PIM: Time & Chaos/Chaos !ntellect

[ShayneJones]

Friends:

 

I am in no way affiliated with Chaos Software Group (foremerly Isbister Company) at: http://www.chaossoftware.com/

 

I am, however, one of their biggest cheerleaders and fans.

 

For busy people who cannot live without their day planners this program has absolutely no equal - period.

 

I first evaluated this program before there was an internet. It was a time when us computer "networkers" had to use a slow modem (not even 56.6's were available for those of you old enough to remember!) which dialed a telephone number into what was known as a BBS - Bulletin Board System. It took nearly an hour to download a zipped version of it back then.

 

It was the best PIM then, it is the best PIM now.

 

The basic PIM is called Time and Chaos. Once installed it opens up into an interface which displays a calendar, address/phone list, appointment schedule, and to-do list on the same screen. It features many, many built-in and customizable features that fit any type of professional's needs - from busy high-level executive, to worker-bee to salesman to any need I can imaginable (for sales-pros there is an add-on which adds even MORE sales-specific functionality if needed). For those of us who've been trained in Time-Management by Franklin-Covey (formerly Franklin - no better training in the WORLD for time-management training) you'll be happy to know that you can even customize and prioritize the to-do list just how they trained you!

 

Some other major features include:

The ability to link appointments and/or to-do tasks to specific contacts in the address/phone list - so you can track an individual's history.

The ability to attach notes, files, memos, emails, documents to any contact and/or appointment and/or to-do task

Free utilities for importing common formats (Microsoft's PAB, Outlook, etc.) into it.

Inexpensive add-ons for syncrhonizing between your main desktop/laptop programs like Outlook (in case you must because of company policy, etc.) and almost every major brand of Palm/Blackberry/Windows Mobile device you might carry - My wife uses a Motorola Q with no problem.

Full and excellent networking and sharing capabilities - including various levels of password protection and the ability to designate any entry as "private".

You can click on an address entry (while online) and have it will link to just about any mapping designated website out there: Mapquest, Yahoo! Maps, Google Maps - and several others

Free "minor" version (i.e. v6.0 to 6.1, etc) upgrades: "Minor" ain't a good word for them. They CONSTANTLY improve, debug, and add functionality to their products - more than once it has been 2 or more years between "major" version (i.e. 6.whatever to 7.0).

AND BEST OF ALL... for many, many years it had no built-in email functionality outside of being able to click on one of your address entries, bringing up you default email client such as Outlook. A few years ago they had a third-party add-on which made its first feeble, clumsy (and just plain lousy) attempt at curing that. It SUCKED so I never purchased it (even after re-evaluating it from time to time). Then late in 2006 they introduced Chaos !ntellect and now you cannot pry me from this program with dynamite! The new Chaos !ntellect has every feature that Time & Chaos PLUS a very, very good email client which integrates everything into one package.

 

Now I'll be honest here: the email client part is not yet Excellent, it is still in its early versions. But it IS still Very, Very good and contains many features which just don't come on other email clients - like the ability to view your messages on the mail-servers BEFORE downloading them to your coumputer, a built-in bayesian spam filter, white-listing or black-listing, etc.

 

After evaluating Chaos !intellect for a few weeks I had no reservations. I bought it!

 

Happy networking!

 

+ Shayne

[acooldozen]

............you shud have just bought Barca!

 

http://www.pocosystems.com/home/index.php?...9&Itemid=27