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Sunrise is shutting down
- stephenr 10y ago> On August 31st, we’ll officially shut down the app and it will stop working all together. So based on this, I assume that all access to your calendar server (iCloud, Exchange, Google Apps, etc) was managed through a centralised server(s) that Sunrise used... for something. Maybe the next time someone claims to be a funky new take on <boring office task> just do a little checking. We've had desktop and mobile device clients for mail, calendaring, contacts etc for literally decades. Why now, when we have more computing power available to us than ever before, do we need another server (operated by a company that's more likely to disappear than not) between us and our mail/calendar/contacts?
- emdd 10y agoWell, this is disappointing. I was late to the Sunrise party, so I've barely been able to use it. I'm not thrilled about heavily integrating Outlook into my future work, so I guess it's off to find another solution.
- harlanlewis 10y agoIt's a bit unexpected, but I've found Outlook to be the best iOS email client these days. It's bloated and has quite a few rendering bugs, but for the basic email-as-task-list workflow pioneered by Mailbox et al I haven't come across any current players that are better. Kind of sad that the explosion of clever email and calendar apps a few years ago has collapsed into a handful that aren't as good as we used to have.
- FussyZeus 10y ago+1 to this, I LOVE Outlook on iOS. It's got issues for sure but overall it's the best one I've used, and I've used a lot of them.
- Randuin 10y agoI wish there was something like it just for Calendaring though. Especially on the desktop. For email I'm already using Polymail full time and it's a hassle to have two email clients just for calendar.
- grinich 10y agoWhat do you use for calendaring right now? What do you wish it did?
- brerlapn 10y agoNot the OP, but on my Android device I have an easier time of calendaring since basically any app I choose will show all of the calendars I want (personal, my work calendar, my manager's calendar, my team's calendar) in the same space. For desktop, I did have Sunrise's desktop app until I noticed I wasn't getting a proper sync of some (apparently random) appointments from desktop to cloud/mobile, and even more so because I accepted an appointment via Sunrise and it changed my email alias in the response from my actual address to Sunrise's generic "invitation@email.sunrise.am" so that people then started emailing me at the generic email rather than my actual address. Most of my calendars are Google Apps. Outlook was my backup for the work calendar using the Google Apps Outlook Sync app (although I've noticed a few sync failures there, too), and just adding additional calendars to Outlook without having all of my email there too looks like it requires some kind of arcane magick. Thunderbird+Lightning got rotated out of the mix quickly due to a lot of issues syncing and getting multiple calendars into it. Probably because everyone we're communicating with is mixing between Google Apps/webview calendar and Outlook or Office 365, I also find that I regularly can't see an appointment that is emailed to me in my email client as it shows up as an .ics file attachment instead. So featurewise: - Most important for me: Easy addition of multiple calendars, where I can just select which calendar a new appt should be added, as easily as I can in my Android clients- I hate using web clients for calendaring, and they never really show multiple calendars well. NOTE: I mean that the calendar has a direct sync to each of the calendars online, not having one main account to which I have to share all of my other calendars. I want one place where I can go to view and create appointments and then have them also show up in their respective accounts. - Supports open standards like CalDAV/CardDAV as well as syncs to Google or Office 365 (I can select a provider like Fastmail that uses CalDAV for my personal calendar, but I'm stuck with Google or O365 for work) - Desktop client, multiple views (agenda, today, week, month) - drag-and-drop of items into the calendar to create a new appointment - "Send to calendar" from an email as an option - Categorization/tagging on an appointment would be nice - Outlook allows this but Google doesn't seem to allow tagging appointments like you can email A bit of a data dump, but a desktop client that handles multiple calendars well is surprisingly difficult to find in Windows. I happily pay for a number of otherwise free services (Pandora, Evernote, Pocket, Lastpass, etc.), but there really isn't even a pay option.
- overcast 10y agoYou should check out https://www.uniboxapp.com https://www.uniboxapp.com, I switched to it during the first beta testing, and haven't looked back. Originally it was a Mac OSX only client, but now on iPhone and iPad. Organizes email by the person you're communicating with, like text messaging. Obviously an email client only, and not a super duper corporate client.
- rayiner 10y ago> I've found Outlook to be the best iOS email client these days Aside from being a massive security risk.
- tptacek 10y agoIn what sense?
