VueMinder Calendar Lite 8.2

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on January 19, 2010

There are a lot of calendar applications out there, and by this point we think that most people have settled on their favorites, whether they're devoted to Outlook, the online capabilities of Google Calendar, or something else. Most of the stand-alone calendar applications that we review don't particularly impress us, simply because they offer little in the way of features that could conceivably lure people away from other programs. VueMinder Calendar Lite, however, is an exception: this flexible calendar fills a niche that other calendar programs don't.

The application's interface is sleek and attractive, reminding us very much of Microsoft Outlook. It has all the typical things you'd expect from a calendar: you can create different categories to organize events and appointments, set reminders with alarms, and so-on. Where this calendar really shines, however, is with its interactive capabilities. You can share calendars on a local area network, subscribe to any calendars that follow the standard iCalendar format, and sync the VueMinder Calendar with multiple Google Calendars. We also very much like the optional desktop calendar that the program offers; this translucent calendar can be moved around the screen and have its opacity adjusted, allowing you to have a seamlessly integrated calendar readily available. The program's online Help file is well-written and thorough. Overall, we were quite impressed with both the design and features of VueMinder Calendar Lite, and we recommend it highly.

VueMinder Calendar Lite is free. The program installs and uninstalls without issues.

Publisher's Description

From VueSoft:

Are you looking for a free and easy-to-use calendar program to help you manage your schedule, remember key dates, or gain a competitive edge in the business world? Look no further, because VueMinder Calendar Lite is the solution. Forget the traditional wall calendar or calendar + e-mail software suites. Those may help you schedule an appointment, but do little to help you visualize how your schedule appears based on event priorities, categories, or locations. For those capabilities, you need software specifically designed with a clear focus on providing the best free scheduling solution available. With VueMinder, you can define events and contacts - and then easily link those with files. Events can be organized into multiple calendars and selectively layered or filtered in a variety of calendar views, as well as an interactive component that seamlessly integrates into the Windows desktop and provides quick access to upcoming events. Despite the free price, this software is fully capable of performing features that you'd need to pay for elsewhere. For example, Google Calendars can be synced to your computer and even accessed while offline. You can also subscribe to other online calendars, such as NFL game schedules. Data can be imported or exported via the iCalendar (ICS) file standard, for sharing data with other people and calendar programs. VueMinder is packed with a multitude of other innovative features to help make organizing your schedule simple and easy. These include many simple touches, like showing details when hovering the cursor over an event, the ability to undo accidental dismissal of reminders, and a dynamically updating print preview window. Combined into a single package, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. If you're looking for even more, consider trying VueMinder Calendar Pro, which extends the Lite version with many additional features, such as calendar sharing over a LAN, 2-way Google Calendar sync, and e-mail/SMS reminders.

What's new in this version: Version 8.2 adds a "Save as Web Page" command to the File menu, allowing the calendar to be saved directly to HTML and the ability to hear a voice (text-to-speech) reminder when a popup reminder or desktop alert appears.