
OmniFocus – Task Management Software Built for Pros - lowmemcpu
https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/
======
user_agent
That's true. OF is the king of all GTD task management systems and have been
since always. It's the only thing I miss after abandoning Apple ecosystem
years ago. People who don't do GTD religiously (and believe me - for them the
GTD management system IS far more important than anything else in their
toolbox) and other similar methodologies tend to have no idea what kind of
difference a good system like OF makes. The guys behind the product nailed it
and even now, as far as I know, no one was able to replicate their success.

I'd be in heaven if the company behind it - the OmniGroup - would be willing
to: 1) Develop native or semi-native apps for multiple OSes + a web app; 2)
Cut down their pricing a little bit. A similar strategy got Evernote a lot of
users (although they still don't have a native Linux app) - I mean cross-
platform and the fact that they offer reasonable discounts to their loyal
customers.

It's also a fact that there's a lot people grounded in Apple's ecosystem
purely because their dependence on OF (some even write about that here in this
thread). I'm sorry for you guys. Really. Leaving OF was probably the hardest
technological decision I've ever made, and even now - years later - I feel a
thrilling fear remembering how I was struggling with myself about that, but I
really can't afford being into a vendor lock-in with Apple or anyone else for
that matter, whether it's in enterprise or my private life. That's dangerous
and must have consequences in the future regardless of your current views
regarding what Apple does (take a look on how many Fortune 500 companies went
off that index during a typical lifespan - Apple isn't eternal too).

But somehow MacOS is a very important thing in OmniGroup. Their choice... But
I miss you guys and I hope you'll mature to a similar decision I made - that
Apple isn't "the one" and life has a lot more to offer ;) We could be friends
again. I'm sure there are many others like me...

PS: People recommending some simple task management systems they use have no
idea what they are talking about trying to compare it with something like
OF... It's like comparing Windows' Notepad to Vim. Yes, they both are text
editors, but the latter one is kind of "on-steroids" to the point where it
makes no sense to even compare them.

~~~
sirn
There is a web version now but it's still missing basic functionalities, let
alone the more advanced ones.

I have been using the web version on Linux box for almost half a year (because
I don't own a Mac right now) and found it to be acceptable _only_ as a
companion to iPad or iPhone version. It's not usable standalone at all (for
example, you cannot create recurring tasks, or even move a project into a
folder, or even _create_ a project in a folder). I hope they improve the web
version, but the development doesn't seems very active[1]

That said, I've tried everything else, including Todoist and even org-mode,
but found myself come back to OmniFocus in the end since I found Perspective
to be essential to my workflow (even though web version doesn't support
Perspective at all, at least I can use it on my iPad). Org probably come
closest to fully replacing OmniFocus, but syncing between a Linux box and iOS
devices has been... not fun.

[1]: [https://www.omnigroup.com/releasenotes/omnifocus-
web](https://www.omnigroup.com/releasenotes/omnifocus-web)

~~~
user_agent
I feel you, man. Thanks for the info about the web version, BTW. For my taste
even the mobile versions of OF aren't a real thing and are acceptable only on-
the-go, even the iPad one isn't rich enough. But the desktop app for OSX...
That's a beast (the one I can't have, since I don't use Macs anymore).

Plus I see that the web version has no persistent offline storage / mode. That
isn't going to work for me. So, not only lack of features might be a problem.

~~~
sirn
OmniFocus for iPad has improved a lot to the point I don't feel I'm missing
too many features from the Mac version (though there are still some awkward
parts in the UI, e.g. moving/creating folders and projects) and even has
support for Omni Automation Plugins now, in addition to Shortcuts support.

Web version sadly has no persistent offline storage as you said. It's also
veeerrrrryyy slow since every click requires a roundtrip to a server that made
slightly acceptable thanks to WebSockets (I don't live in the U.S. where their
servers seems to be located). I'm connected most of the time so offline
storage is not that much of a concern for me. I wish Omni Group put more
effort into it though, given they charge $50 a year on top of a standalone
app, which is way more expensive than Todoist. :(

------
correstco
Todoist is excellent. Things for Mac is great as well.

~~~
marvion
+1 for Todoist

Todoist is also the only one I know that offers an API

My Todoist bot adds features that no one will ever build into todo apps, but
improve my life tremendously.

I'll never use a todo app without API again.

~~~
vira28
This. Exactly what I am looking for.

I am currently using any.do but the problem is they don't have an api.

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freetonik
I've been using omnifocus for several years, but recently moved all of my
projects to Everdo[1].

1\. [https://everdo.net/](https://everdo.net/)

~~~
adrianmsmith
Why?

Help us to learn from your experience.

~~~
freetonik
Perhaps my use case is pretty simple, I only need the following:

\- projects \- recurring tasks \- deferral dates \- deadlines \- ability to
set the next occurrence either with a fixed period (every X days) or with a
floating period (X days after the last completion)

Everdo provides all of those features in a, subjectively, simpler user
interface. I think the killer feature of OmniFocus is custom perspectives. I
don't use them so it wasn't hard to migrate. YMMV.

Also, even after years of use, I find OmniFocus' desktop UI a bit confusing
and convoluted. It got a lot better, but still not great. They focused on iOS
at some point, but I don't use GTD managers on the go.

By the way, Everdo is basically a clone of NirvanaHQ[1], a pretty popular GTD
tool.

1\. [https://www.nirvanahq.com/](https://www.nirvanahq.com/)

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vondur
Did they release a new version?

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musicale
RIP Omni group. They will be missed.

~~~
acidbaseextract
What is this referring to?

~~~
mikestew
Parent is overreacting a bit. Omnigroup had some layoffs recently, but they’re
not ready for the cart just yet:

[https://daringfireball.net/linked/2020/03/31/layoffs-at-
the-...](https://daringfireball.net/linked/2020/03/31/layoffs-at-the-omni-
group)

------
sammex
I've heard some good things about Omnifocus but it's Apple exclusive so guess
I'll never get to try it out.

~~~
Hackbraten
There’s a relatively new web-based version.

~~~
marvion
I was excited hearing that. But seeing the pricing.. yikes. The web
subscription for 50$/year requires a iOS or mac standalone license for 50$
one-time.

If I would be able to use the iOS/Mac native app, I wouldn't even need the web
version....

I understand that focusing on Apple(OS features) is what makes these apps so
great. But it's sad to not beeing able to use these apps, even when they
finally offer a web version.

