jc

I got very excited about the iCloud calendar and then quickly
determined that I probably
can't use it. My employer uses MeetingMaker as the central calendar
system and
it's vital that I be able to sync my iPhone calendar with that
(arguably the most important
use of the phone). At the moment, I have a PC at work running Windows
XP. I sync
to Outlook via iTunes, and then an Outlook extension syncs to
MeetingMaker. It's
sort of Rube Goldberg, but it works *almost* flawlessly.

The problem is that I can't make it work with iCloud calendar. The
iCloud control
panel that would let me sync Outlook requires Windows Vista or 7, and
the
apps that would go directly to MeetingMaker a) cost money and b) seem
to
require MacOS.

Obviously, it's not a big deal, because I have the same functionality
I did before,
but the iCloud calendar would be kind of handy because it would, for
example,
prevent a secretary from scheduling a conflict because I hadn't gotten
back
to sync my phone after I added something.

Any advice would be appreciated.

It's probably a short term problem, because pretty soon either a
solution
will be invented, or I'll simply break down and get a Mac at work.

Thanks,
jc

Todd Allcock

At 14 Oct 2011 11:37:09 -0700 jc wrote:
>
> I got very excited about the iCloud calendar and then quickly
> determined that I probably
> can't use it. My employer uses MeetingMaker as the central calendar
> system and
> it's vital that I be able to sync my iPhone calendar with that
> (arguably the most important
> use of the phone). At the moment, I have a PC at work running Windows
> XP. I sync
> to Outlook via iTunes, and then an Outlook extension syncs to
> MeetingMaker. It's
> sort of Rube Goldberg, but it works *almost* flawlessly.


My suggestion will probably be a little Rube Goldberg as well!

> The problem is that I can't make it work with iCloud calendar. The
> iCloud control
> panel that would let me sync Outlook requires Windows Vista or 7, and
> the
> apps that would go directly to MeetingMaker a) cost money and b) seem
> to
> require MacOS.


Assuming your corporate overlords will be ok with the security
implications of using the cloud, perhaps you could use Outlook as a go-
between between MeetingMaker and a cloud service your phone can sync with
already; Exchange Activesync.

You could set up a "throwaway" Live/Hotmail or Gmail account for sync,
install the "Outlook Connector" (an Outlook extension for syncing
Live/Hotmail data with Outlook) or Google Calendar Sync (an Outlook
extension for Google Calendar) and sync your default Outlook Calendar
with Live or Gmail.

Now, setup the Live or Gmail account in the iPhone as a "Microsoft
Exchange" account, and select Calendar sync, and the data should now
wirelessly sync between Outlook and the phone.

While this isn't using iCloud, the functionality should be similar.


(This assumes that MeetingMaker's Outlook plugin syncs with the default
Outlook folder. If it creates its own subfolders, neither Google
Calendar nor Hotmail/Live will be able to sync the data.)

jc

On Oct 14, 11:40*pm, Todd Allcock <eleccon...@AnoOspamL.com> wrote:
> At 14 Oct 2011 11:37:09 -0700 jc wrote:
>
>
>
> > I got very excited about the iCloud calendar and then quickly
> > determined that I probably
> > can't use it. *My employer uses MeetingMaker as the central calendar
> > system and
> > it's vital that I be able to sync my iPhone calendar with that
> > (arguably the most important
> > use of the phone). At the moment, I have a PC at work running Windows
> > XP. *I sync
> > to Outlook via iTunes, and then an Outlook extension syncs to
> > MeetingMaker. *It's
> > sort of Rube Goldberg, but it works *almost* flawlessly.
>
> My suggestion will probably be a little Rube Goldberg as well! *
>
> > The problem is that I can't make it work with iCloud calendar. *The
> > iCloud control
> > panel that would let me sync Outlook requires Windows Vista or 7, and
> > the
> > apps that would go directly to MeetingMaker a) cost money and b) seem
> > to
> > require MacOS.
>
> Assuming your corporate overlords will be ok with the security
> implications of using the cloud, perhaps you could use Outlook as a go-
> between between MeetingMaker and a cloud service your phone can sync with
> already; Exchange Activesync.
>
> You could set up a "throwaway" Live/Hotmail or Gmail account for sync,
> install the "Outlook Connector" (an Outlook extension for syncing
> Live/Hotmail data with Outlook) or Google Calendar Sync (an Outlook
> extension for Google Calendar) and sync your default Outlook Calendar
> with Live or Gmail.
>
> Now, setup the Live or Gmail account in the iPhone as a "Microsoft
> Exchange" account, and select Calendar sync, and the data should now
> wirelessly sync between Outlook and the phone.
>
> While this isn't using iCloud, the functionality should be similar.
>
> (This assumes that MeetingMaker's Outlook plugin syncs with the default
> Outlook folder. *If it creates its own subfolders, neither Google
> Calendar nor Hotmail/Live will be able to sync the data.)

Thanks, but you're right, that sounds like a little more trouble than
I'm willing to go to, and our security overlords can be pretty
arbitrary, so they might throw a wrench in at some point.

I'm one the verge of going Mac at work anyway,
so if there isn't a turnkey solution, I'll probably just wait.

Thanks,
jc