Mozilla Lightning Calendar Nears 1.0

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Mozilla Lightning Calendar Nears 1.0

Posted by timothy on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @03:19AM from the tailspin-seems-a-bit-harsh-eh? dept.

darthcamaro writes with this news from InternetNews: "Mozilla's Calendar effort has been in a tailspin for years as Firefox and more recently Thunderbird, have been actively pushed forward. Mozilla Lighting which is a calendar add-on for Thunderbird is finally hitting home with a 1.0 release as soon as September 27th. '"We're going to bite the bullet and call either our next release or the one after 1.0," Mozilla developer Philipp Kewisch blogged. "Afterwards we can newly decide on version numbers and I'll tell you one thing: I'm not going to go into the version number trap again. If at some point the next available version number is 2.0, then that's the way it is."'"

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Oh... :-\ by Quiet_Desperation · 2011-09-20 03:25 · Score: 1

From the title I thought it was a wall calendar with cool lightning photos.
Bleh by OverlordQ · 2011-09-20 03:27 · Score: 0

Until it can do basic repeating intervals I can't recommend it.

--
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
1. Re:Bleh by Frosty+Piss · 2011-09-20 03:31 · Score: 1
  
  Until it can slice bread and brew coffe, I can't recomend it.
  
  --
  If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
2. Re:Bleh by loufoque · 2011-09-20 03:34 · Score: 1
  
  The only use I have for lightning is keeping up with the lousy Outlook things that management sends.
  For real calendar management, I use google calendar, which integrates into Lightning very well.
3. Re:Bleh by hedwards · 2011-09-20 04:00 · Score: 1
  
  I don't mind that it can't, but purely because I primarily use it to view an online schedule. In cases where I need to set up repetition, I do add the entry online. But, for a calendar, that's awfully elementary functionality to be missing.
4. Re:Bleh by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 04:08 · Score: 0
  
  same here, I just use google+lightning combo so that I have it all sync'd nice and easy
5. Re:Bleh by melikamp · 2011-09-20 04:22 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah it would be nice if it could replace a wife, but until it can satisfy a man like a girlfriend would, I can't recommend it.
6. Re:Bleh by Ark42 · 2011-09-20 05:08 · Score: 2
  
  You can repeat monthly and select [The Last] [Day of the month] in the custom options. Don't just select every 31st, because obvious some months don't have a 31st day!
  You can also repeat monthly and select Recur on day(s) and click 1 and 15.
  Don't see any issue here.
  
  --
  Morphing Software
7. Re:Bleh by OverlordQ · 2011-09-20 06:01 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, but you'd have to do two events. You can't have the same event trigger on two custom options.
  
  --
  Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
8. Re:Bleh by gmhowell · 2011-09-20 12:44 · Score: 2
  
  You want a computer program to nag you to death?
  
  --
  Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
9. Re:Bleh by BigDXLT · 2011-09-20 15:17 · Score: 1
  
  That's all my outlook calendar does... :(
10. Re:Bleh by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-27 15:14 · Score: 0
  
  I think you are the only one who cares.
Awesome plugin! No need for Outlook anymore by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 03:30 · Score: 1

I absolutely love this plugin. Combined with DavMail to take care of the Exchange calendar syncing, this eliminates the need for Outlook for me.
1. Re:Awesome plugin! No need for Outlook anymore by melikamp · 2011-09-20 04:26 · Score: 1
  
  I love Lighting and use it as my only calendar + planner. My number one feature request is actually for Thunderbird as a whole: give us a Web interface already. I am tired of tunneling this monster.
Only 1.0? by Shoe+Puppet · 2011-09-20 03:32 · Score: 3, Insightful

What a horribly obsolete piece of software. I'll wait till they have at least reached 10.

--
(+1, Disagree)
1. Re:Only 1.0? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 03:35 · Score: 0
  
  Give it 14 months.
2. Re:Only 1.0? by MightyMartian · 2011-09-20 03:36 · Score: 1
  
  It's a Mozilla product. It'll be version 38 by the end of next week.
  