- rayiner 10y agoMy understanding is that Outlook for iOS uses a cloud service that talks to the Exchange server and stores your credentials/data: https://blog.winkelmeyer.com/2015/01/warning-microsofts-outlook-app-for-ios-breaks-your-company-security https://blog.winkelmeyer.com/2015/01/warning-microsofts-outl.... So logging in involves giving Microsoft (and indirectly Amazon, since it runs on AWS), clear-text access to your information.
- Velox 10y agoYour credentials aren't stored in clear text. They are encrypted with a key only your device has.
- wglb 10y agoSo how do these creds get to the exchange server from the cloud?
- SilasX 10y agoSo? You have no expectation of privacy in email anyway, right?
- rayiner 10y agoMy Exchange server is 15 feet down the hall. When I use a normal Exchange client, the only people who can see my data in clear-text are myself and my employer (who owns the Exchange server). Anyone in-between just sees an encrypted stream. But when I use Outlook for iOS, people I've never met at Amazon and Microsoft can see my email. I think the former situation creates a legitimate expectation of privacy. I think the latter situation does not. Which is why I use Apple Mail instead of Outlook for iOS.
- colinbartlett 10y agoOutlook on iOS is great. It used to be called Acompli until it was acquired by Microsoft. I had long hoped all of the Sunrise features would be incorporated into Outlook before Microsoft shut it down, but no such luck.
- Dirlewanger 10y agoTheir web application rewrite that they did last year though is hot disgusting garbage. I don't know how they managed to make something so slow and sluggish as the "new" Outlook. Downright embarrassing.
- jmiserez 10y agoDoes it still store your credentials on their servers and proxy all your mail through the US [1], or has that been fixed? Or is/was this FUD? https://blog.winkelmeyer.com/2015/01/warning-microsofts-outlook-app-for-ios-breaks-your-company-security/ https://blog.winkelmeyer.com/2015/01/warning-microsofts-outl...
- rosstex 10y agoThis is lame, Sunrise has been awesome for me over the years.
- reustle 10y agoThe overarching lesson I'm slowly learning is to not get too comfy with any saas products. Who knows how long they'll stick around, regardless of if they're great / popular / profitable.
- jerf 10y agoI still prefer to use desktop-based products that I own as much as possible for this reason. Rather than think of it as being behind this swing of the pendulum, I prefer to think of it as being ahead of the next one.
- endgame 10y agoI actually used Stallman's phrasing "Service as a Software Substitute" in conversation the other day. This pattern is getting ridiculous.
- asdfaccount 10y agoWell this sucks. anyone found a good alternative?
- ghostly_s 10y agoThey're not being dishonest in characterizing this as more than a simple acqui-hire; most of the functionality of Sunrise is faithfully replicated in Outlook for iOS now (which, if you're not aware, was actually itself born out of the acquisition of a multi-protocol email app called Accompli, and still includes support for a variety of non-Exchange mail services). Unfortunately, missing features include the long-press natural language "quick-add" input box, and setting multiple reminders on events.
- Remiii 10y agoYou can try https://flexibits.com/fantastical https://flexibits.com/fantastical
- Remiii 10y agoProductHunt list of Sunrise alternatives https://www.producthunt.com/e/alternatives-to-sunrise https://www.producthunt.com/e/alternatives-to-sunrise
- willwhitney 10y agoOnce a startup gets bought, I look for alternatives. If they don't shut down, I still learned something new! But usually they do. In this case, I landed on Fantastical [1] — it's a little pricy but completely worth it. (Mac/iOS only.) [1]: https://flexibits.com/fantastical https://flexibits.com/fantastical
- jadengore 10y agoSecond this, totally worth the money and it works great.
- toomuchtodo 10y ago> it's a little pricy We should appreciate when its pricey. That's motivation for the product to continue to exist. Otherwise, "OurIncredibleJourney".
- toyg 10y agoI agree but the current model is broken. I buy FantastiCal, don't like it, I've just thrown money down the toilet. Yeah yeah you can go through iTunes and get it back but that feels like a dick move, and how many actually know the procedure anyway? It's not exactly advertised. I throw a quid down the toilet? That's fine, I don't mind. I throw a fiver or a tenner? Woah dude, that's like, a Starbucks latte! Totally different (or not, but hey, that's what it feels like). I wish Apple would start allowing time-limited trialware. The IAP machinery is already there, they just have to allow apps that stop working after 30 days if there is no payment. After 30 days, I have a pretty good idea whether an app is worth £1, £10, £50 or 0.
