Best Free PIM
Simple programs
If your personal information management (PIM) needs are basic, there are some simple programs that might fit your needs. Which one depends on whether you need calendaring, contact management or both.
Kurlo and Open Contacts are contact management programs (address books). They both provide space for extensive information about your contacts. You can also use Kurlo to send email messages directly, and it also has a delayed email sending feature. [
Sunbird is a small, resource-efficient calendaring application, and it has a neat feature that displays your to-do list for the day on your desktop. However it really is a bit minimal.
Users of Thunderbird (email client) would be better off with the Lightning version of Sunbird. This Thunderbird extension integrates calendaring features directly into the Thunderbird interface, thus combining contact management, email and calendaring in one window to give you better work flow.
Full programs
If you want more features -- appointments, tasks, to-do lists, notes and contacts -- check out PalmOne Desktop. It is designed specifically for use with Palm devices but works perfectly well all by itself. It's an excellent full function PIM -- if you think Microsoft Outlook without the email client you'll get the general idea. Naturally a few things such as "Synchronize" don't work without an attached Palm device but most functions work just fine. I [a previous editor wrote] also checked the licensing agreement and while it's a little ambiguous I suspect its OK for personal use. Indeed, I can't see Palm objecting as it may well encourage you to buy one of their hand-helds. ;>)
Evolution for Windows has been ported from Linux to Windows. Evolution is a full-featured PIM, whose main feature is being a free alternative to Microsoft Outlook. It can syncronize with several protocols, including Microsoft Exchange. Evolution is a comprehensive PIM (and it takes a while to load). Like many PIMs, it has no good way to schedule repetive tasks, which rules it out for me. That is not a problem for many users.
EssentialPIM is another full-featured alternative. It also does many of the same things as Outlook and can import your Outlook data as well.
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Chandler is in a category by itself. If you're looking for a PIM that will help get your life and work flow under control, you might find that Chandler is a good fit. It was launched by the legendary Mitch Kapor, creator of Lotus 1-2-3. Chandler has shaped up to become an elegant nerve center for managing your events, tasks and notes in conjunction with your email. And it handles repetitive tasks nicely. :-)
Chandler is based on a couple of underlying realities: 1) You can only work on a finite number of things today, yet you also need to manage your attention to the things that come later. 2) Much of your workload is driven by or coordinated via email. The key to making it flow is to integrate your events, tasks, calendar, notes and email in a way that lets you view them in natural contexts that match the way you actually work.
I realize that I haven't described Chandler well enough for you to understand it. It's something you have to see and contemplate yourself because it's based on a new concept. The essence is that Chandler ties together all the elements of your work flow. That's why I've started to use it myself.
The Chandler website has some good descriptions and demos to get the concepts across. If you need to make your work less chaotic and more efficient, Chandler could be the paradigm changer you need. I wish it had been available when I was working for a living. ;-)
Kurlo
Website: http://kurlo.com/index.html
Download page: http://www.tucows.com/preview/408564
Author: Retied Software, Inc
Current version: 1.3
Version date: Aug 7, 2006
License: Freeware
Download File size: 2.52 MB
OperatingSystemsSupported:Windows 98/NT/2k/Me/XP/95/2003
64-bit version available: No
Additional software required: Java
Portable version available: Kurlo is a portable application.
Open Contacts
Website: http://www.fonlow.com/OpenContacts/index.htm
Download page: http://www.tucows.com/preview/198829
Author: www.fonlow.com
Current version: 5.1
Version date: Apr 15, 2008
License: Freeware
Download File size: MB
Operating Systems Supported: Windows 2k/Me/XP/2003/Vista
64-bit version available: No
Portable version available: Yes
Other relevant information: Is Open Contacts for you?
Sunbird
Website: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird.html
License: Free Open Source
Download file size: 5.8MB
Windows Operating Systems Supported: NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista
Non-Windows Operating Systems Supported: Mac OS X; Linux
64-bit version available: No
Portable Version Available: No
Lightning
Website: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/
License: Freeware
Download file size: 2 MB
Windows Operating Systems Supported: 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista
Non-Windows Operating Systems Supported: Mac OS X; Linux
64-bit version available: No
Portable Version Available: Yes (as part of Thunderbird Portable)
Additional Software Required: Mozilla Thunderbird
PalmOne Desktop
Website: http://www.palm.com/us/software/desktop/
License: Free for personal use
Download file size: 42MB
Windows Operating Systems Supported: NT SP6/2000/XP/Vista
Non-Windows Operating Systems Supported: Mac OS X
64-bit version available: No
Portable Version Available: No
Additional Software Required: None
Evolution for Windows
Website: http://www.dipconsultants.com/evolution/
Download page: http://www.dipconsultants.com/evolution/download.htm
Author: Gnome.org
Current version: 2.22.2-4
Version date: July, 2008
License: GNU General Public License (GPL) -- freeware
Download File size: 34.1 MB
Operating Systems Supported: Windows XP; As of July, 2008, Evolution runs on Vista, however a number of bugs still exist.
