Trumba

Got a beta account to Trumba, the online calendaring service. Like so many of the web-apps mushrooming out there, it is still in beta. I remember reading about it off a blog sometime ago but didn’t check it out until I started searching for GTD materials.

The marketing looked rather promising…

Keeping track of a family schedule and keeping your family on track can be a full time job. A personal Trumba OneCalendar? can help you and other family members end up where you need to be on time. With Trumba, you can:

• Create a schedule for each family member and overlay their calendars on top of your own?a great way to see where everyone needs to be when.
• Drop errands, get-togethers, and events on someone else’s calendar?ideal for making sure your spouse knows (and is reminded) about upcoming obligations.
• Share your schedule with others so they can see when you’re free or busy, and, at the same time, maintain privacy by marking any individual event private.
• Reduce missed appointments by setting reminders that alert you on your cell phone or with an email message.
• Synchronize your Trumba calendar with Microsoft Outlook?a great way to make sure your work meetings don’t overlap with things going on at home.
• Subscribe to calendars published by local arts and entertainment venues so you can make time for fun in your busy day.

And the UI looked good…

Unfortunately, it supports a limited number of timezones which does not include the one I’m in. Bummer.

It is a known issue, and according to their FAQ, it’s one of the features still in development. If I were to rely on it for reminders and alerts, I would have to make sure I keep the time difference in mind (closest timezone is Tokyo time which is 1 hour ahead). The publishing and synchronisation features look particularly interesting and I’m sure I’ll be back when the timezone support is up to scratch.