Google Calendar examined

So due to the fact that I'm leaving my job in three and a half days and my Work Outlook is about to go away, I took the plunge and started playing around with Google Calendar. The big drawback remains that it's incompatible with Safari, my browser of choice, but hopefully they'll decide to remedy that soon.

Anyway, I started playing around with Google Calendar and so far I like what I see. Much like Gmail, Googe Calendar is clearly an AJAX-enabled app that allows for very quick and responsive interaction, as well as drag and drop functionality. You can easily add events by clicking anywhere in the calendar view and bringing up a floating dialog box where you enter the appointment specifics. Clicking 'Edit event details' brings up another dialog where you can create recurring events, invite other people, etc. That feature, very similar to Outlook's 'Invite Attendees' feature, is one of the coolest features I've discovered so far. I haven't tried any of the importing or exporting features yet, so I'll reserve comment on that until I actually try it.

And also much like Gmail, I have a feeling I have yet to discover all the features of this application. But so far so good – as long as I don't miss any Cubs games or my first day of work, I'll give it the thumbs-up.

Google Calendar?

What, Google Calendar? Of COURSE Google made a calendar program. What was I thinking?

According to the description page, Google Calendar syncs up with Outlook and iCal and "other popular calendar applications." This may be exactly what I need: a web based application that's compatible with commercial systems. Unfortunately, it's not yet compatible with Safari, the browser I use most often. But I am very excited to see that this exists, and I'll evaluate the program as soon as I can access it.

Keeping it All Together

I am currently in the process of changing jobs. I recently accepted a position at a large consulting company doing User Experience work. In the remaining three weeks at my current position, I have to address the rather daunting issue of how I will manage my calendar, contacts, and other such personal information that is stored on servers and systems possessed by my employer.

After owning two or three Palm devices which were respectively lost and stolen, I gave up on keeping a physical Palm device, but still used the calendar software on my Mac. My employer of the past five years required me to keep an Outlook calendar that I was suposed to use for scheduling meetings and my general availability. I immediately hated Microsoft Outlook, mostly on principal, because it seemed clunky and slow. The main problem was that Microsoft stopped supporting Outlook after Mac OS 9.x and caused numerous crashing-type problems on my computer. To make matters worse, Mac Palm and Mac Outlook didn't have the ability to communicate with one another, and manually maintaining duplicate calendar entries in two different systems ceased to be efficent. This was especially the case for personal events that would impinge upon work time, such as doctor's appointments. So despite my initial misgivings as to the application's usability, because I didn't think I had any choice in the matter, I became a full-fledged Outlook devotee. At least it had a web interface so I could easily acces it from home.

Fast foward five years, and now I am leaving the company, and leaving Outlook. What do to with my contacts? What to do with weddings, Cubs games, concerts, family events scheduled months in advance? I'm sure my new employer will have a calendar and scheduling system, possibly even Outlook. But I have to do something with all of my information in the interrim. And I don't really think it's a good idea to have my entire personal life scheduled in my employer's database. During the next few weeks, I'm going to investigate possible calendar systems and evaluate their utility and usability in-depth, and pick one.

How does everyone else manage their personal information?

Hi!

Welcome, readers! This is the inaugural post in my HCI 445 design blog. I hope you find it to be an interesting and informative resource for all things designerly.