Comments on: Things Apple Mac GTD App Review

By: Margaret Martin

Margaret Martin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:46:28 +0000

For me, Things hit the sweet spot between simplicity and complexity. I have a large number of projects and open loops in my life and my work, but as a freelancer it’s all just me. I’ve tried OmniFocus several times over the years, and it just was too complex for my needs. The learning curve was very steep and its focus seemed to be very complex, hard-dated projects. I love the Omni Group, however, and I’m sure the program is a great fit for a different work style.

The lack of good customer interaction by Cultured Code is a problem, but it seems to stem from the fact that it’s a small, young company. (The fact that all of my data is accessible in an open format provides some comfort.) They seem committed to the product, so I’ve put up with a few odd behaviors and inconsistencies on the iPhone version. Since none of its limitations are mission-critical for me, it’s been a good match.

I hope they can continue to move forward and make the leap into the big-time (without creating bloatware).

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:13:02 +0000

I quite liked Things – i’ve been using the demo for 14 days. The real pity is that their technical support is non-existant. I’ve been trying to get a single query answered for 10 days now and they just don’t respond. At all. It means that in my GTD review for my company I’ve had to recommend against using Things, and I’d say the same to other users considering it. Perhaps their support department need a better GTD programme!

By: Peter Monbailleu

Peter Monbailleu — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:41:52 +0000

Been working with Things for a while now, both on my MacBook Pro and iPhone. It’s a great, no hassles program. But… like with all programs and GTD in general, you have to stick to it and… like with all tools… that is just up to yourself…

By: Andrew Mason

Andrew Mason — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:38:31 +0000

@Kevin F.: Wow, the support does not sound good. Maybe somebody from CC will read this and reply. I also liked the Hit List but the lack of an iPhone app makes it a no go for me. OmniFocus works great, although I do prefer the interface on Things and the Hit List. Thanks for the great comment,

By: Andrew Mason

Andrew Mason — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:36:45 +0000

@Mattias Thurfjell: This is a review but one I originally wrote a while ago and never got to publishing. I have amended the post so thanks for bringing this to my attention.

By: Mattias Thurfjell

Mattias Thurfjell — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:44:06 +0000

“Although there is currently only a preview available with an actual release still a little ways off, Things manages to provide a pretty convincing preview of the impressive looking program to come.”

Hey. Things was officially realeased after Macworld 2009.

Is this a review? Mostly looks like a rehash of Cultured Codes own info on their app.

By: Kevin F.

Kevin F. — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:57:03 +0000

I’ve been a happy Things user since it was first offered as an alpha release to MacHeist users early in its development (even then it was very good). Its level of simplicity of what first appealed to be most. That said, there are some long-standing shortcomings that are making me wish for more and consider alternatives such as Omnifocus. The two biggest issues that Cultured Code has yet to address is the inability to schedule a task that is part of a project (this one’s huge since Things doesn’t have a separate field for start date), and the inability to create subtasks. To make matters worse, Cultured Code provides almost no communication — their blog is only updated when they do major program releases (they do advertise minor updates updates on Twitter), and they don’t really participate in their own forums.

As a result, there has been a lot of complaining recently regarding Cultured Code’s relative lack of communication and support. CC also recently removed the link to their forums from their website. Unless you knew the link beforehand (http://culturedcode.com/things/forums/), new users wouldn’t even know the forums are there. Why CC did this, we can only speculate since they’ve given no explanation (many believe it is due to the number of complaints in the forums).

I also own a license for The Hit List and really like it, but until it has an iPhone version (in the works) I can’t give it the same consideration. Though it requires a little more learning upfront, I’m starting to think Omnifocus is a better bet.