1975 words APA
Computer Calendar Applications
Introduction
Many calendar applications have been developed to meet the needs of users for their social and their business needs, Groups of users can be catagorized as workers in businesses and offices, friends, and families. but each application has problems that have not been solved. Users want to be able to open their calendar and handle their schedules as quickly and efficiently as possible, but all the applications are target to businesses. Microsoft Calendar is especially good for businesses users. Friends have a large choice of social networking possibilities and instant mobile applications for scheduling on the mover. Families are often separated from each other due to jobs or university locations, and more than any other group, families are motivated to jointly schedule events. Families also hold a range of users from young with a high comfort level using computers to older, many with low computer use comfort levels. In order to provide a reliable and easy-to-use software tool that manages an individual user’s schedule with their family members’ calendars is not available. Therefore, an application catering to families has good money making potential. The two main features offered with Inter-Calendar are security and ease of use for sharing scheduling information. The Inter-Intra Calendar achieves the goals set.
The Inter-Intra Calendar (I2 Calendar)
The Inter-net-Intra-family Calendar Tool known as I2 Calendar (“I-Squared Calendar”) can meet the demands of users by offering the following applications. Security is not addressed in other widely used calendars. While some of the problems have been solved by a number of commercially available and public domain products, not one calendar application solves as many problems as the I2 Calendar Tool. The I2 Calendar Tool provides solutions with certain functional improvements over existing tools. Specific problem areas that are evident in well-known applications include the following.
- Scheduling multi-user meetings in different regions of the country or the world
- Dealing effectively with overlapping events
- Providing a wide range of calendar viewing options
- Overcoming the problem inherent in traveling into different time zones
- Security
Security is essential when sharing any type of personal information, including schedules, and must be protected. I2 software offers a double password log-in similar to that used for electronic health records access. The first password is the individual user’s that is private and only the individual user knows. Once the user has been authenticated and gains access a family password is input. The family password can be known by the family members who are users of the calendar. The first private and personally used password acts as a protective buffer before the multi-use password is input.
Viewing more than one calendar at a time has been a problem in other applications, but I2 Calendar offers several options. Users can choose from a drop-down menu the calendars they want to view. All the family members automatically hold their calendars in the Cloud; therefore, calendars are easy to access at any time of the day. Each calendar can be manipulated by clicking on the bottom right-hand corner and then pushing or pulling with the mouse to the size desired. In that way, eight to nine calendars can be viewed at one time on the screen. The calendars of the family member users are connected so that changes can be made by one person.
The person or people who are administrators of the family calendars can make changes on all the calendars by making the change on one calendar that has been designated the master calendar. A number of calendars can also be overlaid so in that way conflicting scheduling plans can be identified quickly. Emails can be sent to family members from the calendar viewing page in order to resolve conflicts as soon as possible. Corrections can also be made on the master calendar. Changes are best made on weekly and monthly calendar views. For example, for the holiday season at the beginning of each year, the whole year does not have to be viewed. Also the fame administrators cannot make changes on other family members’ calendars for a one or two year period of time. That is built-in a limitation to the administrator’s abilities. Information sharing is efficient because notes or files can be attached to a date. The advantages of the I2 Calendar are listed below.
- Efficient group scheduling between multiple users
- Organization of scheduling conflicts
- Information sharing with the calendar-notes-files and calendar-email integration
- Security and privacy with a double password
- Several viewing operations for ease of time management
- Time zone design that meets even the busiest traveler’s needs
The most attractive advantage of the I2 Calendar is that the problems associated with Apple iCal, MSN Calendar, and Google Calendar have been solved. Therefore, although the target audience is the family, by the end of development it became apparent that many types of users from managers to workers to friends will be attracted to the new I2 Calendar. Group scheduling with multiple users can be tricky with other electronic calendars, but with I2 Calendar several features are designed to make multiple-users comfortable and satisfied with the application.
The I2 Calendar Tool project addresses the requirements of a particular customer. This customer needs a tool with a collection of features not available in any single existing tool. This aspect of the problem is one of combining a set of existing features in a way that the features have yet to be combined in another product. In addition, the development of functioning software, the I2 Calendar Tool project focuses on two additional problems not addressed in commercial tools:
1. To provide a pedagogical example for use in the instruction of software engineering, including an example of the practical application of formal methods
2. To provide fully documented, public domain source code for use by others
I2 Calendar Advantages
- group scheduling with multiple users
- organization of scheduling conflicts (overlapping time use)
- information sharing
- security and privacy
- several viewing operations for ease of time management
- time zone design that meets even the busiest traveler’s needs
Market analysis on the competition
Widely used commercial systems that provide functionality comparable to the I2 Calendar Tool include Microsoft Outlook Calendar, Apple iCal Calendar, and Google Calendar. The next section provides an overview of the three calendars, their advantages and disadvantages.
• Microsoft Outlook Calendar Overview
Microsoft first introduced Schedule+ and Exchange Client for calendar and email integration, MSN Calendar was offered as an update and then in 2013 the Microsoft Calendar was offered. Microsoft Calendar is especially useful for business meeting scheduling. The most recent Office 2013 applications including the calendar can be used on OS X. The Calendar are supposed to integrate easily with Microsoft Outlook email and with contacts. Users can switch between Mail, Tasks and the Calendar very easily because links are at the bottom of the screen. Outlook 2013 is the most recent version. The Date Navigator acts as an entry into the calendar by going to the appointments and click-on day and date.
