Tag Archives: done

The Potion Factory have failed to deliver an iPhone client for The Hit List.

Not a moment too soon? Sad to say it — I do like the app — but it’s months and months too late. The pace of progress has been so glacial that it’s impossible to have faith in its future development; I can’t let myself become dependent on an app without that.

via the comments in TUAW’s “Potion Factory seeking beta testers for The Hit List iPhone”.

Also another favourite:

Is that a joke? after all this time of waiting… and it’s not even in beta? he hasn’t update the desktop program for quite a while saying he was working on the iphone app, and only now it’s ready for beta…

To further add insult to injury, The Potion Factory (the guys behind The Hit List) say that beta invites are open until September 21. FOR. TEN. PLACES.

I’m currently undecided as to how I should apply…

Dear Potion Factory,

So, how do I use The Hit List?

Put simply, I don’t.

And why would I, when any software development can only be described as “glacial”, the beta invites are frankly, a joke, and there’s not even a leaked screenshot to show for any progress that may or may not have been made?

Sure, I can understand that you’re a one-man team. If you’re willing to make such a great application and then pretty much stall any development, don’t promise things without delivering. Last Google Group interaction was months ago. The iPhone app promise has been out there for at least as long as THL Mac has been out there, and yet there’s nothing to show?

I now use Things on my iPhone, and am seriously considering switching to Things on the Mac as well, and I’m sure that there are countless others like me who have done the same.

It’s one thing to promise. As I’ve found out, it’s entirely another to deliver – underpromise and overdeliver is the name of the game, and you’ve clearly failed. First mistake was promising an iPhone app. Second was not delivering said iPhone app within a reasonable time frame.

I’m sorry, but for a getting things done client, you clearly don’t.

The Hit List: Basics and Beyond

This seems as good a time as any to mention a large easter egg in the app. ‘Tis the season, as well. Create a task with the word “Mario” in it, complete it, and archive it. Do the same with “Star wars”. Now you’ll see why those are the only two tasks allowed to stay in the archive of my Inbox, for those times I need a motivator and don’t have any chocolate around. Speaking of which, excuse me for a second…

via The Hit List: Basics and Beyond | International Mac Podcast.

A dammed excellent article on why you should be using The Hit List as part of your Getting Things Done methodology (or, more accurately, a tutorial on how to use The Hit List to it’s full extent).

The day of my GTD approach is nigh – just gotta wait for The Hit List on iPhone, and I’ll be all set.

I’m Getting Things Done. I think.

So, I’m currently getting into the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology.

While I’m usually pretty good at remembering things, sometimes I feel like I’m juggling too many things at once, or alternatively, I think of something on the bus or while I’m daydreaming in lectures at uni and forget it later on. Good blog posts are notorious for this.

I’m not a huge fan of carrying around a notebook around, so something I always have with me is my iPhone – and while it does notes, it doesn’t do them well enough to warrant using on a daily basis. The iPhone’s Notes don’t currently sync with the Mac in any way (that’s going to be fixed in iPhone OS 3.0, though), and while it’s simple and easy to use, doesn’t offer the functionality I’m looking for.

So, what exactly am I looking for? A couple of things:

  1. Syncing between iPhone and Mac. If I think of something while I’m out and about, I’m going to write it in my iPhone. When I get home, I want to have the same lists on my iPhone as well as my Mac, so syncing between the two is a must-have. I don’t care if it’s over Wi-Fi or over USB – either way, syncing is too important to ignore.
  2. I want something that will act as my second brain – things that I can just push items (be it text, a URL, a list, or anything) into, and forget about. While ShoveBox fulfils this requirement, it doesn’t have any sort of “list” support – and for the GTD mentality, that’s a huge negative.
  3. I need the ability to cross things off once I’ve done them – if not for the fact to show myself that I’m actually accomplishing things, then for the ability to see what I’ve already done, and can now forget about (so I stop worrying about it later on). Things currently does this, and comes with an iPhone app to boot! It’s on my shortlist, but the price for the Mac version scares me… 😮
  4. While “Projects” are good for things that need to be done that have a lot of steps, they’re not good for lists and stuff. One of my main gripes with Things is that there’s no support for folders, only areas of responsibility and projects (which can then contain projects). However, The Hit List does have support for simple lists and folders, so for usability in that area, The Hit List wins. No iPhone app as yet for The Hit List, though, and it’s not as polished as Things. 🙁 For now, The Hit List is on my shortlist.

For now, there’s no clear winner in the GTD department. When I find a winner (in roughly 15 days, as that’s when my Things trial ends), I’ll be sure to tell you right here.

Comments below – I’d appreciate it if you could point out your GTD methodology, and what apps you use to accomplish it. 😀