This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on April 14, 2006). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.
There’s a certain irony in Google‘s new Google Calendar supporting the iCal standard for calendar sharing and distribution (named, unsurprisingly, for Apple’s iCal calendar application) when — as usual — they don’t yet support the standard Mac web browser.
Sigh.
I don’t know why I even bother checking, really — this has been the pattern every time Google’s unveiled something new and shiny.
“James Brown Is Dead (Take Outs)” by L.A. Style from the album James Brown Is Dead (1991, 0:55).
Supporting? You’re too kind. I call it “aping.”
The official name of the standard is in fact iCalendar, though it is also known as iCal. Apple’s iCal application was the first implementation of the standard, not the basis for it. iCalendar was specified by the IETF’s Calendaring and Scheduling Working Group in 1998. Which specification was authored by people from Lotus and Microsoft, no less. Now there’s irony to be savoured.
Hit these links for more:
Wikipedia’s entry
The spec
That pisses me off, too. Mainly ’cause I know one of the interface guys at Google and he’s a Safari user. sigh