Time and Chaos for Mac?

[Mark Schecter]

Hi, Sid.

I use Now Software's Up To Date and Contact http://www.nowsoftware.com/ 
. These are two separate but integrated database programs, the first for 
calendaring, the second for contacts. The feature that is indispensable 
to me is the relationships between contacts and the events on the 
calendar. When I look at a contact's record, I see a list of all the 
appointments I have had with them, and I can click into any one of those 
to see all the work details and notes. When I'm looking at an 
appointment on the calendar, I can click the contact's (or multiple 
contacts') details for address, directions, and previous work done for 
them (as above). This view across is a requirement that few, if any, 
other arrangements meet.

Both programs run on both Mac (OS9 and OSX) and PC (but not Linux). If 
you have a group, you can run one or both programs on a central server, 
and multiple users can access the common databases, and see their own 
information, as well as that of others that has been made public.

Anticipating questions about synching with PDAs, I only have a 
superficial understanding of how well synching works, but here goes. You 
can synch the separate information from the two datafiles to either 
Pocket PC or Palm, via conduits that are available from third parties 
and Palm, respectively. What I am not at all clear about is whether 
there is a conduit solution that preserves the _relationships_ between 
contacts and their appointments. In the past, this was not available, 
and therefore, I have continued to carry a laptop. Now? I don't know, 
but I'm not motivated enough to suffer through the transition to find 
out that it doesn't work as well as I would hope. Can anyone make my day 
by telling me they have such a solution?

Meanwhile, I have been using these programs since 1999, and their 
predecessors (under previous ownership) since the mid 80's. There have 
been occasional problems, as with most any software, but generally, 
support has been good. But you MUST back up your databases! I have more 
than once had a hard disk problem that trashed my calendar data, leaving 
me to sit by the phone (figuratively) waiting for someone to call, 
asking "Where are you?"

Hope this helps.

-Mark

Sid Blum wrote:
 > Anyone know of any software similar to T & C that runs on a mac?  I gave
 > up my windows machine last year.  I've been trying to use the customer
 > list in quickbooks but find it less than perfect.
 >
 > Thanks,