Are there solutions for the fugliness of Address Book, Notes and Reminders?

[jacg]

I know some people love the quirky new inconsistent look spreading across the tools of OS X, but please forgive me for being one of those people who thinks that Apple should have given us a choice for a standard UI over the mix of leather, plastic, glass and torn paper.

I know there is a hack to remove some of the grating tones from Calendar and Address Book, but does anyone know of something similar for Notes or Reminders?

Failing hacks, what about alternative apps that use the same technology? Do apps like BusyCal and Fantastical communicate with iCloud just as completely as Calendar? (or do I still need to keep Calendar open for some functionality?)

I currently use Notational Velocity / Simplenote for Notes. Is there a drop in, elegant app that hooks into the new OS X Notes infrastructure? Likewise for Reminders and Address Book?

Integrating these technologies so well with the cloud and things like Siri on iOS makes them hard to ignore. I just wish I didn't have to jump through ugly hoops on my computer in order to make use of them.

 

[wren7154]

wrt BusyCal

Hi, we (sm home biz) use BusyCal. No need to involve iCloud but if so chosen, yes, communicates fine with CalDAV server.
Notes and stuff -- maybe explore toodledo.com?

 

[charlieegan3]

Hi, we (sm home biz) use BusyCal. No need to involve iCloud but if so chosen, yes, communicates fine with CalDAV server.
Notes and stuff -- maybe explore toodledo.com?

But it sounds like he wants to use iCloud.

I use fantasical and its great, all my events an reminders get synced to the iCloud too.

I agree that there should be an option for making them look cleaner/standard but I kind of like the new look(s)

 

[jacg]

Yes, I definitely want the iCloud/iOS integration. I know lots of apps do their own syncing but I'm impressed how iCloud works with and I like the idea of being able to add notes and reminders using Siri in the future.

The Notes app in ML is just a pain. Why does it have to be a coloured pad with lines on it? I can make the text smaller but because of the fixed lines, the text just gets more spaced out. As for the torn paper...

If Calendar replacements can hook into iCloud, can clean note apps like Notational Velocity be adapted to do the same? And likewise for Contacts and Reminders? Or are these data channels off limits to developers?

 

[wren7154]

As I said, no NEED to use iCloud but BusyCal WILL sync via iCloud. It does work as they explain on their site (we don't use iCloud as some of our machinery cannot sync via iCloud ... too old like iPhone 3G). We use a local area network to sync our calendars.
"BusyCal syncs with iCloud, MobileMe, Google Calendar, and iCal Server. You can share calendars with others through the cloud or on a local area network without a server. And BusyCal syncs with the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and other apps and devices that sync with iCloud, MobileMe, Google or Sync Services."

 

[million7]

if you're looking for a notes app that syncs through out your devices with iCloud check out
Memo - Sticky Notes
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/memo-sticky-notes/id454167841?mt=12

and if you want to change the look of ical and other things you can use this app
Mountain Tweaks 1.0
http://tweaksapp.com/app/mountain-tweaks/

 

[tezro]

Fantastical looks very nice. Will check it out when I get home.

However, it is kinda sad we need to pay money for functionality that is already build in the OS, but in a very crappy way.

Same thing goed for Mail. I really miss the RSS integration.
Now I need another program to do that meaning more clutter from an extra window.

 

[jacg]

Thanks for all the suggestions. However, I've maybe not been clear enough with some of my questions. In the past, apps could tap into the calendar and address book databases. After the move to iCloud, it seems fewer apps can do this directly but there are some well known good ones (Fantastical = innovative, BusyCal = Snow Leopard iCal on power steroids).

I wondered if third party apps would be able to tap into the other iCloud services like Notes, Reminders and Contacts. So that I could use the standard iOS apps (with all their neat integration) but have them sync with much more (pre-Lion) OS X-like apps on my desktop. For example I would rather manage my notes in something like Notational Velocity.

If not now, would this be possible in the future? Or are these iCloud databases off limits to third parties? Are there any developers who know the answer to this question?