But there's this Other App Out there....
I see the problem of coming in first in the first round of voting.
Suddenly, several threads (or responses in threads) try to find flaws in iGTD, and pick “Someone else is doing it/already doing it”
Which is funny, because they think I haven’t considered or tried either Midnight Beep, or read the OmniGroup’s blog
First off, it’s MyDreamApp - Not Omnigroups, not Midnight beeps version (or the other two real GTD software out there for the mac.
They’re both good groups, don’t get me wrong (I own some Omni Software), but they’re not this group of developers. Part of what attracted me to this contest is how fast (and how chocolatety good) these developers are in their design in execution.
By, the way, since I’m actually using a Getting Things Done system, let me mention it. It’s called Thinking Rock, it’s cross platform, and free. It’s decent, I’ve influenced it in a number of ways, but since it will always be a Linux+Xp+OSX version, it will not be the panacea of a True Mac OSX/Leopard, ultra Cool pieces of software.
As long as we’re talking software that’s out there….
Kinkless uses OmniOutliner and Applescript. I tried it. It was incredibly awkward (this is me being nice) - it’s really a Kludge - trying to make a piece of software ‘fit’ what you want it to do. In this case it’s using applescript. But it gets mentioned on almost all the lists of MacGTD software. Which is horrible - because, really, it’s awkward as hell - using the wrong tool for the job. If you’re using this, do yourself a favor - go download Thinking Rock.
Now, let’s talk OmniGroup. I use Omni Outliner. It’s the backbone of kinkless (see above paragraph.) How many of you use any of the Omnigroup software (keep your hand up a sec…). How many people use OmniWeb? Wait, are you sure none of you use Omniweb (aside from that one guy in the back?). Why not? Two reasons, are likely - one, it’s good but not great (Opera is faster, Firefox has plugins galore, and Safari is decent); and almost every other browser is free.
Omnigroup makes good software; but not every one is a hit. Who knows if what they’re going to make will be an implementation of GTD or a general ‘task manager’. Who knows if it’s just their outliner with some bells and whistles. And most important who knows when or if ever come out?.
You want to say “oh, there’s something out there. At least pick something that is out there: MidnightBeep
Now, I like Midnight Beep. He gets it. Wait. The software is unusable in it’s current “beta.” It should really, really be an Alpha. Beta software ought to be “We’re getting the bugs out.” This is still not even something you can really try. What I like is the adherence to the whole GTD philosophy. What lacks (for me), are that there are no real world considerations for the Collection/inbox phase (like the pad of paper I carry, that I need to be reminded to actually look over), no sort of syncing (although private correspondence with Mark Harris, the developer indicates he’s thinking big), and zero web component. In my opinion this is the closest thing to what GTD on the Mac should be like (I like his interface) Did I mention that right now almost unusable?
There’s more. If you want to poke holes and say “It’s Yet Another Productivity App”, don’t forget to look at EaskTask Manager
I like it. It’s getting closer; it has ical sync. Where it fails: I can’t “take it with me.” I can’t get it on my ipod or my .Mac account. And it doesn’t have a very good review process. It’s far less Maclike than I’d like. And where Thinking Rock Shines on the collection process; it just doesn’t exist here.
There’s another app out there too….Frictionless. I tried this, the author “gets” GTD…and it’s a bit broken. He hasn’t updated since March, and I don’t expect any new updates. He just quit.
Other items/methods:
iCommit web based, Tiddlywiki, voodoo pad, yojimbo, Devonthink - they’re all trying to be end all/be alls to everyone. They’re good tools, just not the full implementation that GTD needs/demands.
In Summary, you know what, you can do GTD with freaking index cards.
Why should you use iGTD?
Because, the major idea, (a post later today about this), is that it should guide you through> how to get started with a GTD app; and be an “i” app - no manual necessary.