  --
  The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
3. Re:Only 1.0? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 03:37 · Score: 0
  
  You mean 14 days.
4. Re:Only 1.0? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 03:38 · Score: 0
  
  Give it 2 months
  Ftfy.
  Oh and by version 5 or 6 we need a bug report about how the version number should be removed.
5. Re:Only 1.0? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 07:15 · Score: 0
  
  Ha ha. Getting old isn't it? I didn't read any comments on Chrome about this. Or much other things.
No problem by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 03:37 · Score: 0

In standard Mozilla tradition, the actual first public release will be called "Lightning 6".
Nerds have no clue by Okian+Warrior · 2011-09-20 03:38 · Score: 1

Why is the "calendar" feature of Mozilla named "lighting"?
I swear, this is one of the most obviously vexing aspects of open source, and the one that keeps it off the desktop for most people.
To use open source, everyone needs to learn a new language. A codebook is required to do something. If I install this on my dad's computer, he'll never use it because he won't be able to remember the name.
It's not as if there aren't words in the language which are related to calendar, from which to make a descriptive product name. How about "Mozailla Calendar"?
Conpare: InternetExplorer, PaintShopPro, MediaPlayer
Compare to: Mozilla, Gimp, VLC
If even the high-end "best" open source projects are doing this, how can the lowly specialized open source project possibly hope to get a foothold on the desktop?
Get a clue. Then get off my lawn!
1. Re:Nerds have no clue by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 03:47 · Score: 1
  
  Something to do with trademark law. Microsoft can call their product Windows and throw money at protecting the name. Open Source doesn't have that option unless blessed by Google.
2. Re:Nerds have no clue by gad_zuki! · 2011-09-20 03:56 · Score: 0
  
  No one needs calendar that isnt integrated with their email client. Yes, I'm sure there are edge cases, but for the most part, this whole project is odd. It should just be rolled up into Thunderbird and cancelled. Instead its a stand-alone with a thunderbird plugin.
3. Re:Nerds have no clue by Culture20 · 2011-09-20 04:03 · Score: 1
  
  Why is the "calendar" feature of Mozilla named "lighting"?
  Mozilla actually had a specialized calendar program named Sunbird (doesn't fix your issue with non-descriptive names). Lightning actually makes sense since it is a Thunderbird extention. http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/
  
  Conpare: InternetExplorer, PaintShopPro, MediaPlayer Compare to: Mozilla, Gimp, VLC
  I'll bite
  IE self identifies as Mozilla, PSP isn't a professional program
  GNUImageManipulationProgram, VideoLanClient
4. Re:Nerds have no clue by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 04:05 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  You're dumb.
  Lemme go run lotus notes for my email, while i start up safari to brows the web, or perhaps chrome, on my apple. Time to open excel to sync against quicken. We're migrating to outlook? Damn.
5. Re:Nerds have no clue by ptaff · 2011-09-20 04:23 · Score: 2
  
  It's not as if there aren't words in the language which are related to calendar, from which to make a descriptive product name. How about "Mozailla Calendar"?
  Yeah, much better in the proprietary world. As if Acrobat, Distiller, Excel, Skype, DreamWeaver, Outlook, Cubase, Visio, Shazam, Symphony were so out-of-this-world that they could not find any english words related to their functionality to name them.
  People know that a Honda Civic is a car (and not toothpaste nor cooking oil nor guitar amplifier) even though the name has no relationship whatsoever with transportation.
6. Re:Nerds have no clue by SCHecklerX · 2011-09-20 04:27 · Score: 1
  
  modularity is a good thing. I wish they'd do that *more* with thunderbird, not less. For example, I do not have any use for spam filtering on a mail client, as I handle that where it is most effective, on the server. Same for mail filtering rules, but those should probably be part of core functionality.
7. Re:Nerds have no clue by Another,+completely · 2011-09-20 04:53 · Score: 1
  
  Why is the "calendar" feature of Mozilla named "lighting"?
  It's not a feature of Mozilla. It's a feature of Thunderbird, an e-mail reader application. Thunderbird ... Lightning ... You don't see the connection?
  
