Web Apps: The Only Sensible Personal Data Tools?

Posted on January 30, 2008 by Bruce Keener

I’d like to get a discussion going on how you are managing your data: calendar, tasks, contacts, etc.

My sense is that many of you are turning to Web Apps for this, such as Google Calendar, Plaxo, Remember The Milk, BackPack, and so on. And, I suspect you are doing this because, like me, you have several different devices and operating systems and you are looking for a way to keep the same data on all of them.

Web Apps appear to offer a way to do this. Perhaps not perfectly, though, which is why I think we could benefit from discussing this with each other. But, first, a little bit about what motivated this discussion:

  • Susan of Mobility Site suggested this as a topic because she is interested in examining alternatives to her Windows Mobile applications.
  • Someone suggested via Skribit (on the sidebar) that we discuss the iPod Touch, asking the question “is it a replacement tool for Windows Mobile and Palm – now that new apps have been added?”
  • I personally wasted all day trying to sync my Outlook data with my iMac’s iCal and Entourage apps. I had been using Outlook within a VMware Fusion Windows Virtual Machine on my iMac for a long while, and just got to thinking: here I have iCal and Entourage and I am not making use of them, and what if I get an iPhone, which won’t sync with Outlook?

As for my own frustrations, instead of upgrading to the latest Missing Sync and trying to get iCal and Entourage to sync with my Dell x51v, without duplicating events, I would have been better off asking “why not just uninstall Entourage, since I am not using it?” So, I have now uninstalled Entourage and all of the Mac Office apps, since I use Google Apps instead of them anyway.

(I had been through all of this frustration once before, when I first got my iMac, so I should have known better than to try to force so many apps to sync with each other … it can be done, but takes a lot more patience than I have to eliminate all the duplications and so on.)

Anyway, back to the point: what have you tried out for your data tools and what has worked and what hasn’t?

In my own case, I use Plaxo, Outlook, and Google Calendar.

The thing I like about Plaxo is that it has my tasks and calendar and contacts all in one place. As long as I am connected to the web (which seems to be about always), I have all the data in front of me without having to load VMware Fusion so I can run Outllook. And, when I do decide to load Outlook, Plaxo syncs with Outlook. It also syncs with Google Calendar. Plaxo does not have a suitable interface for my BlackBerry, though. I do not know if it does for an iPhone or iPod Touch. Perhaps one of the Plaxo folks can tell us if they have this in the works. Google Calendar has a nice interface on my BlackBerry, but no task application.

I could come close to using Google Calendar only, and doing away with any dependence on Outlook or Plaxo. The key thing that holds me back is that Gcal does not have a tasks application built into it. I could fake one, I suppose. I could create a Friday (end of the week) all-day calendar entry called Tasks, and then fill in my task list into the details section of the entry. I could then just tap on it to see/modify my Task list. Does that sound like a sensible work-around to you? I haven’t tried it out, but I think it could work. Have you tried any such workarounds?

I have the sense that many people are transitioning to Web Apps, and that many more would if not for factors such as

  • Having to use Outlook or Lotus Notes at work and not being allowed by IT departments to sync that data with any Web Apps (Gcal, RTM, Plaxo, etc.)
  • A lack of appealing all-in-one Web Apps, which handle calendars, tasks, and contacts without one having to go to different sites for each
  • Not having the data available when offline (although advances with Google Gears may overcome that)

A good web app certainly has the advantage over traditional software in that you generally don’t have to install anything, or periodically update software, and it gives you the same data in a nice interface whether you are on Windows, a Mac, Ubuntu (or another Linux Distro), a BlackBerry, iPhone, or Windows Mobile or Palm device.

For me, Web Apps could be the only sensible solution for my data, given that I have several different devices and operating systems. What about you?

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  • capo

    That pretty much says it for me. I got tired of investing so much time and effort trying to sync everything. I realized what I was doing was the equivalent of trying to drive a nail with a socket wrench – “but I like the socket wrench – I want to find a way to make it work for me.” I wanted to make my Axim work in that role but it was just too much effort. I was more concerned with the mechanics of having my to-do’s, contacts and calendar sync’ed than I was in actually making use of the information. Web apps have reduced that headache. I’ve given up on the Pocket PC and now primarily use a browser on whatever device is available.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    And it sounds like you are making a good go of it, too, capo. Good for you. Hearing this from you only motivates me further.

    I think I am going to go ahead and set up my task list in Gcal using the “Friday appt” method I suggested earlier and then I will see how well I can do with it. I think it will work. And, when I do get an iPhone, which I will likely do sometime this year, then I won’t have to worry about a new sync technology for it.

    Thank you.

  • John

    I might wait on that IPhone if I were you. ;)

    http://www8.garmin.com/nuvifone/

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Thanks, John. I just read about it a little while ago at the 37signals blog, where they are saying it could be a real competitor to the iPhone.

