Those who know me, or read one of the many sites that I write for, know that I LOOOOVE my Google Calendar. It keeps me where I need to be, when I need to be there. I will usually argue with someone who tries to convince me to use something else. 🙂 However, I recently agreed to check out the 30-day trial of KitchenHub. It’s a pretty cool all-in-one app for family organization. The design is perfect for displaying on the central family computer in the kitchen or family room. I can see this being great on an all-in-one computer display.
KitchenHub allows you to track your family’s calendar, notes, to do lists, address book, shopping list, recipes, and huge plus… email. When you open the program, you get a quick view of everything going on. Everything that you need to know or do is right there at your fingertips.
Setup was easy. I created a user for everyone in my household within minutes. I then delved into all of the options available for one user.
As mentioned, I love my Google calendar, so I almost jumped for joy when I saw that it syncs with Google Calendar, Contacts, and Mail. And it was not difficult to setup. Instead of using the complicated XML or iCal address for the web calendar, it simply connects using your username and password. And do you have more than one Google Calendar? No problem. Simply repeat the process to add additional calendars. There is also the option to create a calendar that is local only, or connect to other internet calendars.
The Shopping feature is very full featured. Lists can be categorized by type of product. For example, clicking on the Pet category brings up relevant items such as bird food, cat food, cat litter, and dog food. And all of the default items can be edited to fit your needs. Once your list is done, it can easily be printed or emailed.
The To Do list is also pretty good. You can create different lists for different areas of your life. It also allows you to view only open items, completed items, or all items.
The Recipe feature is awesome. This is something that my girls and I are planning to put to use very soon. They have been asking me if we could write a cookbook together, so when I saw this in Kitchen Hub I got excited. From now on when I show them how to cook something in the kitchen, we will take a few minutes and type it up in  the Kitchen Hub Recipe section.
Pros
- Fast, easy to use interface
- Color-coded user objects
- Lots of options
Cons
- It would be nice if there was an option to color-code different calendars under one user similar to Google Calendar.
- Since it syncs with everything else Google, it would be great if the To Do list would sync with the Gmail Tasks (UPDATE: I was notified that this is a drawback of Google who does not yet allow task syncing. Hopefully they will soon.)
Overall, I really like the program. Right now, my kids are young, but once they are older and have schedules for extracurricular activities and more it will be awesome to have this displayed in the home so that we can keep up with each other. And the fact that it integrates with Google Calendar means that even when we update our calendar while mobile, or at work the home hub will always be updated.
If you would like to check out KitchenHub, you can download a 30-day trial. The full program can be purchased for $39.95.
Sounds like a great program. I love my Google calendar too! But I can see my clients loving this to.