Things touch 1.4 beta launched
nardori, what you mention is possible right now with Dropbox if both machines are Macs.
Well, I suppose it's good to see some progress in any event. Search is welcome. I don't really care about the other features. Add my voice to the rest that the lack of any communication of OTA syncing is extremely troubling. To quote a recent tweet sent by another customer: "No one cares about landscape view when they still have to sync via wi-fi guys."
I'm pretty much giving up on Things Touch at this point and switching to Reqall for my personal errands and such. I'll still use Things Mac for my project management tasks, Reqall doesn't seem quite robust enough for that. But instant cloud sync, location services, delegation to contacts, and push notifications are all killer in Reqall for iPhone (not to mention truly innovative features like voice transcription), and all still painfully missing from Things Touch.
I appreciate that Cultured Code is a perfectionist crew, and that Things and TT are very nice products with elegant UIs. But the pace of development is glacial and extremely frustrating. I don't understand what is happening over there. The main new feature for TT in 2009 was Areas. It's been four months since the "This is not a Roadmap" blog post, and we've yet to see a single one of those features implemented. I suppose 1.4 will be ready by the end of January. That will basically bring parity with the desktop version. At this rate, I suppose we'll see push notifications by June 2010 and OTA syncing some time in 2011.
@salgud - why should we have to set an alarm to remind ourselves to sync tasks? Why should our to-do manager add additional tasks and hassle to our life instead of simplifying it? Oh, and better set it a few minutes early to allow sufficient time for troubleshooting as sync is extremely flaky and doesn't work much of the time. I have to reboot my airport base station about every third day just to get it to work. Who needs this hassle?
I'm pretty much giving up on Things Touch at this point and switching to Reqall for my personal errands and such. I'll still use Things Mac for my project management tasks, Reqall doesn't seem quite robust enough for that. But instant cloud sync, location services, delegation to contacts, and push notifications are all killer in Reqall for iPhone (not to mention truly innovative features like voice transcription), and all still painfully missing from Things Touch.
I appreciate that Cultured Code is a perfectionist crew, and that Things and TT are very nice products with elegant UIs. But the pace of development is glacial and extremely frustrating. I don't understand what is happening over there. The main new feature for TT in 2009 was Areas. It's been four months since the "This is not a Roadmap" blog post, and we've yet to see a single one of those features implemented. I suppose 1.4 will be ready by the end of January. That will basically bring parity with the desktop version. At this rate, I suppose we'll see push notifications by June 2010 and OTA syncing some time in 2011.
@salgud - why should we have to set an alarm to remind ourselves to sync tasks? Why should our to-do manager add additional tasks and hassle to our life instead of simplifying it? Oh, and better set it a few minutes early to allow sufficient time for troubleshooting as sync is extremely flaky and doesn't work much of the time. I have to reboot my airport base station about every third day just to get it to work. Who needs this hassle?
@sterlingz
> I have to reboot my airport base station about every third day just to get it to work. Who needs this hassle?
I am rebooting twice a day. Hah! :)
> I have to reboot my airport base station about every third day just to get it to work. Who needs this hassle?
I am rebooting twice a day. Hah! :)
@nardori
Sync via DropBox and you can do just that. I've been doing this since before the 1.0 release.
Sync via DropBox and you can do just that. I've been doing this since before the 1.0 release.
Search is really welcomed on my side.
Is it integrated with the iPhone global search ?
Thanks for your great work !
Is it integrated with the iPhone global search ?
Thanks for your great work !
Search is really welcomed on my side.
Is it integrated with the iPhone global search?
As mentioned previously in the thread, the iPhone global search, or spotlight, is not open to 3rd party developers.
A quick update: after the feedback we got from our beta testers, we fixed 5 reported bugs and sent out the second Things touch beta just now.
Currently, I am working on integrating the reworked repeating tasks into the Mac version and then enable syncing of those items as well. Andreas, in the meantime, will fix any bugs our brave beta testers will find :)
We will keep you posted on the progress.
Currently, I am working on integrating the reworked repeating tasks into the Mac version and then enable syncing of those items as well. Andreas, in the meantime, will fix any bugs our brave beta testers will find :)
We will keep you posted on the progress.
This is precisely the kind of "inside track" users appreciate...at least I do.
Thank you, Werner.
Thank you, Werner.
