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My calendar sync solution for Mac & iCal
May 30th, 2009 | 1 Comment
Calendar syncing is an issue for anyone who works on a team, has multiple computers, or even just has a computer and a phone. It seems like it should be easy to keep appointments and events in sync among all of your devices, but so far there hasn’t been one solid solution to rise to the top of this market and woo the masses. However, that doesn’t mean the calendar syncing landscape is barren. There are a lot of good solutions available that each solve one piece of the puzzle. By putting the right pieces together anyone can create their taylor-made calendar syncing masterpiece. When I started looking for a solution I wanted something that would:
- Sync multiple iCal calendars from my Mac with multiple Google calendars (belonging to multiple Gmail and Google Apps accounts).
- Allow others to subscribe to any of my calendars (if I give them permission).
- Two-way sync over the air with my iPhone (I’m too lazy to have to plug in my iPhone every day).
- Not cost too much money.
I already used Google Calendars for different parts of my personal and professional life with different Gmail and Google Apps accounts. Another option would have been to use MobileMe, but I prefer Google Calendar because of its feature set and price point–free. One of Google Calendar’s great features is the ability to share calendars with other Google Calendar users. The first thing I did to get setup with a good syncing solution was to choose one Gmail account to have complete control over all of my Google Calendars. This same feature also lets me share calendars with other people allowing them to see the information but not make any changes to it.
Now that I had everything in Google under one account I just needed to find a way to sync that account with iCal on my Mac. There are a few options out there that do this, but the one I prefer is SpanningSync.
Some people don’t like the fact that all information runs through SpanningSync’s servers (as a privacy issue), but I actually like the fact that they operate as a service because they notice when things break and are very quick to respond. Also, I don’t really mind my calendar data passing through SpanningSync on its way to Google–if my data were too sensitive for SpanningSync I wouldn’t be sending it to Google in the fist place.
SpanningSync allows one Google account (Gmail or Google Apps) to sync any of its calendars with any calendars in iCal. It runs as a preference pane and includes a little menubar icon to show you when a sync is in process or if there has been a sync error. SpanningSync is a service so it is not free. But you get continuous support for that fee. Users choose to either pay an annual fee of $25 the first year then $15 each year after that, or a one-time fee of $65.
With my Mac and “the cloud” all synced up I just needed to throw my iPhone into the mix. The first solution I tried was the standard iCal sync via iTunes. This solution was quickly thrown out for a couple of reasons. First of all, the note field. For one of my jobs I use the note field in iCal to contain long lists of information about each event that I create. This fields syncs perfectly up to Google so I can view all of these notes online. However, for some reason iTunes cuts off the note field when it syncs iCal events to the iPhone. Since this information is critical to my job, I cannot use iTunes calendar syncing for my calendars.
Besides, who wants to have to use a cable to sync your phone and your computer these days anyway?!
So I started looking into alternate solutions for iCal/iPhone/Google Calendar syncing and I found Saisuke. Saisuke is a calendar replacement app on the iPhone. So, instead of opening the default calendar app on my phone I now open Saisuke instead. I first tried the free version of the app which is limited to 1-way sync (Google to iPhone only), 1 calendar only, and a shorter sync period. Once I felt comfortable with this solution I went ahead and paid for the full version ($9.99).
With Saisuke my iPhone and Google Calendars are always in sync. With SpanningSync my iCal and Google Calendars are always in sync. The total calendar sync cost of this solution: $65 + $9.99 = $74.99 (less than one year of MobileMe). Of course, MobileMe offers a lot of other features for that fee, but they are features I didn’t need so this solution was the one for me.
How do you keep your schedules in sync?
Dock rock!
May 29th, 2009 | Comments Off
When I first started to jump into the world of standards-based web design one of the guys I followed online was The Man in Blue (Cameron Adams). Aside from being a Javascript ninja, apparently he’s also a music video master… geek style. Here is a recent post of his with a link to the geek-chic video he made of his dock:
Russ asked what my dock looked like, so I made a 55 second video. (Turn your sound on)
dropbox iphone bring back simple view
May 21st, 2009 | Comments Off
I like to see how people end up here at my website. Most of the time the search terms people use to get here are pretty normal. However, sometimes they are kind of obscure. Today I saw a search term that landed someone on this post that was descriptive enough for me to guess the problem they were having that prompted their Google quest. I know because it’s a problem I have had as well.
The search term was “dropbox iphone bring back simple view” and I assume the problem was that they were surfing the Dropbox website on their iPhone and they switched from the iPhone-optimized view to Dropbox’s “standard view.” I love that so many sites give you this option because sometimes they strip out necessary features when designing an iPhone-optimized view. It is nice to be able to switch back-and-forth, except that in the case of Dropbox you can only go one direction. Once in the normal view there is no link to switch to the iPhone-optimized view.
Before I show you the solution on this one, let me say first that I submitted feedback to Dropbox about this after it happened to me and very quickly received a response saying:
Hello Ben,
I will pass your feedback about the iPhone issue long to the team.
We are always working on improving our service and adding new features and functionality so please keep using Dropbox and let us know if there are any other suggestions!
If there is anything else we can do to help just let us know!
