Software : How to sync shared Google calendars with an iPhone

How to sync shared Google calendars with an iPhone
Download of the Day: Microsoft Mathematics
Outlook for iOS and Android delivers on update promise
Microsoft's turning Onenote into a powerhouse with iPad handwriting update
Google's Inbox cozies up to iPads, Safari and Firefox

How to sync shared Google calendars with an iPhone

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For businesses that have adopted Google Apps as part of their workflow, the ability to see and share your Google Calendar with colleagues is beneficial when scheduling meetings. Whether it's for personal use at home for making family appointments or work-related purposes to plan events and conference calls, having access to a shared calendar keeps everyone in the loop to avoid scheduling conflicts.

Fortunately, for Android users, shared calendars on Google automatically synchronize with your device with little extra setup required. Once you enter your Google account information, you'll be given the option to synchronize your personal and shared calendars.

For those on a non-Android phone, including those on an iPhone, iPad, or even Microsoft's Windows Phone platform, you'll need to complete a few additional steps before your shared calendars will start appearing in your native calendar app or on a third-party calendar program.

Here's how to do it:

1. Enter Google account information

First, you'll need to go into your phone's setting menus and enter your Google account credentials so your phone can synchronize with Google's cloud. You'll have the option to synchronize emails, contacts, calendars, and notes.

Enter Google credentials

On the iPhone, you'll go into settings, then tap on Mail/Contacts/Calendars, and then hit Add Account.

On Windows Phone, you'll go into settings, tap on emails and accounts, and then you can add your Google account on the following screen.

Windows Phone

Once you've gone through the account setup process, make sure that the Calendar option is ticked for proper Google synchronization. If you're only synchronizing your personal calendars that you've created, you should be finished at this step.

2. Choose which calendars to sync

For those who want to synchronize shared calendars, you'll want to visit the following website from either your desktop or phone browser:

https://www.google.com/calendar/iphoneselect

After logging into your Google account, you'll be presented with all your personal and shared calendars. Be sure to check off which calendars you'll want to synchronize across all your devices.

Choose which shared calendar to sync.

By default, shared calendars aren't automatically selected for synchronizing, so you'll have to do this for each shared calendar you'll want to view on your iPhone, iPad, Windows, Windows Phone, or OS X calendar client. Conversely, if you have a calendar that you do not want synchronized, you can deselect it as well.

Click save, and you're done. All you'll need to do at this point is wait for the calendars to synchronize in the background on your devices.

3. View your shared calendar in your calendar app

On the iPhone, you'll want to open the default calendar app. On iOS 8, click the Calendars button at the bottom of the screen. This should pull up a menu listing all your personal and shared calendars across all the different accounts you have setup on your phone.

You'll be given options to view your shared calendar. Check the calendars you'll want to view. For a detailed view, you'll want to make sure all your calendars are selected for viewing inside the app. If you want to just see your shared calendar, make sure every other calendar is unchecked except the shared calendar.

On a Windows Phone, you'll want to launch the default calendar app, go into settings, and be sure you have the calendars to see selected.

4. Repeat when a new calendar is shared

Unfortunately, shared calendars aren't automatically marked for synchronizing across your devices. Whenever a new calendar is shared with you, you'll have to repeat the aforementioned steps if you're not on an Android device.

Check out our review of Google Apps for Business.

Download of the Day: Microsoft Mathematics

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Mathematics and science students never need worry about splashing out on an expensive scientific or graphics calculator ever again thanks to the extensive set of features inside Microsoft Mathematics.

Why you need it

Advanced mathematics looks like Egyptian hieroglyphics to a lot of people yet there are plenty that use them to solve every day problems and Microsoft Mathematics was created to make this process a lot more straightforward for even beginners.

The program is a completely free complex calculator that has everything you'd expect on a small screened scientific calculator or graphical calculator just in a larger and more manageable screen without the tedious button combinations that have plagued regular plastic calculators.

It isn't just a tool to solve problems though. Whilst students are using the Microsoft Mathematics program they will learn the fundamental basics of scientific and graphical mathematics as well as become more enamoured to the more advanced aspects through step-by-step equation solving. Numbers and information can be put in using either a keyboard or the ink setting that enables you to write the information in manually and thus opens up possibilities for laptop owners with graphical tablets.

The numerical input calculator interface to the left hand side has a range of different sections and which one you use largely depends on the work you're doing. Its sections cover calculus, statistics, trigonometry, linear algebra and standard symbols, in addition to the numbers that are situated at the foot of the calculator.

