 Google Calendar (calendar.google.com) is quickly gaining popularity as a Web calendar. Google’s iterative development cycle means that Google Calendar users always have the treat of new features going online. The calendar, which is currently in beta, is a feature-rich online calendar that offers users many of the features available with corporate-grade scheduling applications such as Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes.
Although you may have kicked the tires on Google Calendar, there are some features you may not have noticed that make the tool worthwhile. We’ll explore Google Calendar’s offerings and help you get the most out of its high-end features, such as Gmail integration, and detail the benefits of working with email and SMS (Short Message Service) reminders. We’ll also tell you how you can share your calendar with individuals or groups. | 
Click the Add To Calendar link within a message to add the event information appearing in the email to your Google Calendar. |
 Google Calendar & Gmail
Many industry pundits, bloggers, and Microsoft critics see Google and its launch of Web office products, such as Google Calendar, as the next Microsoft Office killer. However, Google’s first step at integrating its Web applications is the joining of Google Calendar and Gmail. When you sign in to Google Calendar, you’ll notice a set of links to other Google services, such as Gmail and Spreadsheets.
The incorporation of Google Calendar and Gmail is a boon if you dropped your ISP’s email for a free Gmail account. When you access Google Calendar Beta, Gmail identifies calendar events in your emails. For example, if you receive an email with a calendar event in the subject line or body of the message, you’ll notice a new link called Add To Calendar when you open the message. | 
Click the Add Event Info link to convert your email into a calendar invite. |
You can also choose to change an email into an invitation to an event using the Add Event Info link within a new or reply email. Begin by clicking Compose Mail or click the Reply link within a message. Type the recipient's email address and a subject into the appropriate fields. Next, click the Add Event Info link and fill in the Event, Where, and When fields. Now you can compose your email message and click Send. Google will also mark the event in your Google Calendar.
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Use Calendar’s Quick Add option to add events and appointments to your Google Calendar. |
Manage Your Time
Google Calendar gives you two choices for adding appointments and meetings: Create Event and Quick Add. Although Create Event is pretty standard if you are familiar with a PIM (personal information manager) such as Microsoft Outlook, Quick Add lets you skip past the lengthy form. Click the Quick Add link and enter the description of your event (including date and time) in the Quick Add field. Then click the plus sign to add the event to your Google Calendar.
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Google Calendar offers you Calendar Notification options adaptable to the way you work. |
Set Email & SMS Reminders
With the day-to-day challenges of juggling work, children’s schedules, freelance work, and myriad other events, it’s nice to receive reminders of appointments, practices, meetings, and other events. Google Calendar is capable of sending calendar reminders via email and SMS, so you don’t miss your meeting or that big event.
To set a reminder, click the Settings link at the top of Google Calendar. The Calendar Settings page appears where you can control all your calendar settings. The Notifications tab is where you want to go to set up how Google Calendar notifies of event reminders; new, changed, or cancelled invitations; and invitation replies. You can also request to receive reminders of your daily agenda. By default, Google Calendar sends you a reminder of an event 10 minutes prior to its scheduled start time. You can adjust this time as necessary using the Event Reminders drop-down menu.
To send notifications to your cell phone, you must first configure Google Calendar to communicate with your cell phone. On the Notifications tab in Calendar Settings, go to the Notify Me On My Cell Phone section. Type in your cell phone number in the appropriate field, select a carrier from the drop-down menu, and click the Send Verification Code button. Google Calendar sends a text message that includes a six-digit verification code to your cell phone. Type the code into the Verification Code field and click Finish Setup. | 
The Calendars tab lets you manage your current Google Calendars and create new calendars. |
Share Your Calendar
Whether you are an individual keeping track of family members’ busy schedules or the head of an organization keeping your business meetings on schedule, there are times when it’s useful to open up your calendar to others.
Sharing your Google Calendar happens on two levels. You can share your calendar with everyone who uses Google Calendar. Or, on a more granular level, you can grant certain privileges to a user (whom you authorize), thus enabling him to make changes and manage sharing, see all event details, and see free/busy information.
