Comments on: Web 2.0 Calendar Showdown http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/ The Digital Home of Ken & Sarah Walker Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:05:46 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Our Story » Rethinking the TVC Calendar http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/comment-page-1/#comment-1550 Our Story » Rethinking the TVC Calendar Mon, 22 May 2006 05:15:08 +0000 http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/#comment-1550 [...] We’ll be starting over with a new approach to this problem, but, thankfully, we’re not quite at square one. What I would like to do is take an existing Web 2.0 calendar—one of the fine products I recently blogged about—get a valid iCal feed out of it, and slap a phpiCalendar user interface over top of it. The result: we have a sophisticated calendar on the back end, maintained by Google or 30 Boxes or anybody other than me, and something that looks like the TVC web presence on the front end. It’s almost perfect, but there is a gotcha: phpiCalendar doesn’t seem to support iCal feeds that don’t end in ”.ics”. [...] [...] We’ll be starting over with a new approach to this problem, but, thankfully, we’re not quite at square one. What I would like to do is take an existing Web 2.0 calendar—one of the fine products I recently blogged about—get a valid iCal feed out of it, and slap a phpiCalendar user interface over top of it. The result: we have a sophisticated calendar on the back end, maintained by Google or 30 Boxes or anybody other than me, and something that looks like the TVC web presence on the front end. It’s almost perfect, but there is a gotcha: phpiCalendar doesn’t seem to support iCal feeds that don’t end in ”.ics”. [...]

]]> By: Ken Walker http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/comment-page-1/#comment-1354 Ken Walker Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:35:58 +0000 http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/#comment-1354 Mike, I dunno. Maybe they're building to flip--hard to tell. You're right, though, that VC funding is telling. I do plan Laundry Day. Sarah has to wear a uniform to work so, whether the basket's full or not, I have to make sure the laundry is done regularly (1x per week, at least). I just set a reminder in my calendar so I stuff it into the laundry bags on Wednesday night and drop it off during lunch on Thursday. I found that outsourcing laundry for the extra $4 is SO worth it. That's probably more about my dirty socks than you wanted to know. ;-) Mike, I dunno. Maybe they’re building to flip–hard to tell. You’re right, though, that VC funding is telling.

I do plan Laundry Day. Sarah has to wear a uniform to work so, whether the basket’s full or not, I have to make sure the laundry is done regularly (1x per week, at least). I just set a reminder in my calendar so I stuff it into the laundry bags on Wednesday night and drop it off during lunch on Thursday. I found that outsourcing laundry for the extra $4 is SO worth it.

That’s probably more about my dirty socks than you wanted to know. ;-)

]]> By: Mike Bond http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/comment-page-1/#comment-1353 Mike Bond Fri, 21 Apr 2006 11:58:25 +0000 http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/#comment-1353 <blockquote>Speaking of ads, though—does anyone have any idea how 30B will make any money?</blockquote> They are probably hoping to get bought by google or yahoo or some other big company. That's really the goal of any VC company, make a great service or product then sell it when its profitable. who cares if someone else knows that it’s Laundry Day? you plan your laundry day? That's a little ... odd. I just do mine when the basket i have doesn't hold anymore dirty clothes :-P

Speaking of ads, though—does anyone have any idea how 30B will make any money?

They are probably hoping to get bought by google or yahoo or some other big company. That’s really the goal of any VC company, make a great service or product then sell it when its profitable.

who cares if someone else knows that it’s Laundry Day?

you plan your laundry day? That’s a little … odd. I just do mine when the basket i have doesn’t hold anymore dirty clothes :-P

]]> By: Ken Walker http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/comment-page-1/#comment-1352 Ken Walker Thu, 20 Apr 2006 15:56:56 +0000 http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/#comment-1352 Mike, I agree that the public/private question looms large when it comes to Google--but they're really just a microcosm of hosted solutions in general. You could reasonably say the same thing about 30 Boxes, Hotmail, etc. One interesting thing about both of these services is that they're pushing the boundary on private calendar information. By default, 30B shares everything that you don't mark private, and gCal gives you the option of making your calendar searchable anyone to see. At first I recoiled a bit at the thought of making that much information public, but, then I realized, who cares if someone else knows that it's Laundry Day? :) I was also able to add a feed to the left of the blog (way at the bottom) of upcoming public events--events I especially tag to be public. Speaking of ads, though--does anyone have any idea how 30B will make any money? Are they planning on charging for this software-as-a-service? They're not big enough to have corporate tie-in to other services (like Blogger for Google), and they seem too passionate about the UI to throw ads in. I wonder how those VC investors think they'll get some ROI... Mike, I agree that the public/private question looms large when it comes to Google–but they’re really just a microcosm of hosted solutions in general. You could reasonably say the same thing about 30 Boxes, Hotmail, etc.

