BusySync
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Sync Services change in 10.7.4 disables BusySync, Spanning Sync
For many years, Sync Services has provided the backbone for synchronization of other devices to Macs running OS X. A change that was part of OS X 10.7.4 has apparently stopped iCal from pushing changes to Sync Services, breaking some very popular synchronization applications -- BusySync and Spanning Sync. The Spanning Sync official blog notes that: This bug also affects other sync apps including BusySync and Blackberry Sync. It's unclear whether Apple intends to fix this bug. Larry, Byron, and I don't want anyone paying for something that doesn't work, so we've decided to take the drastic step of temporarily suspending Spanning Sync sales. Over at the BusySync Google Group, the team notes that "any changes made in iCal will not be synced to BusySync. However, changes made on Google or other computers on your LAN that you are syncing with, will be synced to iCal through BusySync. So, the communication is one way -- BusySync can push information to iCal, but iCal won't push anything back." BusyMac, the folks who develop and market BusySync, have some solutions -- upgrading to BusyCal, their product that replaces iCal and BusySync; stop using BusySync and just have iCal sync directly to Google calendar (iCal > Preferences > Accounts); or go through a workaround described here that takes advantage of iCal syncing through iTunes. Regardless of the reason behind the changes in 10.7.4, John Chaffee at BusyMac notes that "... Sync Services is deprecated in Mountain Lion, so this may just be a hint of things to come. Everything is moving to the cloud." In other words, don't expect the old way of syncing to work going into the future. [Thanks to Danny Greer for the tip!]
Marketcircle gives orphaned NUDC users some love
A well-known software vendor is rushing in to help out Mac users who have become "orphaned" by the recent failure of Now Software. Marketcircle, developers of Daylite, have set up a web page on their site to help out existing users of Now Up-to-Date and Contact (NUDC) who may be looking for a new solution. The page starts off by noting that Daylite may not be the perfect solution for some NUDC users, and then details the similarities and differences between the applications. There are even instructions on how to customize Daylite to make it more familiar looking to NUDC users, and hints on how to make the migration between the two applications. To help ease the pain of moving to a new platform, Marketcircle is also offering a 30% discount on Daylite to former Now Software customers who are going to need a new application. Details on how to take advantage of the Daylite discount can be found here. Of course, Daylite isn't the only solution that former NUDC customers can move to; the original developers of Now Up-to-Date are the brains behind BusyCal and BusySync, and they have just reprinted a blog post about how to migrate your NUD information to iCal so that it can be used with the products of BusyMac software.
Ask TUAW: Syncing iCal, Mouse Keys, encrypted flash drives and more
This time in Ask TUAW we're tackling questions about syncing iCal between two Macs, using an encrypted flash drive in a cross-platform environment, changing default applications, using the keyboard instead of the mouse, and more.As always, your suggestions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X (we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!
BusyMac announces BusyCal
BusyMac, makers of the awesome BusySync, has just announced its newest offering: BusyCal. BusySync is a great way to share and sync calendars across a LAN and sync with Google Calendar. BusyCal is a calendar application with the BusySync technology baked in. The screenshots have BusyCal looking very iCal-esque (BusyMac's website even says to think of BusyCal as "iCal Pro"), but with some additional features: Display graphics, icons and themes Add sticky notes to your calendar and share them across your network Live weather feeds within the calendar Rich text support Multi-user editing/offline editing Sync with the iPhone via iTunes and Mobile Me Sync with Google Calendar Sync with other Macs on your network with Bonjour So the inevitable question is, "Why not just use BusySync or Google's Calaboration utility?" Because iCal's To Do lists don't work with Google Calendar. Specifically, you can't create a To Do for a calendar that is set to sync with Google Calendar. So if you are like me, that means you have to maintain separate calendars (often an identical calendar) just to keep a To Do list or have a calendar integrated with a GTD app. The beauty of BusyCal is that you can add more stuff to your desktop calendar without losing support for MobileMe or Google Calendar or Sync Services. BusyCal will require OS X 10.5 Leopard and will debut this Spring. Pricing is $40 US, but if you use BusySync already or buy it before BusyCal is released, the upgrade will be just $10 US. BusyMac is at Macworld 2009 and we'll be sure to stop by the booth and take a closer look.
