I want to sync my calendar across all my Macs and iOS devices, give my wife access to my calendar (and have access to hers), and do it all without paying for Apple's. For that, Apple’s iCal just won’t do. Still, I like the iPhone’s Calendar app. With the free Google Calendar, I found a scheduling solution that lets me keep myself organized, continue using the iOS Calendar app, give my family and coworkers easy access to my availability, and easily add new appointments from anywhere. Here’s how I set things up: Step 1: Create a Google Calendar Once you've created your Google Calendar, click Edit Event Details to open a window where you can enter details. You can use with your existing Google account, or with a free or paid account.

Or maybe your work contacts use one but you primarily use the other. In any case, you can add any of your Google Calendars to your Apple Calendar and keep the two in sync. This way, you'll have up-to-date calendar information available to you no matter what device or program you're using.

Create a user name and password. Then log in to Google. You’re presented with a big blank calendar as soon as you click into the site.

To add an event, click on the day in question. In the Event pane that appears, add the event’s name.

Click Edit Event Details to open a window where you can type in the time and other information. Click on Save when you’re done. Step 2: Give it its own window With the Fluid utility, you can create a standalone application for accessing Google Calendar, and drop the application right into your Dock for easy access. You could simply load up Google Calendar in your favorite browser every time you need to check your schedule. My preference, however, is to keep a window entirely and exclusively devoted to my calendar open at all times.

To do so, I use Todd Ditchendorf’s excellent (free; ). With Fluid, you can create what’s called a “site-specific browser,” which is a stand-alone app dedicated solely to the site in question. To set up your Calendar Fluid app, follow these steps: a) Download a good Calendar icon. Chris Ivarson provides.

B) Launch Fluid, and fill out the single form with the URL for Google Calendar ( a name (I use “Calendar”). Excel for mac chart change data. When you reach the Icon menu, choose Other and then navigate to the custom icon you just downloaded. Click Create. Fluid will place your newly-created application in the folder you choose (Applications, by default). Find it and then drag the icon into your Dock for easy access. Step 3: Import your old iCal events It's not difficult to export your old iCal calendars so that you can use them in Google Calendar. Were you previously an iCal devotee?