Ramblings-n-Writings

Posts Tagged ‘sync’

Back in April, I introduced you to my iPod Touch.

I’m still in love with my Touch. However, one of the things I mentioned in my original post was that I couldn’t combine my digital calendars without doing double entries (one on my PC computer and one on my Touch).

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across the fact that the Touch iCal program will sync with Google Calendar. Hmmm… I didn’t use Google Calendar, but if there was a way to sync Google with my laptop’s Mozilla Lightning, I’d be in business!

I’m sure you’ve already guessed already … there is a way!!!! Yay! My life is in perfect harmony now. Well, not really, but it sure feels like it.

First, I have to mention that there is no need to download additional applications to the Touch in order to use this feature. A lot of posts out there contain misinformation and tell you that you need to sign up for special services (Plaxo, Nuevasync, SaiSuke). Don’t listen to them! As long as you have a current version of the Touch firmware (version 2.2), the features are built in and all you have to do is activate them.

Here’s the process I followed to sync my PC laptop calendar (Mozilla Lightning) to my iPod Touch calendar (iCal). The intermediary is Google Calendar.

• To sync Lightning and Google, I downloaded the Provider for Google Calendar add-on for Lightning. This add-on allows two-way communication of a primary calendar. If you enter information on Google, it shows up on Lightning and vice versa.
• I created a primary calendar in Lightning. This is necessary because the add-on doesn’t export from my individual calendars (book reviews, work, home), only one central calendar. However, this is easily overcome by creating the individual calendars in Google because Google will download to individual calendars – just not upload. Wierd, I know.
• To add an event, I put it on the primary calendar in Lightning or the individual calendar in Google. And the event shows up in both Lightning and Google.
• Once Google and Lightning are synced, follow the Google steps on this page to link the Touch’s iCal to Google. Note: If you already have information in iCal, make sure you have a backup version somewhere because the sync process will erase all current data in the calendar. You can also use these same steps to sync your Google contacts with the Touch.
• The final step is to tell the Touch that you have individual calendars. Those steps are here.

Does all this work? Yep! As long as you carefully follow the Google steps.

Monday morning, I was in the doctor’s office with the Farmer. I made his follow-up appointment and added it to my Touch. By the time we got home, the appointment was waiting for me on both Google Calendar and the laptop’s Lightning calendar. Sweet!

So, please, next time you hear someone say syncing isn’t possible without a 3rd party program (Plaxo, Nuevasync, SaiSuke) or, especially for PC users, without Microsoft Outlook, send them this way because it does work!

Ron Edmondson wrote a post yesterday titled “How do you calendar your life?” He observed a friend organizing his schedule with a regular paper calendar, and Ron was somewhat surprised. Paper?!? This is the digital age.

Ron then asked, “What do you use to keep track of your life?  How do you stay organized?”

Up until 2 months ago, I was a paper calendar person for the most part. I wrote daily items on my 8-1/2×11 spiral bound paper calendar, and I recorded certain items in my Mozilla Lightning calendar on my laptop. I also had a mini calendar I carried in my purse just in case. That system worked fairly well.

Notice I said, “Up until 2 months ago…” That’s when I got my iPod Touch. Bye-bye multiple paper calendars; helloooo slim, sleek digital calendar.

All of my appointments, scheduled book reviews, deadlines, birthdays, and anything else I can think of are recorded on my iPod Touch. It travels in my purse, rests on the kitchen island or the nightstand, and is never far from my reach. I no longer aimlessly flip through pages of a calendar.

The only downfall is I can’t sync the iPod Touch with Mozilla Lightning (if anyone knows a way to do this, please tell me! Update: I figured out how to sync Lightning with Google Calendar and iCal on Touch. No 3rd party download necessary either.), so I’m still entering information in two places. But it beats writing it out by hand!!!

Besides the iPod’s calendar feature, I use the Notes program to brainstorm ideas, take notes on podcasts, write rough drafts of book reviews and blog posts (when I’m not at home), and record goals. The best feature is I can then e-mail the note to my laptop.

I also like the To Do application where I can create an item, record details, and set priority for the item. My lists cover everything from grocery shopping to household chores to writing research.

Lest you think my life revolves around my iPod, I do have a regular old paper calendar hanging on the refrigerator. Not much is written on the month of April, just the date where the Farmer started some seeds. Never mind that we have 4 doctor appointments this month, a 6-day vacation, house guests coming this weekend, and an important mediation next week. Why mess up a calendar with such a pretty picture?