The amazing Google is adding another weapon to their arsenal. Beginning today, Google will begin offering a free web calendar that offers a variety of features to make using Web calendars as easy as desktop calendars such as Outlook.
Among its other features, the new calendar will allow users to "drag and drop" events from one calendar to another. And like other web-based calendars, you can store appointments online, receive reminders about them and share those plans with others. In addition, there is a feature that allows users of Google Calendar to send invitations and manage guest lists.
The new service takes advantage of slick Web programming tricks using Javascript and XML along with RSS. But perhaps the biggest breakthrough is the calendar's use of "natural language processing" technology that simplifies how events are entered. The feature allows users to type simple commands like "leave work today at 4:30 p.m." or "drinks Thursday with Bob" that the system can interpret and automatically insert into the calendar. Events can be private, shared with friends, or made public on the Web.
Users of Google's free e-mail service Gmail may find the Google Calendar particularly useful. Google's software scours Gmail to recognize mentions of events and then automatically offers the user to add the date information to the calendar. Users can also add entries in simple text, such as "Coffee with Jim on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Rock Park Cafe," thereby eliminating the need to fill out forms.
The new services opens a new level of competition with rivals such as Yahoo, Microsoft and Evite.
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