One interesting thing about both of these services is that they’re pushing the boundary on private calendar information. By default, 30B shares everything that you don’t mark private, and gCal gives you the option of making your calendar searchable anyone to see.

At first I recoiled a bit at the thought of making that much information public, but, then I realized, who cares if someone else knows that it’s Laundry Day? :) I was also able to add a feed to the left of the blog (way at the bottom) of upcoming public events–events I especially tag to be public.

Speaking of ads, though–does anyone have any idea how 30B will make any money? Are they planning on charging for this software-as-a-service? They’re not big enough to have corporate tie-in to other services (like Blogger for Google), and they seem too passionate about the UI to throw ads in. I wonder how those VC investors think they’ll get some ROI…

]]> By: Mike Bond http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/comment-page-1/#comment-1351 Mike Bond Thu, 20 Apr 2006 11:47:03 +0000 http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/#comment-1351 Google Calendar has the same problem as every other calendar, you can't import and export properly. In googles case, at all. Personally I only like the idea of a web client when I am away from my desktop systems. But google also has an additional problem, can you trust them? They want to hold as much information about you as possible, so that they can send you targetted advertising. This worries me, I want to see less advertising through the day, not more. Even my gmail account is a 'junk' account that i use primarly for domain registration. I'm still waiting for a great web calendar service that will sync with my .Mac account, and thus my iCals on my different macs. Google Calendar has the same problem as every other calendar, you can’t import and export properly. In googles case, at all. Personally I only like the idea of a web client when I am away from my desktop systems.

But google also has an additional problem, can you trust them? They want to hold as much information about you as possible, so that they can send you targetted advertising. This worries me, I want to see less advertising through the day, not more. Even my gmail account is a ‘junk’ account that i use primarly for domain registration.

I’m still waiting for a great web calendar service that will sync with my .Mac account, and thus my iCals on my different macs.

]]> By: Kyleen http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/comment-page-1/#comment-1350 Kyleen Tue, 18 Apr 2006 22:41:29 +0000 http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/#comment-1350 Well drat. 2 calendars doesn't sound all that appealing . . . it doesn't go with the mantra my mother's always reciting at me: "Eliminate and Concentrate". I'm just a single girl who really doesn't need to share her social calendar with the rest of the world, and I don't have Outlook 2007, so maybe I'll just stick with Outlook for now. Besides, I'm entirely too busy worrying about switching my blog to wordpress and changing over to a gmail account. My "To Geek" list is long enough. ;) Well drat. 2 calendars doesn’t sound all that appealing . . . it doesn’t go with the mantra my mother’s always reciting at me: “Eliminate and Concentrate”. I’m just a single girl who really doesn’t need to share her social calendar with the rest of the world, and I don’t have Outlook 2007, so maybe I’ll just stick with Outlook for now.

Besides, I’m entirely too busy worrying about switching my blog to wordpress and changing over to a gmail account. My “To Geek” list is long enough. ;)

]]> By: Ken Walker http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/comment-page-1/#comment-1349 Ken Walker Mon, 17 Apr 2006 21:40:06 +0000 http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/#comment-1349 Hey Kyleen--you can use both, but they won't integrate yet. I use Outlook for work stuff and 30B for the rest of my life. As I understand it, Outlook 2007 will let you "subscribe" to calendars, which would let you have your 30B calendar show up in Outlook. Hey Kyleen–you can use both, but they won’t integrate yet. I use Outlook for work stuff and 30B for the rest of my life. As I understand it, Outlook 2007 will let you “subscribe” to calendars, which would let you have your 30B calendar show up in Outlook.

]]> By: Kyleen http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/comment-page-1/#comment-1348 Kyleen Mon, 17 Apr 2006 17:39:58 +0000 http://kennsarah.net/2006/04/14/web-20-calendar-showdown/#comment-1348 Um, can I use it in conjunction with Outlook? That's what I use at work, and what I'm required to use, but can I use them simultaneously? Um, can I use it in conjunction with Outlook? That’s what I use at work, and what I’m required to use, but can I use them simultaneously?

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