[alexius]

I agree with many of the points raised here. Specifically, I think one of the troubles with perspectives is that it's not always so clear which one you're in. It takes some snooping around, especially if you have the tool/view bars hidden (funny, just as I was typing this I went to my review perspective, didn't see any change in my OF window, selected it again from the menu, and realized I was already in it!).

Smart groups, other differences aside, don't have this issue.

Now, for people who think this is trifling, consider one of the fundamental facets of GTD. You define specific next actions so you don't have to to the microscopic amount of thinking it takes to decipher "garbage" into the more tangible "take garbage out".

If OF is truly GTD, I suppose it follows that these little tiny things are taken very seriously.

[curt.clifton]

Originally Posted by alexius

I agree with many of the points raised here. Specifically, I think one of the troubles with perspectives is that it's not always so clear which one you're in. It takes some snooping around, especially if you have the tool/view bars hidden (funny, just as I was typing this I went to my review perspective, didn't see any change in my OF window, selected it again from the menu, and realized I was already in it!).

Smart groups, other differences aside, don't have this issue.

I'm in favor of smart groups, but this argument for them is specious. If I hide the side bar (assuming that's where the smart groups live), but leave the toolbar, then smart groups have the disadvantage and perspectives don't. That said, perspectives could do with more aggressive highlighting in the tool bar.

I think the main benefits of smart groups are more powerful boolean expressions (like flagged or due soon) and easier discoverability, since they are a common feature of applications like Mail and iTunes.

[CatOne]

Originally Posted by curt.clifton

I'm in favor of smart groups, but this argument for them is specious. If I hide the side bar (assuming that's where the smart groups live), but leave the toolbar, then smart groups have the disadvantage and perspectives don't. That said, perspectives could do with more aggressive highlighting in the tool bar.

Well, the built-in perspectives could benefit from _any_ highlighting in the tool bar. I have re-defined all the built-in perspectives (many of mine are dupes of the built-ins, including "due soon" and "flagged," specifically because there are too many times where I'm saying "WHY CAN'T I SEE ANYTHING IN THIS FOLDER, IT SAYS THERE ARE 4 OVERDUE ITEMS!" and there is no indication that I'm in a perspective. I need to define my own perspective which is a dupe of "Show Everything" and put it in the toolbar... mainly for searching. The "It's here, I KNOW it, why can't I find it!" when using the search bar is a real and consistent frustration for me with the current implementation of perspectives.

I think the main benefits of smart groups are more powerful boolean expressions (like flagged or due soon) and easier discoverability, since they are a common feature of applications like Mail and iTunes.

Yes, that is one specific example of why I want a smart group... OR functionality. Flagged OR Due Soon is pretty much exactly equivalent to Things' "Today" view, which I quite like.

Also, smart groups can scale better than perspectives IMO... you can have 10-15 of them and still have room for them (and you could define groups or relationships between them), where as you can run out of toolbar space with the current manifestation of perspectives. And searching around for unused keyboard shortcuts in OmniFocus is _tough_ :-)

[Brian]

Just dropping the obligatory reminder to send things you'd like to see added to OmniFocus via the Send Feedback menu item or shoot email to omnifocus@omnigroup.com so we can get that recorded.

Re-Lurking... :-)

[ksrhee]

Originally Posted by Brian

Just dropping the obligatory reminder to send things you'd like to see added to OmniFocus via the Send Feedback menu item or shoot email to omnifocus@omnigroup.com so we can get that recorded.

Re-Lurking... :-)

Hi, Brian,

I think it's about time Ken or you to come back to the current users and state what the current plan is for the next version update of OF. I think there are a few posts from last year from Ken that's floating around in the forum, but since 1.5 focused on sync capability (which I think works great), some of the posts are outdated or not applicable any more.

I think both Things and Hit List have their advantages over OF even now, and it looks like if the Hit List can deliver on its promise (it's still beta) on its initial release, I think it will give OF run for its money.

Thanks.

[ext555]

Hit list is in early core-beta stage with no iPhone app delivered yet and lots of major features missing [so far ]
Having tried things repeatedly .. I gave up on it for now , way too many bugs , it's not the GTD app that OF is .
Visit the forums at culturedcode.com they've got major bugs they haven't squashed yet . If I was omnigroup I'd be very quiet about my plans and " shock the world " when the time came.
Hit List has lots of potential , Things looks like they need a major investment shot in the arm to deliver on all their ideas .
just my .02

[CatOne]

Originally Posted by Brian

Just dropping the obligatory reminder to send things you'd like to see added to OmniFocus via the Send Feedback menu item or shoot email to omnifocus@omnigroup.com so we can get that recorded.

Re-Lurking... :-)

Oh Done. I got responses from David and Jameson today ;-)

[Lucas]

I think both Things and Hit List have their advantages over OF even now, and it looks like if the Hit List can deliver on its promise (it's still beta) on its initial release, I think it will give OF run for its money.

On the other hand, I think that OF has a ton of things that no others are going to have for a long time, if ever. I hope that whoever develops OF is not just looking at those apps for inspiration, because I don't think they're that good - at least, not in comparison. Anyone that is obsessed over the idea of attaching all these tags to everything, by all means, you have your choices.

[ksrhee]

Originally Posted by Lucas

On the other hand, I think that OF has a ton of things that no others are going to have for a long time, if ever. I hope that whoever develops OF is not just looking at those apps for inspiration, because I don't think they're that good - at least, not in comparison. Anyone that is obsessed over the idea of attaching all these tags to everything, by all means, you have your choices.

I would agree that OF has some unique features right now that these programs do not have. However, I got to say even in its beta, the smart folder feature of the Hit List really makes me wish I had the same functionality in OF. So, it's more than tags we are talking about here. Also although I'm not a huge fan of tags, having the ability to assign a category independent of context help me organize my tasks and reminders using smart folders so that nothing falls through the cracks.

[joelande]

Originally Posted by ksrhee

Hi, Brian,

I think it's about time Ken or you to come back to the current users and state what the current plan is for the next version update of OF. I think there are a few posts from last year from Ken that's floating around in the forum, but since 1.5 focused on sync capability (which I think works great), some of the posts are outdated or not applicable any more.
Thanks.

I TOTALY agree. What's comin, and when? and how about sneaky peak!