Web 2.0 calendar

Google Calendar(Credit: Google) Google Calendar is probably one of the most successful Web-based calendar tools to hit the Web 2.0 scene. It has a very clean, easy-to-use interface, Gmail integration, the capability to share calendars with others, SMS notification reminders, and--like other Web-based calendars--immediate accessibility regardless of what computer you"re using (as long as you have net access). But perhaps the most useful aspect of Google Calendar is that you can carry it with you on your mobile device, as long as you know how. Google Calendar Sync lets you sync your Google Calendar with your Microsoft Outlook calendar. ***

Earlier this evening, AOL announced a new beta (codename - Cayman) for AOL Mail, which is an ajaxy-version of its current webmail product. It is a rather slick looking product and works admirably fast. In order to try the beta, I had to sign-up for the beta even though I already have an account with AOL. After spending a few minutes with the product, you realize that it is a pretty good attempt by AOL to catch up with current AJAX-based mail offerings such as Yahoo Mail (aka Oddpost 2.0.) It is nothing earth shattering but definitely an improvement over the current AOL offering. It has many of the basic features we have come to expect from most modern webmail programs. It lets you read messages inline, for example. It works on Mac and Windows machine quite well. AOL Mail Beta worked quite nicely on Safari as well. ***

Our friends from Scrybe got a hold of us, and let me know that I was unaware of some interesting new features that were hidden deep in the confines of the online application. As I posted earlier, Scrybe is an online planning and organization tool, in the early stages of beta. I had received an invite to test it out, but was unaware of a few features that lay inside. Faizan Buzdar, the CEO and Co-Founder, got a hold of me and discussed the missing pieces. One of the missing pieces that I was unable to find was PaperSync. This is a great option that is such a simple thing. ***

There are a few good reasons to use an online spreadsheet: you’re too cheap to buy Office, you’re sick of dealing with competing versions, you’re not a privacy freak, you like the challenge of explaining web 2.0 apps to your muggle friends. If you do go down that path, here’s our quick takes on a few of the free standalone options. EditGrid: Very simple; signup doesn’t even require an email address. Google Spreadsheets: No graphing, but nice sharing. Functions are split into tabs and menus, a departure from others’ attempts to recreate the whole jumbled Excel mess. iRows: The only spreadsheet we tested that showed ads. Pretty simple, with nice graphs. ***

The mystery buyer of Web calendaring site Kiko has finally come forward: It's Tucows. There are always many reasons for such acquisitions, but what made this deal unusual was the way it was handled--by an auction on eBay. Tucows was apparently the real identity behind "powerjoe1998," the moniker used to win Kiko for $258,100 in one of 111 bids. In a post on Tucows' site, ***

What a deal--an eBay user known as "powerjoe1998" has scooped up Web 2.0 calendar site Kiko for $258,100 in an auction that ended Saturday. Kiko's creators put the software up for sale last week, citing a desire to get it off their hands and work on other projects. No word yet as to who "powerjoe1998" is or what he plans to do with his new six-figure purchase. ***

There are corrections to this story. One of the biggest problems with Web-based applications is that they don"t work when you"re not online. As James Fallows notes, Web 2.0 becomes Web 0.0 when you don"t have access. Google Calendar is a great Web-based application, but if you want to use it when you"re not connected to the Web, you"re out of luck. Or are you? A Canadian start-up, Time Search, has released an early public beta of Calgoo, an offline reader for Google Calendar. It downloads your appointments from Google onto your local PC and has its own decent calendar interface. ***

JotSpot has updated its wiki software to better resemble traditional desktop applications and is preparing an on-premise edition of its hosted service. The two-year-old company said it will on Monday introduce JotSpot 2.0, a version of its hosted software, which is designed to make wikis easier to build. Wikis are Web pages which can be jointly authored and edited. JotSpot hosts its wiki software, aimed mainly at small- and mid-size companies, and has developed applications built on top of the wiki platform. People use the wiki software to ***