[jtice]

Originally Posted by Toadling

I want desktop apps that communicate and share their data online, whether that be for syncing devices, backup, social aspects, or whatever. To me, this seems like the best of both worlds.

I agree- cloud apps are not polished in terms of usability, interface, etc. There is no doubt that OmniFocus for Mac is a sweeeet piece of work. I really do not like the prospect of having to leave it behind due to platform incompatibility. But this is part of the fundamental shift––platforms are moving to the wings as data and connectedness take center stage. The GTD system, our data, is what's really important and OF is just a tool that manipulates it. And in this case the data is just a list that can be viewed in a few different ways.

It seems to me that a good solution for OmniFocus would be to provide a hybrid cloud environment by syncing the list items to a server. They could work with a third party to develop an Android app that can access data, and they wouldn't even have to brand it as an Omni app. It would not need to provide the same functionality of the desktop app, just a way to view the data and do some minimal editing.

It doesn't seem like a major obstacle to overcome relative to being shut out of one of the currently dominant mobile platforms. It would also allow OG the flexibility to respond to any new mobile platform that comes along while continuing to maintain the OS X app as the shining star of GTD tools. In other words, all we need is a simple way to access our to-do list on this little screen and the issues is sufficiently mitigated––that should be a given rather than a major obstacle. Not having it is a deficit. Heck, they could probably even use google Tasks as the intermediary and they would really be in the flow.

[policarpo]

As opposed to making OF a web based tool (which I do not want since I want to manage my own data and not have it live in the cloud on someone else's server) why not just offer a robust exporter so that OF data can migrate to RTM, ToodleDo. This can already be done to some extent with Spootnik and Basecamp.

I like having a dedicated app which runs on the desktop and is always available to me. I like managing things offline and uploading things when I am connected.

Don't change the paradigm as much as enhance the robustness of your interchange tools.

Imagine if all these GTD apps supported OPML. You could then shuttle your data anywhere.

Fix the current problem and don't create new ones I always say. :)

[jtice]

Originally Posted by policarpo

As opposed to making OF a web based tool (which I do not want... (snip)

I don't think anyone posting in this thread is advocating the demise of the OminFocus desktop app. We're all just frustrated that its usefulness is limited to the desktop environment at a time when there are so many excellent options for ubiquitous data access.

I have found quite a few not so bad, not so great web apps that offer something along these lines and have an Android app. The OmniFocus dilemma could be resolved without even creating a web interface––just being able to export the database to a server and access it with an Android app would work.

[curt.clifton]

Originally Posted by jtice

We're all just frustrated that its usefulness is limited to the desktop environment

That's just patently false. Yes, its usefulness is limited to Apple devices, but I am happily, ubiquitously access my OF data with my iPhone and iPad.

(I suspect that you meant exactly that, but don't want other people stumbling on this thread to be misled.)

[planetDan]

I experimented with the OmniGraffle platform on an iPad and it was a strange experience. I couldn't imaging using it on my Droid.

[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by planetDan

I experimented with the OmniGraffle platform on an iPad and it was a strange experience. I couldn't imaging using it on my Droid.

I've never seen a Droid in the flesh — could you elaborate on your statement about how you couldn't imagine using it on the Droid?

[mnanda]

ANDOIRD PLEASE! I've heard so any ATT nightmare stories about bad service (was just dropped off an iPhone call today) that I finally went Android for my smartphone and I love it. Now if only OF could get on board with an Android app, I'd be so super happy.

Any word?

[gopi]

Google Tasks as an intermediary would simply not work IMHO. The structure of data used in OF doesn't map to that at all. Contexts, review intervals, next review dates - if you synced that all, you'd have a task full of metadata that would mean nothing to any app not written to use it.

The current OF file format would not be that hard to parse. There are some open source Omni frameworks that would likely help with parts of the data - though I haven't fully investigated them.

[endoftheQ]

Pocket Informant looks set to be the first non-Omni client for OF on the desktop although whether that ability will be included in their yet-to-be released Android version remains to be seen.

I've always thought it weird that Omni doesn't appear to have any interest in developing OF for other platforms, as even Apple occasionally bites that bullet (QuickTime, iTunes, etc.).

[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by endoftheQ

Pocket Informant looks set to be the first non-Omni client for OF on the desktop although whether that ability will be included in their yet-to-be released Android version remains to be seen.

I've always thought it weird that Omni doesn't appear to have any interest in developing OF for other platforms, as even Apple occasionally bites that bullet (QuickTime, iTunes, etc.).

Apple gets substantial extra sales from reaching over the fence, at little marginal cost, relatively speaking, and while they may still sell more iPods to Windows users, doing so isn't changing the character of the company, except for the broad shift toward iOS devices.

Omni, on the other hand, would have a lot of work to do to replace the Cocoa API and all the UI frameworks and so on that Apple supplies. And to what end? They have more than enough projects for the existing customer base and current areas of expertise to keep them busy for years to come. Handing it off to an Indian port shop, as I'm told is often done with hit games, doesn't seem to mesh with their style, and I've never noticed a "let's grow as fast as possible" vibe from them, have you? More like grow at a moderate pace where we can keep our good thing going just the way we like it. Having spent my career at a company that rapidly went from 20+ employees to 40,000+ I really appreciate that sentiment. Maybe not so many Ferraris in the Omni parking lot, but more fun in the office.