Google Calendar Can (Finally) Talk to MS Outlook 2010

By Geoff Spick (@Goffee71) Aug 18, 2010 Comments

1 comment

In a further example of everyone trying to get along nicely, Google (news, site) can now work in harmony with your Outlook 2010 calendars.

See, Google may not be that evil after all. If not for some caveats…

Whichever Format You Want

Format wars are generally a double-edged sword in any field: VHS vs. Betamax, Windows vs. Mac. Win and you reap huge rewards, lose and you're toast.

But with several successful products in one space, it is generally better for everyone to try to work together, encouraging Enterprise 2.0-era interoperability, rather than steadfastly refusing to be friends.

So, while this news might be at the smaller end of Google's recent stampede into the headlines, it is, in fact, one that might have the most benefit to the global user base. If you had upgraded to Outlook 2010, then you could no longer sync your events from Outlook into your Google Calendar.

Sync between calendars automatically, thanks to Google

Google'll Fix It

That problem has now gone away thanks to an update to Google's Calendar Sync app that will now (with a caveat) let your appointments flow into your cloud-based calendar. That caveat is that it only supports the 32-bit version of Outlook, 64-bit users' essential dates will remain stranded on the desktop for now. However, some sneaky middle-man workarounds (like using an Android phone) exist.

When installed, you can choose bi-directional syncing or one-way syncing in either direction. This can be done at a user-specified interval and can be left to run happily in the background. So, if you want those essential dates to be accessible anywhere in a Google-friendly manner, it's all systems go.