BusySync

by Diane Petersen, Kachemacs

Distributor: BusyMac
Distributor URL: www.busymac.com
Price: $25 per seat

Pros: Syncing can be tricky, but this software does it remarkably well.
Cons: Cost of product is per computer, can get pricey quite quickly.

Busy Sync

As the name suggests, BusySync from BusyMac helps busy people like me continue to be busy using our calendars. It has long been a complaint of Google users that the calendars won’t sync with iCal. Up until recently there has been a one-way solution for that problem, but if you can’t change a Google calendar in iCal, what’s the point? Now that Google supports CalDAV (standard format), we should all be able to sync freely with everyone and everyone from out Macs, iPhones and iPods. Why even bother with another application?

MobileMe users know all about using MobileMe to sync things between Macs, phones, and friends. It’s a great feature of the service. Calendars, however have been an issue. The free Google calendar has some great perks which make it worth using, but to give up the ease and functionality of iCal for my Google calendar has been too difficult. The lack of reliable syncing with Google, iCal, and MobileMe was an obstacle, until BusySync.

BusySync does just one thing but it does it well. BusySync installs as a preference pane in System Preferences and acts as a bridge for syncing multiple computers to the same calendars without using MobileMe. MobileMe, however, can be thrown into the mix with just a few caveats without compromising BusySync’s ability to sync.

The first application of BusySync I tested is two-way read/write sync of Google to iCal. It went beautifully. I could create something in iCal and have it appear in Google moments later, and vice versa. Just like a Mac, it just works.

The second main use of BusySync is synchronization of calendars over a network. True, iCal can do this wonderfully with MobileMe. However, to sync calendars one must grant full access to MobileMe (Mail, disk space, Address Book, etc.) That may not be acceptable. With BusySync, just calendar access is shared. Furthermore, it is easy to grant or deny read or write access to individual calendars.

With Google’s new compliance with the CalDAV standard, one could surely create a sync to do everything with just Google. With MobileMe, one can surely sync calendars in iCal. With BusySync, both are achievable with a minimal amount of configuration and effort.

Utility: 3
Support: 5
Ease of Use: 5
Value: 3

Overall this product is a 4. The price is $25 per computer, which can get a bit steep for a small business. BusySync is an innovator, but other services are catching up to the technology. If BusyMac stays ahead of Google and MobileMe in terms of features, BusyMac should be able to compete.