One of the things I miss about Outlook since I changed to Thunderbird is the calendar. I also had a handy little app that synced it with Google (handy since I use Android on my tablet and phone) and a gadget at the side of the screen that let me know what was coming my way.
Anyway, not only have I lost Outlook but also the gadget functionality that came with Windows 7.
A bit of searching led me to 8GadgetPack a handy utility that allows you to use gadgets in Windows 8, either directly on the desktop or as part of a sidebar (especially handy now I have 2 monitors and space I can sacrifice to have this stuff always available)
This gave me the ever popular analogue clock which saves me having to squint at the bottom corner of the screen, and a range of gadgets that are similar to the ones that came with windows 7, but the calendar options that come with the initial installation seem limited.
A bit of searching brought me to Windows Live Calendar which will happily sync with calendars that use the iCal format (Windows Live and Google among them).
Install the gadget, go to Google Calendar and click “Share” on the calendar you want to add. On the calendar tab is “Private Address” and two buttons next to it. Click the one that says iCal and paste the URL into the calendar gadget. As easy as that.