Whether its a complex formula, equation or triangle that needs to be solved, Microsoft Mathematics copes well in all situations. The only question we found ourselves asking is how something so advanced and helpful can still be available completely free?

Key features

Works on: All versions of Windows

Versions: Free

Favourite Buttons: Right click on the buttons you use most often to add them to the favourite buttons group in order that they are easier to find in future.

Export to Microsoft programs: Anything that you work on in Microsoft Mathematics can be exported to Word or other Microsoft programs and there us of course then the chance to print out the results of your calculations.

Easy step-by-step instructions: Students of any age or ability can use Microsoft Mathematics thanks to the detailed instructions that it provides to anyone wanting to solve problems using the program.

Outlook for iOS and Android delivers on update promise

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Microsoft is making good on its promise to update Outlook for iOS and Android devices every few weeks with the first set of enhancements delivered for both enterprise customers and consumers.

The apps, which will eventually completely replace the Outlook Web App (OWA), are slowly getting all the features that are included in the outdated client.

IT administrators can now implement PIN locking on their enterprise email systems that means any mobile device connected will need a passcode in place to download emails, reply to appointments and access any other sensitive information inside the app. Any devices that don't have this ability won't be able to use Outlook for iOS or Android.

Quicker remote wipe execution has also been added, which now happens within seconds and the app-level wipe resets the Outlook app with Outlook email, calendar, contact and files data all removed from the device and cloud.

End users of the app also get a barrage of new features including the ability to sync email from email providers that support IMAP, turn off the conversations feature in iOS by switching off the organise mail by thread setting, customise swipe gestures to change the way emails are handled, and alter default folders for swiped emails.

More coming soon

In terms of what will be coming next, IT administrators will get Microsoft Intune mobile device management support and Outlook's cloud service will be transitioned from Amazon Web Services to Microsoft Azure. End users, meanwhile, be able to sync local contacts, the preview label will be removed from Outlook for Android and localisation for all the service's languages will be improved.

Outlook for iOS and Android has only been out for a matter of weeks after Microsoft took its recent acquisition Accompli and rebadged it as the mobile apps that were recently released.

Via: Microsoft

Outlook.com review

Microsoft's turning Onenote into a powerhouse with iPad handwriting update

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Not wanting to be left out of the Microsoft's constant flurry of Office updates, OneNote users have a couple of new things to shout about.

Firstly Microsoft has finally relented and added the popular handwriting feature to its OneNote for iPad app to allow users of the tablet to take advantage of something that has been a part of OneNote for Windows since 2003.

The second announcement is that optical character recognition (OCR) has been enabled across all versions of OneNote that currently exists, which in layman's terms this means that OneNote users can search for text in all new images added to OneNote.

OCR for older images

Like all of its recent product updates, Microsoft also teased a couple of future updates that will see OneDrive for Business support added to OneNote plus the ability to use OCR on images that are attached to older notes.

It was less than a week ago that Microsoft freed up five more features for the free edition of OneNote, and the handwriting and drawing features of OneNote are expected to become an integral part of the next Surface Pro.

Via: Microsoft

8 essential Microsoft OneNote tips

Google's Inbox cozies up to iPads, Safari and Firefox

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Many folks are still scratching their heads wondering why Google felt the need to create an entirely separate Gmail client for mobile devices late last year, but few could argue the search giant is moving quickly to improve that product.

The Official Gmail Blog today announced a couple of big enhancements for its fledging Inbox by Gmail app, which debuted back in late October on iPhone and Android smartphones.

Billed as "a completely different type of inbox," Inbox by Gmail offers a completely different approach to managing email than Google's native Gmail client, using features such as Bundles, Highlights and Reminders to help prioritize busy inboxes.

There was just one problem: Inbox by Gmail was limited to smartphones and Chrome web browsers, at least until now.

Now in more places

With a free update to the mobile app now available from Apple's App Store or Google Play, tablet owners can now see what all the hype is about, now that the Inbox by Gmail app works natively with the iPad and a wide range of Android-based slates.

Perhaps more importantly, Google has lifted its self-imposed restriction that limited Inbox to its own Chrome web browser, and Safari and Firefox users also now get a taste of a whole new Gmail experience.

One thing unfortunately hasn't changed: Google is still limiting Inbox by Gmail access to users with an invite, although the company has gone out of its way to make sure everyone who wants one can do so, offering extra invites to existing users that can be shared with friends.

Those without already connected friends (or possibly lacking friends of any kind) can instead send an email the old-fashioned way to inbox@google.com and politely request to be added to the invite list.

Yahuui Blog

Friday, February 20, 2015