RedBox Organizer 5.0 Review Don't Miss Meetings, Don't Forget Clients Eric Grevstad
Mon 5/19/03 -- We've written before that the ubiquity of Microsoft Office and Outlook has all but smothered what was once one of the most varied and valuable categories of productivity software -- personal information managers (PIMs), programs that help you keep track of appointments, addresses, to-do lists, birthdays, you name it. Day-Timers Inc. has officially discontinued support for its Day-Timer Organizer software, last updated in September 2001. The most recent version of Lotus Organizer debuted two years before that.
But a few faithful independents still march in the PIM procession. And one, inKline Global, has just remodeled its RedBox Organizer, a $40 hub for everything from meetings and contacts to travel expenses and anniversaries. It's a quirky, more-shareware-than-smooth-looking solution in many ways, but packs capable power for juggling projects and schedules.
Everything at Once, Or One Thing at a Time
We mention projects specifically because one thing that distinguishes RedBox from routine Rolodex/appointment/to-do list/jotted-note managers is its Planner module, which lets you stretch timelines across a horizontal, full-year calendar to indicate the start and end dates of projects, with a thermometer-style bar within each bar to indicate its percentage of completion. (If you don't want to type the name of a project -- or to-do or calendar item -- yourself, you can choose a label from a customizable pick list of suggestions such as "Contract negotiations," "Trade show," "Lunch meeting," or "Follow up.")
The Planner module is joined by Calendar, To Do, Address, Notes, Anniversaries, Expenses, and a Globe (world clock) module, as well as areas for links between items and reports (bare-bones printouts), all selectable from a vertical toolbar at the left of the display. RedBox's main or home screen gives you an at-a-glance view of not only the day's appointments but ongoing Planner projects and To Do reminders.
Unfortunately, on our desktop's 1,024 by 768-resolution screen (even using a 19-inch monitor), at-a-glance was more like at-a-squint, as RedBox's display font was too small to read easily. While most modules give you a choice of color schemes, we were irritated that you can't change the font or type size, even in the Notes module -- which lets you store your typed thoughts or memos in 10 folders, stacked like pieces of paper on a spike, changing note and folder colors and sorting notes by date, title, or color.
The program's flashy, OpenGL-based graphics are put to good (or at least entertaining) use with some animated page-turning and whooshing-from-one-linked-object-to-another effects, as well as with the world-time display -- the latter not only shows a rotating globe that reminds you where it's day and where it's dark, but has a cool flyover effect if you click and drag with the mouse to find the distance and estimated air travel time between two cities.
On the other hand, the Expenses module's receding array of overlapping Post-It notes, clickable to view details of each expense item, looks more like eye candy than a real account ledger, and the expense-report option prints a scanty, three-column list of item dates, types, and total amounts, skipping the other fields (such as attendees at meals) which your accounting department will want to see.
