What to Look for in a Desktop Calendar Application

In a modern world bustling with busy people dealing with their relative fast-paced lives, scheduling events and even to-lists has become more of a necessity rather than an accessory to efficient time-keeping and organization. Indeed, efficient time-keeping and organization in itself has become a much-needed skill for most-if not all-professions. And thanks to contemporary technology, there are calendar applications that go well with our handheld PDA's and laptops and desks that we use so much to help us with that task.

The problem then lies in finding the right calender only application for your desktop. There are thousands of organizer-like applications scattered through the Web, but having too many features or too much of everything sometimes defeats their charm. What people usually want is a straightforward, no-nonsense calender only application that does what it needs to do effectively without being too much of a bother. So what sort of calendar should you look for? What sort of features would one want to get? Ordinarily it would depend on how much you'd be using it and for what purposes, but there are general facets of a calendar application you'd want to always look for.

Event Scheduling

A calendar stuck on a wall can be written on so you can be reminded of a specific date or event. A calendar application should be able to do the same. Sometimes this is the only feature people look for-it's essential to have a calendar you can not only look at, but also scribble on.

Memos and Sticky Notes

Memos and other stuff you'd simply want to be reminded of and are not really delegated to a particular date are most commonly scribbled onto calendars too. So such features are handy in a desktop calendar. Virtual sticky notes are also cute features that retain the feel of real sticky notes.

Alarms

Hand in hand with event scheduling is setting alarms for them. Alarms can come in a variety of different notification methods: from a set tone or alarm ring to a chosen song to graphical notifications and on screen displays or even audibles that make it feel like a live assistant is reminding you of an event.

To-Do Lists or Daily Planners

A single date in a calendar enterprises 24 hours, and most people would want to be reminded of how those particular 24 hours are scheduled to go. So for the busy folks out there, calendars that further expand their dates into daily planners might come in handy. Of course, alarms should also factor into this additional feature, such that several alerts can be set for a single date.

Synchronization

For people who really need to keep track of too many things at a time and tend to use a lot of devices and gadgets, a calender only application that synchronizes with web-based calendars that can be accessed anywhere is a must. That way, an entry in the desktop calendar will reflect in the web-based calendar and vice-versa, making the most of the calendar applications in use.