@marksim
One problem with using DropBox for syncing is that you have to make sure that Things is only running on one box at a time, or you have major issues (blank items, all kinds of things). I frequently forget to shut down things on my home computer when I go to work, so I have written a script to log in to my home machine and shut down things before launching it on my work machine, but I would love to have it work properly, should be pretty easy to do -- 2 things would need to happen:
1) have Things save the database whenever you make changes (instead of just on shutdown)
2) have Things watch the database timestamp, and reload whenever it changes
One problem with using DropBox for syncing is that you have to make sure that Things is only running on one box at a time, or you have major issues (blank items, all kinds of things). I frequently forget to shut down things on my home computer when I go to work, so I have written a script to log in to my home machine and shut down things before launching it on my work machine, but I would love to have it work properly, should be pretty easy to do -- 2 things would need to happen:
1) have Things save the database whenever you make changes (instead of just on shutdown)
2) have Things watch the database timestamp, and reload whenever it changes
The syncing does suck but meantime try using a USB stick. Download the stuff off your desktop in the morning, take it to work and upload to your work computer. Job done. Messy yes. But it's a way that works until CC replace the stage coach with a motor car. The benefits of this system far outweigh the inconveniences so I'll forgive CC. I may not be so forgiving this time next year though, if the syncing process isn't resolved by then. I must add, however, that each time CC improve the process it makes one grateful for the small things that were once taken for granted in other systems.
@ sterlingz
[Sorry if this is a duplicate post but the first one via my phone does not seem to be showing up]
Setup a mail rule so that your reqall email message gets sent to things. Best to google how to do it (and will require the install of growl, which is pretty useful for other system notifications as well.) I have it setup so that I call reQall and record a message starting with 'meeting' and the date and time. This comes to me in an email which gets sent to things and moved to the trash. In iCal I am subscribed to a google calendar which is set to record the event (I can't find a way to get reQall directly into iCal) Both reQall and google are set to send me an SMS alert (at different intervals - 60 min and 30 min) so I get push notifications from both for all appointments.
[Sorry if this is a duplicate post but the first one via my phone does not seem to be showing up]
Setup a mail rule so that your reqall email message gets sent to things. Best to google how to do it (and will require the install of growl, which is pretty useful for other system notifications as well.) I have it setup so that I call reQall and record a message starting with 'meeting' and the date and time. This comes to me in an email which gets sent to things and moved to the trash. In iCal I am subscribed to a google calendar which is set to record the event (I can't find a way to get reQall directly into iCal) Both reQall and google are set to send me an SMS alert (at different intervals - 60 min and 30 min) so I get push notifications from both for all appointments.
Thanks for the tip, Bulk001! I will look into that. I don't think reQall would be very good for me as a standalone, but some kind of hybrid solution like you are describing could be interesting.
Since no one else said it... Search: Hallelujah!!!
To support others... Landscape: Yay!!!
Over-the-air sync: I'm glad someone finally explained what they meant, as to me Things *does* sync OTA (iphone to desktop). I can see the desirability of syncing two desktops, but calling it a "bug" isn't right. Still, if it was promised...
As for "the sync bug".. why does no one include a link to where this is talked about? I've had no problems with syncing, but now you have me worried. :)
To support others... Landscape: Yay!!!
Over-the-air sync: I'm glad someone finally explained what they meant, as to me Things *does* sync OTA (iphone to desktop). I can see the desirability of syncing two desktops, but calling it a "bug" isn't right. Still, if it was promised...
As for "the sync bug".. why does no one include a link to where this is talked about? I've had no problems with syncing, but now you have me worried. :)
@sterlingz
This is a ridiculous argument. You've already spend many times the amount of time it would have taken you to set an alarm posting complaints here! I've set an alarm, sync every morning before work, and moved on. You're spending heaven only knows how much of your time posting this same complaint here, not to mention how much time you spend on it cursing about it elsewhere. If you want to remove hassles from your life, fix those things you can fix easily, like this one, and move on! If, OTOH, you prefer to bitch about it, please continue. Just try to be a bit more honest about what you're real intent here is.
@salgud - why should we have to set an alarm to remind ourselves to sync tasks? Why should our to-do manager add additional tasks and hassle to our life instead of simplifying it?
This is a ridiculous argument. You've already spend many times the amount of time it would have taken you to set an alarm posting complaints here! I've set an alarm, sync every morning before work, and moved on. You're spending heaven only knows how much of your time posting this same complaint here, not to mention how much time you spend on it cursing about it elsewhere. If you want to remove hassles from your life, fix those things you can fix easily, like this one, and move on! If, OTOH, you prefer to bitch about it, please continue. Just try to be a bit more honest about what you're real intent here is.
