Brainwash ==> COMPLETE!

In a previous post - Google: Brainwash I commented how Jen and I use Microsoft Office Live to share calendars. This has become more trouble than the simple Google Calendar Sync for Microsoft Outlook.

Microsoft's solution worked great for some time until it mysteriously stopped working. I needed to re-create our shared calendars and re-publish and re-share them. The online calendar management regarding invitations is pretty limited - make a mistake and start over.

Some time ago, I integrated GMail into Outlook with IMAP and like it better now. I never cared for the labels versus actual folders and the thread-view that web-based GMail uses. With Outlook IMAP integration, I can now look at emails in folders the way I'm used to and better manage my inbox. Also, my mails are now available online and on synced devices as opposed to when I used to POP email.

Since that was working, I tried the Google Calendar Sync using 2-way synchronisation and it's been working fine. I've since updated Jen to GMail with Outlook IMAP integration and Google Calendar Sync. Even she likes it. The online view of our shared calendars is exactly what we wanted.

I should have known not to trust Microsoft to provide a product that works in the long run and doesn't mysteriously stop working after some time (eg: Jen's computer which I recently rebuilt with XP (perhaps Microsoft's crowning achievement) after Vista slowly rotted her laptop to uselessness).