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OO iPad and dropbox Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
and thus we uncover one of the huge flaws of the no-real-filesystem-iPad.

Most app developers are more than happy to make the masses happy by supporting DropBox in some form or another...if not directly, than at least by setting the app up so you can "Open in..." the file back and forth between dropbox and the app.

This is apparently below the Omni team's abilities.

The sheer frustration that it takes to get files in and out of the iWork documents is a huge reason I don't use them, either.

All the organizing features in the world mean nothing if I can't easily get file in and out of the app.

I'm officially on the lookout for another outlining app.
 
Well, with Mountain Lion, the iWork apps work pretty brilliantly with iCloud between the Mac and iOS devices. Hopefully Omni apps will support iCloud soon.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saaby View Post

The sheer frustration that it takes to get files in and out of the iWork documents is a huge reason I don't use them, either.

All the organizing features in the world mean nothing if I can't easily get file in and out of the app.
Seriously? It is now TRIVIAL to move documents in/out of the iWork applications.

You just launch them, you get a big huge documents panel, and you drag all the documents you want in iCloud to that panel. OK, done. That's it.

If this is too complicated… well I'll not say further as I'd probably get the post deleted. :rolleyes:
 
I cant believe an ICloud or Dropbox solution hasnt been adopted for OmniOutliner after all this time. The Omni guys have seriously dropped the ball here. I've got both the mac and iPad version for everybody in my company assuming it was just around the corner and still nothing. I was previously excited about Omni products and that has now disappeared. I will continue to use Omnifocus in my personal life (which Omni have done a good job at) but it is quite obvious to me that Omni dont have the resources to handle more than 1 app at the moment.
 
Sorry for the frustration here, UncleJr; we've been working on iCloud support continuously for over a year now, so we certainly understand where you're coming from.

Our CEO recently posted this article on our blog; it may be helpful in understanding the situation. For a third party perspective, Macworld magazine did a great article recently that I'd recommend checking out.

With respect to Dropbox, there are other risks to keep in mind, which is one of the reasons we're not currently working on that. Maybe in the future, though.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian View Post
Sorry for the frustration here, UncleJr; we've been working on iCloud support continuously for over a year now, so we certainly understand where you're coming from.

Our CEO recently posted this article on our blog; it may be helpful in understanding the situation. For a third party perspective, Macworld magazine did a great article recently that I'd recommend checking out.

With respect to Dropbox, there are other risks to keep in mind, which is one of the reasons we're not currently working on that. Maybe in the future, though.
Yes, Omni knows better than you, the user. Trust them.

Only use MacOS and convince your organisation to ditch its entire infrastructure for MacOS, and all your clients too. Store all your data on Apple's servers and only buy your apps from the Mac App store because if you support iCloud that is the only place you are allowed to sell your app.

This is the world that is pro iCloud and anti Dropbox.

I love iCloud and the fact that my Keynote presentations are on all my devices, all the time. It's real handy for that. The minute that I step away from anything Apple though, it's all gone.

So make me dependent on iOS. That is what iCloud is all about. Gone are the days of having choice about where to buy products and where to store data. Gone are the days of evaluating risk, we have companies to do that for us now.

So thank you big brother.

From a long time Apple user (since My first Apple II) who has seen a huge shift away from user empowerment in the past 3 years.
 
Let me add my voice, again, to those who are increasingly or beyond frustration with the Omni Outliner non-sync solution. Your CEO, Ken Case, explanation of the problem has become tiresome. I really don't care how eloquently the problem is explained, nor do I appreciate the between-the-lines message that the fault is with iCloud or Dropbox whose technologies require the "improvements" recommended by the Omni Group.

I don't care about "file wrappers" and "file directories" any more than I care that when I step on the accelerator in my car, the car moves.

I also have zero interest in adopting an proprietary Omni-Specific sync-server solution. I want to use an industry-wide sync solution (iCloud or Dropbox) that works flawlessly with 95% of all other apps out there that require sync.

In fairness, Ken Case has been good enough to promptly connect with me via email...etc. on the matter. He has always been very understanding, apologetic, and whatever other attributes that go into making a customer extend courtesy and patience.

However, now we are way beyond a reasonable timeframe for a proper solution to have been introduced.

Threatening and following through on abandoning Omni-Outliner for something else is only effective if there was something else to move to. The problem is, there isn't. For me personally, Omni-Outliner is what I moved to a couple of years ago when ECCO disappeared, and before that THINK-TANK. I think I have looked at all other stand-alone solutions and none come close to Omni-Outliner. So on the one hand Omni Group deserves to be applauded for having the foresight to have created Omni-Outliner in the first place, but they also deserve every bit of chastising they are getting (and more) for their complete ineptness in making the product fully functional across devices in a simple and seamless manner in accordance with industry leading standards as offered by Dropbox and iCloud.

Mr. Case, no more eloquent explanations, excuses, or telling us "how hard" you are working on the issue. There comes a time when none of that means anything anymore. Only the fix matters. And that time has not only come, it is now way overdue. Omni-Outliner 4 or an IOS-6 solution had better come quick!
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyCatMachine View Post

==snip==

Only use MacOS and convince your organisation to ditch its entire infrastructure for MacOS, and all your clients too. Store all your data on Apple's servers and only buy your apps from the Mac App store because if you support iCloud that is the only place you are allowed to sell your app.

This is the world that is pro iCloud and anti Dropbox.

.
OO only runs on Apple kit, so the iCloud route doesn't enforce a Mac-only environment. It's a pain sharing OO output with non-Mac kit (I work all the time in client environments - in 20 years of freelancing, I have *never* had a Mac-using client - so I get the problem) but that's not an iCloud issue

I think OmniGroup deserves criticism for being *very* slow to get to grips with sharing/exporting - and not just for OO; but I think to give them a slapping for choosing iCloud over DropBox is unfair.

You can argue the rights and wrongs of choosing iCloud over DropBox; ultimately, that's as much a commercial as a technical decision. The issue is that, broadly, users don't care what the sync/exchange platform is - so long as there *is* one
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyCatMachine View Post
I love iCloud and the fact that my Keynote presentations are on all my devices, all the time. It's real handy for that. The minute that I step away from anything Apple though, it's all gone.
The great thing about storing data in the cloud is that you can access it from all your devices. But each specific, individual cloud is ephemeral: it can easily change in an incompatible way or disappear altogether as businesses are acquired (or fail) or their business models change.

The cloud services I can rely on being around for the long haul are those which are based on open protocols, such as HTTP/WebDAV, CalDAV, IMAP, and SFTP. Because these protocols are open, I know that even if my current provider decides to stop hosting my data I can find another provider to host it instead, or can even host my data myself.

That's why the syncing solutions we've built for OmniFocus and OmniPlan and our Omni Sync Server are based on the open WebDAV standard, and not proprietary solutions. That standard is also the basis for the syncing solution we're now building for OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, and OmniGraphSketcher: I want our customers to have a choice of hosting providers, not to be tied to a single ephemeral cloud solution.
 
Hi Ken -- I noticed you had tweeted that you were trying to get this into 1.3, but had issues:

kcase: @jwilker The major focus for 1.3 was originally doc sync, which unfortunately we've had to pull because of issues we couldn't work around.

I get that you want to do your own sync, but this is after a year of trying to iCloud to work, refusing to support Dropbox, and now there are issues that you can't work around in your own syncing technology?

You can see from the outside why this is really difficult to watch, and as you can tell from this thread, why you have some very upset customers.

Maybe an update on progress with your sync solution would be helpful.
 
 


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