The Microsoft Outlook Calendar has a high degree of functionality that is very useful in business and office environments. Calendars can be viewed side-by-side. Organizing a meeting can all be done from the user’s computer from inviting the co-workers to the meeting to comparing schedules. A user can share calendars over e-mail. Internet calendars can be downloaded and regularly updated for events. A user can manage another person’s calendar with a characteristic called Delegate Access. The Delegate Access is helpful for managers to synchronize with their administrative assistant, project team members or in other business environments.
Microsoft Outlook Calendar Advantages
- A quick look (snapshot) of scheduling on the calendar is on the To-Do bar
- Calendar information is shared as HTML
- Ability to publish calendar
Microsoft Outlook Calendar Disadvantages
- Difficult to integrate with email and scheduling
- Synching calendar does not work well except with Exchange
- Must run on OS X over the Internet
• Apple iCal Calendar Overview
Apple iCal overview
The first version of Calendar for Mac was introduced in 2002. OS Apple iCal runs on the Mac OS X. operating system and iOS mobile operating system. Calendar 7 was offered in 2013. iCal information is saved offline in the Apple’s iCloud. Integration with several other calendar applications such as Google calendar and the Microsoft Exchange Server are supposed to be possible. The iCal was the first application that could support several calendars when using OS X. Several calendars means that the user can view their employment, personal social and other calendars to easily identify overlapping plans.
Easy access to calendars was provided in version 6 when the sidebar included calendars. The calendar search gives the user ideas for searchers when they are looking for particular events. Users who are interested in many events can create their own search token that allows them create a list of events that fits their personal taste. Approximately twernty files can be added as attachments to the calendar.
Apple iCal Advantages
- Tracking capability between calendars helps quickly identify free time and time that is already filled.
- The iCloud integration enhances the ability to synchronize with other PCs, iPod, and iPhones over Internet.
- A subscription choice is offered to link with co-workers, friends, family, and social events such as broadcasting of television programs and soccer games.
Apple iCal Disadvantages
- Some bugs crop up when adding file attachments to the calendar using iCloud.
- Not for people with jobs that require travel and who need to arrange traveling with airplane tickets or between countries with different time zones.
- Difficult to integrate with Windows applications
Google Calendar Overview
Google developed Google Calendar in the operating system and with Java language. The platform is the Java Virtual Machine. The Google Calendar was first released in 2006. The designer also developed Gmail and Google Reader. The similarities to Microsoft Outlook and iCal are numerous, but the comfort level of using Google depends on the user. Google Calendar uses the common and easy-to-use drag-and-drop asset to make choices. The advantage of drag-and-drop is that the view of the calendar does not have to be reloaded when choices are made. The choices offered include going to, Monthly or Weekly so that the user can change views of the periods of time they want to use with interruption. The user who is in a hurry has a quick add option when they are in a hurry to note something on their calendar.
Google calendar records are not stored in the hard drive, but instead are stored online. If the hard drive fails, the calendar information will not be lost. Google works with ICal and Microsoft Outlook for collaboration. A calendar can be shared by complete access with edit capabilities or with read-only access. The ‘to-do’ list of task is not shareable but be downloaded from ‘Google Tasks.’
Changes were made to Google calendar in 2008. Adding any of the calendars that are online at other URL addresses can no longer be imported. Google does have a choice called ‘Interesting Calendars’ that can be used by the click-on action. Google Calendar can run with Windows and with Mac OS X. The calendar can be integrated with Google Gmail.
Google Calendar Advantages
- Both Online and Offline support are available
- Storage of Calendar application inputs is offline
- Quick add option easy to use
Google Calendar Disadvantages
- No way to keep track of uncertain meeting and social dates
- Not all of Google Calendar is viewable on all PC browsers
- Users who travel out of the country for meetings need time zone integration
Conclusion
The advantages and disadvantages of three popular electronic calendars have been compared and discussed. The applications are iCal Apple, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Outlook Calendar. The two major problems that the applications have in common, at least to some degree, are time zone changes use, ability to use with only one operating system or tentative schedule setting. While doing the market research, I noticed that security was not discussed, but security seems that it should be a priority issue when personal information such as scheduling is done electronically. Also scheduling between family members was not listed as a priority, although at least one family member should know where and when someone is traveling for business or fun. The I2 Calendar design puts family communication for scheduling as a priority. The time zone design needs to work properly and viewing more than one calendar at a time must be easy to do. Security design is using a double password for two levels of authentication before a user can enter a family calendeer.
References
Apple. (2014). iCloud: About subscribed calendars. Apple support. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5029 (updated 27 August 2014)
Apple. (2013). iClould: Advanced Calendar and iCal troubleshooting. https://www.apple.com/support/lion/applications/ (updated 30 July 2013)
Breen, C. (2009). OS X iCa and shifting time zones. Macworld http://www.macworld.com/article/1141711/iCal_shift_timezone.html
CalConnectSM. (2014). Welcome to CalConnect. http://www.calconnect.org/
Google. (2014). Welcome to the Google Calendar Help Center. https://support.google.com/calendar/?hl=en#topic=3417969
Microsoft. (2014). Calendar I: Outlook calendar books. (A course) http://office.microsoft.com/en-001/outlook-help/calendar-i-outlook-calendar-basics-RZ010100073.aspx
Simon Sez IT. (2013) Microsoft Outlook 2013 Tutorial – Setting up Your Calendar. (updated 19 March 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjbsuRdxIKY
Windows. (n.d.). Looking for Windows Calendar? http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/looking-for-windows-calendar
