Filed under: Software, Freeware, Open Source, Beta Beat
Mozilla Sunbird 0.8 for Mac OS X
Maybe it's time to look at Mozilla Sunbird 0.8 for Mac OS X. It's developed by the same people who brought us Firefox and Thunderbird. It's almost identical to the Lightning calendar plugin for Thunderbird, but doesn't require that email app to run. Upon first startup, Sunbird will import events and tasks from your existing calendar application.
The UI is plain and simple, probably because this is a multi-platform application (Windows, Linux, and Solaris in addition to Mac OS X) that shares a lot of code between the different flavors. Sunbird can tie into CalDAV servers such as the one in Mac OS X Server 10.5, and can subscribe to any .ics format shared calendars. In limited testing, Sunbird felt responsive in searches and was quite stable for betaware.
Sunbird, of course, is free. If you are searching for a new calendar app, give it a try.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jim said 12:45PM on 7-06-2008
Would this be able to sync with an iPhone?
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Tim said 1:24PM on 7-06-2008
Advise needed:
We, as a family, use Google calendar (GCal). In order to maintain an "offline" calendar that will sync with GCal when "online" we have been using iCal with an app called BusySync. Do either Sunbird or Nighthawk have that same ability to sync with GCal and maintain appointments "offline", either native or with an extension?
Thanks in advance!
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RL said 1:34PM on 7-06-2008
I've been using this extension (Google Calendar Provider) with Thunderbird/Lightning and it works great for creating a two-way sync with Google Calendar.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/sunbird/addon/4631
I don't know if I read your question right, but hopefully this is what you were looking for.
Tim said 1:45PM on 7-06-2008
Thanks, that's part of it. Now I'm also wondering if Sunbird with the extension will maintain appointments when not connected to the internet. Or do they not show up because Sunbird isn't connected and cannot "sync".
Thanks again!
Vince said 3:44AM on 7-07-2008
How would it be able to sync when it wasn't online? Telepathically?
I'm guessing you have dialup, because if you have cable or DSL you're always connected, and it'd be able to sync as long as your computer was on and the app open.
Tim said 6:09AM on 7-07-2008
Bad guess Vince. Unlike you I leave the house and since I have a laptop my computer can go with me. There are times when I am not near an unlocked wireless network but still need my calendar.
BusySync performs a sync between iCal and GCal but leaves appointments in iCal even when I'm offline. If I make moves, adds or changes while offline BusySync waits until I'm connected again and updates GCal.
I was hoping Sunbird + extension might provide the same functionality without the cost.
Big John said 1:32PM on 7-06-2008
It's so visually busy, I wouldn't even know where to focus. Maybe they'll start cleaning up the interface soon.
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Chris Coleman said 1:39PM on 7-06-2008
No mistaking the clusterf*ck UI of an open-source cross-platform app!
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rjesslavolette said 2:16PM on 7-06-2008
If I could sync Sunbird with both my Google Calendar and with the iPhone I plan to purchase in the near future, I would download it in a heartbeat.
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SG said 4:16PM on 7-06-2008
look at those dumb tabs that are Mac OS X 10.0 style... firefox devs just dont get it.
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Nic said 6:20PM on 7-06-2008
I use plaxo to sync ical with google, outlook, entourage etc
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comctrl6 said 8:50PM on 7-06-2008
There's nothing "native" about any of Mozilla's apps. They try to emulate the GUI elements in XUL and they fail miserably.
I'll take GCal or with BusySync and iCal, thank you very much.
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Ed said 9:00PM on 7-06-2008
I tried out Sunbird a few weeks back and was pretty dissapointed. I use thunderbird and firefox a lot, so I expected better I guess. I managed to get syncing with google calender to work, which was nice, but the whole UI seems designed to frustrate people. I can't remember the specific problem I was having, but I gave up and decided to use Google Calender, which is much better!
Oh, and Google Calender can print calenders really well (using PDF) unlike Sunbird which fails miserably at producing a calender thats remotely useful on paper... Perhaps it'll get there, and it's probably ok for basic functions, but iCal or Google Calender are much better options.
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Dave Barnes said 11:42PM on 7-06-2008
"No mistaking the clusterf*ck UI of an open-source cross-platform app!"
So true.
And, no "sales pitch" to tell me why I should consider it.
Marketing--lack thereof--is the biggest weakness of efforts such as this one.
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Jean-Christophe Helary said 1:53AM on 7-07-2008
I am not a geek, but I've found that my needs were fully covered by emacs and its diary mode... And that also works (of course) within Aquamacs emacs...
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Virduk said 2:43AM on 7-07-2008
Well I certainly like lightning, its the one calendar app I do use. I might have tried iCal if it synced with Google Calendar. Sadly it does, and won't anytime soon as Apple wants to pimp .me instead.
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Ben Darlow said 5:31AM on 7-07-2008
Interface-wise, Sunbird has been like this forever, both on OS X and Windows. Don't assume it'll improve any time soon.
Quite how anybody could hate iCal and find this easier to understand or in any way better is beyond me. Once there is proper Exchange integration in 10.6, even Entourage's days will be numbered.
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Steph Hancock said 3:16AM on 7-10-2008
Contactizer Pro, too complicated?? Are you kidding?
This is probably the most Mac Like of all the apps your mentioned! It is not "a simple" app that's true, it is a very powerful PIM that I'm enjoying daily. But honestly the guys behind contactizer are really following the good workflows and the mac way of doing things.
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