July 18th, 2008 |
Tags: b-side, nerding | 4 Comments
It’s probably a little perverse that I think the two most compelling 3rd-party applications on the new iPhone are OmniFocus and BeatMaker. (It would be better, I guess, if my day job involved making beats.)
July 18th, 2008 at 12:01:39 PM (#)
I’m getting an iPod touch on Monday and am torn between OmniFocus and Things. Things is not as far along, but they promise all the new features such as contexts in free upgrades in the future. They charge half the price for the app (and their desktop version is half the price of OmniFocus desktop).
Is there anything you have noticed that makes OmniFocus more compelling than Things? (http://culturedcode.com/things/)
July 18th, 2008 at 12:19:00 PM (#)
I already own the desktop version of OmniFocus, which I got at a massive discount. (They let you stack discounts, so I got the student discount, the early adopter discount, and the OmniOutliner Pro owner discount — I think it was about $18 all things considered.) So I will probably get the portable version of OF when and if I get an iPhone or iPod touch.
Things looks very nice, and I’ve heard some good arguments in its favor. OmniFocus has a lot of features (some of which I don’t use) in a sometimes-great, sometimes-clunky interface. I trust Omni software (I use OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle a lot for work), and the OmniGroup gang are pretty good about listening to feedback.
I’d try Things (I have had the demo installed on my desktop for a while, and it seems fine), especially if I decide that the desktop version of Things is better for my needs than OmniFocus. But right now, I have too much inertia behind (and tasks in) OmniFocus to evaluate alternatives.
This doesn’t really answer your question, but it should answer why OF is more compelling for me.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:30:47 AM (#)
Thanks for your opinion. I’ve gotten the iPod (refurbished, $100 off!) and have been using Things for the Touch. It’s working great for my needs, but it is sorely missing contexts (they call them “Areas”). They’ve promised that in a free update. The ability to filter the “Next” actions list by context is a must, but I’m getting by for now.
I’ve tried to use OmniOutliner for stuff (it came on my MacBook Pro) but have never been able to really get into it. I might have to give it another shot sometime. I just can’t think of any ways to apply it to my life. I’ve heard great things about it, though. Maybe it’s time to check out their demo files once more.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:55:19 PM (#)
Well, OmniOutliner is just an outliner. It is pretty well-done, though. I mainly use it for organizing slide talks; less so for prose. (I used it a lot when I was lecturing.)
It’s also pretty nice for simple to-do lists (“what to pack before leaving town”, etc.), but a lot of things work well for that kind of problem.