Best,
David D
You have to respect a company with customer service like this. Now on to the solution. Simply point your mobile Safari window to the following URL: http://getdropbox.com/iphone
While it isn’t quite as good as a link back to the iphone version, it does do the trick and it’s super easy. Happy Dropboxing!
TextEdit, Dropbox, and my iPhone
May 13th, 2009 | Comments Off
I love TextEdit. For those who aren’t familiar with TextEdit, it is essentially Apple’s version of Microsoft’s Notepad (or more accurately WordPad). With Quicksilver installed I am only one quick keystroke away from having a new document open and ready to receive whatever information I need to throw at it–a phone number, a quick list, whatever. Combine this with Dropbox and those files are now accessible from anywhere–even my iPhone! Sound too good to be true? It is. Amazingly, the iPhone won’t read TextEdit documents. But don’t fret, this story has a happy ending that is sure to up your productivity and mobility.
Must-have Mac apps pt. 2
May 6th, 2009 | Comments Off
I hope you are enjoying all of the apps that I listed back in part 1 because surely you’ve already read that post and downloaded those life-changing gems. This set of apps is a mixed bag of goodies that I think you will find useful. The theme today is free–something I don’t think anyone will complain about. So get your download button ready. Here we go…
6. Dropbox (free*)
Dropbox is a web service that integrates with your Mac seamlessly. It walks the line between being (1) file sync, (2) file sharing, and (3) cloud storage/backup. Basically, once you sign up for your free account you have 2 GB of space on Dropbox’s servers. Install the Dropbox app on your Mac and you will see a little icon in your menubar and a new folder called “Dropbox” in the sidebar of your Finder windows. All you have to do is drop a file into that Dropbox folder and it will immediately sync up with your online account. Why? Once that file is online you can access it from anywhere through the Dropbox website. Just login and you will see a copy of every file you put in that folder.
But it doesn’t stop there. Dropbox comes with a folder called Public. Just put a file in this Public folder, right-click on it, then choose “Dropbox -> Copy Public Link.” Now paste that link (URL) into an email or chat window and the person at the other end can download that file. This is the super-easy way to share that large Photoshop file, zipped folder of images, or whatever you need to send to someone else.
It also has a Photos folder allowing you to upload pictures that will automatically become a photo album.
If you have someone you always share files with, or if you have two machines (maybe a desktop and a notebook) you can create a shared folder with any other Dropbox user. Anything you put in the folder will automatically appear in their copy of that folder as well.
Dropbox’s web interface shows you every file you (or anyone you are sharing with) have added, deleted, etc. so you can easily keep up with what’s happening to your files. It also works great in Safari on the iPhone. Dropbox is free with 2 GB of storage (*or you can upgrade your account to 50 GB for just $9.99/month or $99/year). It works on Macs, Windows, and Linux.
7. Skype (free*)
We all know iChat has video capabilities. However, iChat is not always smart enough to get through pesky firewalls in places like hotels, schools, or conference centers. So how is a person expected to keep in touch with loved ones at home while out on the road? Why, Skype of course.
Skype is an online communication tool. It allows a user to easily video chat, audio chat, text chat, and even send files to any other Skype user for free. Any user can also purchase Skype Out credits allowing that user to place calls to regular land-line phones. You can even buy a Skype In number allowing other people to call your Skype account using a standard 10-digit phone number (and local phone rates no matter where you are in the world).
While no tool like this is perfect, Skype generally performs well and is most definitely worth setting up on your Mac. You can even communicate with your non-Mac friends via Skype and use it on your iPhone (via WiFi). Make sure to check out the security preferences after you install. Skype gives you control over how public or private your information is, it’s up to you to actually use that power.
Skype is free for computer to computer calls (*Skype Out and Skype In are resonably priced if you need them) and is availabel for Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, and a handful of other devices.
8.Handbrake (free)
Ever want to rip a copy of that non-commercial DVD you just picked up onto your Mac so you can watch it without having to keep up with the bulky DVD case or risk scratching the disk? That’s exactly what Handbrake was designed to do. Handbrake allows a user to insert a DVD and rip it to the hard disk in a variety of formats and quality levels. It even includes several presets that keep you from having to know the right settings to get that perfect rip for your iPhone, AppleTV, or HDTV.
In the most recent version Handbrake has been expanded to allow conversion of video files. So, if your cousin sends you a video file in some crazy Windows video format you can just load it into Handbrake and make iTunes happy by converting it to the right Quicktime format. (For another video conversion option–it never hurts to have options–try Video Monkey for free.)
Handbrake is free but remember you should only use it for legal purposes. With great power comes great responsibility.
9. The Unarchiver (free)
The Unarchiver is one of those utilities that everyone should have in their arsenal but most people will never even know it’s there. It makes unarchiving any compressed file you find yourself downloading from the internet an automatic process. I like utilities that keep me from having to think and that’s exactly what this is. Trust me, you should download it and forget it. But trust that it’s there making your life a little less stressful.