  If I install this on my dad's computer, he'll never use it because he won't be able to remember the name.
  He doesn't need to remember the name. It come up in the Thuderbird window next to his mail. The tab says "Calendar."
  If you don't want to remember the name while installing it for him, you could also open the add-ons window, type "calendar" into the search line, and read a one-paragraph explanation of the options available before selecting the most popular.
  In other news, have you seen the new Aston Martin "Morning Frost" Luxury Edition? It's Rear mid-mounted, "Touchtronic 2" six speed automatic with electronic shift-by-wire control system should give incredible performance. Too bad nobody will buy it, since the names don't sound like sports car parts.
8. Re:Nerds have no clue by sgt+scrub · 2011-09-20 05:23 · Score: 1
  
  Thunderbird and Lightning don't sound like they go together? Interesting.
  
  --
  Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
9. Re:Nerds have no clue by thetoadwarrior · 2011-09-20 06:06 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah everything should revolve around old people who can barely remember their own name let alone anything else. Secondly it's not just open source. A lot of the most common words have been trademarked under numerous computer categories so you can't just call it calendar if you want to trademark it.
  
  Do you think the average old person knows what the following are? Probably not but it doesn't matter. If they need to know they'll find out.
  ActiveX
  Aero
  Zune
  Azure
  Bonjour
  Aqua
10. Re:Nerds have no clue by Dog-Cow · 2011-09-20 06:13 · Score: 1
  
  What the fuck does it mean that PSP isn't a professional program? First of all, how is it not professional? What does that mean? And second, why the fuck does that matter for PSP, but not for Mozilla, VLC or the GIMP?
11. Re:Nerds have no clue by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 06:28 · Score: 0
  
  Yep, should have been LightningFish.
  Dude, the company is named "Mozilla". What did you expect? Maybe if they'd called the company "Internet Client Software Products" you could expect ICSP:Browser, ICSP:MailReader, and ICSP:Calendar. Just be glad is wasn't "Gothra" or "Trydorah".
12. Re:Nerds have no clue by Culture20 · 2011-09-20 06:34 · Score: 1
  
  What the fuck does it mean that PSP isn't a professional program? First of all, how is it not professional? What does that mean? And second, why the fuck does that matter for PSP, but not for Mozilla, VLC or the GIMP?
  paintshopPRO. You'd think if you were buying something that said PRO it would be exactly like or better than Adobe Photoshop. I was pointing out that even PSP has an unusual name for what it is.
13. Re:Nerds have no clue by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 07:11 · Score: 0
  
  Duh!
  Haven't you heard the song:
  "Thunderbirds and lightning, very very fightening, Galileo, galileo, galileo, Figaro..."
14. Re:Nerds have no clue by Zontar+The+Mindless · 2011-09-20 07:52 · Score: 1
  
  No one needs calendar that isnt integrated with their email client.
  Well, Grasshopper, it just so happens that I do have a use case for a standalone calendar, thank you very much.
  Which is why I'm still using Sunbird 1.0b and will likely continue doing so until it quits working and I can no longer compile a new one.
  
  --
  Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
15. Re:Nerds have no clue by alexo · 2011-09-20 07:56 · Score: 1
  
  Conpare: InternetExplorer, PaintShopPro, MediaPlayer
  Compare to: Mozilla, Gimp, VLC
  OK, let's "conpare" [sic].
  InternetExplorer vs. Mozilla - IE is a product, Mozilla is a corporation. Not "conparable".
  PaintShopPro vs. Gnu Image Manipulation Program. The open source product name is more descriptive.
  MediaPlayer vs. VideoLAN Client. I'd call it a tie.
16. Re:Nerds have no clue by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 08:54 · Score: 0
  
  InternetExplorer vs. Mozilla - IE is a product, Mozilla is a corporation.
  Firefox is the product. Is that any better? I suppose at least it's terse enough to become well known...
  
