iambic Updates Agendus

iambic has released two new editions of its contact management and scheduling application iambic Agendus – Agendus 6.1 for Palm OS Standard and Professional Editions. The contact management and scheduling application adds a new integrated e-mail/SMS feature and more high resolution support.

Agendus 6.11 for Palm OS Standard Edition now supports high-resolution color icons in toolbar and pop-up menus, while Agendus 6.11 Professional Edition includes integrated e-mail and SMS feature for both sending and receiving messages via HotSync, as well as directly on the device via dial-up, wireless modem, bluetooth, IR to mobile phone, or cable to mobile phone.

iambic AgendusThe program effectively integrates datebook, contacts, to-do and e-mail, giving the user the ability to send an e-mail message using the contact details or add contacts from received e-mails as datebook entries. Other new features in the Agendus 6.11 Professional Edition include:

  • New Quarter view
  • New To-Do View
  • Additional customizable filters in the To-Do view
  • Support for wallpaper background images without the need for a memory card
  • High-resolution color icons in toolbar and pop-up menus
  • High-resolution icon editor and high-resolution icon display capability
  • Schedule new Call/Meeting/To-Do on received e-mail messages
  • vCalendar and vCard support; ability to import vCalendar and vCard items directly to your datebook and contact list

Agendus 6.11 for Palm OS can be downloaded from iambic.com, a free trial version is available. The Standard Edition sells for $24.95 and the Professional Edition for $39.95.

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i owned it. abandoned it.

jack @ 6/24/2003 12:21:35 PM #
it's bloatware, IMHO. i'm all about simplicity...man,if i wanted complexity, i would've bought a Windows Mobile (neé pocket pc)...not!
RE: i owned it. abandoned it.
gijsraggers @ 6/24/2003 12:26:56 PM #
This app is simply a must if you're a serious user of your Palm datebook. Period. I fully depend on it. Why didn't Palm ever link address and datebook?
RE: i owned it. abandoned it.
Puck @ 6/24/2003 12:40:38 PM #
While stilla (fairly) loyal user, I do agree Agendus is getting a bit bloated (especially after v6.0) - ATTENTION IAMBIC - there's another level of user that wants your pre-6.o features; I suggest another tier in the Agendus family that better suits an entry-level user - whaddaya think?

Puck
RE: i owned it. abandoned it.
Ou_Boet @ 6/24/2003 3:11:56 PM #
I'm a long time user of Agendus (Previously Action Names) I've seen the rise of iambic and have to say that I don't like the way they do bussiness. They ignore their customers and have used less than savoury tactics against completitors. Because of this I've been looking hard for something to replace my Agendus.

I've tried them all, and all combinations, but at the end of the day, Agendus is still the best - by far more than a short head. It's large yes but integrates all your PIM requirements nicely into one application. I use it all the time to manage my contacts, meetings and todo lists. It's a catch 22

OB

-------------------------------------------------
Any device can have one more useful feature added.

HandEra Moderator at [url="http://www.PalmVenue.com/forum"]PalmVenue[/url]

RE: i owned it. abandoned it.
JDub @ 6/24/2003 3:34:43 PM #
Gotta agree with the above poster. I too am a long time user and have seen nothing but useless features being added to a once fine app. They barely got all the bugs fixed in the standard version when they released the combined 'pro' version. I already have Iambic mail and don't use it because I find it bloated and unreliable - but I have been relegated to 'non-pro' status because I don't want to have it all in one app. Nor do I get a hi-res icon editor because it is a 'pro' feature...disgraceful.

Unfortunately, DateBK5 doesn't cut it for me, so I have no altenative to jump to.

RE: i owned it. abandoned it.
ZPWeeks @ 6/24/2003 3:45:27 PM #
I'm someone who has used all three of the most popular datebook programs for an extended: I've used the standared Palm Date Book, CESD's DateBk4/5, and Agendus 5, 6, and Student Edition.

I have to disagree highly, for different reasons, that Agendus is bloatware. The reason I use DateBk5 as my own datebook is because it's far more powerful than Agendus. I decided to get Agendus to see what all of the fuss was about. It really doesn't offer a ton of features. Don't get me wrong, I like that about the program. It's a no-nonsense program, and unlike DateBk5, it doesn't flood you with stuff that you don't need.

I think that, unfortunately, Agendus is targeted at a very specific audience: professionals. The very fact that they have renamed appointments to meetings is a testament to this. It works very well for professionals, thanks to the integration it offers with the contacts.

However, that's why I don't use it. I use DateBk5. It offers so much more, and I like it a lot more because I can be a lot more specific, not to mention that it looks a lot better in Hi-Res.