@salgud
There's a difference between fixing a problem and working around it. What you're prescribing is a work-around; not a fix.
This is a ridiculous argument. You've already spend many times the amount of time it would have taken you to set an alarm posting complaints here! I've set an alarm, sync every morning before work, and moved on. You're spending heaven only knows how much of your time posting this same complaint here, not to mention how much time you spend on it cursing about it elsewhere. If you want to remove hassles from your life, fix those things you can fix easily, like this one, and move on! If, OTOH, you prefer to bitch about it, please continue. Just try to be a bit more honest about what you're real intent here is.
There's a difference between fixing a problem and working around it. What you're prescribing is a work-around; not a fix.
Exactly, thank you @wfarr.
@salgud, yours is the ridiculous argument. You can conjecture about how I may curse elsewhere (I don't) or throw other spurious accusations my way, and continue to apologize for the developers about their pace of development all you want, but the fact of the matter is that SYNCING IS BUGGY. That is the issue here - and Cultured Code just now at the end of 2009 released a patch (which is still not in the app store) to resolve a well known issue with Today sync. The lack of OTA sync is very problematic to be sure, but if WIFI syncing worked as advertised, it would at least be less of an issue. That was my point in the first place. I've in fact tried to use something similar to your workaround, but when you run into sync issues and have to troubleshoot while trying to get out the door, that is certainly less than seamless.
Others have posted about how Cultured Code spends so long on QA, and won't release updates until they're absolutely perfect, but witness the fact that the majority of releases for Things Touch in 2009 were for "bug fixes." Very little new functionality was added. If the software was so perfect to begin with, would so much effort be needed to squash all of these bugs, including the long-awaited Today bug hotfix?
Look, I do appreciate that Things is a beautiful piece of software, and that Cultured Code is trying to do a better job communicating but that does not change the fact that the pace of development is simply abysmal. We were told that OTA sync was in the works, then that they've been working on it for a year, and then that there are problems, and then radio silence. Maybe it will be in an upcoming release 1.5 or 1.6, maybe it will be in 2011. We have absolutely no idea. To me, it's really hard to get excited about having a landscape view when we don't know whether this app will ever sync with the cloud. The uncertainty has led me to start evaluating the competition and stop recommending Things to people - I would think that's relevant information for the developers to hear.
I might be wasting my time posting here, but I wanted to add my voice to the people who acknowledge that there are very real problems with this software, to counter to fans like you whose attitude is just that we should take the software and like it, and come up with workarounds to overcome shortcomings.
@salgud, yours is the ridiculous argument. You can conjecture about how I may curse elsewhere (I don't) or throw other spurious accusations my way, and continue to apologize for the developers about their pace of development all you want, but the fact of the matter is that SYNCING IS BUGGY. That is the issue here - and Cultured Code just now at the end of 2009 released a patch (which is still not in the app store) to resolve a well known issue with Today sync. The lack of OTA sync is very problematic to be sure, but if WIFI syncing worked as advertised, it would at least be less of an issue. That was my point in the first place. I've in fact tried to use something similar to your workaround, but when you run into sync issues and have to troubleshoot while trying to get out the door, that is certainly less than seamless.
Others have posted about how Cultured Code spends so long on QA, and won't release updates until they're absolutely perfect, but witness the fact that the majority of releases for Things Touch in 2009 were for "bug fixes." Very little new functionality was added. If the software was so perfect to begin with, would so much effort be needed to squash all of these bugs, including the long-awaited Today bug hotfix?
Look, I do appreciate that Things is a beautiful piece of software, and that Cultured Code is trying to do a better job communicating but that does not change the fact that the pace of development is simply abysmal. We were told that OTA sync was in the works, then that they've been working on it for a year, and then that there are problems, and then radio silence. Maybe it will be in an upcoming release 1.5 or 1.6, maybe it will be in 2011. We have absolutely no idea. To me, it's really hard to get excited about having a landscape view when we don't know whether this app will ever sync with the cloud. The uncertainty has led me to start evaluating the competition and stop recommending Things to people - I would think that's relevant information for the developers to hear.
I might be wasting my time posting here, but I wanted to add my voice to the people who acknowledge that there are very real problems with this software, to counter to fans like you whose attitude is just that we should take the software and like it, and come up with workarounds to overcome shortcomings.
