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Issue Date: December 24, 2006
GADGETS
Calendars go digital
Our favorite up-to-date choices for your on-the-go lifestyle
By Stephanie Yu
Calendar-driven tech tools are crafted to meet every need.
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It's not as if we fault anyone for using old-fashioned paper calendars -- they're so, umm, quaint. But the "smart" calendar has emerged as the current must-have. Why, it's like having your own personal e-assistant. Consider which of these digital calendars -- some new, some with upgrades on the way -- may best fit your style.
For multi-tasking office wizards:
Microsoft Outlook 2007
ETA: Jan. 30
If you fear missing deadlines because your schedule is always squeezed, you probably want to check out the latest from Outlook. One of the standout upcoming features is a streamlined "to-do" bar, which can function as a cyber bulletin board. The bar is complete with a mini-calendar, a catalog of your upcoming events and a checklist where tasks can be arranged in order of priority. And if you procrastinate, any overdue to-do items will get rolled over and come back to haunt you in a bold red font that practically screams, "Stop putting me off!" (Hey, your co-workers tell you this all the time, right?)
For on-the-go households:
Cozi Central
ETA: Recently released
Cozi Central has created family-friendly scheduling software that will steer your family in the right direction. You cane-text your shopping lists and coordinate all of your family members' schedules with the click of a button. In other words, Cozi will make sure no Costco run for toilet paper is forgotten and no parent-teacher conference is missed (unless you actually prefer it that way). In addition, a dynamic Cozi screensaver will display your upcoming events.
For the "know-it-alls":
Google Calendar
ETA for new feature: Early 2007
Google Calendar, available since April, enables users to coordinate their lives via an inventory of public calendars ranging from "Baltimore weather" to "Mets games" to "Tide patterns for kayakers." When using Google's Gmail e-mail service, type in a phrase such as "lunch meeting" or "flight," and it will prompt you to add it to your calendar. That's not all: Coming up is a feature that will synchronize Google Calendar with your cellphone and PDA.
For the social set:
AirSet and Plaxo
ETA for Plaxo new feature: Early 2007
With AirSet, create a group calendar for every aspect of your life, be it family, work or your local beer-tasting club. The group calendar becomes a forum where members update events so you don't do all the scheduling yourself. Members also create to-do lists, add contacts or write on the group blog within their mutual AirSet calendar. Plaxo soon will allow users to subscribe to a group and integrate all appointments from the group calendar into the personal calendar -- whether it's the softball season schedule or book-club meeting times.
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