diary

Keeping a diary was once something that all educated people were expected to do, but these days diaries are most often seen as small, ornate books with locking covers that are solely the possession of tween girls (and, occasionally, their little brothers). That's a shame, because there are a lot of reasons to keep a diary, both personal and for posterity. Owning a PC makes keeping a diary too easy, especially with excellent free diary programs like iDailyDiary from Splinterware.

The program's main page bears a strong resemblance to a word processor or a full-featured e-mail client such … Read more

DiaryOne is an attractive program that allows users to create a customizable and secure electronic diary. Although many of the program's features can be found elsewhere, its sleek interface and organizational structure make it a good choice.

The program's interface is intuitive and reminiscent of Microsoft Office products; the toolbar on the left reminds us of Outlook, while the formatting buttons across the top will be familiar to users of Word. Users can quickly move from month to month using numbered tabs to the right of the screen. We do wish that the program had more than two … Read more

When you were a kid, did you have one of those little diaries with a lock and key? They weren't fancy, but there was something enjoyable about recording a day's events in those little books and then locking them up. Easy Diary is the electronic equivalent of those little books, a basic diary program that allows users to record their daily events and thoughts. Although the program is not particularly rich in features, it's not bad for a very basic diary.

The program's interface is quite plain; it shows a two-month calendar, and below that, a … Read more

At first glance, Smart Diary seems similar to many other planners, with various calendar views and the ability to set tasks. What really sets Smart Diary apart is its diary feature, which is unlike anything we've seen before in this sort of program.

The program's interface is attractive and intuitive, with a surprisingly sleek calendar design. It's easy to do all the basics, like adding events and tasks, scheduling reminders, printing schedules, and so on. Everything is neatly arranged with tabs and drop-down menus, allowing users to quickly find the functions they want. What really impressed us … Read more

Debrief offers users a fast way to take down notes and stay on top of their ideas. With its simple layout and directions, this tool will find many fans.

The program's interface may initially worry some, but they will soon discover most of the icons crowding the top of this program are unnecessary. A few minutes of experimenting and clicking around will serve the user much better than a trip to the Help file, though it's available. The program functions primarily as a note-taker. Users click on an icon to write a note and treat it like a … Read more

The developers behind MacJournal admit that you can use a traditional word processor or text editor for journaling--but they say that's like Lance Armstrong using a bike from Wal-Mart to race in the Tour de France. Aside from the fact that Armstrong would probably still kick butt on a Wal-Mart bike, they've got a point: MacJournal is one of the best journaling programs available for the Mac, with a huge range of features that are useful whether you're keeping a journal for yourself, taking notes for classes or meetings, organizing random snippets of info, or prepping blog … Read more

Contactizer Pro is designed to help you organize and share all your personal and business contacts and information. This sort of CRM/PIM business software has always lagged behind its PC counterparts, but Contactizer Pro is one of the better choices available for the Mac, with a fairly beefy feature set and a clean, relatively intuitive interface. This app helps you track projects, tasks, and communication (including calls, chats, documents, and faxes, with alarms and follow-ups to invitations), and it also does a good job of integrating with Apple's core apps. During installation, Contactizer Pro syncs up with your … Read more

Modern life demands a lot of juggling to keep everything straight. From finances, to social events, to keeping on top of your digital music, no one should feel guilty for needing a personal assistant. While it is not quite a secretary, MyLife Smart Organizer aims to bring as many disparate elements of life together as possible.

This download has a futuristic look of gray steel and 11 sleek icons that represent practically anything you might need to organize (business information, contacts, recipes, money, music, photos, personal records, and others). By selecting one of these icons, a list appears along the … Read more

Free Online Diary offers people a chance to take their personal thoughts into the 21st century by going digital with their diaries. With some added features, this program wants to be the final word in online writing, but its design might hold people back.

Free Online Diary is actually a companion program to access a site of the same name. When opened on your computer, it offers only a menu with links that takes you directly to sections of your online journal, including Diary, Notes, and a To-Do List. Beyond this, the software doesn't have any other features. It … Read more