pim posts

Filed under: Software

Chandler 1.0, the open source PIM

by Giles Turnbull (RSS feed) on Aug 12th, 2008

Little noticed amid all the hubbub about Mobile Me, the App Store, iPhone killswitches and everything else, was the news from last week that Chandler 1.0 for OS X was finally released.

If that leaves you only fractionally less in the dark, here's some background: Chandler is a cross-platform, open source Personal Information Manager (PIM), and project of the Open Source Applications Foundation. The vision behind Chandler and the OSAF is that of Mitch Kapoor, designer of the original "killer app" for the PC generation, Lotus 1-2-3.

Chandler has been many years in gestation, but that's hardly surprising when you look at the feature set - there's a huge amount of stuff packed in there. The 3-minute guided tour (direct link to .mov file) is well worth watching for an overview.

The very first thing that catches my eye is the "Quick entry bar", which looks just like the search boxes you see in many other OS X apps like Mail and Safari. This one isn't just for search, though; it's also for rapid input. You type something, hit enter, and it instantly becomes a new item in Chandler for you to edit, expand on, and deal with later.

Chandler is a free download from chandlerproject.org. We'd be interested to hear what you make of it.

Via MacNetJournal

Tags: chandler, mitch kapoor, MitchKapoor, osaf, pim

Filed under: iPod Family, Software, iPhone, App Store

TUAW Review: eWallet for iPhone

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Jul 21st, 2008

I recently wrote a post about Ilium Software, developer of longtime mobile apps eWallet and ListPro, and Apple's delays in getting their applications into the App Store.

I don't take any credit (it was pure coincidence), but about 8 hours after my post eWallet showed up in the App Store. I purchased it immediately, since I used the Windows Mobile and Palm OS versions for years and have been hoping for an iPhone version.

In short, eWallet is both attractive and functional. It stores your passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information securely with 256-bit AES encryption, and it does it with iPhone style. At $9.99, eWallet for iPhone is priced at half of the price of its $19.95 siblings for Palm OS and Windows Mobile.

Read after the break for the rest of my review of Ilium Software's eWallet for iPhone (link opens iTunes Store), and check the gallery below for screenshots of eWallet in action.

Gallery: eWallet Review

Continue reading “TUAW Review: eWallet for iPhone”

Tags: encryption, ewallet, iphone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, personal information..., PersonalInformation..., pim

Filed under: Software, Productivity, Internet Tools

PackRat 1.3 supports new Backpack, adds more exclusive features

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Jul 30th, 2007

Backpack, the fantastic online PIM from 37signals, was recently updated with some solid new features like drag-and-dropping items from one page to another and the ability to reorder items any way you chose on a page (i.e. - lists and notes no longer have to be lumped together in their own sections). As with any web app update, desktop apps that integrate must often release an update of their own to stay on top of the changes. Fortunately, Rod Schmidt has done exactly that with his excellent offline synching PackRat app that brings Backpack to your desktop. With v1.3, Rod has updated PackRat so it can work with the new Backpack, but he has also introduced yet more exclusive features that keep making PackRat even more useful than its web-based symbiote, such as:

The reminder sheet now has a calendar on it to make entering dates easier.
A New Reminder toolbar button
An 'In minutes from now' option for reminders.
Shared pages now have a shared icon in the pages list so you can easily see what pages are shared.
An Upload Changes command and toolbar button to quick upload your changes to Backpack without waiting for auto upload to kick in.

Unfortunately, a few of the Backpack updates - such as reordering items anywhere on the page - haven't made it into PackRat simply because 37signals doesn't allow external applications to do this through their API. Rod urges users to contact 37signals and request this ability, and hopefully in time the company will listen and open up this functionality. Other new Backpack features like search are probably coming with a future PackRat update.

As with the the recent change to PackRat's trial period, a 30-day demo is available, while a license costs a mere $24.95.

Tags: backpack, organization, packrat, pim, todos, web apps, WebApps

Filed under: Internet Tools, Widget Watch

Widget Watch: Stikkit widget

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Apr 17th, 2007

Last week, Mat Lu found a Quicksilver plugin that plays well with Stikkit, the online personal info organizer that thinks so you don't have to, but there's also another method for all you Dashboard junkies out there: a full-on widget from James Adam. This widget, like its Quicksilver plugin cousin, is great for getting your stuff into Stikkit, but it also has the advantage of being a compact window into your Stikkit world. You can create or edit any number of Stikkits and sync them when you want, making this widget a sort of offline, syncing client for Stikkit.

Adam is providing this widget free of charge, and you can grab your copy from his interblah.net site (love the domain Adam!).

[via Stikkit's Values of n Blog]

Tags: dashboard, offline, organizer, pim, stikkit, widget, widgets

Filed under: Software, Productivity, Tips and tricks, Internet Tools

Search your Stikkits from Quicksilver, browsers

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Jan 25th, 2007

Remember that iNik guy we mentioned, who put together a handy package of Mac OS X tools that interact with Stikkit, the online PIM that thinks so you don't have to? He swung by our original post to mention that he's posting all sorts of Stikkit tips for working with this wholly unique PIM service (which, surprisingly, iNik says works fine in Safari but not IE - how cool is that?), and so far, many of them are Mac-based.

His latest tip involves configuring popular Mac OS X browsers, and even Quicksilver and LaunchBar, with the ability to search your stikkits right from the comforts of your tools of choice. iNik includes instructions for setting up Firefox and OmniWeb, though sadly not Safari since it hasn't been endowed with alternative search engine super powers just yet. Still, this is another handy trick for getting that little extra something out of an online organizer.

Tags: firefox, launchbar, omniweb, pim, quicksilver, search, stikkit

Filed under: Software, Productivity, Internet Tools

Packrat 0.87 released with page link editing, creation

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Aug 4th, 2006

Packrat, an offline Backpack client that I just can't say enough about, has been updated to version 0.87. Though it is another minor version point update, it features the ability to edit links, including dragging one page onto another to create a link. With all its other abilities of editing pages, tags, lists, and notes, as well as being able to create new lists and notes, Packrat is becoming a more powerful client by the day.

Packrat is a Universal Binary, with a demo available, while a licenses costs $24.95.

Tags: backpack, client, information, offline, packrat, PIM, productivity

Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity, Internet Tools

Packrat 0.8 - edit Backpack lists, display images

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Apr 30th, 2006

In mid-April, Rod Schmidt asked for feedback as to whether he should release editing features in Packrat, his Backpack syncing client, as he develops them. From what I saw, the response was largely in favor of doing so, and yesterday Rod announced on his blog that Packrat 0.8 has taken the first step in this direction. Users can now edit lists in Packrat, then sync up the changes to their Backpack account. This new version can also display inline images (but not linked images) as long as you've already downloaded them, of course. This is a pretty big deal if you're a Backpack fan, especially since I'm fairly certain Packrat is the first app that has this kind of potential to become a true, offline-capable Backpack client.

Swing on by infiniteNIL Software to grab a demo of Packrat, a license will cost $24.95. If you want to get involved or offer some feedback, be sure to check out the Packrat discussion group and and Rod Schmidt's blog for development updates.

Tags: Backpack, DLS, edit, editing, list, lists, management, manager, notes, on-line, online, organize, organizing, Packrat, pages, pictures, PIM, productivity, sync, syncing, todos

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