SyncMyCal still one up on Google
Google just released an update to their Sync Utility a couple of days ago. The Google Calendar Sync Utility is a way to synchronize the Google Calendar with MS Outlook. Fans of Google Calendar have been clamoring for such a utility ever since the Google Calendar came on the scene. In the meantime, some people took up the opportunities to create their own utilities to sync between their Outlook and Google Calendars. One such utility is SyncMyCal.
I have used SyncMyCal for almost a year now and have been very happy with it all through this. So, I didn’t feel too bad when Google released their own utility. However, after having a look at the offering from Google it turns out that I would still go ahead and use SyncMyCal in place of Google simply because it offers so much more.
Here is a look at a comparison between the two utilities (picked up from the SyncMyCal site):
Given the fact that there will be a Contacts Sync option soon enough, I think that SyncMyCal is still the best bet.
Positives for Google
Of course, you can’t write off Google (heh). Their tool is free (SyncMyCal has a limited functionality free version). And it’s their API so they are probably going to come out better in the end.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:34 am
Well, I can’t say I’ve used either of those programs just yet… but seems like there would be at least one feature that Google’s app has over the other…. At the very least, adding a price field to the chart would make it more unbiased…
April 25th, 2008 at 12:45 am
@dan,
That one fact is mentioned right after the table. Under Google positives…
April 26th, 2008 at 8:58 am
No one has ever accused me of being a rocket scientist. That said, why would I post my calendars online?
April 26th, 2008 at 10:55 am
@Bill
Umm.. so that you can access them from anywhere?
April 27th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Hopefully at last I can now sync ALL my calendars, rather than just the “primary” Google calendar, which seems to be the first one I set up, and which I cannot change for my “Main” calendar, which is number 4 on the Calendar Management list, and whose position I am unable to rise in the listing.
I really need to sync ALL the various calendars. If they were not important to me, then why would I have bothered to set them up in the first place?
I travel internationally, and often need to work offline, updating ALL my details…
April 27th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
@Doug, you sure can, because SyncMyCal allows syncing from any Outlook calendar to any Google calendar, and you can setup multiple sync operations.
April 28th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I went to their website, but I don’t see a Blackberry calendar sync program like you discuss, only a Microsoft Outlook version. Since no-one uses MSOE on their handhelds due to its terrible insecurities and general dysfunction, I don’t see how this is news. Organizations use Blackberry, Notes, Exchange Server + BES, GCal, Sunbird, Apple Calendar, Yahoo Calendar… it doesn’t work with these.
April 28th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
@Georgia Tech – I didn’t mention that their program allows a sync with BlackBerry. Also, enough people use Pocket Outlook on their PDAs (and not just BlackBerry).
April 29th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Although I used the Google Calendar Sync, I’m just excited that I FINALLY got rid of Outlook altogether! Since I am NOT tired to a corporate environment, I do EVERYTHING (just about) “in the Cloud” with my little 2-person business and I can finally bypass Outlook with direct syncs for both my BlackBerry and my BlackJack II!
One thing, though, that I’ve found with ALL the sync programs I’ve tried…nothing is really “sync’d”–I have annoying duplicates/triplicates of everything!
Recurring appointments are made into individual events and duplicated.
The only “true” syncing I have done is with Palm…but I’m just about over Palm, too!
April 29th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
O-o-o-ps…that should be “tied to” no “tired”; although I sure was tired of Outlook and Microsoft!
April 29th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
@waterprise2
I do know that SyncMyCal handles recurring appointments pretty well.
Now that you are out of the whole loop, you need not use it of course
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:42 am
Here we go!!!
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:48 am
will be great an Option that could SYNC a databse to google Calendar, MySQL, MSSQL, etc.