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OMNIGROUP: How much $ would you need to do a web-app for Omnifocus? Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
I realize that there will probably never be a Windows version of Omnifocus and I think that is fine. I own all three products -- the Mac app, which I have on my home MacPro laptop, the iPad version, and the iPhone version. However, I work in a Windows 7 world and do not have a choice but to use a Windows 7 machine at work -- and my staff. I so much would love to have a web app for Omnifocus. Is this ever going to happen?

-David
 
near future? no. future? they've said that since they now have OmniSync out of beta, it's a definite possibility. my guess though, you're probably looking at least another year or two before they'd release it. they still have OmniPlan to release on iPad, then OmniOutliner 4.0, then OmniFocus 2.0. None of which have ETA's on them. Have you tried using send-to-omnifocus@omnigroup.com ? my wife also has to use a PC at work, so any task that she needs to add to OF either gets forwarded from her email or added directly to the iPad she keeps sitting out at her desk.
 
For now, the focus of OmniFocus appears to be an application such as a desktop app or an iOS app with cloud syncing via the Omni Sync Services. It appears that a web version of OF is not in the near future.

Perhaps something else like https://www.nirvanahq.com/ would be better suited?

I'm guessing that you can't use your iPad at work? I have my iPad synced to the Omni Sync Server which in turn connects to my desktop Mac. The iPad made a great conduit to allow me to enter, review, and check off tasks in OF.

Creating a web app is completely different from creating an app for iOS or MacOS. It's not as simple as flipping a switch and telling the compiler to spit out HTML5/CSS/Javascript.

Omni Group has shown great expertise in crafting well designed Mac OS X apps. They had to spend about a year getting their feet wet and create an iOS version of their apps which turned out stunningly well.

It will take another transition for them to even attempt to get a web version of their apps.

Web apps aren't as easy as one may think. Look at Apple as a prime example. They totally blew it with eWorld and MobileMe. Apple even offered to buy Dropbox who refused a lucrative offer. Hopefully Apple has it done correctly with iCloud.

So it will definitely be a long while before a web version of OmniFocus comes around if it ever does. Omni Group will have to change their business model completely to add web services.

Then there is the aspect of how to get paid for the services. It could be assumed that a free model will offer a limited number of projects and tasks and a subset of features. Meanwhile a pro version will offer more expanded features which will probably be based on a subscription model where monthly or yearly payments are required.

Last edited by wilsonng; 2012-03-26 at 02:36 AM..
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilsonng View Post
Then there is the aspect of how to get paid for the services. It could be assumed that a free model will offer a limited number of projects and tasks and a subset of features. Meanwhile a pro version will offer more expanded features which will probably be based on a subscription model where monthly or yearly payments are required.

I dont think that last part would be a problem. I think omni users have shown a great deal of trust in the company. I for one would be willing to pay a subscription rate equal to my gym membership to have a solid web-based version of omnifocus.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Armistead View Post
I realize that there will probably never be a Windows version of Omnifocus and I think that is fine. I own all three products -- the Mac app, which I have on my home MacPro laptop, the iPad version, and the iPhone version. However, I work in a Windows 7 world and do not have a choice but to use a Windows 7 machine at work -- and my staff. I so much would love to have a web app for Omnifocus. Is this ever going to happen?

-David
Also to add to the mailto omni, there is a script floating around out there to automate outlook to omni. This is how I've incorporated omni into my work environment without manual entry. Unfortunately I'm being forced to use onenote as well, so I currently have onenote, evernote (non-actionable items), omnifocus (actionable GTD), and dropbox for moving files around.
 
Because I will launch the Kickstarter *right now* if give me a figure.

-Virgil
 
Great question, Virgil - moving this to it's own thread, since it's a different subject than the thread it was originally in was addressing.

It's not really about the money. Our current thinking is along these lines:
  1. There are a lot of things that customers want to see in our existing native apps. Starting a project of this size would inevitably impact those projects.
  2. Building a web app is outside of what we consider to be our core competency: building great native apps for the iOS and OS X platforms.
  3. In most cases, native apps for a given platform provide a better experience than even a good web one. (In our opinion.)
  4. A few years ago, you might need to buy a Mac in order to use OmniFocus; that was a pretty expensive proposition. With iOS on the scene, that's much less true than it used to be.

We're not saying that we'd never do one, of course - just that we feel our efforts are more productive on other platforms and projects right now. (To be maximally clear, I'm also not saying we'll ever do one.)

That said, we are looking for places where we can help folks who primarily work on other platforms! An example of that would be some work we're doing on the Omni Sync Server side. We're improving on our existing send-to-omnifocus service. In the not-too-distant future, Sync Server accounts will each have an email address that adds messages you send/forward to it directly to your inbox right there on the server. You won't need to click a link or anything, in other words...

Again, great question, and we would be interested to hear feedback from folks on any of this, of course. Thanks!
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian View Post
our core competency: building great native apps for the iOS and OS X platforms.
Is that an alphabetic sequence or a revenue sequence ? :-)

FWIW I have to say that while I have bought the iOS versions of Graffle, Outliner, and Focus I somehow find that in practice I don't actually use them from one month to the next – too fiddly and restrictive to make good use of an available half hour … and then there is the issue of all the data effectively having to go through somebody else's servers just to get to my OS X machine. Some institutions here have concluded that the use of services like iCloud and Dropbox is inconsistent with their obligations under local data protection legislation ...

Not sure that I can imagine upgrading the iOS versions of these apps if any future releases were produced ...
 
You should consider - there are so many terrible GTD apps out there. And with nearly everyone of them, if you read the forums, they say "I would prefer to use OmniFocus, but I don't have a Mac." If you launched a HTML5 version of OF for the web, you would literally dominate the market and get all these other apps out of the way. Seriously.

I'm all Mac, so I'll live, but you will crush it.

Thanks for Dropbox... HUGE time saver for me with Gmail.
 
Text Modified!

Ok OmniFocus is really the best and when I tried going to other apps, I just kept wishing for OmniFocus.

As I posted in the other forum, how about better export options. For example a multi page HTML site export that I can automatically upload to my phone or site so that it can be viewed from different angles same as OmniFocus.

Last edited by Yury; 2012-12-13 at 06:33 PM..
 
 


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