The Omni Group
These forums are now read-only. Please visit our new forums to participate in discussion. A new account will be required to post in the new forums. For more info on the switch, see this post. Thank you!

Go Back   The Omni Group Forums > OmniFocus > OmniFocus 1 for Mac
FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

 
OmniFocus 2! The Debut. Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Nobody is holding a gun to your head! Don't buy it.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bocomoj View Post
Except it's actually OF1 for $80 + upgrade for $40 = $120 for just the Mac app.
if you bought OmniFocus prior to Jan 31st then it will be $40.00 upgrade if you opt for OF2 Pro. It will be a $20 upgrade if you opt for OF2 Standard.

OF2 will be a free upgrade if you bought after January 31st.

Or you can elect to not buy it if OF1 is all you'll ever need.

Did your life improve significantly with the $80 purchase of OmniFocus? If it wasn't worth it, then chalk it up to experience and move on to a more suitable program.

I actually like 2Do and FireTask as suitable alternatives to OmniFocus. But I'm not really in any mood to change my workflow when it is working for me now.
 
I've been playing with 2Do off and on and find some nice features (e.g., tags) but it is still very unstable--at least for me. It crashes too often and does weird, unpredictable things. I hope they can clean it up.
 
I have no issues with paying a fair price for the software. It doesn't code itself and if OMNI cannot make money it shuts it's doors - bad for everyone. That said there are two models that are common from Mom & Pops all the way through the big boys...

1) Upgrade through an annualized process. You purchase a base license and you get free upgrades for 1 year. Each year you can renew - which includes support and free upgrades - at around 30% the price of the product.

2) Most players at this point are offering the iOS versions free with purchase of the main version (Windows/MacOS/Linux/Whatever). Omni could offer a "stand alone" iOS version for those that only want that for a fee and then say something like a "Sync" or "Remote" version or whatever they would like to call it that requires the primary laptop version be owned.

The driver for #1 above is to remove fear of purchasing. I have OF on the iPhone and iPad and just bought it for my MBP w/R since we are in the free upgrade window. I am waiting until OG and OO get to that point before I buy those. They are so close that I would not (in my opinion) get my money's worth for the short period of time. If I knew I would get a free upgrade for a year (plenty of time to get my money's worth even if no upgrade ever came) I would buy them in a heartbeat. The current model leads to anger towards Omni and keeps potential customers from pulling the trigger "until the next version is released." I sincerely believe Omni would make more money if they adopted this policy.

The driver for #2 is primarily psychological. If I buy a $200 app like OP on my Mac then 9 out of 10 companies will provide an iOS companion app. Sure OF/OO can be used exclusively on iOS, so Omni would need to have "that" version as well - even if only a license difference. In fact, should only be a license difference to allow seamless upgrade. What really gets people hot is when they buy that $80 OF license, then get git $40 for the iPad and another $20 for iPhone (most companies are going with the iPad/iPhone unified app model). So $140 total. And then if you buy it the wrong day you get another $40 for the Mac upgrade and there is no upgrade path for iOS so iPad and iPhone are new purchases. This model just gives the public impression that Omni is out to screw you for every dime they can. You could charge $120 for a Pro+ version of OF that included iPad/iPhone versions as well as 1-year upgrade protection and I bet sales would increase significantly.
 
any information on when the beta will be available?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by enigma2k View Post
any information on when the beta will be available?
Here is the prior post in this thread:

http://forums.omnigroup.com/showpost...7&postcount=57

Last edited by wilsonng; 2013-03-10 at 07:25 PM..
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bocomoj View Post
Except it's actually OF1 for $80 + upgrade for $40 = $120 for just the Mac app.
http://www.asianefficiency.com/produ...too-expensive/

A quote from the article:
Quote:
the more money you invest in something, the more likely it is that you’ll use it
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilsonng View Post
I totally agree with the article.
The only thing I think could be changed it is the trial period length: 14 days are a period too short to evaluate such a complete (and complex) software, to see if it fits for oneself.
30 days should be the minimum, 60 days would be perfect.

Francesco
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilsonng View Post
Yeah, but the entire premise of the article is flawed. OF doesn't "save you time." In fact, it takes more time to add all your projects and action steps into OF before you "do them." Since you were going to "do them" anyway, OF is pure time-overhead. So a "don't you value your time at more than $2.70 per hour" argument doesn't work.

Because it helps you stay organized, OF might increase your productivity, allowing you to get more done in a typical work session/day/week. I guess this could buy "free time" for some folks, who have a set amount of work to be done each session/day/week. For those of us who run large organizations, however, the number of new tasks added to our plates is always larger than what we accomplish, no matter how productive we are. In the real world, most people can't buy more "free time."

What OF does is help with task prioritization and assuring you CYA by not forgetting important work. Are there value in these? Sure. $180 worth of value? Not so sure.

Anyway, the original point remains: the current Apple software model is (1) low cost of entry, followed by (2) automatic updates with no additional purchase. That's the model for both the Mac and iOS stores. It's what we now expect.

The average cost of an iOS app is far below $1.