- toomuchtodo 10y ago> I throw a quid down the toilet? That's fine, I don't mind. I throw a fiver or a tenner? Woah dude, that's like, a Starbucks latte! Totally different (or not, but hey, that's what it feels like). http://theoatmeal.com/blog/apps http://theoatmeal.com/blog/apps
- throwanem 10y agoSunrise, sunset?
- johnatwork 10y agoThis is becoming a tiring pattern. I've just gotten used to the UI. Can anyone commit to building a proper business? Is Sustainability no longer a virtue of creating a service/application?
- ChuckMcM 10y agoIts a valid question, clearly they weren't making enough money to survive as a proper business. Would you have paid more for their service? And if so enough more that the reduction in users covered the cost of operations? One of the things that that comes up a lot with new ventures is that they don't know the answer to those questions when they start, but they do when they either die or succeed. In this case it seems that its financially feasible as a "feature" of Outlook rather than a standalone business.
- Mithaldu 10y agoLooking at the landscape of startup "businesses" recently it is becoming more clear that the viability of the product is irrelevant, since the goal is to get noticed as good programmers/designers who made a "real" thing and get hired.
- ChuckMcM 10y agoYou have to be careful slipping into cynicism, I try to guard against it myself. Shipping something is a better indicator of execution than a degree and it does get people noticed, but it would be an overreach I think to suggest that the majority of businesses start out looking to be bought and acqui-hired. Sometimes the idea is bigger than that, and sometimes it isn't.
- Mithaldu 10y agoHonestly, you got a point.
- ranndino 10y agoI'm intimately familiar with the space, especially when it comes to Silicon Valley startups, and it's no cynicism, but reality that most of them do, in fact, start out looking to be bought. In fact, that's the #1 goal of VCs, angel investors & almost all founders.
- zarvox 10y agoSubmitted this to Our Incredible Journey [1] which documents a long string of services shut down post-acquisition. [1]: http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/ http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/
- Danilka 10y agoI'd like to say THANK YOU to the Sunrise team for the incredible work you've put into the app! You've made my calendar experience very enjoyable and I know that you got a proper reward for that as part of the acquisition. It's great that there are people like you, working on software these days.
- Mithaldu 10y agoThey don't deserve any thanks for remorselessly fucking over their users.
- untog 10y agoTheir users don't deserve anything as they were enjoying the use of a free product. They've given everyone a good amount of notice to move on.
- Mithaldu 10y agoWithout their users they wouldn't have gotten this nice cushy acquihire.
- untog 10y agoSo, everybody wins. The users got a free product for a few years, Sunrise got acquihired.
- Mithaldu 10y ago"Everybody wins" would involve everyone walking away with equal or more than they had at the time of parting, which could be done by opening the source of the product instead of letting it die of bitrot.
- untog 10y agoSunrise walked away with an acquihire, users walked away with several years of free service of an app they liked. I get what you're saying here, but the Sunrise team owe their users nothing.
- tdkl 10y agoThat's why paying for mail, calendar and contacts hosting is worth it in the long run.
- jakegarelick 10y agoJust saw the notification on my app this morning. Very unfortunate - I've been using it for as long as I remember, it was my favorite calendar app. Any alternatives?
- sumitgt 10y agoWell, Outlook on Android/iOS has most of Sunrise built in.
- kin 10y agoSuper bummed by this. The integrations were priceless. Taking recs on any alternative.
- pbowyer 10y agoDrat, the best calendar app I've used on Android (except for the 46 notifications it gave for Easter Monday, and 58 for the last English Bank Holiday). I will miss it.
- colinbartlett 10y agoThe best part about Sunrise was Meet, its quick little method of booking meetings with someone: https://sunrise.am/meet https://sunrise.am/meet You'd choose some available times, it gives you a link which you send to whoever you want to meet with, and the recipient books a time slot with a couple of clicks. It updates in real time so if you book something new, the slot disappears. It even has a little iOS keyboard to generate these links. Does anyone know a similar replacement service? Nothing beats just pasting someone a link and letting them pick one of three times you chose.
- ericcholis 10y agoI've used calendly.com with some success.
