I have eventually got around to taking a better look at the Mac GTD app, Things, and adding to a review that I did a while ago.
I currently use OmniFocus but Things and The Hit List are grabbing my attention. Anyway, here is my review and thoughts about Things.
Things is a blandly named but ultimately excellent organizational application designed for use through a variety of mediums.
The visual approach taken by Things is simple enough to keep everything easily accessible while still maintaining an impressive level of flare. Designers have given the software a certain level of sheen although the layout will look immediately familiar to users who are accustomed to the aesthetic of Mac-developed programs.
The most useful features are well-labeled and located in a well-organized and convenient manner. Icons are all colorful and easy to locate as well and this is something which helps in navigating them against the otherwise grey and white interface.
The program provides users with a solid level of productivity access through a great list of truly useful features. Among the laundry list of options are GTD staple categories such as Today, Next, Someday and Postpone sorting categories with appropriate sub-lists available within each parent grouping.
Perhaps most useful is an included HUD option, something which is a truly fantastic feature and allows for quick, no-nonsense inputting of any upcoming task on the user’s mind.
Things also does a great job of keeping the main window clutter-free by way of a feature which removes columns and instead opts to display only relevant information for upcoming tasks.
Mobile access is set up and ready to go through a few different platforms including the ever popular support for both the iPhone and iPod Touch Apps. While it seems that smartphone access may initially be limited to the two aforementioned devices Things does do a little bit to extend remote usage by programming a built-in collaboration feature which promises to link any user’s work with any desired colleague.
As of now an exhaustive wiki accompanies a regular blog and burgeoning forum to provide quite a bit of promise for those users who hope to find other Things devotees to discuss the program with. If this element of the project is kept up with then it would seem that peer support and company interaction won’t be an issue upon release.
Things is impressive with a clean interface, excellent user support and great list of features could make Things one of the few productivity programs worthy of plunking down any real money for. It’s definitely worth the time necessary to check out to decide for yourself.
I am sticking with OmniFocus for now. But Things has officially got my attention!
Well, over to you, my readers. How many of you use Things and how many use OmniFocus or another app to get things done?
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.
“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.
@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.
@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,
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…
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!
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).