Calendar

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed by our readers.

This week, readers wrote in with questions on whether it is possible to prevent drives from spinning up at boot, system fans increasing noise when watching video files, and options for managing birthday events in the OS X calendar. I welcome contributions from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: Prevent drive spin-up at boot. MacFixIt reader Samuel asks:

Is it possible to set the system so attached drives do not spin … Read more

Calendar app Tempo cuts its wait list, expands to Canada

Having healthy demand for your product is ideal, but Raj Singh, the CEO behind popular calendar app Tempo, knows that it's not good to keep people waiting in line too long.

That's why starting today, people will get access to Tempo twice as fast, Singh told CNET. "The goal is we want to get rid of the line. We know nobody likes lines," he said, adding that there are a few thousand people left on the wait list.

And although Tempo, the iOS app that had thousands waiting to use it at launch, isn't done … Read more

Keep track of appointments, events, and tasks with Efficient Calendar

Staying on top of appointments, to-do lists, and other items can be a chore, but Efficient Calendar offers a way to track your daily, weekly, or annual events in one easy-to-use package. While it doesn't offer email integration like Microsoft Outlook, it serves very nicely as a standalone calendar.

The interface is packed with information and options, but the main functions are neatly organized along the left side, allowing quick access to the calendar, events, and tasks. We found it very easy to add events and tasks with Efficient Calendar. A small window pops up for both with pull-down … Read more

Microsoft updates Windows 8 Mail, Calendar, and People apps

Microsoft has tweaked its Mail, Calendar, and People apps for Windows 8 and RT users with some much-need improvements.

The three core apps, which are bundled together, received some long overdue tweaks last night that make them a bit more user-friendly. But along with those improvements comes one negative: the Calendar app will no longer sync with Google Calendar appointments.

On the plus side, the Mail app now offers full folder management. You can create, rename, and delete folders and subfolders to better organize your e-mail.

Managing individual messages is also much easier. You can select multiple e-mails to delete, … Read more

Manage your events in Sunrise Calendar

Sunrise Calendar is a beautiful tool that can simplify tracking and viewing your daily tasks, and integrates multiple calendar applications into a single, easy-to-use interface. Upon installation, you'll be asked to log in to your Facebook account, which mostly just adds birthdays to your calendar. After setup, however, you can log in to your Google account and your LinkedIn account. In fact, it is highly recommended that you add a Google Calendar so you can set up new calendars and add events. Most of the app's functions don't work without an integrated Google Calendar.

Importing your calendar … Read more

Create a shift calendar using Shift Worker's Calendar Lite

There are quite a few calendar apps in the iOS app store, many of them offering pared-down, intuitive interfaces that interact with Facebook and other online services. Shift Worker's Calendar is designed to serve a specific niche of individuals and managers in industries with shift workers. Integrating tools for recording overtime, shift schedules and total compensation, it has as lot of promise, but ultimately falls flat due to clunky, at times frustrating design choices, unnecessary tools and a lack of resources to guide in setup.

It's not immediately clear who this app is for, whether it would be … Read more

CNET Editorial Calendar

June 2013

June 10-13: E3 2013 E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, highlights the latest in interactive games for computers, consoles, handhelds, and more.

June 10-14: WWDC 2013 Apple is expected to unveil new versions of iOS and OS X, the company's mobile and computer software operating systems, at its annual developers conference.

June 26-28: Microsoft Build Developer Conference See what Microsoft has planned for Windows, Office, IE, and more.

July 2013

July 1-31: Road Trip 2013 CNET's Daniel Terdiman heads out on his eighth-annual journey in search of some of the most interesting destinations for technology, aviation, architecture, … Read more

Expanded Gmail field trial brings calendar results to search

Here's a nice new feature for anyone in Gmail's field trial, which brings personalized results directly into Google search. The trial, which is available only after you opt in, brings information like Gmail results, receipts, reservations, and Google Drive documents onto the search engine results page.

Today's update brings Google Calendar items into the trial. As the company put it on Google+:

We've added Calendar results to your Gmail and Drive results. You can learn your entire schedule for the day by searching for [what is on my calendar today]. Or if you'd want to … Read more

Sunrise is a beautiful, free iPhone calendar alternative

Last November I covered a new service called Sunrise. The goal of the service, after connecting it to your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google Calendar accounts, was to help you start the day with a personalized agenda in your inbox. It would incorporate details about upcoming meetings, as well as who you're meeting with, from the various services.

While having an organized agenda automatically created for you each morning with important details was intriguing, after using the service for a few weeks the e-mail started to feel more like spam than a helpful digital assistant.

Fast-forward to today: Sunrise has … Read more