Web Worker Daily

I recently had a chance to try out the Scrybe beta. However, only a small portion of it, the Planner aspect of it. The Planner section is essentially a calendar, and task list. There is another tab in the Scrybe interface entitled “Upcoming modules”, where there are many empty cells with no explanations of what they will soon contain. I assume the Scrybe team is still in the process of developing out the other aspects of the tool as it has just been beta released. To be honest, I had expected a lot more from this online web tool. Sure it has a slick Flash interface, but its not yet hitting my must have list for web based calendar systems.

Check out some Scrybe Beta screenshots inside!

The offline browsing syncing system is ok, but I need more features than that to meet my scheduling needs. Personally Im not on the lookout for systems that do both, but I will check them out to see if they can be beneficial. Outlook works just fine for me, I can easily export my Google Calendar to it, and viseversa.

The FluidText feature from Scrybe is neat. This basically re-sizes the cells in order to easily read, and enter in data. Again, it just feels like extra flash fluff.

The GlobalCalendar feature is great if you have to check in on different timezones for appointments. There is no need to get on to another website to check out what the current time is in Hawaii or Australia.

ListTransfer easily lets the user copy and paste lists. This works well when pasting an excel list into the Scrybe interface task list by simply copying and pasting cells.

There were a few features that were outlined in the Scrybe video, that I assume are not ready for beta yet, as I did not have access to them, they include:

ThoughtPad, which looks like it could be a placeholder for found content online. Including websites and photos.

Sync – ?

PaperSync is a feature gives you the ability to print task lists and calendars in a small convenient way that can easily be stored in your organizer or pocket.

Scrybe is surely on to something here, don’t get me wrong. This is the first initial beta test, so Im positive that a number of fixes and additions have to be made to the tool. So needless to say, I will be keeping my eye on this one. If you want to be hit up when the next batch of beta invites get sent out, Scrybe is accepting emails.

While we’re on the topic of Planners, specifically calendars, I have jotted down my small simple list of main features I look for in a calendar application that can be used across multiple devices, and multiple platforms throughout my day and travels. One nice feature that is not present in Scrybe is the ability to share calendars, and search them quickly and easily for events. This is a great feature that Google Calendar has implemented. Being able to share schedules withcolleagues and family is extremely valuable to being a tad more productive during the day. The ability to import calendars from other programs, including Outlook andiCal is a great feature to have. Switching from a laptop to a Blackberry during the day when traveling could be an issue if non compatible calendar formats were being used on each device. Last but not least, Calendar reminders sent to email. Because part of a web workers life is spent at cafe’s chatting about new ideas, and issues, time goes by a little slower in the traditional office environment, so having a reminder pop up and let you know your 3pm meeting is 15mins away is extremely helpful.

What types of features do you look for in a Calendar/ Planning application?

Some Scrybe Beta screenshots:

Entry screen:

Month view:

Calendar day view:

Calendar cell flexing:

Calendar reminder:

Theme switcher:

Calendar, year view:

Timezones:

Inserting multiple tasks.