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OmniFocus for Android [Very unlikely; certainly no plans in foreseeable future.] Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
FWIW, I came across this discussion while looking for a GTD app I can run on my Mac and my Android phone. One of the basic principles of GTD is keeping all your "stuff" in one trusted system, and I've run into difficulty in the past with systems that don't talk to each other. I've heard great things about OmniFocus, but if my phone can't sync with it, I guess I'll have to keep looking.

One sale lost due to lack of Android support.
 
Another vote for an Android app.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilsonng View Post
If you've never owned an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, you'll never know what it's like to drink the Kool Aid...
Wilsonng, thanks for your insights. My daughter has had an iPod Touch for a long time now, and I know a couple people who carry one in addition to their flip phones. I've played with iPhones and Touch and I realize they're great devices and have many great apps. I really wanted an iPhone for a long time and were it not for them being hardwired to AT&T I would have. If they had chosen verizon to partner with it would have been the best device, first of it's kind, available on the best network. But instead they left me out in the cold until someone else solved that problem.

Apple has OS X and I love it. Apple is dedicated hardware/software package oriented. Windows kicked their butt by opening up and grabbing market share first. Jobs had the insight to see the potential for the iTunes store and changed the whole industry by implementing it well, being first, gaining market dominance quickly. Instead of realizing that personal computing was rife for the same kind of change they held onto status quo and hoped the world wouldn't change without them. It did. Google is doing almost the same thing that Apple did with iTunes. MobileMe was a feeble attempt to provide a way to remotely sync hardware devices. Google eliminates the need to sync hardware- you just access data and you don't even need wi-fi to do so.

The power of linking GPS, google maps, google location search and the comprehensive database on a mobile device is a slam-dunk. It's tightly integrated and slick as can be on Android. And will get even better in time.

OmniFocus is the only thing I've run into that has been seemingly resistant to get on board, and it's for the same reason... status quo and hardware oriented, hardware specific. Refusing to see the significance of a fundamental shift that's taking place right before their eyes.

If the programming languages are that incompatible, surely they could build a web site that would either facilitate syncing or eliminate the need. I think the first person to take GTD to a web implementation with a smooth interface is going to be a very wealthy person.
 
Yes, I agree. The cloud looks like it is the way to go. But until then, we have to make do with what we have.... I can't wait for OmniFocus cloud. So I just use my iPod touch/iPad with my OmniFocus and live with it until such a time when OmniFocus cloud comes around.

Heck, I remembered the old days of the PDA... I would carry around an old Psion Series 3a organizer that had "apps". There was a little store that sold apps too.

Unfortunately, it was way before it's time...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_Series_3


We all saw the Palm Pilots and HP Pocket PCs roar to life a decade ago. Now it's all about the iPhone and the Android.

Hopefully we'll be able to see OmniFocus cloud one of these days. The dream is there. But for now, I gotta get stuff done. So I carry my iPod touch for OmniFocus and my little cellphone for everything else.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilsonng View Post
Yes, I agree. The cloud looks like it is the way to go. But until then, we have to make do with what we have.... I can't wait for OmniFocus cloud. So I just use my iPod touch/iPad with my OmniFocus and live with it until such a time when OmniFocus cloud comes around.

Heck, I remembered the old days of the PDA... I would carry around an old Psion Series 3a organizer that had "apps". There was a little store that sold apps too.

Unfortunately, it was way before it's time...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_Series_3


We all saw the Palm Pilots and HP Pocket PCs roar to life a decade ago. Now it's all about the iPhone and the Android.

Hopefully we'll be able to see OmniFocus cloud one of these days. The dream is there. But for now, I gotta get stuff done. So I carry my iPod touch for OmniFocus and my little cellphone for everything else.
I am confused. You can already sync OF to the cloud using MobileMe, WebDAV solutions. OF is with you everywhere you go on the iOS platform. You can even sync OF to Basecamp with Spootnik...you have a plethora of options. What do you mean that you can't wait for the OmniFocus cloud?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by policarpo View Post
I am confused. You can already sync OF to the cloud using MobileMe, WebDAV solutions. OF is with you everywhere you go on the iOS platform. You can even sync OF to Basecamp with Spootnik...you have a plethora of options. What do you mean that you can't wait for the OmniFocus cloud?
I think what wilsonng means is having OF accessible as Saas - software as a service (a la salesforce.com). In other words, being able to access and use it with nothing more than a web browser. You are talking about syncing - but that requires a specific device (a Mac or an iPhone) through which to use OF. If I could go to a web site and have the full functionality of OF available to me, I could use OF from any computer that supports a browser (so a Windows or Linux machine, which would extend greatly OF's reach).
 
I haven't tried it, but Spootnik recently announced the ability to use their stuff as a web front-end to OmniFocus.
 
Yes, I was referrring to a web-only version of OmiFocus. Maybe a concept similar to gMail or Google apps. You can use gMail or Google apps with any web browser.

I believe Microsoft wanted to release a version of Office on the web to combat Google apps now.

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2009/07/...line-for-free/


Adobe has Photoshop Express here:

http://www.internetnews.com/software...hop-Online.htm




The world is slowly turning into a cloud-based environment and moving away from the desktop metaphor. Using a web based environment, it is a compile once, use anywhere concept.
 
I do recall an Omni Group job posting for a web tester in the last year or so. One interpretation is that they have something like this in the works. Don't know if a hire was made, though.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilsonng View Post
The world is slowly turning into a cloud-based environment and moving away from the desktop metaphor. Using a web based environment, it is a compile once, use anywhere concept.
The emergence of web apps that can actually compete with desktop apps is certainly exciting. There are a lot of advantages for the developer (rapid development, single-point deployment and updates, etc) and the consumer (ubiquitous access, local data storage not required, etc). And the gap between web apps and desktops apps continues to narrow everyday.

But maybe I'm just old school, because I will always choose a good desktop app designed specifically for my platform over even the very best web app, especially if it's an app I'm going to use constantly like OmniFocus.

In my opinion, well-designed desktop apps feel better, have better performance, offer more features, integrate better with the OS and other apps, and are overall more fun to use. As good as Google Docs is, I still reach for iWork unless collaboration is a key requirement. Gmail is swell, and Apple's MobileMe Mail client really quite beautiful, but I still use Mac OS X's desktop Mail client 99% of the time. Google Reader is handy to have in a pinch, but it frankly pales in comparison to NetNewsWire (which has flaws of its own, but is still a better option IMO).

My opinions may change over time (look how far web apps have come in just the past 5 years), but I don't feel like we're there yet. At this point, I'm much more interested in desktop apps that function as a front-end to the cloud rather than actual native web apps. 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.

Funny thing is, I've spent a good part of my professional life as a web developer (as I'm sure many others on this forum have). But I'm not ready to give up my lovely Cocoa apps. Surely I'm not the only one who feels this way? :-)

-Dennis

PS - The term "desktop app" is probably not a good choice here. What I really mean is "native platform app" (e.g. OmniFocus for Mac and OmniFocus for iPhone).

Last edited by Toadling; 2010-07-26 at 04:22 PM.. Reason: Oops, quoted wilsonng twice.
 
 


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