March 2008 News Posts
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Torn between
two datebooks by Clark Fralick |
Date:
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03/09/2003
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Torn between two datebooks
I don't like to beat a dead horse but when the
horse is down, I might as well take a few whacks. Not that it does any good,
but it makes me feel better.
I am in a snit over an issue and can't figure out
a solution. I'm torn between two Datebook replacements and feeling like a fool.
I think I'm a little crazy when it comes to choosing my Datebook: Datebk5 vs.
Agendus. Maybe I'm spending too much time worrying about a trivial matter.
Don't roll your eyes and think this is going to be a feature comparison or
pissing contest because it's not. It's not that simple, it's much fuzzier than
that.
Most power users (anyone who's installed more
than their fair share of 3rd party software) agree that the default date book
doesn't cut it. It's good for keeping track of appointments, but that's it. No
filtering, color, icons, contact management etc. to further organize our busy
schedule. I mean come on; we need to be organized! So most of us migrate to
either Datebk5 by Pimlico software or Agendus by Iambic. Choosing between these
is no easy choice. (Just for fun try reading some of the entertaining,
sometimes infantile banter of a Datebk vs. Agendus thread at your local forum.
Not to be outdone by the annoying buzz that is becoming known as Zlauncher vs.
the world. Yikes!:)
Programs aside, Pimlico and Iambic seem to have
different philosophical visions. You can tell this by the development of their
programs and of their business practices. Pimlico (Datebk5) is a one-man shop.
All sales profits go toward the Gorilla Havens project. (A worthy cause) Even
though the Datebk product has been around for what seems like ages, Pimlicos'
support is top notch. From the earliest users to new alike, the developer is
always answering questions and solving problems on their Yahoo Group.
Iambic on the other hand is focusing on the sales
professional. With many products including Agendus, Sales Warrior, Time
Reporter and several office applications. But just because you want to be a big
player in the business world doesn't mean you have to act that way. Poor
support and bad business decisions does not equal more sales. If you visit
their forum to ask a question, don't count on a timely response.
Both programs are great. That's my problem. I
can't make up my mind. Each has it's strong points and each has it's weak ones.
But neither is perfect. They both have these little problems that bug me.
They're like cup holders in cars. There are plenty of them, but they're not big
enough to hold my 32oz diet Coke. You know what I mean? I call these the
in-differences because to me they make a difference but someone else might
think they're trivial. I tend to favor the little things that ultimately make
the biggest difference. But then again, I'm fickle. In a perfect world, I would
take parts from each and combine them to make one awesome PIM. But that will
never happen. So are these things that cause me to install the other program
only to switch back later?
What follows are a few things that I notice
separate these two programs. Some are features of design, be it poor or not,
and some fall into the realm of aesthetics.
(in)Difference #1: Looks
Some people live for looks (form) while others
strive for functionality. Shouldn't we have both?
Both programs do high-res poorly (IMHO). Agendus
has better/bolder text, but you can only have it one-way: either all on or all
off. I can't read the text half the time and the high-res icons look awful. Not
only that, it looks as though Iambic can't decide to implements hi-res
completely. (Check out the low-res am/pm letters, scroll bar and split screen
bar in the daily view.) Datebk, on the other hand, allows you to choose which
views have hi-res, but the text is way too thin. My solution is to not use the
hi-res in either; at least until one does it better.
Agendus looks better and more up to date with the
ledger styling, but not that much better. How difficult would it be to add a
preference to change the color of the ledger? On the other hand, Datebk5 is
plainer. It looks more like the standard Datebook by design. If Pimlico could
change the bitmaps on the toolbar across the bottom and had the ability to have
a ledger style colored table, like Agendus, many DB users would rejoice.
Of course there's always reason for this. I find
it easier to enter data directly into the timeslot than having a pop up table.
Both programs allow the use of color to emphasize data, but as usual,
differently. Datebk5 is easier to add color to meetings and to-dos by allowing
you to have the color set automatically by categories. Agendus users have to do
it manually for each meeting, but can have it set automatically for to-dos.
Agendus users have been requesting this feature for as long as I can remember.
But it seems to fall on deaf ears.
(in) Difference #2:Contact
Management
I teach at an Elementary school, so I don't
"need" to have contact management as a primary reason for my address
book let alone at the drop of a pencil, but when I need a name or phone number,
I want to be able to find it quickly and easily. Both of these programs have
increased the usability of the built-in address book exponentially (that means
a lot). Agendus, again, looks much nicer: Especially the letter bar. It makes
it very easy to get to a group of contacts. And I like that I can switch the
sorting order, but I also like how Datebk5 handles the address display after
I've selected a name. The letters are larger and easier to read. Again, both
can assign a color by category, although differently. Why can't Pimlico take a
cue from Agendus and at least implement some additional sorting methods (i.e.
by company name) to their address book or a letter bar.
(in) Difference #3: Views
Views - Agendus now has 13 slick views, Datebk
has custom views. I use 2: The split view and the list view. Agendus' views are
nice because you don't have to create them. Datebk5 has five standard views
plus custom views. Agendus' views are harder to read. Datebk5s are plain to
look at but tend to show more information. Why can't Datebk5 have the option to
put certain views (a contact view) across the bottom without having to going
into their custom views?
(in)Difference #4 Repeating
events.
This is one of those things that makes me ask
myself "What are they thinking?" Both programs allow you to have
repeating events. That is if I have a meeting on the first Tuesday of the
month, I can have it repeat on those days. This is a very powerful option IF
your events are always on the first day of the month or every other week.
Because I work in an education setting, mine rarely are. But Datebk5 allows for
irregular events, Agendus doesn't. Have I requested this feature? Yes. Have I
received any response? No.
So you can see I am torn between two Datebooks. I
love the looks of Agendus and it's contacts view but hate the fact that you
have to enter everything for each new meeting and the support is awful. I love
Datebk5s features and functionality and but it lacks aesthetics. What can I do
but pray someone wakes up and makes a Datebook replacement that has all the
looks of Agendus with the functionality of Datebk5.
If you are in the market for a Datebook
replacement, I recommend trying both for the full trial period. Sometimes
during that period of time you will find something that bugs the hell out of
you and sends you to use the other program. For me? I haven't found it yet.
(Although Iambic came very close last year with the domain name controversy)
But I'm still looking.
Well, that pretty much does it for now. I've
wasted enough of your time and I appreciate your ear. Oh by the way, while
writing this article I switched twice between Agendus and Datebk5. Currently,
I'm using Agendus; no I just switched to Datebk5. Will it ever end?
PS. It is much easier going from Agendus to
Datebk5 than the other way around.
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