In a previous post I mentioned my disappointment with the workarounds needed to enable CalDAV and calendar sharing on my iPhone 3GS. It seemed intentionally obfuscated to get the general public to spring for other (redundant) services. But, even after the workarounds, I found CalDAV to be a 99 yard liner, so to speak. It worked most of the time, but sometimes you had to load & reload the calendar app to get new or updated appointment to show up if they were added/updated via the web or iCal. I couldn’t help but think that there was, again, some intention behind the flaky support for a protocol that worked 100% in their desktop counterpart (iCal).
I am happy to say that Apple has not only fixed this (at least where Google accounts are concerned), but also made life even easier for everyone with iOS 4. Now if you setup any Google account (like a Gmail account or a Google Apps email) via the account setup interface it automatically allows you to enable calendar and notes for that account. And the calendar syncs instantly to changes made via web or desktop. This is a huge boon for my mobile lifestyle. I can’t be worried about missing an appointment because I set it up on the desktop or via the web interface when the iPhone wasn’t in my hands (or convenient).
But here’s a tip: do not enable a CalDAV account for the same calendar. It will send you back to the flakey sync behavior. Delete your Google CalDAV accounts first and then add the Google accounts with the Account Setup > GMail selection.
So we are experiencing the solstice (sol = sun, stice = to stand still). The longest day of the year with the shortest night. In more rural communities and in times when we weren’t so separated from the earth and our environment midsummer would be celebrated with a big festival. Easting, drinking, dancing. We don’t do those things anymore, but I always fee like I should. There is some distant subconscious memory that makes me want to celebrate these turning points. Perhaps it’s just what’s left of my primitive nature, but maybe next time I will.
A good friend of mine once told me
Close your eyes, and try to feel at ease
I thought I was flying like a bird, so far above my sorrow
But when I looked down I was standing on my knees
I have to say that I am becoming a huge proponent of the Google Apps cloud. The power and interoperability Google has made available to every organization is incredible. What’s more, I have yet to run into a situation where Google Apps didn’t provide an organization with more features and a significantly lower yearly technology expense line than what they already had in place. And that’s hard costs, not even factoring in the soft costs of things like less employee downtime and streamlined workflows.
I do think it’s incredible to see how productive you can be with a computer, a web browser and internet access. All thanks to Google and their little pet projects mandate.
I’m pretty sure Google will take over the world. And the only hope any other company might have to catch up is to allow their employees to be free thinkers too.
I will say that my upbringing was less than normal…but what dyed-in-the-wool Gen-Xer can’t say that?? One of the aspects of my upbringing that still makes me smile is when I think back on the songs my Gram used to sing to me. Mostly 1920s and 1930s novelty tunes, many of them inappropriate for young children…and I loved it.
Case in point, I came across this YouTube video of a song I will forever equate with her and my early childhood. This brings back so many memories:
