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"Yahoo has launched a new version of its Calendar service. To describe it briefly, it has been designed for those who like keeping things as simple as possible without having to sacrifice utility.\nLooks-wise, it\u2019s safe to say Yahoo\u2019s engineers were inspired at least in part by Apple\u2019s iCal program. The layouts for both are quite similar. Performance, meanwhile, is pretty much on par with most any other top-tier Web-based calendaring service. You\u2019re able to make edits with very little time involved. Only when switching between 'Day,' 'Week,' and 'Month' views is where you\u2019ll notice lag, if any. Otherwise, peppy it is.\n\nAll things considered, there isn\u2019t much within the new Yahoo Calendar that hasn\u2019t been achieved by its predecessor or its competitors. Functionally speaking, it\u2019s very ordinary. You might prefer one service or another for the way it behaves in response to user input, or because it is integral to the experience provided by a particular brand. \nIf you like Yahoo Mail, you may tend towards its Calendar service. Or, if you enjoy Google\u2019s Gmail client, its Calendar might be your preference. But if you\u2019re curious as to the Yahoo Calendar Beta\u2019s measurements next to Google Calendar, it\u2019s really an either/or type of circumstance. Both are easy to use. Both are efficient with data presentation and management, and sport similar drag-and-drop functions. Just as users would expect, really. My time spent with Microsoft\u2019s Windows Live Hotmail service is pretty much a non-factor, so I can\u2019t compare the three so thoroughly as some readers may wish, but I\u2019m confident in pegging this new Yahoo item as qualitatively very good. Among the best, I gather.\nOf course, there are some differences to consider. For one, Google Calendar allows additions either through specific keyword arrangements (i.e., 2pm lunch), or through title entries followed by specific detail edits made within the application\u2019s event manager. If you\u2019ve learned the ways of Google Calendar, you might be quick with keywords, and the ability to cycle through various calendar views through simple touches of the \u2018D\u2019, \u2018W\u2019, \u2018M\u2019, and \u2018A\u2019 keys helps hasten things a bit. But if you have not been schooled in the art of such functions, or any others that reside within the Google\u2019s framework, it\u2019s no special creature.\n\nSpecify a date within Yahoo Calendar, on the other hand, and the application expands a 24-hour planner into view, where you can choose a time and enter whatever information is necessary. Furthermore, you can hover your cursor over the lower border of an event, and drag it to include whatever frame of day you like. You can\u2019t do the same with the topmost border of an event, but you can drag the entire block upward. \nStrangely, if you click an event to view it in detail, you\u2019re shown the default 12:00 a.m. view. You\u2019ll have to scroll down to see anything occurring later in the day. This is unfortunate, and needs fixing. Sooner rather than later. My advice to prospective users: position your cursor over the event in the default calendar view and you\u2019ll be shown a small bubble in 1-2 seconds\u2019 time with essential details. (Clicking on the blue link within that bubble will bring you to an edit page where you can view and add notes and other data.)\nOne aspect Yahoo is touting with this beta is a Flickr connection, which just so happens to be active by default. (You\u2019ll notice the checkmark in the list of calendars to the left of the main window.) Of course, this is to tell users of its existence, but the execution of the connection is where I find fault. This is because photos are placed in somewhat random order, and do not blanket the page when the user is in Month view. Only a few images are displayed at any one time, and all are gathered from the Creative Commons class of photos within the Flickr database. And you cannot specify your own library of media to be shown. Not yet, anyhow. Suffice it to say that if you uncheck the Flickr option, it will remain off.\nIn the realm of tech support, Yahoo promises compliance with things like iCalendar and CalDAV, which is good, because the more accepted standards, the more empowered users are. And the company intends to introduce things like Upcoming integration and \u201Cother Yahoo properties,\u201D as well as \u201Cauto-synch with Outlook and (the) iPhone.\u201D\nInterestingly enough, Yahoo, in debuting this release, mentions its placement among webmail and calendaring applications, but states that Yahoo Calendar alone, \u201Csees only a mere 8 million users per month.\u201D Which is downright paltry compared to Yahoo Mail\u2019s 250 million or so users. Now, I doubt Yahoo will see this new beta increase its own reach within the market by a substantial amount, so I say take it for what it is: a decent step forward. Nothing less, nothing more."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2008/10/08/yahoo-calendar-beta/>