BusyMac Introduces BusyCal, an 'iCal Pro' - Download Here

Developer BusyMac, the maker of BusySync, has recently announced a new Mac app called BusyCal. Touted by the company as “iCal Pro,” BusyCal is a desktop calendar application that lets you share calendars with others on your local area network and sync with Google Calendar. The beta software doesn’t require a dedicated server, and calendars may be shared with read-only or read-write access.

According to BusyMac, BusyCal must be running on each computer you wish to sync calendars with. If you go offline, editing calendars can still be done and, when you reconnect to the network, your changes will be automatically synced with others.

Besides calendar syncing, BusyCal also provides the ability to create To-Dos, including recurring To-Dos that display in the calendar and auto-forward until completed. The ability to display events in several customizable views, including a List View and scrolling Month and Week Views, is also available. Additionally, users can include graphics, sticky notes, and live weather forecasts with their calendar, as well as apply custom fonts, styles and colors to events.

“BusyCal is our new product that combines a beautiful, personal desktop calendar with our award winning calendar sharing and syncing technology — in one integrated application,” BusyMac says. “Designed for families and small workgroups, BusyCal allows users to easily and cost-effectively share calendars on a local area network and over the internet without the need for a dedicated server, and to sync with Google Calendar,” the company bluntly describes its new software.

The main features (besides iCal-typical features) include:

- Display graphics, icons and themes;
- Add sticky notes to your calendar and share them across your network;
- Live weather feeds within the calendar;
- Rich text support;
- Multi-user editing/offline editing;
- Sync with the iPhone via iTunes and Mobile Me;
- Sync with Google Calendar;
- Sync with other Macs on your network with Bonjour.

BusyCal 1.0 beta 10, released on August 2, 2009, includes changes like the ability to show more banners per day; Small/Medium/Large Banner size preference; improved support for international date and time formats; fixed decrementing date field for Banners in European time zones; prompt if no Me Card when creating email alarm; don't sync custom alarm sounds over LAN if client doesn't have sound; deleted calendars no longer show in List View; support non-UTF-8 WebDAV ics subscriptions, etc.

Intersted parties can download a free version of the software using the link below. BusyCal (now in beta) will run for 30-days in full-functioning trial mode. To continue working with the software after the 30-day trial period, users must purchase a serial number online at http://www.busymac.com/buy. Alternately, they may click the Buy Now button in the Register dialog within the application itself.

Download BusyCal (Update / Trial / Buy)