Google Calendar CalDAV/iCal syncing now official
Although the plumbing has been in place since the summer, it's always nice to have an official announcement, and now we do: Google has gone on the record with its support for CalDAV syncing from iCal to Google Calendar. You can now gracefully sync your editable Google calendars with your (Leopard-only) iCal, keeping a local copy of those events in the cloud.Granted, both BusySync (which adds Bonjour-based iCal synchronization between Macs) and SpanningSync (which includes Address Book --> Google contact sync) have been handling this task with aplomb for some time, and they offer something Google hasn't -- a nice GUI for picking your sync options. That too has been addressed: Google Code is hosting the Calaboration sync setup tool, a basic checklist of calendars to add to your iCal setup.If you are syncing your iCal and gCal data via Google's support for CalDAV, let us know how it's going.
BusySync 2.0 ships, adds Google Calendar
After six weeks in beta (not long at all in Google-weeks), the new version 2.0 of iCal-sharing tool BusySync is out. The headline feature for 2.0 is of course the new iCal --> Google Calendar synchronization capability, which opens up a wide world of cloud-based options for families and workgroups already using the LAN-based sync of earlier versions. You can keep multiple iCal users synchronized (even on the same machine), sync remotely via Google, and more.There are plenty other options for syncing your calendars with gCal, but if you need to keep more than one user's iCal coordinated (think family schedules!) then BusySync may be the product for you, starting at $25 per seat. The guys behind BusySync have a long history with Mac calendaring (including creating the late great Now Up-to-Date, which actually saw its first update in over a year last week) and I've been impressed with the quality of the beta release. We'll do a head-to-head comparison of the iCal sync options soon.
BusySync 2.0 Public Beta
The BusySync 2.0 public beta is now open. We've blogged about BusySync 2.0 before (and we even managed to snag an interview with the developer during Macworld this year), so no doubt you are aware of the big ticket item: bidirectional syncing between iCal and Google Calendar.When BusySync 2.0 leaves beta it will cost $24.95, which is a $5 increase to the price, however, if you buy it now you get the old $19.95 price (and users of BusySync 1.5 get the upgrade for free).Thanks, Benni.
Show floor video: BusySync
BusyMac had a good thing going with BusySync 1 and 1.5: seamlessly share and edit calendar info across your home or business LAN using iCal. Version 2 (due next month) features sync via the cloud-- so you can sync a work and home computer, even if you don't work at home. There's also Google Calendar support in BusySync 2, which could be the holy grail many of us have been looking for. Mike does a quick run through in the video.
BusySync 2 to include Google Calendar to iCal capability
If you're iCal-based for your scheduling needs and you want to share calendars with family or colleagues, you're probably already hip to BusySync and the delights of iCal syncing Mac-to-Mac without a .Mac account. Now the BusySync team has announced a key feature for 2.0, shipping in February: Google Calendar synchronization. You should be able to share calendars across the internet with other Google Calendar users, and if they have BusySync on their machines the Gcal data will slide neatly into iCal for them.BusySync 2.0 will ship for $24.95 per computer, a $5 price increase -- if you buy a BusySync 1.5 license today for $19.95, you can upgrade for free to the new version. There's also a public beta on the way if you want to check it out.
BusySync updated to version 1.5
BusySync is a terrific utility that makes sharing iCal calendars easy across networks or the internet (we first wrote about BusySync in September). Simply install the preference pane on all participating Macs, and select the calendars you'd like to share. The next time you update a given calendar, your changes will appear across all machines. You can also make your calendars read-only or editable by everyone.I've been using it at my day job across departments and it's great. Version 1.5 adds internet synchronization. You can read the change log here. BusySync requires Mac OS 10.4 or later and costs $19.95 for a single license (multi-license bundles are available).
BusySync for iCal
When it comes to calendar sharing, we're certainly not short of options on the Mac. Do you use the (very excellent) Spanning Sync and use Google Calendar, or look for something a little more industrial and wait for iCal Server to ship with Leopard Server? Whilst both options may be tempting, for users on the same Local Area Network (LAN) there's BusySync, a new product that via the power of Apple's Bonjour technology makes it even easier to share calendars with read / write control.According to the BusyMac website "BusySync lets you share iCal calendars with family and coworkers on a local area network without a dedicated server and with full read/write access". BusySync has just entered Public Beta, with no word on pricing - and as someone who has Bonjour-loving LANs at home and at the office, this is something I'm going to almost certainly be playing with in the coming weeks.[Via Gus Mueller]
