To use Deadline, simply establish an account and start populating it with your tasks and - of course - the deadlines for those task. But don't worry about some arcane nomenclature. Deadline has enough intelligence to understand common date formats as well as simple, natural language commands like "tomorrow," "next week," and "next Tuesday." And if the command is too cryptic, the app will ask you to clarify.

Not into the Web interface? No problem. You can also send tasks to Deadline via a unique email address. Simply address the email to Deadline and fill out the subject with the task and date. Or add Deadline to your GTalk/Jabber friends and start loading up your tasks via IM.

Getting reminders is just as easy. They arrive via IM and email, alerting you that you have tasks due. And if you're into a little more warning, you can track your tasks via an authenticated RSS feed or add your task list to an iCal compatible calendar. There are even top secret feed URLs for adding open RSS feeds to systems - like Google Calendar - that don't support authentication.

Admittedly, the simplicity may be far too simple for some. But for those who are looking for a straightforward task management system, Deadline seems to satisfy a number of common requirements. What's more, if you're a former Sandy user, I think you'll find Deadline picks up right where Sandy left off.

To try the application for yourself, register for Deadline.