- colinbartlett 10y agoNice, thanks! And I can pay for it, that's a comforting change.
- aclimatt 10y agoGoogle Calendar supports this natively with Appointment Slots. Choose a time block on the calendar and click "Appointment Slots" in the pop-up.
- basch 10y agoMicrosoft makes Invite https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/invite-microsoft-garage-project/id1032458349?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/invite-microsoft-garage-proj...
- bsaul 10y agovyte.in does it in a more general way.
- codementum 10y agoNone of the suggested alternatives so far are the same as Sunrise's meet feature-- including vyte, Microsoft Invite, Google's Appointment Slots, or calendly. Meet allows you (the requester) to set the times available for meeting and send a signup page to a single respondent. It's not about group meetings, or about "office hours" that anyone can sign up for. The use case is surprisingly broad: a small window of availability for a single meeting.
- bnt 10y agoAs good as Outlook is on iOS, the calendar portion doesn't work well. It constantly misses timezones.
- reiichiroh 10y agoWill Wunderlist shut down too, I wonder?
- FabioFleitas 10y agoI really hope not...
- tasnent 10y agoWere they bought?
- emgeee 10y agoYes, by Microsoft
- tertius 10y agoGreat time for competitors to get users me thinks. I'm ready to jump ship, where to?
- educar 10y agoThis is getting ridiculous. We need like n founder manifesto canary before we start using the products of all these startups. The canary should contain: 1. Their business plan 2. Long term vision for the company 3. How they plan to sustain themselves in the short run (1-2 years with no/little revenue). 4. What they would do if they get acquisition offers. etc. The startup can remove the canary once they decide to change their direction.
- lowpro 10y agoSunrise is the only calendar app that has ever worked for me. I tried others like Google and the integrated outlook calendar, this is sad news. Is it impossible to have apps that don't go either Microsoft or google? I don't want to be locked in an ecosystem.
- eterm 10y agoFrom their announcement of acqusition: http://blog.sunrise.am/post/110577824529/sunrise-microsoft http://blog.sunrise.am/post/110577824529/sunrise-microsoft > Today, we’re excited to announce that Sunrise is joining Microsoft. For Sunrise, this is just the beginning. > Sunrise will remain free and available for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Desktop – we’re not going anywhere.
- DKnoll 10y agoIt was amusing that Sunrise was bought by Microsoft, but still could not connect to either of the Exchange servers I threw at it. Support basically just shrugged at me via email, rough translation being 'it works on my machine.' Sort of unrelated, but Outlook for Android also still cannot handle recurring all-day events. They will appear in the calendar on incorrect days. Also tested this across multiple servers. I use Nine for email, which blows Outlook for Android out of the water. Business Calendar 3 is the only Outlook (Desktop) equivalent calendar I've found for Android.
- dopamean 10y agoThat has an entirely different tone than this post: http://blog.sunrise.am/post/144196642739/its-almost-time-to-say-goodbye http://blog.sunrise.am/post/144196642739/its-almost-time-to-... > It’s almost time to say goodbye > as all good stories go, there’s a sad bit to it: we’re not able to support and update Sunrise anymore. No new features. No bug fixes.
- PascalsMugger 10y agoI'm sure this has been asked and answered before, but why do companies acquire startups just to shut their product down within a year so often? Is this just an acquihire? Or do big tech companies just play whack-a-mole with startups, buying any out with interesting products just to make sure they don't one day turn into competition?
- pedalpete 10y agoFor the $100+ millions Microsoft payed,they got the team, the tech and the opportunity to move the sunrise users to use their products. Sunrise best capabilities are likely being built into outlook, they have a team that they know can execute and a percentage of sunrise users will move to outlook. I only installed sunrise last week (when I moved to Android) but I found it a bit odd that I was using a different calendar app. I came from Windows Phone where messaging and calendar was baked in really nicely. So far my Android experience isn't as good but maybe outlook with sunrise will complete this circle for me.
- cperciva 10y agoThey must have had amazing self-control to restrain themselves from titling this "Sunrise is sunsetting".
- jgill 10y agoHa, our inner pun masters are in alignment.
- cheshire137 10y agoI hope this ends up on Our Incredible Journey: http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/ http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/
- chunkiestbacon 10y agoJust when I finally was happy with calendaring and got organised. So annoying