Why haven't Mail and Calendar been merged into one app?

[petrucci666]

I was thinking about this last night, we have 2 separate apps (which means 2 separate windows) for something that so intertwined as your email and calendar.

Not dictating what it should be like, but would like to hear what you guys think about that? For me personally, having fewer apps where it makes sense is desirable. For lack of a better example, this is how Outlook works and it's been pretty solid so far.

Of course, the easiest thing to do would be to go use Outlook then, but I much prefer Mail and Calendar.

 

[kunai]

I was thinking about this last night, we have 2 separate apps (which means 2 separate windows) for something that so intertwined as your email and calendar.

Not dictating what it should be like, but would like to hear what you guys think about that? For me personally, having fewer apps where it makes sense is desirable. For lack of a better example, this is how Outlook works and it's been pretty solid so far.

Of course, the easiest thing to do would be to go use Outlook then, but I much prefer Mail and Calendar.

I think it's because while Mail and Calendar are separate, they interact like one application. This is true for the entire OS; each component can speak with another. Have a date and place in Mail? Click on it and it opens a new appointment in iCal.

 

[petsounds]

I was thinking about this last night, we have 2 separate apps (which means 2 separate windows) for something that so intertwined as your email and calendar.

Not dictating what it should be like, but would like to hear what you guys think about that? For me personally, having fewer apps where it makes sense is desirable.

Combining apps together usually just makes for bloated apps. Plus, many people (like me) don't even use the Mail app. I use Thunderbird, so it would just be wasting my RAM.

If we're going to combine Calendar with something, I'd choose Reminders. It's a one-trick pony that doesn't even do that trick very well. Reminders are basically timed alerts (with optional geofencing), so they should just be Calendar alerts.

 

[CTHarrryH]

because they are two separate applications that do different things although they sometime intersect.

 

[Small White Car]

For lack of a better example, this is how Outlook works and it's been pretty solid so far.

Yeah, and I really hate how I have to switch back and forth between my mail and my calendar instead of being able to run them the way I want to.

And I also just LOVE when the mail half of Outlook is in some sort of confirmation dialog box that locks the program and the way I answer will depend on checking my calendar...but oh, wait, I can't.

My point is, this little "feature" is easily my least favorite part of Outlook.

 

[squeakr]

Yeah, and I really hate how I have to switch back and forth between my mail and my calendar instead of being able to run them the way I want to.

And I also just LOVE when the mail half of Outlook is in some sort of confirmation dialog box that locks the program and the way I answer will depend on checking my calendar...but oh, wait, I can't.

My point is, this little "feature" is easily my least favorite part of Outlook.

As much as I would love the integration, I have too fallen into this pit with Outlook and am glad I have them separate at times. I tend to want it set up both ways depending on the situation at hand, so I think there is no happy medium for me.

 

[matthewscott661]

If we're going to combine Calendar with something, I'd choose Reminders. It's a one-trick pony that doesn't even do that trick very well. Reminders are basically timed alerts (with optional geofencing), so they should just be Calendar alerts.

i would say this is a much better idea than combining calendar and mail

for me, email is for conversations and sharing info between people, and calendar is for scheduling what and where i'm doing things which is essentially also what i use reminders for. reminders and calendar have nearly identical uses while mail and calendar have very distinct uses.

 

[Badrottie]

Combining apps together usually just makes for bloated apps. Plus, many people (like me) don't even use the Mail app. I use Thunderbird, so it would just be wasting my RAM.

If we're going to combine Calendar with something, I'd choose Reminders. It's a one-trick pony that doesn't even do that trick very well. Reminders are basically timed alerts (with optional geofencing), so they should just be Calendar alerts.

Bloated? Why the Microsoft Outlook is so popular nowadays? Outlook app is way too bloated.

 

[Schubi]

I was thinking about this last night, we have 2 separate apps (which means 2 separate windows) for something that so intertwined as your email and calendar.

I would say that 'Contacts' and 'Reminders' are probably used very often too.

But I actually like the setup of having small applications doing one job very well whilst being interconnect at the same time. Perfect modular system without sharing the same interface.

I personally use the Calendar.app for time-tracking only, so it actually doesn't have any interaction with Mail.app.

 

[LV426]

I was thinking about this last night, we have 2 separate apps (which means 2 separate windows) for something that so intertwined as your email and calendar.

Not dictating what it should be like, but would like to hear what you guys think about that? For me personally, having fewer apps where it makes sense is desirable. For lack of a better example, this is how Outlook works and it's been pretty solid so far.

Of course, the easiest thing to do would be to go use Outlook then, but I much prefer Mail and Calendar.

It's called 'separation of concerns'. Mail does one thing; Calendar performs another. Best to keep it that way.

 

[seinman]

I like them separate. Mainly because I don't use Mail, but extensively use Calendar, so it would be a waste to have one bigger app running 10 hours a day when I don't use the functionality. If you want a program that does both, get Outlook.