Agendus is great for some people. I have to scold iambic for their selling schemes (Agendus Student Edition is an exact clone of Agendus 5.0 with "Meetings" renamed to "Events" and "Contacts" renamed to "Friends". Ugh.)

RE: i owned it. abandoned it.
hgoldner @ 6/24/2003 3:57:47 PM #
I've been using Agendus since it was ActionNames and I think back to version 2 or something.

It is an *essential* application on the Palm, and its ability to synchronize with my practice management software (TimeMatters) is equally essential.

As a former Sharp Zaurus user, the inability of the Palm OS to link contacts with to-do's and/or appointments was a significant minus, and is critical to my ability to use my PDA as a professional tool.

Hence, iambic's product(s) ability to handle this adroitly is very important.

That having been said, yes, the code is fat; you need to have a Palm with lots of RAM; and if you aren't a professional or other worker who has to constantly interact with clients/patients/customers, etc., you don't need many of its best features.

However, I've looked at DAtebk and it was completely useless for me.

So this is what makes "personal digital organizer's" PERSONAL.

H.

Iambic fails again

Clie-UK @ 6/24/2003 12:41:42 PM #
I am seriously angry with Iambic.

They have yet again failed to address the SMS bug found in CLIEs (running over Bluetooth, for example). They state that the SMS feature only works with Palm OS compatible devices running the Phone Library (e.g. Treo). However, this amounts to horsecrap, for two reasons:

1) When you do install the Phone Library (found at NXT's Clie Club), one-touch dialling over BT works via Agendus. However, one can only send, not receive, SMS from the phone.

2) Why is it that FunSMS, and just about every other SMS app out there, manages to have SMS work without expressing the need for the phone libraries.

My conclusion, pick one of the following:

- Iambic has incompetent programmers
- Iambic is lazy
- Iambic is naive, not realising that there are a lot of CLIE owners out there who own mobile phones ...

I've dumped this demo version of Agendus and Mail back in the dustbin.

Until Iambic start seeing reality and adding universally compatible and useful features to their Mail app, as opposed to useless bloat, I'll be sticking with a combination of other applications!



RE: Iambic fails again
mike d @ 6/24/2003 2:08:38 PM #
"My conclusion, pick one of the following:

- Iambic has incompetent programmers
- Iambic is lazy
- Iambic is naive, not realising that there are a lot of CLIE owners out there who own mobile phones ...

I've dumped this demo version of Agendus and Mail back in the dustbin."

I vote for all of the above, plus

- iambic has no desire to serve their customers.

May 1, iambic updated AllTime. Release 4.03 had more severe bugs in it than a first beta release should have. After three weeks of complaints they fixed 1, count em, one bug. Otherwise they ignore us.

The only exception was a response I got that they couln't fix AllTime because they were too busy with getting Agendus ready. That thread was deleted a few hours later so others couldn't see their attitude documented.

Bottom line, if you try an iambic product and it has a bug, better decide if you can live with it...because they will never fix it!

mike d

RE: Iambic fails again
radleyp @ 6/24/2003 2:56:24 PM #
I have attacked Iambic plenty in the past, and was even stricken by them from a Yahoo Group they managed to take over. But facts are facts, and what you state with such intensity is simply not true. They may not fix the bugs you want fixed, or do it in the time you consider acceptable, but fix bugs they certainly do. The original test beta of Agendus 6.0 was full of bugs: all the ones I know of by personal use were fixed in the final release. As recently as two days ago, I found a bug in the ToDo section only to find that it had been fixed in a new version. Criticise Iambic all you want, but give them their due. radleyp

What an AWESOME product!!!

noshow @ 6/24/2003 1:44:26 PM #
I have to chirp in here and say that Agendus is the single most best app I have in my palm... period. I have been using a palm for 5 years now and 5 years ago I tried DateBK for a couple months untill someone showed me this app. Just fantastic and is just keeps getting better.

I am a pharmaceutical sales rep and this is what i use (in conjunction with MS outlook) EXCLUSIVLEY to manage my business. All the new high res icons both in app and the ones assigned to meetings make it feel like i've got a new program! Sweet. Keep up the innovative work.

SIDE BAR: Your iambic mail support (not agendus) SUCKS!!!!!! Come on, iambic writes this wicked app agendus and can't figure out how to integrate SMS? Is it that hard? Really droppping the ball. I use a Palm Tungsten and T68i (popular combo i understand) and to no avail. Oh, Fun SMS is a wicked program anyway. It just would be sweet if iambic got off their ass and figured it out!

But Agendus ROCKS!!!!!!!!

