Tech

How to add multiple calendars to your Google Calendar – MobileSyrup

Published

5 years ago

April 27, 2020

If you have to deal with multiple Google Calendars, you know the process can be incredibly annoying.

Whether you’re constantly switching back and forth between your personal Gmail and G Suite accounts on the web, or you want access to your calendar events through Google Assistant, there are several hiccups along the way. However, as someone who’s lived through those difficulties, there are workarounds.

In my experience, the easiest way to dodge all the Google Calendar hurdles is to combine all your calendars into one mega-cal. I figured this out shortly after switching to the Pixel 4, which restricted access to the revamped Google Assistant to regular Google Accounts. Since I also used a G Suite account for work, I had to remove from my device or I couldn’t access the new Assistant. While not a big deal, doing so meant I’d lose access to my work calendar on my phone. However, it didn’t take long to build my mega-cal.

Method 1: Send yourself an invite

Probably the easiest way to get access to your calendars is to invite yourself to it. I’d advise using the Google Calendar website as the mobile app can be a bit finicky. To start, you’ll need to switch to the Google Account with the calendar you want to share (to do so, click on the profile icon in the top right corner of Google Calendar and either click the account or sign in to it).

When you’ve signed in, head to Google Cal’s Settings, accessible by clicking the gear icon at the top of the page on the right side. Once in Settings, look on the left side of the screen. About partway down is a header that says ‘Settings for my calendars’ with a list of your calendars underneath it. Pick the one you want to share.

Scroll down to the ‘Share with specific people’ header and click the ‘+ Add people’ button. A pop-up will ask you for the email of the person you want to share with as well as a permissions option. It’s worth noting that some G Suite accounts will impose limits on what calendar information you can share with others.

This should send an email invite to the email address you enter, which you can click to join the calendar. When you access Google Calendar with that account, you should be able to see events from that calendar in your account.

Method 2: Subscribe to a calendar or add it via URL

Another way to add a Google Calendar to a Google Account is to ‘subscribe’ to it or add its unique URL. Both options are accessible under the ‘Add calendar’ header in Google Calendar Settings on the account you want to add the calendar too.

To subscribe to a calendar, type in the email address of the calendar’s owner. When you do, Google Calendar will prompt you to send a message requesting access to that calendar to its owner.

Alternatively, you can copy and paste a calendar URL into the ‘From URL’ section under ‘Add calendar.’ To get a calendar’s URL, you’ll need either yourself or someone with access to that calendar to access the ‘Calendar settings’ page like in the previous method. However, this time scroll down to ‘Integrate calendar’ and copy the ‘Public URL to this calendar’ or ‘Public address in iCal format.’

Entering one of those two URLs into the ‘From URL’ box should let you add that calendar to your Google Account.

Managing your mega-cal and the benefits that come with it

Once you’ve added all your calls, you may find your mega-cal overwhelming. That’s okay because it’s easy to manage from either the Google Calendar website or app. By tapping the checkmark next to each calendar, you can hide it or display it. Additionally, you can modify things like colours to help distinguish each calendar you’ve added.

That can be done by hovering over the calendar you want to modify and clicking the three dots to pick a colour. On mobile, you need to go into settings, tap the calendar you want to modify then change the colours.

Further, when adding events, you can quickly switch which calendar the event will be added to, which makes it easy to manage multiple calendars simultaneously.

Perhaps the biggest benefit to doing this is support across Google’s smart speaker and display line-up. In my case, since our MobileSyrup calendar is also accessible through my personal Gmail, my Google Home speaker can recognize upcoming work events when I ask about my calendar.

It’s worth noting there may be a few extra steps to initialize that. To tweak which calendars the Google Assistant can view, head to the Google Account settings on your phone. To access it, activate Assistant and tap the inbox-like icon in the bottom left of the screen. Then, tap your profile picture in the top right followed by Services > Calendar. On this screen, you can select which calendars the Google Assistant can view as well as which calendar to use as the default.

Once you’ve made a selection, it might take a few minutes to update across all your Google Assistant devices but then you’ll be able to access all your calendar events across all devices connected to a singular Google Account.

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Tech

Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

Published

7 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.

“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.

The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.

However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”

Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.

A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.

“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.

“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”

The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.

At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.

A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”

Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.

Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.

Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.

Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.

While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.

Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.

The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

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Health

Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

Published

3 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Tech

Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

Published

3 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

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