If you are a Merlin user and thinking of upgrading to the new MobileMe calendars, please be aware that…
- It converts your local calendars to subscribed calendars; which means Merlin won’t be able to sync to them
- According to Apple, it is compatible to Mac OS X 10.6.4 or newer ; if you have any machines running Mac OS X 10.5.x, they won’t fully sync.
- There is a downgrade option to revert back to old MobileMe calendars at https://www.me.com/calendar/downgrade/
Why is that?
Merlin uses Apple’s SyncServices API for syncing with iCal. The new MobileMe calendar data is moved to a new calendar service, which supports the CalDAV standard. CalDAV is an industry-standard calendar protocol that works with the latest Apple iOS devices.
This means. You may sync locally your Merlin projects to iCal and sync with other Macs, but your local calendars won’t get synced to your MobileMe calendars accessed over your iOS devices.
In case you do decide to use the new MobileMe calendars, we recommend exporting your project schedules in local iCal calendars and in a second step into your MobileMe calendars.
A similar approach is suggested by Apple when resolving problems with duplicate calendars.
You may consider as an alternative sharing your private calendars to be viewed and edited by MobileMe members to whom you have granted permission.
Relevant links
- Frequently asked questions about the new MobileMe Calendar
- Resolving Duplicate Calendars in iCal with the new MobileMe Calendar
- Setting up iCal for the new MobileMe Calendar
- Using Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.x with the new MobileMe Calendar
I published the project (remote project) to iCal with auto-sync option is set. It seems that the syncing isn’t happening unless I keep merlin running on my machine, but once I close merlin, there wont by any remote syncing!!
That’s right. This is how iCal syncing works.
Since Apple is about to discontinue the old mobile me calendar system, will Merlin be updated to be compatible again?
Hello Alex,
as stated in the post you can still use your calendars with Merlin. Just to have to perform the following steps:
“In case you do decide to use the new MobileMe calendars, we recommend exporting your project schedules in local iCal calendars and in a second step into your MobileMe calendars.”