I get why so many people are upset that Google is closing down its RSS Web service, Google Reader. There’s even a “keep Google Reader alive” petition that’s already crossed the 50,000 signers mark. But, you could argue that the decade-plus old RSS technology has already seen its best days. And, besides, there are lots of other RSS readers. Google killing off CalDAV, though, now that’s a real problem.

CalDAV, for those who don’t know it, is an open standard for Web-based calendar services. It’s used in Apple’s iCal, Mozilla’s Calendar Project-based programs, and a host of other calendaring, e-mail, and groupware programs. It’s as close to a lingua franca for calendaring applications as we have, and now Google will only be supporting it for “whitelisted developers, and will be shut down for other developers on September 16, 2013.”

Google: Do what you want with Reader, but don’t kill CalDAV. More >