  PaintShopPro vs. Gnu Image Manipulation Program. The open source product name is more descriptive.
  If it weren't for the fact that everyone everywhere just refers to it as GIMP because the long version of the name is too long. More descriptive isn't better when you're comparing to something which is already sufficiently descriptive.
  
  MediaPlayer vs. VideoLAN Client. I'd call it a tie.
  Really? Media Player plays media. VideoLAN... OK, I get the video part but I've never known what LAN has to do with anything. Also the word Client suggests it's not a standalone program, even though it is. Plus, it generally gets abbreviated to VLC. VLC Player is almost a better name because it at least removes the ambiguities of the full title.
17. Re:Nerds have no clue by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 19:46 · Score: 0
  
  I use Sylpheed. If Lightning is combined with Thunderbird, it will not be an option for me. I don't want it to mess with my emails, suddenly it will start downloading my mails, and I won't be able to see them in Sylpheed.
  Do you happen to be a manager? Because they're the only ones I've ever heard about actually liking the Outlook bloatware concept of mixing an email client with a calendar.
how about we stop arguing by nimbius · 2011-09-20 03:41 · Score: 3, Insightful

the semantics of version and start building a viable alternative to the microsoft office calendar. actual collaborative calendaring on the level of Lotus Notes or Exchange has been missing from linux for decades.

--
Good people go to bed earlier.
1. Re:how about we stop arguing by nine-times · 2011-09-20 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  Right, here's what I want to know: What groupware server software does Lightning have the ability to sync with? If they have Exchange support, they may have something here. If it's all local, then it's practically useless for business environments.
2. Re:how about we stop arguing by brusk · 2011-09-20 04:09 · Score: 1
  
  What groupware server software does Lightning have the ability to sync with?
  Last time I checked, ics, CalDAV, WCAP.
  
  --
  .sig withheld by request
3. Re:how about we stop arguing by sootman · 2011-09-20 04:13 · Score: 1
  
  > actual collaborative calendaring on the level
  > of Lotus Notes or Exchange has been missing
  > from linux for decades
  Technically correct, I guess, since Linux just recently became exactly two decades old. Odd complaint, though, since Notes is only 2 years older and Exchange was developed in the mid-1990s.
  My bigger concern is Lightning's fate after it hits 1.0. Lightning's predecessor, Sunbird, was killed at 1.0, after seven years of development.
  
  --
  Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
4. Re:how about we stop arguing by hedwards · 2011-09-20 04:17 · Score: 1
  
  I guess we could argue about why it still doesn't work with read only calendars or the inability to change the URI for a calendar without having to add a new calendar. Or how about the lack of periodic scheduling.
  I think it's a good start, but it's barely usable in its current form, unless of course you do all your scheduling on it, for those that like to have a copy on their cell phone, the program is a real headache.
5. Re:how about we stop arguing by ThatsMyNick · 2011-09-20 04:21 · Score: 1
  
  You should try Lotus Notes for Linux . Its a hog, but does what you want!
6. Re:how about we stop arguing by data2 · 2011-09-20 04:36 · Score: 1
  
  Where exactly does periodic scheduling not work? I am using it all the time with Lightning.
7. Re:how about we stop arguing by Capt.DrumkenBum · 2011-09-20 06:20 · Score: 1
  
  Works fantastic with my Kerio mail server.
  
