Despite being a new part time Mac user, I had zero intention of paying for a fresh copy of MS Office just to have MS Exchange support. Tried Evolution for the Mac, but that was a no go. It’s fantastic in Ubuntu, but blows chunks in OS X and on Windows.

After what seemed like an eternity of looking, I came across Groupcal and AddressX. Both applications appear to be a fairly usable solution, despite the OS X mindset of having mail, calender and contacts as separate applications - which turns me off pretty fast anyway. But once I get past that logic, I think the idea behind the two previously mentioned apps is needed and thankfully, available.

This type of things is just another step for those looking to explore another desktop world. I am happy in Ubuntu, others are wild about Windows, but there are a growing number who just want it now, without compromises. And overall, as a collective package, OS X offers this.

Here over the next few days, I am hoping to have an opportunity to review the two applications. Again, it will be a matter of time, so if anyone here has used them, please feel free to share your own experiences in the comments section.

Tags: os x, mac, windows