[jimmitchell]

While I too wish for some kind of iCal auto-sync preference, there is still the ability of assigning an key command in System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts using Leopard & Snow Leopard (maybe in Tiger too? Not sure).

I use <Cmd + S> to sync without having to click the iCal button in the toolbar. The only problem is remembering to do it when I've made a change on the fly.