Will iCal ever NOT be a complete disaster?

[badlydrawnboy]

I generally love Apple hardware and software. But iCal is a complete joke. I wish there was an alternative that syncs with iPhone & the cloud. I'd use it in a second. I don't like web-based apps, so Google calendar is out.

I continue to have several problems with iCal. But these are the worst two. First, alarms do not work reliably. I set up a recurring event, assign an alarm, but then it just stops going off. This has happened with several different events.

Second, syncing with MobileMe doesn't work reliably. I often create a new event in iCal, and then later when I try to look at that event on my iPhone or on another computer set up to sync with MobileMe, it just says "New Event". None of the information I entered for that event is there. This is extremely frustrating since I don't then know what that event is.

 

[Caleb531]

You might like BusyCal, which is like iCal on steroids.

 

[Gregg2]

I guess it depends on how you want to use it. iCal works for me, but I don't need to sync with anything.

 

[phpmaven]

I generally love Apple hardware and software. But iCal is a complete joke. I wish there was an alternative that syncs with iPhone & the cloud. I'd use it in a second. I don't like web-based apps, so Google calendar is out.

I continue to have several problems with iCal. But these are the worst two. First, alarms do not work reliably. I set up a recurring event, assign an alarm, but then it just stops going off. This has happened with several different events.

Second, syncing with MobileMe doesn't work reliably. I often create a new event in iCal, and then later when I try to look at that event on my iPhone or on another computer set up to sync with MobileMe, it just says "New Event". None of the information I entered for that event is there. This is extremely frustrating since I don't then know what that event is.

I use the iCal MobileMe method myself and it works pretty well. Not perfect mind you. I've had to delete my calendars from my iPhone and iPad a couple of times when the synching wasn't working right, but all-in-all, it works well for me. You may want to give Apple a call and see if they can help you resolve the problems.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

BusyCal looks perfect - especially if it will sync properly. I'm cautiously optimistic. Thanks for the tip. Not sure how I missed it.

 

[S.B.G]

Yeah something is going on for sure.

I sync 3 calendars in iCal between my iMac, MBP and iPhone 3GS via MobileMe and I never have any issues.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Not sure where to go for help. I posted something on the Apple discussions forum, but no one replied. I don't have Apple Care so I can't call Apple. Any ideas?

 

[velocityg4]

I use Thunderbird with the Lightning plug-in. This syncs with Google calendar so you don't have to use the browser based calendar. Alarms seem to work (E-Mail and SMS reminders do not). This has worked flawlessly for me syncing my Macbook, Win 7 Desktop and iPhone. Lightning can also subscribe to iCal network calendars (usually used for Holidays, Shared calendars &c). Yahoo calendar also works but I found to be too finicky.

I also use the gContactSync plug-in for contacts. When naming the folder I use "Personal Address Book" so everything syncs in the default address book in Thunderbird.

To connect Lightning to Google Calendar follow the Sunbird method. By the way if you don't want e-mail and calendar in one application you can just use the separate Sunbird.

You might also consider using G-Mail for it's free IMAP support which works quite well with Thunderbird so your e-mail boxes are always in sync with the iPhone. If you have another e-mail address you can alias yourself with that address and have GMail Pop everything from that address onto Google's servers.

The iPhone is connected to Google via the MS Exchange option. For full contact, GMail and calendar syncing.

Known Issues:
- Google Tasks do not work (I think only Outlook for Windows is supported) there are third party workarounds.
- If you update the calendar with your iPhone you either need to refresh the Lightning calendar or restart Thunderbird to see the resulting changes.

I only connect my iPhone to my iBook every couple of months for occasionally updating music or photos. I know there are apps either through the App Store or Cydia that can use WiFi I just have not bothered.

 

[tomllama]

I agree that iCal is pretty lame, I guess we get what we pay for.

I do use iCal for my home calendar because I do so little on it but have Outlook for my work calendar (running off a typical corporate server). My wife despises iCal and uses Outlook from MS Office 2011 at home. (She used to use Entourage) I set it up so her calendar from Office syncs with Mobile me and she has access to it from her iPhone or iPad. I sync my calendars via mobile me too and access them on my iPhone.

The issue with Entourage was that it would occasionally duplicate all her calendar events. I don't think it has happened yet with Outlook, but I've only had that up and running a month or so.