Linux Solutions

Put a date in your diary, Yahoo has released its new dynamic calendar service powered by open source developer Zimbra. Yahoo Calendar offers standard Web 2.0 information-sharing options with an updated drag-and-drop interface and a handful of unique options. The program will be made available in beta form to Yahoo users on Wednesday.

This is the first update of Yahoo’s calendar service in a decade, two years behind Google’s calendar launch. Yahoo need not worry, as they have 8.1 million users compared to Google’s measly 5 million. Yahoo will be hoping the new update, albeit long over-due, will give them even more traffic.

Recent traffic analysis by ComScore shows that Google commands 63 percent of the US search market, compared to Yahoo’s 19.6 percent.

Zimba – who last year were acquired by Yahoo – were quick to point out the openness of the new Yahoo calendar. Like Google Calendar and other online date tools, the utility uses iCal and CalDAV standards to allow easy integration with third party services. This allows data sharing with friends on competing programs.

“With Yahoo leveraging Zimbra technology, they’re able to reach their goals of being one of the most open calendar systems in the market,” John Robb, vice president of marketing and products at Zimbra, told said. “That’s something that’s always been very important to Zimbra.”

While the basic of the calendar remain similar, there have been some interesting advancements. Image viewing site, Flickr is built into the program, allowing you to add images to the calendars background. At present you can only add Creative Commons images, but the option to use your own personal photos is planned for a future release.

The application also allows you to zoom in and out of specific dates and to drag and drop appointments. The program will also eventually be integrated with Yahoo Sports and Yahoo TV.

“[We wanted] the ability to have mash-ups with other systems - whether it be Flickr, whether it be Yahoo’s Upcoming, whether it be other third parties that might be interested in providing integration points with Yahoo Calendar and Zimbra Calendar,” Robb said.

Although the launch is overdue, many see it as a crucial step for the company’s rebuilding.

“For Yahoo to move forward, it basically needs to leverage whatever research and development projects it [has], and to either create new products and services or to match those products and services of its largest competitors,” Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-It, said.

“Google has obviously taken a lead here, and as users move more and more to match their online and offline lives, the dynamic calendar is a critical tool for most consumers and most business people,” he pointed out.

“You basically want to make sure that you do everything you can to keep your existing users and happy customers from straying off into your competitor’s territory,” King commented. “I think the larger question for Yahoo is how this new offering and future offerings will allow the company to reach out and bring perhaps former users or even new users online to the Yahoo site and get them using Yahoo’s tools.”

“I think the calendar is a good start, but there will be an awful lot of other opportunities for online applications and services further up the road,” he said.