@wfarr
True. And you're splitting hairs. Workaround or fix, it's still ridiculous to spend more time posting the same complaint over and over again when a simple workaround takes care of the problem until CC gets around to changing it, which, I acknowledge, is long overdue.
EDIT
I'm referring to the OTA sync, which is a promised and long overdue feature. The fact that syncing doesn't work at all for some is another issue entirely. I agree that I'd be upset if a problem like this has persisted as long as it has. I'm one of the lucky ones, so far (knock on hardwood head), and I haven't had any problems with syncing.
There's a difference between fixing a problem and working around it. What you're prescribing is a work-around; not a fix.
True. And you're splitting hairs. Workaround or fix, it's still ridiculous to spend more time posting the same complaint over and over again when a simple workaround takes care of the problem until CC gets around to changing it, which, I acknowledge, is long overdue.
EDIT
I'm referring to the OTA sync, which is a promised and long overdue feature. The fact that syncing doesn't work at all for some is another issue entirely. I agree that I'd be upset if a problem like this has persisted as long as it has. I'm one of the lucky ones, so far (knock on hardwood head), and I haven't had any problems with syncing.
@salgud
I don't disagree. But at the same time, if nobody takes the time to lodge these complaints, how can anyone really expect CC to respond to them accordingly?
True. And you're splitting hairs. Workaround or fix, it's still ridiculous to spend more time posting the same complaint over and over again when a simple workaround takes care of the problem until CC gets around to changing it, which, I acknowledge, is long overdue.
I don't disagree. But at the same time, if nobody takes the time to lodge these complaints, how can anyone really expect CC to respond to them accordingly?
I'd just like to add my voice to the "what's up with OTA/cloud sync?" group. I have stopped using things because it's gotten so out of hand. This one feature is all I care about. It is an otherwise perfect application, IMO. I really hope to see some news about this.
I wanted to add my voice to the chorus asking for OTA/cloud sync. I switched from a strong competitor because I was lured by the simplicity and usability of T and TT. I almost switched back last summer but was convinced to stay after reading the unusually frequent blog posts of Aug and Sep. Well the promise was not kept, no new blog posts since September and the latest version under beta test does not remotely resemble what I was looking for.
If CC guys are reading this, you made a robust application but it may never turn to be a great application because of your really poor handling of customer request/feedback. I for one have been a free promoter of T and TT, but that stopped already. So some simple basic advice: (1) if you cannot deliver do not promise (read your own "This is not a roadmap" blog post to appreciate my frustration; (2) have a steady and predictable frequency of updating your blogs as well as software; (3) do not ignore the frustrated comments on your forums.
Happy new year!
If CC guys are reading this, you made a robust application but it may never turn to be a great application because of your really poor handling of customer request/feedback. I for one have been a free promoter of T and TT, but that stopped already. So some simple basic advice: (1) if you cannot deliver do not promise (read your own "This is not a roadmap" blog post to appreciate my frustration; (2) have a steady and predictable frequency of updating your blogs as well as software; (3) do not ignore the frustrated comments on your forums.
Happy new year!
I quite agree with all these problems synchronizing with Internet. Fortunately TT is easy to use compared to competitors. For my part I'm missing:
- Attach a task to a person;
- Sync with internet and not wireless;
- The subfolders;
Indeed, the view that the proposed 1.4 is not important, recurring tasks, too.
I also agree that the development of the application is halted and he'll have to speed up the update.
Olivier
- Attach a task to a person;
- Sync with internet and not wireless;
- The subfolders;
Indeed, the view that the proposed 1.4 is not important, recurring tasks, too.
I also agree that the development of the application is halted and he'll have to speed up the update.
Olivier
Screenshots look great, as did Werner's talk (even though I don't understand much German). I love the way you guys analyse everything thoroughly to find the best possible solution. Really looking forward to the new features.
If only Things could be made to sync with a web service like Toodledo online, it would help most people. From there, any number of computers or phones of any description could sync to the same database, including PCs. with Outlook. If necessary, you could even access tasks/Notes/Files online.
I'm not keen on the interface mentioned above, it's very distracting and doesn't help me get things done like Things does, however, nobody can deny that they have the multi device sync thing done well.
This could also provide alerts for those who want them.
I realise it's not an ideal solution, but it would suit me and I suspect a lot people who can't use Things at the moment.
I love the UI on the Mac and the iPhone, but it just isn't efficient for my work situation, I just hope something can be done to help this.
I'm not keen on the interface mentioned above, it's very distracting and doesn't help me get things done like Things does, however, nobody can deny that they have the multi device sync thing done well.
