iCal is an application that if used correctly, can be one of the most useful applications on your Mac. Then again, if you lose your focus and abandon it, it can lead to some extreme un-organization and confusion. Thankfully, Second Gear Software created Today, an application that basically allows you to use the features of iCal in a smaller, more innovative application. Today is a slim, sleek little application that will fit on virtually any desktop; whether a Macbook or an iMac, whether a crowded small desktop or vast open one, Today will fit anywhere.

iCal can get cluttered within a few days of use, especially if you have subscribed to multiple online calendars. A surprisingly useful feature, this application “allows you to filter what calendars’ events show up in Today.” This is perfect if you just want your work related events to appear, or if you are a student, school related events. It is customizable features like this which make Today a brilliant application.

The UI of Today is stunning. It is a simple application that is very easy to use. The main part of the application consists of: create new event, create new task, toggle tasks pane, and show action menu. Pretty self explanatory. You also have the ability to make the window transparent (0-80%) which can be nice if you are someone who takes pride in a beautiful desktop. Near the top of the window, you have the navigation buttons which allow you to look forward or backwards at events and tasks. As for the preferences you can visit general, calendars, tasks, alarms, shortcuts, and software update.

In light of the recent update to 2.0 Today’s name is actually an oxymoron since now you have the ability to see both events that are scheduled for both today and tomorrow. Then again, an application named ‘Today and Tomorrow’ doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like ‘Today’ does. Pity.

Today easily becomes the application that is never closed, and for good reason. Unless you are in need of opening iCal to look at the months ahead, there is no reason not to be using this application. Today even has a built in event scheduler which helps you to add events much  faster then having to open another application to schedule them. In addition, Today requires no plugins or hacks because it is completely integrated with iCal meaning if you add an event in Today, it will be added to iCal and vice versa.

Today 2.0 was made for Snow Leopard; this means that “Today 2.0 runs as a native 64 bit application so not only is it able to take full advantage of all the memory in your Mac, but the move to 64-bit applications also boosts overall performance.” If this is not already clear, Today runs smooth on any computer whether it be a Macbook or Mac Pro.

To conclude, TheMacFeed loves Today. Our only wish is that making the window transparent did look better, it looks good, but it could be better in terms of being able to read the text when it is very transparent. Other then that, we have no complaints. We like the fact that this application has potential to be used daily, rather then some applications that are lucky to be used once every couple days. TheMacFeed recommends Today to people who want to get organized or people who want to use iCal more often. Today is available from Second Gear Software’s website located here.