BusyCal is a desktop calendar for Mac OS X that provides seamless calendar sharing and enhanced productivity tools for workgroups and individuals. BusyCal combines the the calendar sharing and synchronization technology from the award winning BusySync, with a beautiful desktop calendar interface that is instantly recognizable to iCal users — in one integrated application.

Top 5 reasons to use BusyCal

Why use BusyCal when iCal is free? For some users, iCal is sufficient. But if you need to share calendars with others, or are frustrated by the many limitations of iCal, then BusyCal may be right for you. Here are 5 areas where BusyCal shines.

1. Integrated calendar sharing and synchronization

BusyCal allows families and small workgroups to easily share calendars on a local area network and over the internet, without the need for a dedicated server. Shared calendars can be viewed and edited by multiple users and changes are instantly synchronized over the network.

BusyCal also syncs with Google Calendar, so you can access your calendar online, or sync between home and work computers by using Google Calendar as a conduit.

And BusyCal syncs with iCal, MobileMe, the iPhone, and other applications and devices that support Sync Services. So any data you enter in BusyCal will sync with your iPhone.

For more info, see: Screencast: Sharing calendars on a LAN and Screencast: Syncing with Google Calendar 

2. Non-modal info panel

BusyCal includes a non-modal info panel for viewing and editing event details. The info panel can be displayed as a floating window or embedded in the lower right corner of the calendar window.

The info panel makes data entry and viewing a breeze without having to double-click an event to view or edit its contents. And if you prefer the keyboard over the mouse, you can select and edit events solely from the keyboard with intuitive keyboard navigation and quick entry shortcuts.

And the info panel is customizable. You can choose to show just the basics, or add additional fields like tags, graphics, and multiple alarms.

For more info, see: Screencast: Event Info Panel

3. Customizable Views

The Month and Week views can scroll, so you can display just the current and future dates without wasting precious screen real estate on the past. And the month cells will scroll if you have a lot of events on a busy day.

In addition to traditional Month and Week views, BusyCal offers a two-week view and a List View. The List View can be customized and includes an expanded notes pane with rich text editing.

In addition, you can can customize the fonts styles and sizes of events, and display live weather feeds, moon phases, holidays, graphics, and sticky notes in your calendar.

To learn more, see: Screencast: Customizable Views and Screencast: Weather & Moon Phases.

4. To Dos

In BusyCal, To Dos are displayed in the calendar on the date they are due. To Dos will auto-forward each day until completed. Once completed, To Dos display in your calendar on the date they were completed with a checkmark. And To Dos can repeat, so you can create a repeating To Do, like a status report, that recurs each week.

To Dos can also be displayed in a To Do List format, sorted as you like.

To learn more, see: Screencast: Managing To Dos

5. Alarms

BusyCal displays alarms in a floating window that allows you to apply custom snooze intervals, and to snooze or dismiss all pending alarms.

In addition, BusyCal provides an alarm menubar app that displays the current day’s events and To Dos even when BusyCal is not running.

Lastly, BusyCal allows you to add alarms to read-only events. So, if you’re subscribed to a read-only calendar, like your local sports team, you can add alarms to the events on that calendar so you are reminded about them.

To learn more, see: Screencast: Alarms

Check it out

You can learn more and download a 30-day trial of BusyCal at busymac.com.