Exchange or CalDAV: MobileMe Alternative?

[ipedro]

I'm looking to sync my iCal to my iPhone over a local network.

I would gladly purchase MobileMe, but I use 1and1.com as a server for all my email addresses with their unique domains. I don't want to have an @Me.com or @Mac.com email address.

There are many applications for the iPhone that do local network syncing. It would be trivial for Apple to add this to iCal and Address book but of course nobody would purchase their $99 annual fee for MobileMe.

I have SnowLeopard which supports Exchange as does the iPhone but first I'd need an Exchange server. I've read about CalDAV. Both of these would allow for over the air syncing of iCal and Address book without MobileMe,

Would somebody be kind enough to explain these technologies and how I can implement them?

Can I create a WebDAV server on my SnowLeopard system so that when my MacBookPro and iPhone are on the same network, a wireless sync would occur for iCal and Address Book?

 

[lostinspace2011]

You can host your own server using AddressBookServer with Calendar Support.

http://www.addressbookserver.com

PS: I am the developer of the produce and naturally biased

 

[ipedro]

Thanks for the reply but not what I'm looking for. I need it to sync my iPhone's default iCal, not view it in a separate iPhone app.

I think what I need is a dedicated computer with Exchange Server on it.... or if I can find a way to use my current email addresses (custom domains) with MobileMe, I wouldn't mind paying the annual fee.

 

[317342]

Either is fine, but I prefer Exchange b/c of the push support. CalDAV will only update when you open Calendar on your iPhone.

You can try them both and see which one you like better on Google Calendar; it will work with CalDAV or ActiveSync for the iPhone.

 

[ipedro]

I'm going to look at Google Calendar. Is it possible to sync iCal to Google and from there with the iPhone Calendar?

 

[Weaselboy]

I'm going to look at Google Calendar. Is it possible to sync iCal to Google and from there with the iPhone Calendar?

Yes.

 

[Matthew9559]

I'm going to look at Google Calendar. Is it possible to sync iCal to Google and from there with the iPhone Calendar?

I did this before I purchased MobileMe. It works very well.

 

[ipedro]

So I went ahead and configured this. It works well for One calendar but is a bit messy to get multiple calendars to work well.

I think I'll opt to just use one calendar anyway. I rarely see the need for different coloured calendars, even though I like to keep my personal and business cal's separate for no good reason

 

[nadyne]

I think what I need is a dedicated computer with Exchange Server on it.... or if I can find a way to use my current email addresses (custom domains) with MobileMe, I wouldn't mind paying the annual fee.

Alternately, there plenty of hosted Exchange solutions so that you don't have to run your own Exchange server in-house, and many of them will be happy to work with your custom domains. There's a list of hosted Exchange providers here.

Regards,
Nadyne.

 

[Macsterguy]

This is fantastic

http://busymac.com/

 

[317342]

In my opinion the Yahoo calendar integrates better with iCal than does Google Calendar. (I have both)