OS X Shareware Review:
AquilaCalendar

     I'm not a timely guy. That's not to say I'm often late or early; I'm just not that concerned with time as a whole. I have my issues with everyone rushing about and subscribe to the worry and analysis James Gleick wrote of in his book Faster. Heck, I just now started toying with the OS X Clock App. But, as anyone with a professional job will note: no matter how much or little you may really be a slave to the watch, what truly rules your life is your date book. And I'm pleased to say that the AquilaCalendar helps even a chrono-phobe like me.

     For me, a calendar does its job if it supplies at least one of two joys: 1) has cool pictures (in which case I never look at it as a real calendar) or 2) has everything from this month, to last month to the next month... and not in tiny impossible type. I have to admit I never bothered with computer-based calendars. (The closest I get is clicking the upper-right time to remind me what day it is.) So finding AvCore System Inc.'s AquilaCalendar wasn't a particularly pretty gem for me...at first. The reviews on Version Tracker at least were quite complimentary, and didn't set off any alarms with my Way-Too-Early (in development) To-Be-Useful detector. A download later, AquilaCalendar was up and running.

     Several versions and signifigant upgrades later (and remember this is an OS X app that has already gone through major revisions) AquilaCalendar has leapt from incredible tool to truly remarkable utility. These are not just cosmetic advances, but rather functional upgrades that turn AquilaCalendar from one-trick app to a several-trick must-have.

Who do we thank/blame?
Alan Cook and AvCore System's Inc.

First Impressions:
•On screen resolution 1024x728, AquilaCalendar was just the right size.

•The multi-month display options are very comfortable, readable and logical.

•This app doesn't just help you when you're "in" the app. A blip of the current month and day resides in its Dock icon, and better yet, a tear-off calendar appears from a menu-bar icon of the date.

•Notes & To-Do lists... I live by these scrawled on Post-It Notes and to have a way to marry these to particular days, or even in the fact that it combines a "Notebook" to the app makes for easy, helpful and practical use.

•Familiar (for OS X) customizable Toolbar: If you can't customize this, somethings wrong with you. The intructions are easy and options mallable even for the normally customizing impaired.

Lasting Impressions:
•The simple check-box for "Weeks start from Monday" is brilliant. A simple trick? Yes. But one I appreciate.

•Still in Preferences: So many options, so little time. One mild critique: When I open up preferences my calendar display always switches to 12 months, which is odd. It does allow me to see the results of my changes however, so maybe it isn't all that weird.

•I find myself using this app. That's a big compliment, and Alan Cook deserves every ounce.

•Never thought I'd find an app that killed Stickies, my old Notebook, the "digital" version of Clock and added so much, but Aquila Calendar did it.

Final Verdict:
9.9 (out of 10) Grab it.  Use it and tell others. You're not likely to find many utilities of this quality that you'll use every day (and I mean really use...).

Try it here: http://www.avcore-systems.com

by Dean Browell
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This review is a part of Ghostmac.com, Skewed's wing of Mac reviews from the casual user's view. Take with a grain of salt and dash of incense for full effect.

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