Kinkless
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OmniFocus public beta released
The Mac platform has an embarrasment of riches with regards to Getting Things Done applications, but the grand-daddy of GTD on the Mac is Ethan Schoonover's Kinkless GTD, a set of AppleScripts built on top of Omni Software's OmniOutliner Pro. Omni finally seemed to realize the significance of this and sought out help from Ethan and other GTD-folk like Merlin Mann in developing their new GTD application OmniFocus. Now, a year later, they've actually hired Ethan. After an extended private beta and lots of teasing glimpses, Omni has finally announced the initial public beta and introductory pricing.You can download the public beta now and if you like what you see you can pre-purchase it for 50% off the release price. So if you buy it before January 8, 2008 it's $39.95, afterwards it's $79.95. Given the many (cheaper) GTD applications out there it will be interesting to see how well received OmniFocus is. But given its pedigree, one would expect it to be a leading contender out of the box. If you want an introduction to OmniFocus they also have a 15 minute quick start video available on their main page.
A Kinkless Desktop
Ethan Schoonover is the creator of Kinkless GTD, the series of AppleScripts for OmniOutliner that was one of the first serious GTD implementations on the Mac. He has since contributed to the development of the forthcoming OmniFocus. Ethan's productivity tips go beyind kGTD, however, and he has a five-part series of articles and screencasts called Kinkless Desktop, which explain his methods for keeping your Desktop orderly and productive. He has a number of nice tips including aesthetic customization and using TUAW favorite Hazel for automated filing. Check out the series at Kinkless.com.[via MacDevCenter]
OmniFocus Sneak Preview
OmniGroup today hosted a special event at the flagship Apple store in San Francisco to give users a sneak peak into their upcoming GTD productivity software OmniFocus. TUAW was there and brings you this special bulleted report! OmniFocus, unlike its predecessor KinklessGTD will feature an instant data propagation across the app, thus doing away with the need for a "sync button," and ensuring your data is always where you expect it to be. OmniFocus will have a simpler and more streamlined interface than OmniOutliner, on which KGTD was built. Users will be able to view multiple or individual projects and contexts in either a single window or multiple separate windows. OmniFocus will support existing KGTD QuickSilver inbox-entry actions. OmniFocus will also feature a standalone proprietary quick-entry method via keystroke, similar to Yojimbo. Future versions will support user definable smart folders. The first version of OmniFocus will not require 10.5 Leopard, but all following versions will due to the use of Leopard only technologies. Like KGTD, OmniFocus will support syncing with portable devices through iCal. OmniFocus will be fully applescriptable. Future versions will support integration with OmniPlan. Future versions will support universal action creation from other applications (such as turning an email message or iCal to-do into an action). Future versions will support attaching or tying of files to actions and projects. OmniGroup is planning to release OmniFocus within the next few months.
Beta Beat: Actiontastic 0.8.2, Quicksilver Integration
Actiontastic, one of the contenders to be the go-to application for Mac using GTD-ers, has just been updated to version 0.8.2, and brings with it some spiffy upgrades including interface tweaks, a complete back-end database re-coding, and various bug fixes. But obviously those things alone don't warrant a TUAW post do they? Of course not. The real reason I'm pointing out this update to you, dear reader, is the addition of a feature that I've long come to rely on in my GTD workflow: Quicksilver integration. One of the most basic tenets of GTD is brain dumping; getting all those projects and thoughts out of your head and into a trusted system so you spend less energy worrying about them, and more energy doing things that are actually productive. Having to switch away from the application I'm currently using in order to create a new item in my inbox totally trashes my train of thought, and being able to simple hit a hot-key to brain dump makes it easier to keep up with the GTD methodology. Actiontastic includes Quicksilver functionality as a QS action bundled with the app, which is much more elegant than the unfortunately clumsy Quicksilver Action Kinkless GTD uses to accomplish the same thing.
