How do you synchronize your Google Calendar with iCal? Do you use any third-party software or the CalDAV protocol?
The ability to perform a two-way synchronization is a requirement. The ability to synchronize multiple iCal calendars with multiple Google Calendars is a bonus.
Note. I would prefer a solution based on experience, I can search Google. I already use BusySync, but I'm always looking for better solutions.
Have a look at http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=99358#ical. It lets you view and edit Google Calendars in iCal.
I can recommend the free service of Nuevasync http://nuevasync.com from experience. It takes your Google Calendar(s) and syncs them to iPhone or others using a Microsoft Exchange protocol.
2 way syncing, multiple calendars, works like a charm, I've been using it non-stop for 10 months now I think.
When you set up syncing make sure to check the Default calendar in your iPhone Calendar settings to prevent any mishaps, you have to set this to your primary Google Calendar manually.
I use BusySync - largely because I needed this functionality before there was any other way to do it.
It works really well for me. The three or four calendars I subscribe to from Google calendars are Read-Write, and the fields match up pretty well.
I have looked at other options, but never pursued them, as the current method for me works fine.
At my work place we used the CalDAV protocol to sync 2 calendars between 4 computers and 2 people. Since only one person would ever change information we never had to worry about conflicts and it worked great.
We had two accounts but I can't comment on being able to create new calendars in iCal and have them appear in Google Calendar.
I have used two methods:
1) Add Google calendars to iCal using:
Navigate to iCal > Preferences > Accounts.
Click the plus button.
Select Google from the account type
Enter your username and password
This method worked great until a few weeks ago when I entered some kind of change which screwed up the sync. iCal started throwing weird errors and then changes that I entered on my Mac would no longer be pushed to Google Calendar.
So that lead me to:
2) Synchronize calendars using Spanning Sync:
Backup your iCal events!
Download and install [Spanning Sync][1] (free 15 day trial)
There's also Calaboration. Very easy to use.
I am not sure if BusyCal is the same BusySync (if it is I apologise)
Update: I have been informed that BusyCal replaced BusySync. Therefore scroll down to my second answer.
Download the 30 day trial of BusyCal 2, and if you think its to your liking you can always purchase it afterwards.
Example Screenshots:
It is described as:
An award winning calendar that provides powerful time-saving productivity tools in a friendly, personalized, easy-to-use package.
BusyCal's unique and powerful features include customizable calendar views, scrolling Month and Week views, an integrated Info Panel for quickly viewing and editing events, integrated To Dos that display in the calendar and carry-forward until completed, custom font sizes and styles, graphics, live weather feeds and moon phases, and a menu bar app for quick access to the current day's events and weather.
BusyCal takes full advantage of the latest features in Mountain Lion, including the Notification Center for displaying alerts and banners; and Application Sandboxing for safe computing. BusyCal is compatible with iCloud, Google Calendar, and other CalDAV servers, enabling you to sync and share your calendars through the cloud with other Macs running BusyCal or the built-in Calendar app on OS X, as well as iPhones and iPads running the built-in Calendar on iOS 6.
Available: http://www.busymac.com/busycal/
Alternatively:
An application called Blotter
Available from: http://wireload.net/products/blotter/
The link below tells you about using Blotter with Google Calendar depending on which version of Mac OS you are running:
http://support.wireload.net/entries/455852-can-i-use-blotter-with-my-google-calendar
