June 28, 2007  

Data in the cloud

In response to my weak rationalization about why I am getting an iPhone Ian asked about which web apps I use. So here they are (with the offline apps they synch with on both Mac and PC).

function web app offline Mac app offline PC app
e-mail Gmail Thunderbird Thunderbird
calendar Google Calendar iCal* Sunbird**
contacts Plaxo OSX Address Book Thunderbird
lists/notes Backpack Packrat [none]
project collaboration Basecamp [none] [none]
RSS Newsgator NetNewsWire FeedDemon
blog authoring Movable Type Ecto Ecto

[*] Does not support two-way synching.
[**] The latest build of Sunbird (0.5) does support two-way synching. If I have to do that (like on an airplane) I use Sunbird on the Mac.

Of course this says nothing of all the other data that lives out in the tuboverse. Flickr, Ancestry.com, Google Spreadsheets and on and on. But these have no desktop equivalents at all so I don’t include them here. Suffice to say, most of my most critical data lives somewhere online.

iPhone, I am ready for you if you will have me.

(HTML tables! Yay, old school layout!)

4 Responses to “Data in the cloud”

  1. Ian Smith says :

    Thanks for this, John. Very interesting.
    Since first reading this, I’ve been having particular fun with Plaxo. I resurrected my old account on it, and have got it syncing quite happily with Address Book etc. However I am constantly scared of generating loads of spam with it – it really wants to e-mail everyone I know and ask them when their birthday is!
    Next, I’ll look at Backpack and Packrat.
    Thanks again!

  2. michael says :

    sunbird does allow two way syching with google now.
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/4631

  3. clintonjames9 says :

    What were does iGTD fit in?

  4. John says :

    Bagged it as overly-complex. I am using Backpack to do the same thing, plus I get online synching. Check it out.