Where do you store your contacts and calendar?

I have been using Palm devices for a decade or so to store my contacts and calendar. Now that Palm appears to be heading for the exits, and since I'm annoyed that a random subset of my contacts have recently gotten corrupted, I'm looking for a new place to store all of this data. I've realized that having this data on a seperate portable device may no longer be necessary for me, now that I seem to have a laptop with me wherever I go. But it would be nice to have the current day's schedule available offline... perhaps synced to an ordinary cell phone.

What are people using these days to store your contacts and calendar? I see that Windows Vista has built in applications, but they don't seem to be very well supported.

What I liked about the Palm platform was that it was

• - Cheap; I have only spend about $300 on hardware over ten years, by buying used stuff on ebay. And the palm desktop software is always free.
  
• - Somewhat safe from hackers. Around the time Palm started its decline, I started storing my website username/passwords in my Palm. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that with the built in Vista contacts, because its ubiquity makes it a target for malware that might steal my data. But because Palm is now so obscure, I doubt anyone would write malware to steal Palm data.
  
• - Able to see many lines of information at once. I use the Notes field in the Contacts database extensively, to store account numbers, URLs, account histories, software and other keys, maintenance history, etc. Many of my contacts have 500-1000 characters of notes, so viewing these on a small screen like a cell phone isn't practical for me. I also tend to put lots of info into calendar entries, like address, phone, url, even directions.
  
• - Long Lasting. The palm desktop software has been supported for something like 15 years. I don't want to have to transfer or reenter my contacts every few years.

So what are people using today? Some possibilities:

• - Just use Vista contacts and calendars. Disadvantages are that this data is hacker-vulnerable and perhaps not well supported, meaning the applications might be useless in a few years.
  
• - Use spreadsheets and/or freeform text files. I like the simplicity, flexibility, and easy backups of this approach, but it seems a bit clumsy in practice because the UI isn't designed for that purpose.
  
• - Use an ipod touch or iphone, and sync with outlook. This option is very cool, but costs hundreds of dollars every few years for hardware.
  
• - Use Apple's new Mobilme service with an iphone. Expensive at $100/year plus phone charges, but very elegant and I like the web access bonus.
  
• - Google contacts and calendar. I am not sure I want all my eggs in the google basket and I need an solution for times with no internet access, so I'm not sure this will work.

I can't see spending more than about $40/year on average, which rules out some of the cooler solutions.

 

I like Microsoft Access. Once you set up a database to your liking it is very simple to keep track of everything. I use it for everything . Very customizable & relatively easy to use.

 

If you are looking for the free form flexibility you might take a look at OneNote. There is a mobile version for Windows Mobile devices that can sync with the software. Just an idea, which would definitely give you the ability to keep "long winded" notes.

 

Funny, I'd never even thought of using a database to store this stuff, even though I've worked in the database industry for many years.

Microsoft OneNote is an intriguing product... it does seem to have the right mix of a little structure with a lot of free form capability that I want for my contacts. My concerns are that it's new and future support is anything but guaranteed. And it's microsoft, with all the insecurity and bloat that implies.

 

Please keep the suggestions coming... would you recommend what you use to store your contacts and calendar?

 

I also used Palm, but switched to a PPC when the LD came out. Had the TX come out then, rather than a couple of years later, well, the past is the past.

In any case, my PDA has always been the primary repository of Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks. There has been no change in that philosophy, it still is.

I do sync with Outlook (2007) with the PPC, as I used to hotsync with the Palm desktop.

I actually set the Vista programs (Calendar, Contacts, Mail) to be rogue programs in my firewall, so if they try to run they will be terminated.

There is more detail on my website if you are interested.

 

I store mine in Gmail or Outlook at work. I hope though to get a Blackberry or iPhone and use that for storage eventually.

 

old fashioned, so it be ... but i still use paper medium, and the book is blue, not black

cheers ...

 

I use windows live and sync it with my windows mobile phone

 

I do use my PPC and synch with Outlook. It's beneficial to have a backup so I print out my contacts in case of a crash. You can backup the Outlook database, save it to an email address and use it for emergency purposes. To use a spreadsheet type of address book such as Excel is also a good idea. But the best is on a hardcopy... pen and paper.

 

I use Outlook 2007, and a Sprint Mogul with Windows Mobile 6. I also use Google Calendar in the middle, since you can sync google calendar automatically with both devices. So if I add something to Outlook (or to the phone) I can have it automatically sync between all three remotely without ever docking the phone.

 

OneNote isn't exactly "new". It's been around since 2003.

 

I run a home-based business, so my calendar and contacts are extremely important to me.
I use Outlook 2003, and sync with a Windows Mobile phone/PDA. The phone is (merely) OK, but Outlook has been impeccably reliable and the sync process has always been trouble-free... despite the fact that I have moved between three different laptops and a few desktops (and several Windows installations on the various machines) since I bought the phone.

I have never liked Palm. When it works, it's OK... but it dies too often, and it seems rather difficult to fix when it does. Using Windows Mobile, all my data resides in Outlook on the PC (and it's backed up, religiously & often). I can wipe the phone, or replace it, and the first sync will put everything back.

Also, many Windows phones come with a copy of Outlook, just in case you don't have Micro$oft Office.

 

Having used both extensively I would have to say that the WM sync process dies far more often and that WM is far more difficult to fix when it does. Still, I do now use a WM PDA.

Darn few these days include a copy of Outlook, actually.

 

On my phone. I don't use contact programs on a computer because worms usually use that. My current computer's secure, but I still remember back in 1999 when my computer infected most of my friend's computers.

 

Like the XMAS exec (EXEC2, pre-REXX) that went through IBM back in the late 80's or early 90's.