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Review: OmniFocus for iPhone
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#2
Frankscc 
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Posted 24 July 2008 - 03:08 PM
I have learned how to get organized by using Things. Never has an application so changed the way I worked. That said, the lack of sync between Things and Things Touch has actually caused me to consider switching to OmniFocus. It just seems a little deeper than I want to go. For now I'll wait for Things to get sync.
#3
mhgorsline
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Posted 24 July 2008 - 05:53 PM
I agree with a lot of this review. If you actually practice GTD there's a good chance that you'd love the desktop version of OmniFocus. It is powerful and really does mirror the essence of GTD. I actually even help some of my coaching clients to get rolling with it.
I agree that the iPhone and alpha sneaky peak version software was buggy on the front end, and is still a little buggy my taste, but that seems to be getting better with updates. And they are happening steadily.
As far as the synching, that was a real headache if you were an early adopter, but is getting much better. And some very good news is that you don't have to spend $100 on mobile me if you don't have other uses for it. I got an account with a webDAV server BingoDisk that runs $20 per year, and works fine for synching OmniFocus. And you don't have to do any fancy configuring.
Once they've got the bugs worked out I'd give it 4.5 mice for anyone who likes GTD at all. As it stands I'd agree with the 3.5. For those who just want a jot it down and check it off app, one of the others in the app store might better serve your needs, that is if you don't need it to synch back to your desktop. And yes I've tried Evernote; Though I like the idea, I wasn't impressed with the execution. If you're a GTDer I would recommend it either as a stand alone, or if you can afford it, do the desktop and BingoDisk. It is a beautiful thing to have all your to dos on the hoof. And pushing a button to have your location aware contexts tell you in order of what's closest what you have to do I think is the way these handhelds are going in the future. Everyone I show it to is impressed.
And by the way I've got a few programs from Omni Group and their customer service has been superb. It has been less so with the iPhone OF but still good.
I agree that the iPhone and alpha sneaky peak version software was buggy on the front end, and is still a little buggy my taste, but that seems to be getting better with updates. And they are happening steadily.
As far as the synching, that was a real headache if you were an early adopter, but is getting much better. And some very good news is that you don't have to spend $100 on mobile me if you don't have other uses for it. I got an account with a webDAV server BingoDisk that runs $20 per year, and works fine for synching OmniFocus. And you don't have to do any fancy configuring.
Once they've got the bugs worked out I'd give it 4.5 mice for anyone who likes GTD at all. As it stands I'd agree with the 3.5. For those who just want a jot it down and check it off app, one of the others in the app store might better serve your needs, that is if you don't need it to synch back to your desktop. And yes I've tried Evernote; Though I like the idea, I wasn't impressed with the execution. If you're a GTDer I would recommend it either as a stand alone, or if you can afford it, do the desktop and BingoDisk. It is a beautiful thing to have all your to dos on the hoof. And pushing a button to have your location aware contexts tell you in order of what's closest what you have to do I think is the way these handhelds are going in the future. Everyone I show it to is impressed.
And by the way I've got a few programs from Omni Group and their customer service has been superb. It has been less so with the iPhone OF but still good.
#4
joevanwyk
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Posted 24 July 2008 - 07:31 PM
I'm not much of a "poster", but I thought I'd share this with anyone who's looking for a good GTD app.
I wanted an app that worked well with my Mac, my iPhone, and was accessible on the Web. After trying Remember the Milk, OmniFocus, Tada List, Vitalist, Toodledo, and a couple of others, I decided on Nozbe.
I recommend you roll up your sleeves and do this: First, read Getting Things Done. Download it, read it, listen to it, listen to the podcasts, re-read it, re-listen to it, mark it up, obsess on it wrestle with it, and let it mess with your mind until your head explodes. Then, fit your head back together in a new way. Ahem. Sorry, it's getting late.
Anyway, the point is, DON"T go off using one of these apps without fully getting GTD. GTD is waaaaay cool and you don't want some twisted GUI to get in between your mind and the System. I can't stress this enough. GTD is NOT an application. It is not "Outlook" or "iCal" or bananas. It is a personal productivity system that transcends electronics.
OK. So then, try doing it all on paper. OK, most of us don't want to do this, but if you can, then at least try it. Even if your efforts on paper lead to frustration, your frustration will actually help you find the right GTD app because you will better understand what the app needs to accomplish.
Then, try all of the apps I mentioned above. You might want to create 20 or so projects and respective "next actions", and "contexts." If you want to really, really test the crap out of a bunch of apps to see which one passes the tough truck test, then go nuts for a couple of weeks and use several apps simultaneously tracking all of your projects.
No kidding.
If you do this, you will quickly see how totally inane some GTD apps are. As I said, in the end, for me, Nozbe was the last app standing.
Have FUN with it.
Peace,
Joe
I wanted an app that worked well with my Mac, my iPhone, and was accessible on the Web. After trying Remember the Milk, OmniFocus, Tada List, Vitalist, Toodledo, and a couple of others, I decided on Nozbe.
I recommend you roll up your sleeves and do this: First, read Getting Things Done. Download it, read it, listen to it, listen to the podcasts, re-read it, re-listen to it, mark it up, obsess on it wrestle with it, and let it mess with your mind until your head explodes. Then, fit your head back together in a new way. Ahem. Sorry, it's getting late.
Anyway, the point is, DON"T go off using one of these apps without fully getting GTD. GTD is waaaaay cool and you don't want some twisted GUI to get in between your mind and the System. I can't stress this enough. GTD is NOT an application. It is not "Outlook" or "iCal" or bananas. It is a personal productivity system that transcends electronics.
OK. So then, try doing it all on paper. OK, most of us don't want to do this, but if you can, then at least try it. Even if your efforts on paper lead to frustration, your frustration will actually help you find the right GTD app because you will better understand what the app needs to accomplish.
Then, try all of the apps I mentioned above. You might want to create 20 or so projects and respective "next actions", and "contexts." If you want to really, really test the crap out of a bunch of apps to see which one passes the tough truck test, then go nuts for a couple of weeks and use several apps simultaneously tracking all of your projects.
No kidding.
If you do this, you will quickly see how totally inane some GTD apps are. As I said, in the end, for me, Nozbe was the last app standing.
Have FUN with it.
Peace,
Joe
#5
joevanwyk
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Posted 24 July 2008 - 07:36 PM
Oh yea. I thought of one other thing. I downloaded OmniFocus, installed it on my Mac, and went to it. A lot was very good about the system and interface for sure. However, it crashed on me a few times and I remembered why I like 2.0 apps so much. Nothing to install and maintain!!!
So, I must say that I'm biased towards something that doesn't run on my own system. Just a personal pref. =)
So, I must say that I'm biased towards something that doesn't run on my own system. Just a personal pref. =)
#6
njal34
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Posted 25 July 2008 - 10:37 PM
I was eagerly awaiting this app -- it was, in fact, a big chunk of what committed me to switching to the iPhone this time around (despite the 3.5 hour wait in line on 7/11). That Apple hasn't made the sync conduit available to developers sucks, and is why Omni does OTA webdav syncing. Lots of folks have reported problems using noncompliant free or cheap shared hosting webdav solutions, but I pointed OF at my Concentric account and had webdav up and running, under SSL, in about 5 minutes. Synchro is great -- you don't even notice it spinning except when you're in really marginal data connectivity range. Well worth the ~$100 ($80 for desktop and $20 for iPhone app).
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