This could also provide alerts for those who want them.
I realise it's not an ideal solution, but it would suit me and I suspect a lot people who can't use Things at the moment.
I love the UI on the Mac and the iPhone, but it just isn't efficient for my work situation, I just hope something can be done to help this.
Great! Recurring tasks on Things Touch. I've been waiting for so long. Can't wait for the update.
@BedwellO
I think you're confused here - Things does not syncronize with the internet yet. That's a feature many are clamoring for.
Things desktop does have this feature - see the instructions.
Most of us want wireless sync with the internect - you're swimming upstream here. Why do you want not wireless?
I think most everyone wants these.
There are five views proposed. It's not clear to me which one you are referring to.
Doubt that it's halted, but it is very slow at CC. By "he'll", I assume you mean the developers. I hope they speed it up too, though I'm not holding my breath.
I quite agree with all these problems synchronizing with Internet.
I think you're confused here - Things does not syncronize with the internet yet. That's a feature many are clamoring for.
Fortunately TT is easy to use compared to competitors. For my part I'm missing:
- Attach a task to a person;
Things desktop does have this feature - see the instructions.
Sync with internet and not wireless;
Most of us want wireless sync with the internect - you're swimming upstream here. Why do you want not wireless?
The subfolders;
I think most everyone wants these.
Indeed, the view that the proposed 1.4 is not important, recurring tasks, too.
There are five views proposed. It's not clear to me which one you are referring to.
I also agree that the development of the application is halted and he'll have to speed up the update.
Doubt that it's halted, but it is very slow at CC. By "he'll", I assume you mean the developers. I hope they speed it up too, though I'm not holding my breath.
Any updates on this 1.4 beta?
Well where is 1.4?
It's in beta ;-)
I am using it right now (Thing Touch 1.4 beta 2) But I can't say much. I can only say that I will probably use beta 3 to test more. So far so good.
I can say similar to Pomor.
Well I guess it is at least promising that it is being tested thoroughly so that hopefully whatever remains of 2010 after its release will be devoted to implementing new features rather than another year of bug fixes.
I don't understand. When is this glaring issue going to be addressed:
Fixing the infamous Today-list-reorder-after-syncing-when-scheduled/due-items-got-activated bug on Things Mac
C'mon, guys. This bug renders Things Touch/iPhone useless for MANY people. I've needed to take the paid app off my iPhone for fear of launching and syncing and garbling things all up. Let's deal with it already and move on.
Fix it and let us know when it's safe to go back into the water.
Fixing the infamous Today-list-reorder-after-syncing-when-scheduled/due-items-got-activated bug on Things Mac
C'mon, guys. This bug renders Things Touch/iPhone useless for MANY people. I've needed to take the paid app off my iPhone for fear of launching and syncing and garbling things all up. Let's deal with it already and move on.
Fix it and let us know when it's safe to go back into the water.
@snowpuddy the 1.3.12 release fixed that issue.
@philbowell I was pretty sure I was using the latest version when I last experienced problems. Perhaps not. I will try 1.3.12 to confirm. Thanks.
Anxiously awaiting this release. Hopefully the lengthy testing means lots of bug fixing going on also, and not just waiting on 1 or 2 minor items. This will be a big release for Things Touch, and it's definitely needed!
Looks great! In TT 1.5 I want Over-the-Air sync :)
Read more about our new development status page here: [culturedcode.com]
Thank you.
Looking at the development status, it looks like one feature is holding up the release of 1.4. I think one strategy is to release the current program as 1.4, and you can follow up with 1.45 later with that extra feature.
This way, folks who have been waiting for landscape/search feature would be happy rather than having to wait for the other feature to be complete.
Looking at the development status, it looks like one feature is holding up the release of 1.4. I think one strategy is to release the current program as 1.4, and you can follow up with 1.45 later with that extra feature.
This way, folks who have been waiting for landscape/search feature would be happy rather than having to wait for the other feature to be complete.
It's possible it's more complicated than that. If you're not writing the software, you don't really know what snags or dependencies might exist.
Could be, but I don't think so. First two features are iPhone only features (landscape and search) whereas the third feature (repeating option) requires a two-way synchronization which makes it more complex.
As I said, if I were CC, I would have released the first two as an update and follow the second one later so that they can test the second feature more thoroughly without having to delay the first two features.
As I said, if I were CC, I would have released the first two as an update and follow the second one later so that they can test the second feature more thoroughly without having to delay the first two features.
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