enough keeping up with one!
BuSync is by far the simplest and easiest way to do bi-directional synchronization between iCal and gCal.
http://www.busymac.com/
Unlike SpanningSync which has so many problems…
BuSync is by far the simplest and easiest way to do bi-directional synchronization between iCal and gCal.
http://www.busymac.com/
Unlike SpanningSync which has so many problems…
I gave up on the iPhone and went back to Blackberry because I needed some way to manage my calendar. Being on the mac in a company that uses Exchange and outlook (like most med-large corporate environments) is a pain. The new Panther mail app does a little better job of managing calendar items but its not realistic to think you can use it in real life.. Replying to invites, generating events and tracking participants, managing multiple time zones, delegating to an admin.. this is the stuff outlook and exchange do really well.. Entourage handles this pretty well too but putting MS apps on your mac is like putting coke in single malt whiskey. You just don’t do it.. And this calendar situation is the universal pain point for mac users at work.. so why on earth doesn’t apple fix it? come on.. give me seamless iCal integration and the ability to reply to outlook invites.. then sync it to my iphone over the air.. what is so freaking hard about that? Until apple wakes up, I am back on the corporate dweeb device.. ughhh..
I gave up on the iPhone and went back to Blackberry because I needed some way to manage my calendar. Being on the mac in a company that uses Exchange and outlook (like most med-large corporate environments) is a pain. The new Panther mail app does a little better job of managing calendar items but its not realistic to think you can use it in real life.. Replying to invites, generating events and tracking participants, managing multiple time zones, delegating to an admin.. this is the stuff outlook and exchange do really well.. Entourage handles this pretty well too but putting MS apps on your mac is like putting coke in single malt whiskey. You just don’t do it.. And this calendar situation is the universal pain point for mac users at work.. so why on earth doesn’t apple fix it? come on.. give me seamless iCal integration and the ability to reply to outlook invites.. then sync it to my iphone over the air.. what is so freaking hard about that? Until apple wakes up, I am back on the corporate dweeb device.. ughhh..
Is this FastCompany’s strategy for placing ads on your blog? Testimonials from the Scoble?
Is this FastCompany’s strategy for placing ads on your blog? Testimonials from the Scoble?
Agreed with Bob.
Agreed with Bob.
i haven’t synced my calendars because most of my time is spent at my desk at work, where i have to keep my work schedule apart from everything else. so i simply leave google calendar running in a tab in firefox.
i love the sync-ability of plaxo though, i did sync at home and i haven’t missed an appointment since. i’ll have to try out google’s new sync on a separate machine to see the difference
i haven’t synced my calendars because most of my time is spent at my desk at work, where i have to keep my work schedule apart from everything else. so i simply leave google calendar running in a tab in firefox.
i love the sync-ability of plaxo though, i did sync at home and i haven’t missed an appointment since. i’ll have to try out google’s new sync on a separate machine to see the difference
The problem with synchronization is that they don’t work as advertised. Maturity-wise, we’re just not there yet despite what Plaxo, Yahoo, etc. are saying. I can’t tell you how many times I had to de-duplicate my calendar entries because Desktop Outlook, Plaxo, Yahoo Calendar and Pocket Outlook just won’t play nice.
The problem with synchronization is that they don’t work as advertised. Maturity-wise, we’re just not there yet despite what Plaxo, Yahoo, etc. are saying. I can’t tell you how many times I had to de-duplicate my calendar entries because Desktop Outlook, Plaxo, Yahoo Calendar and Pocket Outlook just won’t play nice.
It’s a trust thing. I doubt Plaxo will exist in 5 years. I expect Google will be around far longer.
It’s a trust thing. I doubt Plaxo will exist in 5 years. I expect Google will be around far longer.
Plaxo can sync to many more services. This results in much more to maintain, and many more things that can go wrong. When you’re working with important stuff, this risk is not good. Keep it simple
Plaxo can sync to many more services. This results in much more to maintain, and many more things that can go wrong. When you’re working with important stuff, this risk is not good. Keep it simple
I agree with Andre in #35 I like the idea of the services and how they sell them but damn I hate removing dupes!
Great site by the way. I guess I’m not in the loop anymore as this is my first visit! But I’ll be back…
I agree with Andre in #35 I like the idea of the services and how they sell them but damn I hate removing dupes!
Great site by the way. I guess I’m not in the loop anymore as this is my first visit! But I’ll be back…
I’ll add my bad experience with Plaxo. It deleted a bunch of random contacts and I still haven’t recovered. I am a paying customer, but their support is the most frustrating kind of awful. It takes them 4 days to come back with a copy/pasted response that blames the user.
I actually liked the Plaxo functionality, but I would not trust my data to it.
I’ll add my bad experience with Plaxo. It deleted a bunch of random contacts and I still haven’t recovered. I am a paying customer, but their support is the most frustrating kind of awful. It takes them 4 days to come back with a copy/pasted response that blames the user.
I actually liked the Plaxo functionality, but I would not trust my data to it.
Robert, I know I’m a little late to this post, but to me Plaxo feels like an adware/spyware app. Oh, I’m sure it’s not but it just feels like one. I really felt nervous when I setup an account awhile back.
I use Spanning Sync myself, and it works great sync’ing my Google Calendar with my iCal events and visa-versa. Granted it costs money, but I think I would rather pay the money for something that feels safe rather than something that feels dangerous.
Robert, I know I’m a little late to this post, but to me Plaxo feels like an adware/spyware app. Oh, I’m sure it’s not but it just feels like one. I really felt nervous when I setup an account awhile back.
I use Spanning Sync myself, and it works great sync’ing my Google Calendar with my iCal events and visa-versa. Granted it costs money, but I think I would rather pay the money for something that feels safe rather than something that feels dangerous.
thank you for this…kept going back and looking at it, wasting time!
thank you for this…kept going back and looking at it, wasting time!
Robert, Thank you for this post. I’ve been searching for a solution to sync my calendars between work and home, PC and Mac. Plaxo has been working very well since I installed it after reading your post.
Robert, Thank you for this post. I’ve been searching for a solution to sync my calendars between work and home, PC and Mac. Plaxo has been working very well since I installed it after reading your post.
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I have set my Google calendar to sync my Outlook with my BlackBerry. It works great with one small problem… I am getting duplicates BIG TIME!!! HELP PLEASE!!!!! THANKS
I have set my Google calendar to sync my Outlook with my BlackBerry. It works great with one small problem… I am getting duplicates BIG TIME!!! HELP PLEASE!!!!! THANKS
Plaxo calendar sync between iCal and Google Calendar is nice.
Plaxo calendar sync between iCal and Google Calendar is nice.
Well I read thru all this and was surprised that no one mentioned the security aspect of using these sync programs with exchange/outlook. Whats the downside to using plaxo or google when it comes to securing your systems?
Well I read thru all this and was surprised that no one mentioned the security aspect of using these sync programs with exchange/outlook. Whats the downside to using plaxo or google when it comes to securing your systems?
Help. I have an imac and use ical on it. I now have a blackberry. I also have plaxo which I have liked but……I now have tons of duplicates on my ical and on my blackberry. The latter since I downloaded the google sync to my bb because plaxo won’t talk to my bb. Any help will be appreciated…..I’m ready to print out calendars, delete them all and start from scratch.
Help. I have an imac and use ical on it. I now have a blackberry. I also have plaxo which I have liked but……I now have tons of duplicates on my ical and on my blackberry. The latter since I downloaded the google sync to my bb because plaxo won’t talk to my bb. Any help will be appreciated…..I’m ready to print out calendars, delete them all and start from scratch.