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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian View Post
Folks shouldn't draw any other conclusions from the image.
...and off in the distance, the sound of a bubble being burst can be heard, but only just as its sound is in danger of being drowned out by the thunderous sound of a heavy rainfall soaking a parade.
 
the sound of a bubble being burst can be heard . . .
 
I started using OmniFocus in Spring 2010 (or was it 2009?). It has been such a hectic 3.75 years that I don't even remember any longer when it was. Three months later after I had a breathing spell and knew more of how I wanted to use OmniFocus I set it up all over again. Since then I haven't looked back: OmniFocus just works and I don't consider the use of it to result in any overhead at all.

I finally got an iPhone about 1.5 years ago and very soon bought OmniFocus for iPhone. I love it and the 'Forecast' element of it. I will be very excited for that to come to the Mac OSX version of OmniFocus. As busy as I am, I love to update my software when a new update comes out, and I typically do so ASAP and read about all the changes while my body produces endorphins like mad. So I will be very excited when the next OmniFocus comes out.

However, there is no way that I would leave OmniFocus for the bling, philosophy, or flow of another application. OmniFocus does exactly what I want in a dependable way, I understand well how it works, and if something can be improved upon I have confidence that OmniFocus will address it. I had only a rudimentary organizational philosophy before, but now OmniFocus and I have melded philosophies, and so to switch to something else would put me into a mid-life crisis.

OK, so I am given to a bit of drama here or there, but the above is not far off. Yes, I am hoping for the next OmniFocus to be out sooner rather than later, but mostly due to my general excitement about updates. I check in here every few weeks to look for any information about when it might be out, but I'd rather have good solid updates less often (and which are consistent with the developers philosophy) than have frequent updates which try to keep up in some way with somebody else (and potentially dissipate in some way what I already have).

Last edited by macmath; 2012-12-06 at 09:44 AM..
 
Hear, hear, macmath...

First off, I always get a chuckle listening to passive aggressive comments on forums threatening to leave a platform if 'new features' aren't implemented soon. "ooh, this package has this, and this package has that...might have to jump ship." Although OG would hate to lose a customer...they already have your money.

OmniFocus is hugely powerful implementation of GTD. If you don't follow the GTD principles to get the most out of the 'system' then maybe OF isn't for you. 2Do is a NICE program, but it's not meant to lead you through the span of GTD without some serious hacking on your part (meaning how you 'force' the program to work for you). It's a very well thought out TO DO LIST. Things is pretty, but it's limited and is developed on constantly sliding implementation dates (as well as Midnight Inbox, which, while VERY nice on the eyes, seems to involve too much work getting your stuff in there.)

The GTD system is a specific set of methodologies. It's not like they can add a new brush or burn tool (a la Photoshop). I honestly think OF captures those methodologies well as it is. I don't think there would be a huge featureset you could add here (besides the team functionality stated in the first post or a UI refresh/overhaul).

If you're complaining about features, what do you want to see? While I realize you may not be an app dev, you can't complain about software being long in the tooth only because there hasn't been a blockbuster feature added or they've been at 1.x since its inception.

I'm sure OF 2 will be well thought out and stable. And I'm along for the ride...
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightstorm View Post
If you're complaining about features, what do you want to see?
Since you asked...

I would like to see a delegate or person field, so that I can group my tasks by context (@work) and person (Bob). Or this could be accomplished by allowing multiple contexts. I know that there are work arounds usually consisting of having an elaborate but unnatural folder or context structure. It just seems to me that having a task list/todo app of the magnitude & cost of OF without having that basic but necessary functionality is (pardon my French) asinine!

Also, a basic prioritization field would be great. Again, I am aware of work arounds using duration lengths, etc. But again, why should people have to jury-rig an app of OF's size & scope to get basic functionality from it?

