Today and iCal is Better Than Yesterday

SecondGear’s Today is a qualfied companion for Apple’s iCal. Manage tasks and events without lingering in iCal.

Today is a powerful, easy to use event and task management application for Mac OS X Leopard. Built on top of the same data engine as Apple’s iCal and Mail programs, Today lets you quickly see what events and tasks are on today’s agenda with the click of a button.

Handy floating window lets you see upcoming events, add events, add tasks to the to-do list. What’s Today missing?

Hope Floats

Today may end up being the little companion that could. If you find iCal to be a bit cumbersome, ignore it and use Today instead. Today works with iCal’s database to store and updates tasks and events.

Today shows you all the events and tasks that are stored in Apple’s iCal in a small, easily browsable window. Today distinguishes between different events based on the calendar color you define in iCal. Create or edit an event or task in iCal? Today will automatically pick up the change so your data is with you wherever you go.

I like simple and elegant. That’s Today. Notice the events from iCal without opening iCal (click on the image for a close up view).

Today shows you what’s going on for the day with a single glance, no clutter, no searching for information. Tasks can be entered by clicking the task tool at the bottom of the window.

Preferences

Setup is as easy as a Mac application gets. Unzip Today, drag it to your Applications folder. Double click to open. You get seven days trial.

Set Today to open when you login to your Mac. Set Today to float on top of all other applications (good if you have lots of screen real estate). Choose to show Today either in the Dock or in the Menubar. Set a Hot Key to bring Today to the front.

Today shows you all the events and tasks that are stored in Apple’s iCal in a small, easily browsable window. Today distinguishes between different events based on the calendar color you define in iCal. Create or edit an event or task in iCal? Today will automatically pick up the change so your data is with you wherever you go.

Sync Friendly

Not only does Today sync with iCal, it syncs with what’s in your pocket.

Today can also inherit events created on your iPod touch or iPhone. The next time you synchronize your device, Today will detect the updated events and show them to you.

If you’re blessed with multiple Macs you can sync between them with your Apple .Mac account and Today knows which and what to use when displaying your events and tasks.

Events & Tasks

iCal is all about scheduling events and listing tasks. It’s just not as friendly about it as it could be, but with today you can forget about iCal except for a major peek from time to time.

Today can also create new events or tasks without having to keep iCal or Mail open at all times. With just a few clicks, you’ll be scheduling that meeting next week or creating a reminder to pick up the kids after school. The best part? Anything you create in Today is automatically synced with Mail, iCal and the iPhone!

Can managing today’s tasks and events get much easier? Click a button to enter an event or task, fill in the information, and it schedules and syncs automatically (click on the image for a close up view).

Missing Pieces

Not bad for $15. Today’s makers have decidedly kept the interface simple and elegant. And that’s the problem.

iCal is not exactly rocket surgery or brain science, and won’t task your ability to understand a more complex user interface. I like Today, but found that quite often I need to look beyond today’s events and tasks. More often than often, in fact.

In iCal, all I have to do is leave it open in Week View and scan forward to see what’s happening and when. No can do in Today. To see tomorrow in Today you have to click forward, one day at time, so you don’t get a quick glance at schedule openings.

SecondGear’s Today is nicely done and will improve with age. But I miss being able to see into tomorrow.

Update

Sorry, I just had to do this. I took iCal, which is free in Mac OS X, and squeezed the window down to a single day, then opened iCal’s to-do list (click on the image for a close up view).

What you end up with is a non-floating Today, minus the $15 charge, and with a lot more features just a click or two away. Today needs to do more.