Since the dawn of time Google Calendar, we've been waiting for a free, easy way to fully synchronize our Google Calendar to desktop calendar clients like iCal. We'd love to be able to access the same calendar data across multiple computers, but it's always been a messy affair, not free, an incomplete solution, or PC only.

Well, Calgoo has been one of those paid options up until now, but the minds behind the program just announced that it is free from here on out. That's right, Calgoo is now the free option in Google Calendar and desktop caledar synchronization. Calgoo officially supports 30 Boxes, Apple iCal, Microsoft Outlook, and -- of course -- Google Calendar.

Calgoo's "Chief Owl" will not employ ads in the app in order to pay for the costs of developing the program, but the team will begin to run ads on Calgoo Hub and possibly other future products. As for the software itself, it's pretty easy to use, and it provides for two-way synchonization, which means that any changes on one calendar will apply to the other.

[via WebWorkerDaily]

Remember Calgoo? It's that quirky windows calendar application that fully synchronizes with Google Calendar. We reviewed them here at Download Squad back when they released their "First Draft" version (they're avoiding the 'b' word like the plague), and we're pleased to report that it appears they took our comments to heart while working on this version.

Calgoo Second Draft is a very nice update to what was already a useful, but somewhat difficult to use application. For example, the out of the box experience is much better in the new version. The application immediately loads your calendar once configured, as you might expect. And the look-and-feel of the application, while not strictly my taste, has improved immensely between the previous version and this one.

A number of features have been added as well: full support for recurring appointments, dragging and dropping appointments including changing the duration by dragging just the start or end of an appointment, proxy support, and the already mentioned user interface overhaul.

While Calgoo dislike using the term beta for their software, as a second draft, that's basically what you're looking at. I'm excited about the improvements they've made, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I also saw some instability with respect to the way the screen paints - in other words, I find myself with a completely blank window occasionally. The application has never crashed on me, but there is obviously still some work to be done ironing out some of the screen rendering issues.

All in all, if you're looking for a way to ensure that your Google Calendar information stays with you even when you're not online, check out Calgoo. I just wish they'd take the expertise they've gained with 2-way Google Calendar synchronization, and tackle the problem of getting Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook to synchronize. But until they do, I'll have 3 calendar apps - Outlook, Google Calendar, and Calgoo.

The web has been abuzz with the recent "First Draft" release of Calgoo, a calendaring solution whose claim to fame is full synchronization with Google Calendar. While I can report that Calgoo definitely works, that's about the best thing I can say about it right now. To be fair, Calgoo is recognizing that this is a very early release (they're avoiding the word "beta" like the plague) and the product has a long way to go before it's ready for prime time. That being said, here's my personal feedback for Calgoo - I hope it helps you decide if you're interested in trying it now.


The Good

Two-way synchronization with Google Calendar
'Nuff said.

After the jump we'll cover The Bad and a few more screenshots.