Here is a support document for Outlook 2007.  This states that it is possible to easily transfer calendars between Google calendar and Outlook 2007.  It does not use the word synchronize.

Outlook 2007 Calendar Help

With this post I attest to the easy of use of the commercial product SyncMyCal ($25) for keeping my outlook and Google calendar in sync. I can sync multiple calendars with various directional priorities and keep them in sync in the background. The biggest problem with the software is entering the complicated license codes. So far . . . smooth sailing.

I ran across a Gmail-to-pretty-much-everything sync service called ScheduleWorld. I have not tested it, so I cannot attest to it’s effectiveness. However, it uses an open standard called SyncML to synchronize between pretty much anything including gmail, outlook, and palm. (Unfortunately, Windows Mobile is not nice enough to play along.)

Here is a new one for syncing Outlook Calendar to run both Outlook and gmail calendar.

 Lifehacker- Download of the Day: gSyncit (Windows)

One issue I have had with gmail is that I constantly have to keep it open in my web browser.  I use firefox, so I just have a tab open all the time.  There is a new plug-in that allows you to keep your gmail tab “minimized” and updates you whenever new e-mail arrives.  I have not yet moved to install Thunderbird or any other client for checking e-mail.  This is a great utility.

Gmail Manager Extension 

The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has announced that they are taking a serious look at switching to Google Apps instead of upgrading to Microsoft Office 2007.  David Bowen, the FAA’s CIO, lists “security” and easier “management” as key reasons for considering the switch.  Check out the InformationWeek article.

One of the things that I enjoy about gMail is the fact that Google designs with add-ons and hacks in mind.  I came across the following website listing of their top 10 gmail tips and hacks.  Some of these tips require some technical skill, but the majority are simple ways anyone can advance their gmail capability.

Download Squad

Micah here (not sure why it says Beth Peter on the admin account. I gotta fix that).

Here are the links where I gleaned info on moving previous e-mails to gmail.
http://www.zoliblog.com/blog/_archives/2006/1/29/1729922.html
http://mailredirect.mozdev.org/installation.html
Lifehacker site (too long to paste in)

It does keep the same date that it was originally sent but for some reason it ends up in the Inbox the same day it is redirected from Thuderbird. I did have success with a personnal account that keep the original date sent as well as placing it in my Gmail Inbox in the relative date but I can’t figure out why it worked one time but not again. But an archive filter could be set up to archive everything redirected so it doesn’t clog the Inbox.

Using Thunderbird is time consuming but I had a lot more success with this rather than using Mbox & Maildir to Gmail Loader (GML) or gExodus – a graphical Gmail import tool.

There is not currently a task list feature on Google. This was concerning to some staff, so I wrote to Google about this.  I thought I would share their reply with everyone.

We feel that the concept of the task list is more effectively accomplished by a combination of archiving non-active emails (creating an inbox of to do e-mails) and scheduling tasks on the calendar. However, if we get an abundance of requests for a single feature, we evolve our products from customer requests and will accommodate.

One of the biggest concerns for staff is the privacy of information, especially confidential information exchanged between students and staff/faculty. This includes things like disabilities, financial information, information for the counseling center, etc. I wrote to Google about their privacy/security policy. I thought I would pass this on to those of you who might be interested in seeing it.

http://www.google.com/privacy.html