The classic OS debate use to be Apple vs. Microsoft, but in these days of smart phones andapps, the argument seems to more often be Apple vs. Google. You’ll hear things thrown around like: “Real tech peopledon’t use those toys that Apple tries to pass off as technology.” Or “I was using Apple products before it was‘cool’.” Realistically, they both have their different merits. However, I willalways and forever be a die-hard Apple fan.

Maybe it was because I was raised on Macs, or maybe it’s the artist in me that’s drawn towards their elegant designs – Apple has just always had a way with UI like noother tech. company. Nevertheless, it kills me that every now and then they seemto miss singular crucial factors in their implementation that Google hits righton the mark – particularly involving shared data.

I’m a busy person, as many of my Cornellian peers are, and I don’t think I would be able to survive my semesters without a handy calendar app. Being the Apple fan that Iam, I avidly use iCal – to schedule anything from classes, to dance practice, to study sessions, to lunch meetings. Unfortunately this is a fairly solitary app., and to sync to your hand-held devices you often need to manually export/import the data – and who wants to do anything manually these days?

So naturally,Google Calendar hits that oh-so-critical niche of providing a shared calendar.Making it extremely easy to check when your a cappella group’s next gig is or to plan a group project meeting. I love the sharing feature, I really do, but the UI makes me want to become a hermit. The interface is almost barbaric looking, with its blunt corners and simultaneous lack of definition. Plus only a seasoned veteran would be able to navigate the Google Calendar landscape without any frustrations.

First, let’s take a closer look at theaesthetics. As I mentioned, every object in the interface is as minimalist as can be. The corners of each object are sharply cut and thus not inviting at all. (Perhaps I’m just spoiled by the beautiful bubble corners Apple surroundsits interfaces with.) Additionally, it seems that when Google revamped its interfaces it failed to realize the importance of color. They threw in a few brightly colored boxes to display events, and do manage to highlight the “create” button. However, I find it utterly confusing to sort through the landscape without more color definition. In fact, the interface looks rather half-finished, as though the developers managed to color in a few sections andthen left the rest to live on as a bare skeleton.

Now let’s see what Google Calendarhas to offer – or not – from a usability standpoint. One the initial jarring sensation of the interface aesthetics has gone away, one realizes that it is fairly simple to create an event for one’s calendar. There is even a “quick add” feature that utilizes Google’s extensive knowledge base and AI technology to parse a plain-speech sentence and add it to the calendar with its own judgment. For example, just type in “Meet CS 5150 group Friday at 2 PM”, hit enter, and viola(!), the event box is now on your calendar. Admittedly, that is pretty nifty, and I could go on and on about the cool little hacks available for Google Calendar users. Nevertheless, I feel that this is a prime example of good technology that doesn’t really get the credit it deserves due to its poor UI design and a few minor but critical flaws in usability. For instance, the fact that you cannot click on any spot on the calendar without a persistent little pop-up prompting you to create a new event – I mean, aren’t I busy enough already?! Stop pressuring me Google! Additionally, although Google has implemented so many useful tools for users, it is not inherently clear what is available for use. Perhaps one of the most prominent examples is the "Tasks" feature, which is essentially a small to-do list that pops out when the user finally locates the button in the "My Calendars" section. How does it make any sense to file it there? It would be much more intuitive to separate the to-do feature out of the calendar controls. 

All of you Apple-haters may be wondering what it is about iCal that can overcome the power that Google calendar and all of it's amazing capabilities has. Well, here is a perfect example of why UI is just as important - if not more so - than a technologies actual capabilities. Apple perfectly highlights all of the important areas of the iCal interface, drawing one's eyes directly to all of the most important features. Our minds can very easily pick out where everything is and how to interact with it. The only thing that could have been done significantly better, in my opinion, is the to do feature - although it allows users to categorize and prioritize their tasks, it is too simple to do much more than list out one's tasks. Moreover, the lack of archiving makes it a bit messy with old tasks (checked off or not) sitting in the toolbar intertwined with current tasks. Setting this flaw aside, let's take a look at the iCal UI:

Here’s an overview of how I would improvethe Google Calendar UI:

· More depth in aesthetics
· Rounded edges
· More defined boundaries and visual hierarchy (using stronger color use and bolder lines).
· More locally displayed “save button” (the current one stays at the top of the page, forcing users to scroll all the way up after editing info on an event).
· Separate out the to do list ("Tasks" in the Google world) feature
-This can be tricky to find a good balance between overly complicated (way too manylayers of info.) and
overly minimalist (nothing but a bullet point list oftasks).
· Add in a Notes feature to avoid cluttering the calendar and to-do list with miscellaneous information

All in all, If Google and Apple could combine their best attributes; we’d have a ton of near-perfect apps. and products. But, alas, that isn’t in the cards in this lifetime, so we’re forced to choose sides. Aside from my Droid Incredible (which I was convinced was necessary to opt for over an iPhone as a newly affiliated CS Engineering Major…and now wish I had stuck to my roots), I’ve always been pretty loyal to by beloved Apple. So while I will surely continue to use Google Calendar as I do value social interactions and ease of sharing information, iCal and it’s beautiful UI has definitely got it’s hooks in me.