i've only spent a couple of days browsing around its site and options, but backpackit seems like a pretty amazing thing. i wish i'd known about it when i was planning for the trip to italy - as it was i used del.ici.ous as an organizational tool then to keep track of stuff, and that worked okay, but not as coherent and easy-to-use as i would have liked.

anyway backpack is kind of hard to explain, but basically it's a personal organizer that lets you organize projects by yourself or with a group, that sends you reminders, and...well, lifehacker explains it better:

Backpack’s a fun combination wiki, weblog, to-do list and calendar that’s featureful but not overwhelming. Make a page that contains check-offable lists, images, dated notes, and files about a project or idea. Link pages and share them with others for collaborative editing. Set up reminders that get sent to your email or mobile device about project deliverables - or to water the plants or pay the rent. Subscribe to page changes in your newsreader, and reminders in your calendar applicaton.

Created by 37 Signals, the same folks who built Basecamp, Backpack sports the Signals’ signature simple, good-looking, pleasure-to-use design sense. In short, Backpack’s a perfect online replacement (or supplement) to that fancy notebook you’ve been scribbling in.

i'll be using it to plan for the move to chicago!