Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Gmail Tasks

I tried using Gmail's built-in task/to-do list today. I have to admit that to-do list is one of the most commonly used and indispensable applet that I can't live without.

My love affair with to-do lists started with my really old Palm V. I used it mainly for its to-do list capability. Then Cols gifted me with a Palm Tungsten (which she bought from her brother). That one I mainly used for to-do list also. Somewhere in between, I also tried Microsoft's OneNote. Its a general purpose note-taker with a built-in to-do list But that one did not last long as I switched to Google Notebook for general notes entry eventually.

Then I realized that it was getting troublesome to carry both a Palm and a mobile phone. So I switched to my Nokia 6680's to-do list application. What I liked best with this setup is since my phone is practically with me most of the time, it was very handy to add things to my task list. Also, it doesn't require a stylus to type in because it can use the same txt-ing/T9 dictionary interface for input.

I tend to forget checking on my phone task list every now and then though. So at work, if I need to do several things within a day, I would jot it down on a physical notepad. With GMail Tasks, maybe I can eliminate that notepad. Since my GMail is on most of the time anyway, its quite convenient. Google Labs also claim that the tasks can be accessed via mobile (gmail.com/tasks). Haven't tried that feature yet though.

1 comment:

orly_andico said...

Maybe you should check out Zimbra Collaboration.

This was a company purchased by Yahoo but their product is Open Source. If you look at the new Flash-based Yahoo Mail, that's Zimbra.

The new Oracle Beehive web client is also based on Zimbra. And it has a calendar, in addition to mail.

I got my Thunderbird / Lightning email/calendar working with Beehive, and configuring the Nokia E-series calendar and addressbook to sync also worked fine. So I can add calendar entries using Lightning, sync from the phone (over 3G) and the phone will alarm when the event is close.

Now I don't know if this functionality is in the bare Zimbra but might be worth a try.