To set up sharing, click the Settings link at the top of the page and click the Calendars tab. Choose a calendar and click the Share This Calendar link to open the Share This Calendar tab automatically in the resulting page. If you don’t want to share your calendar with the rest of the world, select the Do Not Share With Everyone radio button. If you select the Share All Information On This Calendar With Everyone radio button, anybody with a Web browser is going to know your day-to-day business. (So you may want to avoid this option if you have personal information entered into your calendar.)
Access Google Calendar From Your Mobile Phone
Perhaps email reminders in your inbox and text messages to your phone aren’t enough for you and you want to be able to access Google Calendar from your cell phone; access is available via SMS. To make this work, you need to register your cell phone number on the Notifications tab in Calendar Settings.
To access your Google Calendar, send a text message from your mobile phone to 48368 (GVENT). To receive notification of the next event in your calendar, text the word “next.” To receive your day’s itinerary from your Google Calendar, text the word “day.” And if you would like to view your itinerary for the next day, send a text message with the word “nday.” | 
If you are looking for a simple way to sync your Google Calendar with your Outlook calendar, then CompanionLink For Google Calendar is worth a look. The program supports synchronization with numerous handheld devices. |
CompanionLink Lets You Sync Your Google Calendar
If you are seeking a way to synchronize Google Calendar with Outlook and your mobile device, then we have a program for you. In recent months CompanionLink for Google Calendar ($29.95; www.companionlink.com) has been bandied about in blogs and online forms as the syncing solution of choice.
The program’s features include two-way synchronization between your mobile device or desktop calendar and Google Calendar. Additionally, CompanionLink will automatically sync any changes you make to the calendar on your mobile device on your desktop computer. And vice versa, any changes you make in Google Calendar automatically synchronize with your mobile device and desktop calendar program. In the case of synchronizing with a Palm-based PDA or smartphone, CompanionLink integrates itself with the PC-to-PDA synchronization process.
After you install CompanionLink on your computer, you’ll see the CompanionLink For Google Calendar Setup and the CompanionLink For Google Calendar Synchronize icons on your Desktop. Double-click CompanionLink For Google Calendar Setup icon and click Next in the setup wizard to go to the Google Calendar Settings.
Type in your full Gmail address and password so the application can access your Google Calendar. Unlike logging in to your Gmail account, CompanionLink For Google Calendar requires your full Gmail address. Click Next to advance the wizard. The Contact Manager Settings dialog box appears and asks you what application you want to sync. The program supports synchronization with Research In Motion BlackBerry, GroupWise 6.5, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, Palm Desktop, Palm HotSync, PocketPC sync through Outlook, Treo 700p via HotSync, and Treo 700w Sync through Outlook. Click Configuration to adjust your synchronization settings. And then click Next to advance the wizard. When the Ready For Synchronization dialog box appears, click Finish and follow the directions to synchronize your PDA or PIM with Google Calendar. 
by Will Kelly
NEWSBRIEF
Segways At Home In Airports
 Remember that futuristic, two-wheeled gizmo that burst into the tech scene a few years ago and caused a brief panic among the more sidewalk-safety-conscious city dwellers, before dropping from the spotlight? According to USA Today, they’re re-emerging in airports. And so far, airport employees are pleased. “If the police get a call at the far end of one of the concourses, they can get there so much quicker on a Segway and they’re not out of breath from running, so they’re in better condition to assist with the emergency,” says Michael Conway, Director Of Public Affairs for Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Detroit Metropolitan isn’t the only airport that has Segways. “We use them to enforce vehicular traffic on the curbs at the terminals,” says Sam Gonzales, Landside Operations Manager for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. “We also use them in the interiors of the terminals for security and to respond to emergencies.”
As for customers? Many like them. “When [Curb Management Team members] approach people and enforce the regulations out there, they’re generally in a negative situation anyway,” Gonzales says. “It tends to lighten up the conversation. It helps them do their jobs a little easier.”
by Joshua Gulick |
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