  --
  If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
8. Re:how about we stop arguing by Tepic++ · 2011-09-20 07:56 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, I get the feeling that many OS calendering programs miss the point. The real value in a calender 'solution' is that they help you synchronise with other people - and as such the fact they help you arrange your day is of very little marginal value over a dead tree calender. Any calender project that doesn't get that synchronisation bit right is also going to be marginal at best.
  To be fair, I never understood this until I started working in a corporate environment.
9. Re:how about we stop arguing by QuantumRiff · 2011-09-20 08:27 · Score: 1
  
  We use scalix.. but I don't recommend it.. last update was 2 years ago.. nothing in the forums in the last 6 months except an announcement that the company was sold... (you know its bad when nobody bothers to remove image hosting for spammers from the wiki) No ability to store contacts on the server.. If we were to go again, we would look at Zimbra, but the purchase of it by VMWare means it will get much more expensive real soon.
  I wish there was an actual, decent open (not half the features in the 'community edition') server that integrated email, calendaring, address book, and ldap authentication (as in the server, so that other machines could authenticate against it. I would switch to it tomorrow. Sure, there are lots of bolt on options, where you cobble together a bunch of pieces, but those are pain.
  
  --
  
  What are we going to do tonight Brain?
10. Re:how about we stop arguing by WuphonsReach · 2011-09-20 16:37 · Score: 1
  
  Probably SoGo is the closest.
  
  LDAP doesn't need to be part of the groupware stack, but Red Hat does need to get serious about its directory server competing with Active Directory.
  
  --
  Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
11. Re:how about we stop arguing by mindriot · 2011-09-20 22:38 · Score: 1
  
  The Provider for Microsoft Exchange works well for me.
12. Re:how about we stop arguing by wolfgang_ · 2011-09-21 01:38 · Score: 1
  
  My bigger concern is Lightning's fate after it hits 1.0. Lightning's predecessor, Sunbird, was killed at 1.0, after seven years of development.
  Sunbird really was just a standalone version of Lightning and shared the same backend code. The problem with it is that it lacked all the email and addressbook integration that Lightning provides with Thunderbird. I guess it also was more and more difficult to maintain as Lightning integrated closely with Thunderbird.
Can I fucking hit accept on an ICS invite yet? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 04:01 · Score: 0

Because I haven't been able to for the past 5 years I have to drag them to my desktop then drag them to my calender.
I already use it but... by LS · 2011-09-20 04:37 · Score: 2

It still doesn't have google task API integration. People have been whining and bitching for years to get Google to release a Tasks API, and several months ago they finally did it. Still waiting for it in Lighting. Thunderbird will be everything I want once this happens.
LS

--
There is a fine line between being a cultivated citizen and being someone else's crop. - A. J. Patrick Liszkie
1. Re:I already use it but... by gid · 2011-09-20 07:12 · Score: 1
  
  My biggest gripe is Google calendar integration in general is it's buggy as heck. Alarms you can't make go away, permission denied errors when updating a calendar entry, etc. Caldav which is built into Lightning when used with Google wasn't even usable for me. Provider for Google Calendar plugin for lightning is better, but still far from perfect. Reminder alarms can be dismissed reliably with Provider for Google Calendar, but I still get the occasional modification failed... and I *only* use Thunderbird to enter and modify event. I sync to google to get the reminders on my phone.
  I'd file a bug about the issues, but it's all seemingly random. I can't get a modification failed to happen at will.
dtcm by theCoder · 2011-09-20 04:38 · Score: 1

The best calendaring program I've used in recent times was probably written decades ago: dtcm. It came with Solaris (the dt), and had some quirks, but it was pretty easy to use, printed really nice calendars, and had a killer feature for repeating appointments. When you modified a appointment that repeated, it would ask you if you wanted to modify all of them, just the single one, or from that point forward. The "forward" option is what seems to be missing from other calendar tools (probably because they copy Outlook which doesn't have it). It's very nice for when a standing meeting changes time or location. You don't affect your history, just the future.
Maybe some have implemented it since I last looked around (it's been a few years), but I've always been disappointed in the past.
The other nice thing about a real app as opposed to a web based tool like Google calendar is that reminders pop up on whatever desktop I'm on. That way, I don't have to have the web page with the calendar up all the time to see reminders.

