Contactizer Pro's; you can't, for example, duplicate an appointment in Daylite by option-dragging it to another day, the way you can in Contactizer Pro, iCal, or Now Up-to-Date & Contact. In other respects, Daylite has an even richer feature set than Contactizer Pro, and it is amazingly configurable.Using a contact as a filter, Contactizer Pro lets you see only those events associated with that particular contact.
Daylite comes with excellent documentation, as well as instructive sample databases that show how the program can be set up to suit the needs of different kinds of businesses--a law office, for example. One thing I especially liked about Daylite, or would if I were a boss trying to run a tight ship, is that it lets you define customized pipelines. A pipeline is something like a series of steps that are normally followed as a project progresses from start to finish. For example, a wedding photographer might first need to meet with the bride, then send the contract, and so on. Daylite also tracks opportunities as a special entity.
Both Daylite and Contactizer Pro are really multiuser business applications. Getting the most out of them is going to take some effort. But if you need the features and are willing to commit to the learning curve, either program would be suitable for a busy independent consultant or freelancer.
Macworld's Buying Advice
Try iCal first. It's free, and you already have it on your computer. Though iCal's weak spot is task management, it's otherwise a powerful tool and a very good calendar program, especially for individuals. It works extremely well with the rest of Apple's personal-management applications, including Mail and Address Book. And with its support for the CalDAV calendar-networking specification, iCal is poised to become a player in office networks as well.
I can't recommend Sunbird over iCal, but if you use Mozilla's Thunderbird as your e-mail client, check out Lightning, an add-on that gives you Sunbird's features right inside Thunderbird. Now Up-to-Date & Contact doesn't do much more for individual users than the offerings from Apple and Mozilla, and Now's product is slated for replacement; but Now Up-to-Date & Contact does support sharing in a mixed-platform environment. Simply as a calendar, SOHO Organizer isn't dramatically better than iCal, but it is a terrific program if you're an irrepressible notetaker.
If you live on the Web, the calendar services from Yahoo and Google let you get to your info from any computer with an Internet connection. Yahoo's calendar has a decent to-do list feature, while Gmail and Google Calendar are as good a team as Mail and iCal. And if you need something with real task-management power, What ToDo is my recommendation for the individual user. If you seek a serious, committed relationship with some powerful but demanding software, try both Contactizer Pro and Daylite for a while before deciding which one to go steady with.
[William Porter is an independent database applications developer, writer, and events photographer based in Dallas.]
Reprinted with permission from Macworld. Story copyright 2008 Macworld Inc. All rights reserved.
Comments
What ToDo as your GTD app of choice? Seriously?
OmniFocus offers so much more - full GTD geekiness, and it syncs over the air with the OmniFocus iPhone app so you always have your tasks with you when you're in various contexts. It also syncs tasks into iCal (splitting different contexts' actions into different iCal calendars if you'd like). Over all an amazing task manager for the GTD crowd.
You do realize that Gmail is not void of to-do lists? All it takes is one Remember the Milk Firefox extension and viola, you've got a task manager. I also love GTDinbox in Gmail, although I don't use Gmail as a task management tool.
For task management, Omnifocus is the best out there. Things is the closest competitor, but I'll always pick hierarchial views over tagging. That's why I don't use Remember the Milk anymore, which is another awesome task manager.
Small business owners need the right tools for the job, and Daylite just isn't completely there as a task manager. I use it to manage my relationships with contacts, prospects, clients, etc. E-mail messages, notes regarding communications, contact info, major completed tasks and projects, appointments (regarding contacts), and all organizations go into Daylite. I don't manage projects and tasks in Daylite; I just record them after completion, and only if they are related to a particular contact. That may change when the iPhone app comes out, assuming that some improvements are made with how Daylite desktop manages tasks. Until then, Daylite is great for business reference and contact management.
My calendar of choice is definitely Apple iCal. I sync it with my iPhone (because MobileMe sucks and free Exchange alternatives aren't great, either), and I also sync it with Google calendar and Daylite. I definitely think more thought went into iCal then Apple Mail, which I tolerate because of it's great integration with Leopard and my other applications. Gmail is still my favorite email client.
Here's the system I'm working with:
1) Daylite to manage relationships with contacts and organizations.
2) Omnifocus to manage projects and tasks.
3) Evernote to keep reference material that is not directly related to a contact (that's Daylite turf).
4) iCal to manage all of my calendars in sync with Gcal.
5) Apple Mail to manage my email in conjunction with Gmail.
6) Omnioutliner to make decisions and plans.
The only part of my system that isn't in the palm of my hand is Daylite, which should appear on the iPhone in January of 2009.
The best software for the job is the one that gets along best with your habits and your other apps, and everything works with iCal. It's more of an iCal cooperation than a challenge, and there are constantly new improvements that make it easier to get things done.