Last edited by bocomoj; 2013-03-16 at 06:47 PM..
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bocomoj View Post
In fact, it takes more time to add all your projects and action steps into OF before you "do them." OF is pure time-overhead
Uh, it take more time to add all your projects and action steps into any task management program. There's overhead in any program. But this prevents the 7 Ps - "Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_Ps_(military_adage)


I think the planning overhead is worth the time saved if it helps me get on the right track (or as close to the track as possible). That's what OF can do for me. I lose a lot more time if I don't do any proper planning.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bocomoj View Post
In the real world, most people can't buy more "free time."
Quote:
Originally Posted by bocomoj View Post
What OF does is help with task prioritization and assuring you CYA by not forgetting important work.
I don't think it's about buying more free time. It's about choosing a task/project based on the current circumstances (energy available, time available, tools available) and getting at least something done.

OF saves time by letting me capture everything into one inbox and then help me process and organize my projects and tasks. I don't have to stop and ponder about what I need to do next.


Quote:
Originally Posted by bocomoj View Post
however, the number of new tasks added to our plates is always larger than what we accomplish, no matter how productive we are. In the real world, most people can't buy more "free time."
I save time by looking at my projects in OF and determine what I can delete, delegate, or defer.

If I can delegate a project to someone else who has more time, skill, or tools to complete a project, I just saved time there.

I also save time by doing my weekly review and delete projects. If I slowly realize that a project doesn't really align with company goals (or even personal goals), I arrange a meeting with the boss and bring it to their attention. This project does not align with the company mission statement and I think it should be deleted. It doesn't happen often but I can lighten my load by discriminating whether a project's return-on-investment is good enough to keep the project.

Or I might realize that a project is stalled and either needs revision (revise the subtasks or goals of project). I saved time and futility by realizing that a goal is not properly planned or is not correctly goal-aligned. Then I go ahead and revise it or delete it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bocomoj View Post
The average cost of an iOS app is far below $1.
I'm guessing that we're going to be counting the ten different flashlight apps and fifty fart apps at free or 99˘? We have to distinguish these novelty apps from a project/task management app such as OmniFocus, Things, etc. Let's disregard the very simple iOS checklist apps and look at something a little more powerful that has project and task management features.

Things for iPhone $9.99
Things for iPad $19.99

2Do $9.99

Pocket Informant Pro $14.99

Firetask for iPhone $5.99
Firetask for iPad $9.99

Hit List $9.99

TaskPaper $4.99

OmniFocus for iPad $39.99
OmniFocus for iPhone $19.99

Wunderlist 2 - free for basic use (with monthly $4.99 pro plan for more storage space and tech support)

That doesn't look like an average price of 99˘.




Quote:
Originally Posted by bocomoj View Post
Anyway, the original point remains: the current Apple software model is (1) low cost of entry, followed by (2) automatic updates with no additional purchase. That's the model for both the Mac and iOS stores. It's what we now expect.
OmniFocus 1.0 was released in January 8, 2008. We've had free updates for the last five years. A version upgrade is different from an update. We can argue endleslly that version 2 may or may not be enough of an upgrade to warrant a version 2.0 label.

http://www.omnigroup.com/products/om.../releasenotes/

But, in any case, I think five years is a long time between upgrades and paying a discounted upgrade price to support a company to ensure future updates seems worth it to me. Maybe not enough for you?

A low cost of entry would be nice (heck, free would be better). But if you don't want to support future updates, you have the option of sticking with OF1 and not even bother with OF2.

But I've tried other programs. Wunderlist 2 is free. But it didn't compare to what I could do in OF. But there will be a segment of the market that will find its home in someone else's application folder.

Things is considerably cheaper. But it wasn't the right fit for me despite the lower price point. So that invalidates the notion that a lower cost of entry.

OF does have a demo mode that allows you to try it free for 14 days. That's a low cost of entry. If you really liked it enough, then you can pay for it.

Or if you find that another program provides a better fit for your needs, you can always discontinue using OF.

I love having the cheaper price points but I don't always expect it. Heck, the lower price points for iOS has actually distorted realistic price points in terms of software development costs vs sales price.

I remember having a conversation with someone about an iOS app. She asked me how much it was. i said 99˘. She said "oh. I won't buy it then. I it should be free." I had a facepalm moment there. I wondered how anyone can think 99˘ was to high a price point for a video game that would bring them hours of entertainment. That is reality distortion.




Quote:
Originally Posted by bocomoj View Post
$180 worth of value? Not so sure.
It appears that OmniFocus is still a very popular program despite being "expensive." I think if I've seen enough bloggers and podcasters choosing OmniFocus, then there must be something to OmniFocus that price is a secondary factor.


I got my $180 worth. And it appears that a lot of bloggers have gotten their $180 worth as well. Did you?

Expensive? Sure. But you get what you pay for. If you don't think the features of OF isn't worth the money, there are always cheaper programs that might fit you better.

Last edited by wilsonng; 2013-03-17 at 12:35 AM..
 
 


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Omnifocus 1 AppleScript problem after Omnifocus 2 install Cypher OmniFocus 2 for Mac (Private Test) 2 2013-10-18 10:07 AM
Excellent! Will now solely use Omnifocus 2 only with my IOS Omnifocus products kerryd OmniFocus 2 for Mac (Private Test) 7 2013-04-17 03:47 PM
Due date grouping in Omnifocus vs Omnifocus for iPhone arnthorsnaer OmniFocus 1 for Mac 3 2011-03-16 12:53 PM
Beginners guide - using omnifocus to find a personal strategy of how to use omnifocus wayne4 Applying OmniFocus 7 2008-11-14 06:22 AM
Export: OmniFocus Archive vs OmniFocus Document steve OmniFocus 1 for Mac 3 2008-11-07 05:43 PM


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:55 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.