Change Would Do Yahoo! Good

In this last post in a series on browser-based calendars, we’re stepping out of the quaint rivers where items like Kiko and CollectiveX reside, and going back to the ocean of big-name players with the visit to Yahoo!’s scheduler. We started at Google Calendar, no doubt the king of the genre, and I thought it’d be appropriate to delve into what is perhaps its toughest competition - in numbers, that is.

While I take the first genuinely good look at Yahoo! Calendar, I’m struck by how much I like it. I migrated entirely from Yahoo! Mail to Gmail many seasons ago on the sole basis that its options menu better fit my tastes; free POP access stole me. I’ll state for the record that I continue to abhor Yahoo! Mail and its now historic UI. Even the beta is a sad, slow excuse for a replacement.

But now that I’m presented with its Calendar, I have to give it to Yahoo! for making something visually appealing, even though it sits amidst a sea of confusion and unnecessaries. Unfortunately, the benefit of the doubt given to Yahoo! at sign-in was quickly tossed away at first sight of its “backstage” areas.

In a world of advanced Java and other beautific technologies, Yahoo! has apparently chosen to go old school. Nearly every part of their calendar mirrors software fabricated outside Sunnyvale, but given that they’ve presented the delightful outline with a horrifically mundane back end, I’d say they’re damn foolish for even adding the calendar to their repertoire.

Yahoo!’s been in the doldrums ever since folks (mostly stock holders) realized couldn’t deliver on tough talk about rattling Google’s ground. But I have absolutely zero reservations about kicking them while they’re down, considering the piles of money and minds they have at headquarters and around the world. They can choose to deliver what I want, or I can go elsewhere. And so I have.

Flaw #1: Banner ads can be bad.

I get that the internet megaliths need to advertise for the revenue to appease hungry traders and the traders’ clients, but I’m several minutes into browsing about the calendar and I’m already fuming over the intrusive banner sidelining the page at the right, which is at present brought to me courtesy of Vicks Cold/Flu relief. Sure, it’s sniffle season, but at least do the decent thing and shift to text-only displays, particularly when I am viewing something personal. (By the way, for those intent on keeping to the ancient exclamation point to maintain all their info, email, tasks, upcoming events, etc., you’ll do well to try and keep to the month-by-month view in Calendar, where the only advert worth mentioning is a small 100×100px space seemingly devoted to Yahoo!’s self-promotions. The events and tasks tabs are also safe from extraneous intrusions.)

Flaw #2: Grow up, Yahoo!

I don’t want to give up completely on Yahoo!, but my patience is certainly ebbing for this digital sentimentalist. It’s appalling that they’ve yet to clean their mess up a bit, are a tortoise of an upgrader in terms of storage space, and offer no free access through external clients to speak of. What’s the wait?

Unfortunately, Yahoo! continues to be one of the most heavily trafficked portals on the internet, and more people passing through generally means more people stopping to have a look around, which is why I find it no surprise that Yahoo! Mail is still the #1 email application in operation. I weep for the millions still in the dark ages.

Flaw #3: Yahoo!, you’re too flawed.

It depresses me to say this, but Yahoo! has effectively become the Microsoft of internet giants. What makes me assert such a thing? For one, they choose only to advance if a broad swath of users begin to raise a commotion about the sheer crappiness of a particular portion of their pie. At the moment, a right overhaul of the portal needs to take place, but they’ll bide their time. I’m certain of it.

Hey, I wish I could say Yahoo! is everything and more, but instead of offering one aspect of themselves in exceptional form, they’ve instead gone the route of providing tasteless, insipid mediocrity, Calendar and all.