EvanMitchellStark, PhD's dashboard

Yeah, I'm very grateful to all that you put into Sandy. But I feel as though the rug has been unceremoniously yanked out from under me and now I'm disgusted. It was too good to be true. You probably used us to refine your free product only to sell it and then leave us, who've become dependent on it, high and dry.
Boo.
Dr. Evan Stark PhD

Hi. Just adding to the chorus. As is the case with ICal refusing to accept Sandy's feeds (OK, iCal accepts her the first time and then won't refresh), Sandy won't work with Google. This is a critical issue and nobody seems too motivated to give this problem top priority. I got in touch with the Spanning Sync folks who told me that the problem with Sandy and iCal is a known bug that Apple acknowledges. Unlike here, Rael, I know that you bust your butt, but the folks at Spanning Sync had kludge, however awful it is. Can't the throngs of users here who have this problem get any help?

Sincerely,
Evan

Dear Rael:

First, I'll heap considerable praise on Caesar and then I'll bury him—or at least heap a little soil on him.

Sandy is beyond wonderful for me, she radically transformed the way I organize my life. I admire the commitment that you have to take input and to rapidly implement fixes and improvements. You're a true standout and ought to be gratified by being so unique in this unique enterprise between users and management. This I offer sincerely. It's also true that some issues here puzzle me.

I've scoured the posts, your and others' replies, and still I see no solution to what gets at the heart of Sandy's utility for many—at least judging by the number of posts related to this issue of ical feeds to Apple's iCal.

Without reinventing the wheel, let me say that I need both Sandy AND ical and the feed works only when you install it (minus to-do's, notifications, etc.); thereafter, it won't refresh. I've tried every permutation of direct fix possible and still I receive on the iCal end the error 4. It's matters not what URL I use, etc. The best I could do what link Sandy to Google Calendar (that works) and then have GC feed iCal (that works, too)—except alarms, notifications, and to-do's are stripped in the process. A minor irritation. Why can't Sandy feed iCal directly? Why can't this be addressed? It makes no sense at all. First, if one downloads the .ics file daily and have it populate iCal, that contains events, to-do's, etc. So you folks have the data somewhere. But the link doesn't work and even that first time when it does, the data is not getting transmitted. Why is this crucial function left unaddressed? And please know that I spoke with a 2nd-level Apple product engineer, who insists that the problem is on your end, while I've seen it posted that the problem is a bug in iCal. An end user likes nothing more that to have two providers pointing fingers at each other while they remain in the middle, problem unsolved. Please do something about this. Please.

Then, but a minor issue, is that of tags. Please don't prune back on them. They're an elegant way to handle data. My problem is that because I'm a bit dumb, I sometimes tag something as both appointment and appointmentS. I wish there were a way to edit my tags, that is, eliminate one and consolidate the data under the remaining one, using the example above. Again, I implore you not to be too parsimonious as to limit tag usage. I like to tag things 3 or 4 different ways.

Finally, while change is constant and desirable, I'd put in a vote for keeping things stable until an overwhelming herd demands overwhelming system modification. You can't please everyone. I like the SnapShots popups, the yellow, legal color, and the "cluttered" sidebar. Me found the tag buttons and sort options easy and intuitive. Just as I've learned it, it's going away.

Finally, why introduce a feature or future feature by providing a difficult-to-recall URL to call it up? This seems a step backwards.

So, Rael, I love you. I love Sandy. Take my comments in the good spirit in which I've meant them. I'll be constructive next time, but right now, you're hearing the evening of my discontents.

Warmly,
Evan

Rael:

I truly appreciate I want Sandy. More than appreciate it. But it lacks two critical features, and after scouring the posts here, I'm troubled that they're not getting proper attention.

Number 1 is the ability to import contacts, say a long list of vcf or csv or whatever. I've yet to succeed doing this and absent that, I'm forced to use yet another service to get that functionality. Everyone seems to want this issue addressed. Please react.

Number 2, another issue that prevents one-stop shopping here, is the absence of native bi-directional syncing with other services. It's great that Sandy listens to Jott and posts to Google Calendar. It's unfortunate that Sandy doesn't take anything fromGoogle Calendar or receive updates from Apple ical—at least it doesn't work for me. I see that many people with feel with intensity that bi-directional syncing should be a priority. Is anyone working on this.

Great Product. Thank you. Just make it better!

Warmly,
Dr. Evan Stark