64-bit version available: No
Portable version available: No
Non-English languages supported: Portuguese
Additional software required: No
Other relevant information: Linux version of Evolution.
EssentialPIM
Website: http://www.essentialpim.com/
License: Freeware
Download file size: 1.2MB
Windows Operating Systems Supported: 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista
Non-Windows Operating Systems Supported: None
64-bit version available: No
Portable Version Available: Yes
Additional Software Required: None
Chandler
Website: http://chandlerproject.org/wikihome
Download page: http://chandlerproject.org/Projects/DownloadChandlerDesktop
Author: Open Source Applications Foundation
Current version: 1.0
Version date: August 9, 2008
License: Apache (freeware)
Download File size: 29.7 MB
Operating Systems Supported: Windows 2000/XP/Vista; Linux; Mac OS X
64-bit version available: No
Portable version available: No
Non-English languages supported: Many
Other relevant information: This is pre-release software.
This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Philip Spohn.
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Which of these sync with a Palm organizer? I've been using Outlook 2007, and it's driving me crazy. I just hate it.
I see from the post above that Evolution, a Linux program, has been ported to Windows. Evolution is a replacement for Outlook, so it may sync with Palm.
http://www.dipconsultants.com/evolution/
Cheers ~ Philip Spohn
There are actually many free PIMs.
I'm using one I found really cool because its versatility. It is called PIM Xtreme and you can find it at http://dgtalize.com
It works with contacts, events, to-do, notes and alsa with financial stuff. It has many interesting options and, as far as I saw, it is on active development.
Oh! and it's Open Source too!
That's my suggestion :). Hope it helps!
Very good application!
All the database and MySQL stuff can be really annoying at first. I hope the developers make that more user friendly.
Anyway, worth a try.
Thanks for the info. I'll check PIM Xtreme out.
Update: This one is interesting, but after giving it a try, I think it needs some time to mature.
Cheers ~ Philip Spohn
I find it AMAZING that with such a HUGE community of people working on Open Source and Open Office, that there isn't the talent to add the simple things. For the past 5+ years since Open Office has been around to "kill MS Office" - they skipped on the basics. Sunbird is a good example of short-sightedness. For a simple free program, it does QUITE a bit well enough to compete with Outlook (with Thunderbird)... but it completely lacks a CONTACT Manager or an Alarm system.
For year, I've been refering people to use Palm Desktop for free... Actually, PALM themselves should be advertising it. Its easy to use and low resources. Mine is a bit old, but it should open up an email program if you click on a name... to make it more useful.
Thanks for the info. EssentialPIM & Chandler both look like top-notch programs that can require me to NOT have Outlook on my computer... not a matter of cost, but of having any more MS software on my computer. Don't get me wrong - MS did do a bang up job with Office2007... but I'll get along without it... Now to try out these other PIMs. Palm has gotten rather OLD looking. ;)
What about OpenContacts?
http://www.fonlow.com/OpenContacts/
A quick look at OpenContacts has me interested. Update: This is a very ambitious contacts manager, but it does not include tasks, and calendaring looks weak.
Cheers ~ Philip Spohn
I think MSD Organiser works brilliantly
Thanks Anon,
I hadn't heard of MSD Organiser -- maybe because it's not spelled with a "zed". ;>) I'll give it a whirl.
Update: MSD Organiser is a very nice looking shareware program, albeit with no time limit on use, so it does not fit the spirit of the meaning of freeware for this site.
Cheers ~ Philip Spohn
PalmOne Desktop is indeed a very nice tool, and works happily without any Palm device.
After years with it, I have recently moved over to EssentialPIM free because of the portable version which is updated in parallel with the paid version.
EssentialPIM has a free portable version.
Check out open sourceSpicebird, only on Beta at present, but looks and works amazing as a full-on Outlook replacement: http://www.spicebird.com/
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