[happyeveryday]

Anyone used the Omnifocus and Things before? Which is better/more intuitive and systematic to use? I don't want to end up purchasing both only to use 1 in the end. Any comments anyone? =)

[moep]

Here’s a good read about the topic:

http://www.andymcintosh.com/?p=28

My vote goes to Things. The interface is very pretty, iCal sync is neat and it just works well for me. I don’t mind the fact that it has still a beta-ish feel to it. version 1.1 of the iPhone app finally adds syncing and has already been submitted to the app store.

What really killed Omnifocus for me was the price. You’re looking at $100 for Omnifocus versus $50 for Things. (well, $10 for the iPhone application — the desktop version is free until 1.0)

disclaimer: I never tried the Omnifocus iPhone app

[Nexus5]

Syncing in Things will only work over your local WLAN! iPhone and Mac have to be on the some WLAN to sync. "Remote" syncing over WebDAV or mobileme is not (yet) supported.

nexus5.

[Mastrap]

Originally Posted by Nexus5 

Syncing in Things will only work over your local WLAN!

Are they serious? That's a complete killer for me. I've recently installed DeJumble, which I am liking quite a bit. Still, they don't have the syncing issue sorted out either.

[Big-C]

Coincidentally, I've been testing both for the past 10 days and despite wanting to go with OmniFocus (my work would pay, so cost wasn't a consideration), it just wasn't as easy to use as Things. I felt like I was spending too much time managing my tasks with that program, despite my feeling that they make really nice products.

A negative for me was the iphone sync - it is really slow, even after it got fixed. I don't know who's at fault - the idisk or omnifocus, but it was enough that I got tired of it.

Things is much simpler to use, and is a better fit to how I work. The fact that wifi is how it's going to sync doesn't bother me because:

1. I can't be in two places at once, so I don't need the sync to happen while I'm "out and about." I can sync when I get back to my computer, especially if...
2. It might be a faster synchronization! (Hey I can dream can't I?). If the sync speed is fast, I don't care if I have to do it when I get back to my computer.

Anyway, that was my experience.

[pcryan5]

I use and like Omnifocus for work. I would certainly hesitate to pay that sort of money for a personal use app of this nature but for work it's reasonable. Mind you - it requires commitment on the users part to get the real value out of it.

For my home system I use and very much like Yojimbo as a catch all app.

[k2director]

I bought OmniFocus and Things, and preferred Things in the end.

It's far more intuitive to use, and wireless synching is about a week or two away with version 1.1 (it's already been submitted to the App store, but approvals take a while).

Also, the developers seem to be quickly adding functionality, and you can keep up with their progress via Twitter.

[turtle777]

I'm an OmniFocus guy.

This tool is so powerful, I don't want to miss some of the advanced features.
The combination of Projects and Contexts, as well as location aware contexts is just great.

I agree, price is a bit of a killer, but it's worth it.

-t

[Big-C]

Update: Things for the iPhone/iPod Touch just got updated.

If you want to see a fast synchronization, install it. Unbelievable. 3 seconds maximum (well, maybe I don't have that many tasks, but wow - unbelievably fast).

Worth checking out for those still on the fence...

[moep]

Originally Posted by Big-C 

Update: Things for the iPhone/iPod Touch just got updated.

If you want to see a fast synchronization, install it. Unbelievable. 3 seconds maximum (well, maybe I don't have that many tasks, but wow - unbelievably fast).

Worth checking out for those still on the fence...

Yeah, I just updated and the WiFi sync is a pleasant surprise.
You pair the two devices and they just automatically sync whenever both machines have Things running.

My only gripe is that the syncing process is 100% automatic and completely unencrypted. (I just fired up CPA and was able to read every note synced)
Not cool when you are surfing the web via a public hotspot and then accidentally sync for whatever reason.

I still hope WiFi is just the first step and MobileMe/WebDAV is coming soon.

[JKT]

Originally Posted by Big-C 

1. I can't be in two places at once, so I don't need the sync to happen while I'm "out and about." I can sync when I get back to my computer

However, you might have your phone stolen, you might lose it or drop and break it, or it might crash and lose all your data. There are good reasons to synch early and often

I can't speak for Things as I haven't used it, but OmniFocus is awesome. It does have some deficiencies and can improve (and always is improving, fwiw) but I wouldn't consider price one of them, though it is high. Regardless of which one you finally go for, it will be an app you will use tens to hundreds of times a day, every day so if it works well for you and improves your organisation, it is value for money regardless of the price.

Imo, you should thoroughly test drive both apps on the Desktop first before deciding on an iPhone version.

Edit: fwiw, OmniFocus data transfer is encrypted via HTTPS if you are using MobileMe. Other WebDAV servers might not encrypt the data during transmission so that should be a consideration you make when subscribing to one.

[happyeveryday]

Downloaded the Things beta for Mac and bought Things for iPhone. Fantastic stuff with a great interface. Hope they're continuing to work on the synching part. Omnifocus was too..corporate for me. Things was more straight to the point with a great organization system. Will probably buy the desktop software for Mac when it finally goes out of beta.

[Mastrap]

Originally Posted by Big-C 

Update: Things for the iPhone/iPod Touch just got updated.

If you want to see a fast synchronization, install it. Unbelievable. 3 seconds maximum (well, maybe I don't have that many tasks, but wow - unbelievably fast).

Worth checking out for those still on the fence...

I am shooting a documentary up in Northern Ontario and we're staying in a shitty Holiday Inn where the internet still arrives by wire. No chance to sync from the Mac to the iPhone. Annoying as all hell, but I am sure proper syncing is in the pipeline.

[Big-C]

Originally Posted by JKT 

However, you might have your phone stolen, you might lose it or drop and break it, or it might crash and lose all your data. There are good reasons to synch early and often

Good point - I didn't even consider disaster as part of the equation.

Originally Posted by JKT 

Edit: fwiw, OmniFocus data transfer is encrypted via HTTPS if you are using MobileMe. Other WebDAV servers might not encrypt the data during transmission so that should be a consideration you make when subscribing to one.

I didn't think about this either. Good for people to know for sure. I've entertained the idea of keeping various Notes in the tasks that might have had sensitive info. Luckily I haven't done that, and for me, tasks are pretty mundane and I'm not worried about others seeing what I'm doing. Especially since I'm sold on the product and have decided to use it full time going forward.

As for Mastrap's situation, if it was really important to sync, you could set up an ad-hoc network to get it done pretty easily.

Obviously, each has it's own merits.

[JKT]

Fwiw, another feature that OmniFocus for the iPhone has that Things might not is location awareness. You can assign contexts a location (e.g. your home address to your Home context, work address to your Work context, your normal shopping locale to your Shopping context, etc) and when you click the location button, it will show you which tasks are available to you in the vicinity (up to about 5km I think) of your current location. To top it off, if you double tap a context with a location that is a bit further away, it will take you to the Maps app and show you how to get there.