calendar

This add-on for Mozilla Thunderbird with Lightning might be a one-hit wonder, but it provides a impressive service: it allows you bidirectional access to your Google Calendar in Lightning. To use it, you need to grab the XML link for your Google Calendar, under the Settings tab. Then go to new calendar in Lightning, choose Google Calendar, and paste in the XML URL. Voila: instant Google Calendar access, so that you can create, edit, and delete events in your Google Calendar from within Thunderbird. Likewise, changes made to your calendar on the Web are instantly reflected in Thunderbird.

There are … Read more

One of the biggest disappointments of Mozilla e-mail client Thunderbird 3 was that plans to bake in the calendaring extension Lightning were abandoned. When Thunderbird 3 debuted, users got a bit of a shock: Lightning wasn't compatible with the upgrade. Although there was a work-around through the Lightning nightly updates, the official build wasn't going to graduate.

Lightning 1.0 beta 1 fixes that, and also introduces to stable build users features that have been available in the nightly for some time. Lightning now displays the calendar and accompanying task manager in tabs, offers support for SeaMonkey 2, … Read more

I live on the Net. I turn to a browser when a question needs answering, the Web houses my e-mail and photos, and my news and entertainment arrive via broadband.

So it wasn't until the third online Web site failed me that it dawned on me: maybe software running natively on a computer might do better when it comes to printing this year's photo calendar. After iPhoto got the job done, I ended up spending $198.27 for nine calendars through Apple--but even the company that arguably pays more attention than any other to a smooth user experience still made me grind my teeth a couple times. Does it really need to be this hard?

There are times when service at phone companies, insurance companies, and car mechanics frustrates me, but their interests--extracting as much of my money as possible--are often poorly aligned with my own. In the case of ordering up some calendars for family members, the roles seemed reversed: I was happy to pay real money, but it seemed like the online companies didn't want to take it.

This was by no means an exhaustive test of publishing sites. I didn't try Shutterfly, WebShots, or any other rivals, and I haven't even judged the output yet. But since the promise of Internet-based business for more than a decade now has been low-friction commerce, I thought I'd share my experience with the world that indicates there's still work to be done. Here's the route my journey took:

First stop: Qoop In 2009, I ordered my calendars through Qoop, so they had incumbent status this year. I fired up the site, picked an 8.5 x 11-inch calendar, cropped my photos accordingly, and started uploading.

The first problem arrived when about half the images wouldn't upload. I tried again, but had the same problem. A third try with somewhat lower-resolution images seemed to do the trick, but there wasn't any feedback from the site. Each time I clicked through the somewhat cryptic error messages, I saw only my selection of last year's photos at the site. … Read more

EZ Calendar lets you design and create custom calendars using photos you choose. You can select images from your own files or use one of the program's built-in themes. You can enter custom information on dates throughout the calendar, such as birthdays and anniversaries. You can customize the color of the calendar's background and grid, as well as change the font. There are 12- and 18-month calendar options, too.

The program's interface is self explanatory and easy to navigate, but there's a Help file available for those who need it. For people who just want to … Read more

VueMinder Calendar Pro provides a set of useful if unexceptional tools to help busy people stay organized. With a simple way to set reminders and tasks, this is a helpful program with a few special features that help it stand out from the crowded field of planning calendar software.

VueMinder's interface feels familiar and simple to operate from the first moment you open it. The layout reminded us of Microsoft Outlook's calendar system, which means all the command buttons were familiar, and we never needed to consult the Help file for instructions. We were able to insert important … Read more

Efficient Calendar Free is an attractive scheduling application that lets users to keep track of events, appointments, holidays, and more. If you're looking for a stand-alone calendar that's not integrated with your e-mail or other online activities, Efficient Calendar Free is a great option.

The program's interface is sleek and highly reminiscent of more recent versions of Microsoft Outlook. In fact, we'd be hard pressed to identify any ways that Efficient Calendar Free differs significantly from the calendar functions of Outlook, aside from the fact that it doesn't appear that this program can be used … Read more

XLCalendar is a simple program that allows users to create custom calendars in Excel. Combining intuitive operation with professional results, this program is a great way to make calendars quickly and easily.

The program's interface is basic, just a gray box with a few buttons and drop-down menus. Users select the calendar template that they want to use and then modify it as needed. Users can select whether they want to abbreviate the names of the months and days, for example, or change the cell in which a particular characteristic is displayed. There are multiple templates, allowing users to … Read more

In the Greek Orthodox religion, every day of the year is a nameday, dedicated to a saint or martyr. Each day has its associated feasts, celebrations, traditions, and so on, most ancient, and some actually predating Christianity, surviving from the days of Classical Greece. It's a lot to keep track of. Fortunately, modern technology once again helps maintain ancient tradition. Today Greek Calendar from Xarka Software displays all the Greek Orthodox namedays, feasts, and more, such as facts and lore from Greek history and culture ranging from antiquity to modern times. It has a lot of extras, too, such … Read more

TKexe Kalender is a simple program that allows users to create custom single-page calendars using their own images. Although the program is not the most sophisticated we've ever seen, it's easy to use and does a nice job making basic calendars.

The program's interface is plain but fairly intuitive, and the program guides users through the process of creating each calendar. Users can create weekly, monthly, yearly, or birthday calendars. Each calendar type has a handful of different templates, and although some users may find the selection lacking, we did appreciate the fact that the template colors … Read more