--
"Save the whales, feed the hungry, free the mallocs" -- author unknown
1. Re:dtcm by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-20 06:15 · Score: 0
  
  Google Calendar also has desktop notifications through Chrome, and it has the 'modify forward recurring events' feature.
2. Re:dtcm by egranlund · 2011-09-20 10:23 · Score: 1
  
  Google Calender has that "forward" feature as well.
  As far as reminders go, Google Calendar syncs naively with my Blackberry through BIS and if you just "pin" a tab with google calendar in it, then as long as you have your browser open it will notify you. You can also set it up so it'll send email/text alerts to remind you as well.
The Underdogs by westlake · 2011-09-20 04:59 · Score: 1

People know that a Honda Civic is a car (and not toothpaste nor cooking oil nor guitar amplifier) even though the name has no relationship whatsoever with transportation.
They know because enormous sums are spent on marketing the product.
Lighting gets a passsing mention on Slashdot. The car, James Bond and the Super Bowl.
Chandler project? by edmicman · 2011-09-20 06:09 · Score: 1

I used to use Thunderbird with Lightning....waaayyyyy back. Honestly I think the non-Microsoft collaborative calendaring and email solution is going to be won by web technologies like Google Apps, not by something like Thunderbird. But way back I remember using something called Chandler (http://chandlerproject.org/) which I thought had a much better task and calendaring solution than Lightning. I wondered why no one had tried merging Thunderbird and Chandler into a single Outlook competitor.
Light_ning or light_ing? Which is it? by Okian+Warrior · 2011-09-20 06:25 · Score: 1

The article header says "light_ing", and the linked article states "light_ing", not "light_ning" as you state.
Perhaps it's a typo, I was only reading [both] the articles.
Would you agree that "Thunderbird and light_ing" doesn't sound so good together?
1. Re:Light_ning or light_ing? Which is it? by sgt+scrub · 2011-09-21 00:39 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry, I didn't catch the typo in the summary. Yes. Lighting would be a stupid name.
  
  --
  Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
thanks go out to lightning devs :) by sl4shd0rk · 2011-09-20 06:35 · Score: 1

thanks for an awesome cross-platform alternative. i have been using lightning/sunbird for over 5 year and have watched it mature. lots of good bug fixing on the dev team end. thanks!

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Project priorities by pgpalmer · 2011-09-20 09:37 · Score: 1

If they'd concentrated more on this than pointless Mozilla version # "upgrades", then we'd be in Lightning Calendar v2.0 already.
Too little too late by dilbert627 · 2011-09-20 15:29 · Score: 1

Sounds like they're just tired of updating beta version numbers. "We've been working on it so long, let's just call it finished, we might get to a 2.0 version, don't know if that means anything or not..." Sunbird/Lightning with CALDAV had a lot of potential as a free alternative for exchange server for sharing calendars for small business. We set it up at several clients and they liked it pretty well, but had occasional problems with calendar files getting corrupted between computers, or getting too large and slowing down the clients. Then they released version 0.3 which broke the caldav function, and wasn't fixed until recently, if at all. I lost track of it and haven't tried it again recently. Most people who needed the functionality moved to Small Business Server. Shame they didn't have more development resources, they could have gotten to this point 5 years ago.
freezes for several seconds by carnivore302 · 2011-09-20 19:01 · Score: 1

I like lightning, except for one thing: it seems to periodically sync and during this time the entire thunderbird application becomes unusable. You're writing an email and then... everything stops for 15 seconds (which is horribly long). Fix this and I'll be happy.
Mark.

--
Please login to access my lawn
1. Re:freezes for several seconds by asvravi · 2011-09-22 08:48 · Score: 1
  
  Syncs in background for me, I dont have this issue. If it happens only when you are writing an email, then you probably configured your drafts to be saved to a (slow) IMAP folder?