Former iOS software chief Scott Forstall may have been defenestrated through a skeumorphically beautiful digital window, but that doesn't mean that real world-based GUI fluff isn't alive and hovering over his metaphorical body. Such electronic noise is apparent in the app Calendar Plus, whose primary appeal appears to be in its visuals rather than its functionality.
To begin with, Calendar Plus has exactly one functional element. It stays up in your menu bar — since iCal doesn't — and provides you with a fast glimpse of what's on your calendar. Beyond that, Calendar Plus defaults to iCal (renamed Calendar in Mountain Lion, but we'll call it iCal here).
Click the menu bar icon, and a large, brightly colored calendar opens with a list of events jutting out in a pane on the left, color-coded by which of your iCal or CalDAV calendars they appear in. Click a new day in the calendar to see that day's appointments, or double-click it to open it in iCal. Want to add a new event? Double-click the day, wait for iCal to open (at least it opens on the day you clicked), and enter the info there.
Calendar Plus automatically reads the same calendars and accounts you have set up in iCal, and you can also add Google Calendar and Facebook, even if you don't have those accounts linked to iCal. But they're read-only as well: If you click a Google Calendar event, it opens in www.google.com/calendar in your default browser.
The settings have some useful features — you can set a keyboard shortcut to open the app, and choose to have the weather displayed too. Calendar Plus seems to take great pride in letting you choose a theme and background picture for your calendar, but we found these distracting. Case in point: the "Calendar is attached by" settings lets you decide whether Calendar Plus's window just sits beneath the menu bar, or if it dangles a little bit lower, "attached" to the menu bar by bits of string or clothespins or chunks of glass. That's... nice?
The bottom line. Calendar Plus makes your iCal data a little more accessible than if you had to open iCal every time. But its inability to add or edit events is a shame, and the questionable appeal of the graphical extras doesn’t redeem that shortcoming. Fantastical ($19.99, www.flexbits.com) costs more but works much better.
of 4
Calendar Plus 1.0
OS X 10.6.6 or later
Fast. Does something iCal/Calendar should do natively.
Doesn't do much. Overpriced for what it does do.
jazzyguy
March 15, 2013 at 12:26pm
This could be BARTENDER'S fault because I have Bartender 1.9 which is the latest version. I changed my preferences to show Calendar Plus in the menubar and then restarted and it was back on both iMacs with 10.6.8 and on 10.8.3. That should not have happened on Calendar Plus or Bartender but that does not excuse Calendar Plus' web site of the nonsensical way the support button which takes you to MAS store instead of your mail app.
jazzyguy
March 15, 2013 at 9:48am
If you go to the Developer's web site and click the "SUPPORT" button it sends you over to the MAS store. No good at all!
jazzyguy
March 15, 2013 at 9:10am
I was enjoying this app that I got through MAS but now it will not launch in 10.6.8. In Mountain Lion 10.8.3 it refuses to launch as well. I have numerous Macs. I have 2 iMacs with 10.6.8 and they both won't launch . In the Activity Viewer it shows but it just won't launch.
Gregory Magarshak
March 14, 2013 at 2:48pm
Hey, this is the founder of Qbix. We're the company who make Calendar Plus.
First of all - thanks for taking the time to check out and review the app. I really encourage you to take a look at its other features, though. While it's true that we tried to make Calendar Plus fully customizable, the main purpose was not the pretty pictures and skeumorphism. We wanted to build a tool that showed you:
* Weather forecast at a glance (and more details when you moused over)
* Facebook birthdays (so you could easily click and wish your friends happy birthdays on facebook)
* Events your facebook friends going to (and who's hosting / attending - so you can decide to join)
* Google Calendars - you can add as many accounts as you need
Being able to see that it's raining tomorrow and 4 of your friends are getting together for lunch at a restaurant. That's the point of Calendar Plus.
I would love to reach out and show you our latest features. Since you wrote this article, we rolled out a bunch more stuff in the app store, such as a compact view, and we're working on an iPhone version as well. If you're interested, please let me know how best to reach you, or email me greg @ qbix
jazzyguy
March 16, 2013 at 10:35am
This is the eMail I sent to the Developer today 3/16/13 Gergory,Don't you care at all about those who buy your product? Your support button takes you to the MAS store. You gave a false address on MacLife.com and you do not answer my emails. Are you trying to be the WORST developer on the Mac?
jazzyguy
March 15, 2013 at 3:31pm
I just googled his full name and managed to write him at Magarshak.com. Through his website at MAGARSHAK.COM I was able to get his actual address. I advised him of the fact that his support button was invalid and his eMail address was also invalid. Let us see if he responds at all.
jazzyguy
March 15, 2013 at 1:28pm
That is an invalid address. Greg@qubix doesn't exist and Greg@qubix.com doesn't exist as well. NO WONDER no one can get support of any kind for this application. I FIRST got this app at MacHeist. I wanted it real bad and I tried to put it on my back up drive and it wouldn't do it. It said I needed a Registration! SO I went to the app store and bought it. I never thought I would need support and when I did need it,THIS is the answer I got NOTHING!
jazzyguy
March 17, 2013 at 6:28am
This is the reply I got from him: Hey. We are definitely responding - not only that but we've already submitted a fix for MacOS 10.8.3 users -- just waiting for Apple's approval for a while :-(
We did not give MacLife anything, that is a magazine which independently published something about CalendarPlus.
jazzyguy
March 17, 2013 at 6:36am
And this is my Reply: Are you kidding??? Your support button on your website takes yo to the MAS store and you replied on MACLIFE personally and gave a false address to reply to you! Come on GET REAL!
GadgetCanada
January 02, 2013 at 11:13am
Fantastical on the iPhone and OSX is the best calendar app out there. I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple buy up Fantastical and make it the default calendar. It's that good.
jazzyguy
March 15, 2013 at 4:06pm
Fantastical is really not so wonderful and at least Calendar Plus is a little prettier. I feel that Fantastical is overpriced.
