Calendar Gem is still largely undiscovered entry in the personal information management market. It features just about everything you could want in a PIM at a price that's affordable even for casual home use.

Calendar Gem's interface is colorful, well designed, and easy to navigate. A toolbar across the top of the screen provides access to all functions; you can also access functions from standard dropdown menus. You can customize the toolbar to suit your preference, including moving entries around and deleting entries you don't want. You can also customize the way your data displays, including designing your own forms if none of the built-in forms are quite right.

The program uses little system memory, so you can keep it running in the background at all times without affecting other programs. This makes it easy to add or edit notes and calendar entries throughout the day without interrupting your workflow.

The main Calendar Gem screen offers a split-screen view that lets you check several aspects of your calendar at a glance. You can see your appointments and commitments for the day and view details about each appointment, such as expected length, location, and other relevant information. The monthly calendar navigator displays two full months and lets you quickly move forward or backward. A search bar at the bottom of the screen lets you search calendar entries by subject or keywords.

Adding a calendar entry is easy. Simply select a date and time, and then start entering the relevant information. Calendar Gem lets you enter detailed information about each entry and includes a large area for making notes. You can categorize entries as business or personal, rate them according to importance, code or color code them for easy reference, add alarms, and set up recurring appointments. For those who are really picky about their calendar, you have your choice of fonts, font styles, and font colors. Last but not least, you can attach files to a calendar entry, such as notes for a meeting, so you don't need to worry about forgetting anything.

Calendar Gem is inexpensive enough for casual home use, but powerful enough for business use.

Pros: Inexpensive, full-featured, and easy to use
Cons: Works with Windows XP and Windows 2000 only