    Thanks for pointing it out … definitely something to think about, especially for those who travel a good bit. For me, now that I am retired, a GPS is just not something I really need, and of course the GPS (and all its related Garmin goodies) are a key selling point for the nuvifone. So, I would still tend toward the iPhone, which I’d really like to see have improved battery life before I bite the bullet on it.

    Thanks again.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Thomas, thank you so much for the comments and suggestions. I will look at RTM and the FIrefox extension more and do an article on it. Sounds like it has promise, especially if my BlackBerry view of Gcal would work out good with it.

    As an aside to everyone: talk about multi-tasking: while I was reading this, Thomas and I actually exchanged a couple of emails (via) gmail and had a chat via gchat. I was switching back and forth between the three for a while. Not pertinent, but neat.

  • Thomas R. Hall

    Another thing I forgot to mention that is an advantage of the web-based apps: more pervasive ways to add content. For example, with things like GCal and RTM, you can SMS or even email new items from your phone/PDA, even if you’re not at a machine that can run the full browser-based version of the software.

    Also, they integrate with Jott, so if you think of something while driving, you can speed dial Jott and have it send a new task or calendar entry to RTM or GCal, respectively, all without having to type anything. Try doing that with Outlook or Exchange!

    Wait a minute, I just listed a con against my current setup of Hosted Exchange! :)

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Excellent points, Thomas!
    Yup, with you being such a big fan of hosted exchange, you are making a good case for ditching it :) I realize you aren’t ready to do that just yet, but you make a good case that many folks can use Web Apps without the need for hard to manage software (Outlook syncing with iCal, etc).

  • Thomas R. Hall

    Something else I forgot to mention on this, Bruce. In your post, you reference not being able to sync an iPhone with Outlook, but you can. Via iTunes for Windows, you can sync an iPhone with Outlook, and it pulls over your contacts, calendar, etc. Just something to keep in the back of your mind if you keep Outlook as your one “source of truth” and don’t switch over to the native Mac apps (iCal, Address Book, etc.) instead.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Thanks for bringing this up, Thomas. Yes, with VMware Fusion, I can keep Outlook open while on my iMac, and I would not have thought about the sync via iTunes. Good tip.

  • Nick

    Hey I was wondering wat I should do, I use only windows and am considering replacing my palm with a touch, there are two problems I have though.
    -I don’t have outlook! I’ve just been using the palm software and I see this doesn’t transfer. If I used gcal thtd be ok too but it would put of the valuable info such as social security on the web. and I’m not keen on spending 80 bucks on outlook.
    -second problem is I can see potential conflicts of not being able to acess the data offline.

    Thanks in advance for any suggestions :-)

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      Hi Nick,
      It’s been a long time since I used the Palm Desktop, but I seem to recall that it could export its data to a CSV file format (comma-separated-values). I think, though not 100% sure, that you can import such files into Google Calendar, Toodledo (for tasks), and Google Contacts. (Toodledo also has a interface for Notes, but I haven’t worked with it and don’t know if it can import your notes or not … I kinda doubt it). You would still have to clean out the SSN numbers that you have put into the data, but I would suspect you only have a few instances of that, so it shouldn’t be too bad.

      Then you can use Google Mobile Sync and Appigo’s ToDo app to sync all this stuff to your iPhone. The nice thing is that the Calendar and Contacts data will sync to the Calendar and Contacts apps on your iPhone, which do NOT require a web connection for use, and the tasks will sync from Toodledo to the Appigo ToDo app, which does not require a web connection for use. (Web connection is required for syncing of course, but not for normal use.) Changes made on either end sync nicely back and forth.

      Hope that helps.

  • Nick

    Yea, thanks alot :-) I’ll certainly give it a try

  • Nick

    One question, I like the toodledo but I’m curious, it seemed like you could sync tasks too google calender but i didn’t figure it out. So if then I sync it to the todo app will it synch to the google calender or apple calender on the iPod? Thx

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      I would not recommend syncing Toodledo to Google Calendar, personally. I haven’t tried it, but I like having my tasks handled by an app that is designed to handle tasks, not appointments.

      I would just set Toodledo up to sync with the Appigo ToDo app … you do that on the iPhone end by using the Appigo app’s settings.

  • Nick

    O ok thanks alot, that all sounds good. I’ll let you know how it works :-)

    one more thing… Wat about using Mozilla song bird or watever their program is. Thanks again, so much :-)

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      I have no idea what you are talking about with the song bird thing, Nick. If it doesn’t have a good tie to the iPhone, and some good reviews, I would certainly would not recommend it.

  • Nick

    and it was sunbird… :-l

  • Nick

    One question I have, I checked and toodledo still works when not connected to wifi, does this eliminate the need for todo? Thx again for all the help, all of the other functions have worked out pretty well:-)

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      Nick,
      Cool. I’ve used Appigo for so long that I had forgotten that you can get the Toodledo screen in Safari without being connected to Wifi. So, you’re cool without the Appigo app … you should be all set now.

  • Nick

    Yep, I’m all set, thank you so much :-) great site :-)