Palm Tungsten T, iambic Agendus, Vaja 924 FlipTop Case, Palm UltraThin Keyboard, SonyEricson T68i

RE: What an AWESOME product!!!
VisorMiser @ 6/25/2003 12:11:38 AM #
Glad to hear one unconditional endorsement for the product. I've been carefully watching Agendus and DateBk 5 for a long time.

Agendus' biggest faults: Iambic, the company does not engender trust & the support outright rots.
Datebk5's biggest faults: No desktop companion and no meaningful updates in over a year.

I forcefully disagree that this is a must for a serious Palm User, I'm living with the built-in apps--which are FREE--but would like more ... and will just keep waiting.

the VisorMiser
_______________________
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. -- Sir Winston Churchill

RE: What an AWESOME product!!!
Rolando @ 6/25/2003 10:22:58 AM #
If you check out Datebk5's yahoo group for information, you'll find that there are quite a few improvements in the preview versions.

While it's true that the latest release version has been out for a while, the preview versions are free for all Datebk5 users to use (or new users to try), contain bug fixes, and countless improvements.

In fact, the "preview versions" are better and just as stable as the release version. Highly recommended.

Rolando

RE: What an AWESOME product!!!
bookrats @ 6/25/2003 1:30:55 PM #
I agree with Rolando about Datebk5 -- and I like CESD's policy of adding (and testing) new features in the preview editions, and then waiting until it's rock-solid to make an official release version.

That way, those of us who prefer solid, tested performance can wait for a release version, and those who want to try (and critique) new features can get involved in the preview process. (And all the preview versions I've used have been pretty bug-free.)

I believe CESD is within a hairsbreadth of making a new release version -- they're in the final loop of preview reviews now.

----

"I'm warning you ... if you kill me, they'll just send 008!"

Jeff Meyer

Category support?

kezza @ 6/25/2003 10:53:03 AM #
Over the years I've tried Agendus/Action Names more times than I can count and every time I've ditched it within a few hours. The problem? No category support. I realize the built-in datebook doesn't have this, but I've become quite pampered by it with DateBk3/4/5 over the years. Until I can set an event to a category and have the text color, background color, and icon set automatically in Agendus, I'll never use it. I like a lot of the other features and overall I feel like it simplifies a lot of the things that are a too complex in DateBk, but without categories . . . I just can't make the switch.

--------------------------------------
"Well, if it isn't the leader of the wiener patrol, boning up on his nerd lessons"
http://stirwise.com

Agendus Pro is on target

fragos @ 6/27/2003 8:23:48 PM #
I've been a user since Action Names and was an Iambic Mail user. The integration of Mail with PIM encompases most of what I use my Palm for. I find myself creating alot of ToDo's from emails. I still want to see a feature to transfer email text to a doc - cut & paste on the Palm won't handle this very well. I find the Iambic web site very easy to use, particularly for updates. I can't speak to SMS and support since I haven't used them. I recommend Agendus Pro to others and will continue using it myself.

I lost faith in Iambic long ago

dws90 @ 6/28/2003 2:36:00 AM #
Ever since they told me I had to pay $18 just to go from Action Names to Action Names School.


Gotta love $2 discounts.

RE: Datebk and Agendus
24fc @ 10/29/2003 2:41:08 PM #
I used Agendus back when it was Action Names. I moved to a Pocket PC about a year ago and used Pocket Informant, but now with the T3 out, I have returned to Palm.

Agendus and Datebk both offer lots of features that I don't need. Basically, what I want them for is the one-line display of my meetings, with only those times I have them. I also want the split screen with my tasks visible on the bottom, and a Daily Journal entry tool. I also like the integration with contacts.

What I don't like:

When I complete a to-do, attend a meeting, or make a call, why doesn't either one of these bloated programs offer me the option of having it automatically logged with the time in the Daily Journal? Is that really so much to ask? Do I really have to type this stuff myself, or can't I just tape a complete box on these items and have them recorded for me. The Daily Journal is very useful for me. Logging my activities in notes on contacts is *useless*.

Agendus and Datebk look awful on my 320x480 hi-res display on my T3. Agendus' today screen is using some 160x160 display res. The lists are a little better, but both of these programs are 1x1 screen sized and don't resize if I open up the screen.

When I tap an appointment, shouldn't I see the details of the appointment, such as the location, name, and attendees, etc? Why am I shown a data entry screen, and then have to tap one more time to see the notes? That's worse than the built in datebook.

It amazes me after all of these years that neither one of these products has been able to produce what seems to be so very obvious to me as useful features and trim out some of the stupid stuff like making a task a particular color or bold fonts. Those kinds of things make a todo list look like a children's book.

So I'm sticking with the built-in apps, since everything I want to do I can do easily just by pushing the hardware buttons on my Palm, and the only real benefit these things off is a split screen - which is NOT worth $25 or more.

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