Ever since I abandoned MS Outlook as my email client, I've been struggling to find a good way to manage my calendar. Well, I do believe I have found it. And like other products I find myself using a lot these days, it has the mark of 'Google' emblazoned boldly on it. Yes, mighty Google has entered the calendar realm, and in so doing, has come a step closer to world domination, or becoming its own religion, or both.

There are a lot of theories out there about what part Google will play in our world 5, 10, 20 years from now. Business 2.0 printed a funny article about four possible scenarios not too long ago. The scenarios ranged from 'Google is God' to 'Google is Dead.' What would Nietzsche think?

So is Google benevolent? Time will tell, I suppose. I wonder sometimes if Google will actually become the great drug dealer of our time, doling out free software that makes us feel all nice and tingly and then suddenly withdrawing our lifeline and saying, 'OK. Now give me some cash.' Possibility? Like any self-respecting junkie, I don't really seem to care. All I know is that right now, it works for me and I'll keep mainlining until the supply runs dry.

So I've started a public 'events calendar' that can be accessed as xml or ical. Of course, it's only got one event at the moment because I don't seem to go anywhere or do anything these days, but I will try to rectify that by adding lots of events I would like to go to, but probably won't because I'm too busy being a hermit.

I'm also going to set up another calendar which I'll add family and friends to. So drop me a line if you start a Google calendar and we can share.

One other neat feature is that you can add various pre-existing public calendars to your calendar, such as holiday calendars which are divided up by country and/or religion. I've been wondering when Easter is and now I know: it's this Sunday. I must be sure to give a special thanks to Google.

link to this | comments (5) | File:  Tech  Google