Btw. Something with I *REALLY* am disappointed is that the price, if I try to buy the application, shown is 189.00 € that are 271.23 $ (4/9/08)… They are trying to STEALING me 82,23 $… and, no, there is not Italian translation…

First off, I feel for any company that comes out with a PIM or CRM just because everyone’s needs are so different, and that makes it very hard to please everyone.

That said, Daylite is a very frustrating program to use, largely because there really isn’t any manual or video trainings that explain the full process of how to truly use the program. Yes, DL will point to its ancient PDF manual (http://marketcircle.com/help/manual.html ) and their basic tutorial videos (http://www.marketcircle.com/help/movies.html ), but both of these show only how each part works, not how to actually use them. This is why there are a whole school of Daylite Partners who you can hire at $85-$195/hour for truly working out how to get Daylite used in your business. The three other companies that know that use Daylite have all admited that they’ve spent $4-11 grand on “continued training.” Which here means “how to use the damn program.”

(note: the price of Daylite is $189, not $149, as mentioned in the article)

Yes, of course, *anyone* knows how to add contacts, put to-dos in the Tasks, and add events in the Calendar. But I contend that most people who download and try out the 30-day trial of Daylite get baffled by how to use the Projects and Opportunities, as well as how to set up a network of Macs in ones office, all tied to Daylite. I contend that MarketCircle loses tens of thousands of dollars each month because they’ve never taken the time to create a training department and shows mock businesses using Daylite, and describing the nuances that show how their Projects and Opps features can be used. I don’t believe that 10s of thousands of missed dollars each month is an exaggeration. The handful of colleagues that I’ve suggested Daylite to have all come back with the same report: they’re very impressed the first few days, and then they get bogged down in the complex parts, that have no explanation on how to truly use them. And each time they call our office to learn what to do and each time, I have to say, “We don’t get those parts either.”

Plain and simple, Daylite is a very, very complex program; there is no other way to describe it. Not like “Photoshop is complex” complex, but like really difficult to use fully. The fix is there, though: Marketcircle could be the Photoshop of image tweaking, the 1Password of password management, the iTunes of music, and the only thing missing is for them to take the time and create a written manual or video series that explains *not* how to install the program or type in contacts, but mock-ups on sample companies and sample scenarios that fully utilize each and every feature found in Daylite.

We’re sticking with Daylite. We get the feeling that MarketCircle is eventually going to come out with Version 4, and then version 5 which will be the world’s best Mac PIM/CRM application in the world, bar none. If you already full grasp the concepts of Opportunties and Projects and already have them integrated into your biz, the current version may be a breeze for you. I hear that some people pick up books on string theory and go, “Oh. Got it.” For the rest of us business idiots in love with the GTD-style thinking of organization, Daylite will remain one complex, frustrating program that is about the best thing out there right now.

Have you used Contactizer (by Objective Decision Software)? And if so, do you have any thoughts on it vs. Daylite?

Its also very easy to start using and to adapt it to your business to best suit your needs. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5.