10. iStat Menus and iStat Nano (both free)
If you like to keep an eye on how your Mac is performing you need an iStat product (or two). I always keep my memory and CPU usage in my menubar with iStat Menus. If I feel my Mac getting a little sluggish I can just glance up at my menubar and see exactly what’s going on. It even provides easy access to Activity Monitor so I can keep an eye on any applications that are hogging more memory or CPU cycles than they should.
But iStat Menus doesn’t stop there. If you want more Date & Time information than Apple allows in the Date & Time Preferences you can have iStat Menus show you that as well. You can set your own date/time format and even show multiple time zones. You can actually see just about any information possible about the state of your Mac such as temperature, fan speed, drives, network traffic, etc.
If you’re not sure you want all of that information taking up precious space in your menubar, then maybe the iStat Nano dashboard widget is for you. In a small footprint on your dashboard, this widget be default shows a brief overview of your system with things like CPU usage, memory usage, hard drive space, temperature, fan speed(s), network traffic, and uptime (time since last restart). However, just hover over the widget and a smorgasboard of information is immediately at your fingertip. You can get detailed information about anything listed above as well as things like battery life and current running processes.
Even if these aren’t things that you want to see now, consider that one day your machine might be running a little slow and you may want to try to figure out why. At any rate, both iStat Menus and iStat Nano are free, functional, and pretty.
Conclusion
Well, that’s it for another round of great, must-have Mac applications. I hope you enjoy each of these as much as I do. If you’ve got other apps that you just can’t live without I would love to hear about them in the comments.
Geek tip for Mac users: ajaxserver (Not Responding)
May 1st, 2009 | 2 Comments
I’m going to warn you up front that this is going to be a geek-only post. However, this is information that should live multiple places online so I’m going to post it right here on the ol’ blog.
I’ve been paying attention to my Activity Monitor on my Macbook Pro recently. This is mainly because I have felt like my computer has been using more memory than it should and the fans have been running a little more than I would like. I kept noticing this one process called “ajaxserver” that was always highlighted in red — meaning it was “not responding” or frozen. When I would stop it manually it would always come back and eventually turn red again.
A quick Google search later and I found the culprit and the solution. I’ve had this free app installed on my machine for a while even though I hardly use it. It’s called Hotspot Shield and it basically creates a secure internet connection wherever you are so you can feel more confident about checking your email and getting online on public WiFi hotspots. I usually keep it disabled because it slows down your connection a bit and because I don’t really know if I trust them any more than whatever hackers might be lurking around the local coffee shop.
Apparently, (according to some folks in the MacRumors Forums) Hotspot Shield is what keeps running this process called ajaxserver. When Hotspot Shield is inactive, the process stops responding. This apparently also has been making my fans run in overtime.
The solution? Either don’t run Hotspot Shield at all or keep it in its fully active state. My choice? I think I’ll just uninstall. (Note: According to this Apple Support Forum some people have had issues uninstalling it. I used AppZapper and haven’t had any issues yet.)
Hope that helps someone else down the road!
My favorite Twitter clients for Mac
April 29th, 2009 | 1 Comment
It seems today that Twitter has hit the mainstream. This means that there will be a lot more businesses using Twitter as a means to pimp themselves and there will be many more annoying people using Twitter to post every meal they eat and every thought they think.
However, this also means that the Twitter application market is much more attractive to developers. If more people are using the service then more people are interested in using applications to make their Twitter experience better. Let’s face it, Twitter’s web interface isn’t amazing. I’ve taken a few Twitter clients for Mac (and a couple for iPhone) for a spin and here are my favorites.
- Tweetie – Free with ads or $15-20 (also for iPhone)
- Twhirl – Free (requires Adobe AIR)
- Nambu – Free (also for iPhone)
- TweetDeck – Free (required Adobe AIR)
- Twitterific – Free with ads or $15 (also for iPhone)
- EventBox – $15-20
Things I look for:
- Small footprint with a lot of power
- Menubar icon or simple show/hide functionality
- Keep feed window on last read tweet when new tweets arrive
- Free option
- iPhone version
- Choices for URL shortening services and picture attachments
- Be beautiful and functional
What’s your favorite Twitter client?
Exporting your stuff from Evernote
April 22nd, 2009 | 5 Comments
I really like Evernote. I suggest it to a lot of people, especially anyone who owns an iPhone. Evernote makes it so easy to take a picture, write a note, or record some audio on your iPhone and retreive it later on your Mac, PC, or even online. This has so many potential uses from comparison shopping to simple reminders. However, as I was using Evernote the other day I realized one fatal flaw in the system. Evernote only exports “notes” as Evernote-compatible files. Why is this a bad thing? Let me share my experience…
Right now Shaun is in song-writing mode preparing for a new album and a new round of completely free songs. While at a church in Iowa the other day Shaun was messing around on the church’s piano and wrote this beautiful melody. A few hours later before the concert, it was completely gone from his head. In his own word, “I’m not too old to write music, just too old to remember it.” Hoping it would return to him I told him I would record it with my handy-dandy iPhone and then send it to him later. Sure enough, the following morning Shaun woke up and the melody had returned. I immediately opened up Evernote for iPhone, started a new audio note, and within a few seconds the melody was captured and sync’d up Evernote online. So far so good, but that was only the first step.