As well, I suggest that Omni hire someone with a knack/flare for design to enhance the aesthetic appeal of Omni's products. Programmers and engineers while having a sense of functionality, often are not blessed with a designer's sense of art and style. Again, I stress that OF presents itself to be the "creme de la creme" of todo apps... a little creme with our software coffee would be nice!
 
1. I'd like to see multiple contexts or tags. One context per item is very limiting.

2. I would like to see a global search box, like DEVONthink for example. (I know I can set up a work around with a perspective, that's not the point).

3. I would like to see multiple colored flags like YNAB. Let me decide what color to use, in the absence of multiple contexts, this would help.

4. Password protection would be nice.

5. Perspectives in project mode that sync to my iPad.

6. The user interface could be improved.

OmniFocus is one of my "go to" programs, but there is room for improvement.
 
I'm not sure OF will ever get tags. I may be wrong, but this seems to come down to philosophy more than programming. And while tags are more flexible, it's also tempting to clutter everything with redundant tags, which is a task in and of itself.

Regarding the design, I agree. Just look at the screenshots in the app store, where "powerful view options" are shown through two screenshots that look absolutely identical.
Right next to OF in the productivity charts is 2Do, which costs less than half, syncs to a universal iOS app that's equally cheaper than OF, which looks nicer and offers password protection.
It's hard not to argue that OF for Mac needs a substantial upgrade.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flex View Post
I'm not sure OF will ever get tags. I may be wrong, but this seems to come down to philosophy more than programming. And while tags are more flexible, it's also tempting to clutter everything with redundant tags, which is a task in and of itself.

Regarding the design, I agree. Just look at the screenshots in the app store, where "powerful view options" are shown through two screenshots that look absolutely identical.
Right next to OF in the productivity charts is 2Do, which costs less than half, syncs to a universal iOS app that's equally cheaper than OF, which looks nicer and offers password protection.
It's hard not to argue that OF for Mac needs a substantial upgrade.
There was talk of tags or equivalent arbitrary metadata by Ken here in the forums in like 2009. Here we are almost 4 years later with no 2.0 in sight.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by CatOne View Post
There was talk of tags or equivalent arbitrary metadata by Ken here in the forums in like 2009. Here we are almost 4 years later with no 2.0 in sight.
Oh, it must be close — I just got a response from Omni management giving the concentration on 2.0 as the reason why they aren't actively fixing an OF data corruption issue that has been known since mid-2012. This must mean that 2.0 is right around the corner, and it's going to be incredible, right? Maybe 2013 will be the year where I can stop referring to Omni products shipping in the promised year as "Christmas miracles"...
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay6821 View Post
So I'm sitting in my hotel room bored, after a day long business meeting, when I discovered a new task management application. 2Do in the Mac app store now has a desk top version and after playing around with a trial version tonight, there is a lot to like!

OmniFocus 2.0 can't come soon enough, the competition has some great features. I'm not quite ready to move all my info into a new system, but there is a new kid on the block.
Yes... Looking at the layout of 2Do I can see how old the current OF layout feels. I have little doubt that the good folks from Omnigroup have fun stuff in store for us, but let me stress an important expectation, in case it is not forthcoming: better functionality around Perspectives and Tagging. At this juncture of the narrative I am resigned to the fact that OF will stick to the one context per task principle. Realistically speaking, this is often not workable. I very often need John to be a context, as well as WaitingFor (what are all the things that John owes me?), and no, neither can be a project, because I actually use projects for, well, projects. So, like many other people out there, I created a tagging convention, where I generate tags by inserting them into the text of tasks, and then have Perspectives based on the searches.

That works quite well, except that I have limited functionality around my list of perspectives. What I think makes a great deal of sense is to have a Perspective explorer (like the Project and Context explorers), where I could have a perspective tree, with perspective folders, etc.

And please - tags! It would make life so much easier and happier if I could have tags that I can include in searches to organize my tasks. And if these tags can sync/be imported from MailTags, that would be a major, major bonus.

Just my two groschen...
 
 


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