After reaching a frustration point with Kinkless GTD’s synch process, I switched to the freeware (donations welcomed) iGTD. iGTD added some new twists to my task management workflow, specifically it’s sweet microsyntax for adding a task with metadata via Quicksilver. It’s been rumored for quite some time that Mac developers OmniGroup was working with Kinkless GTD script wizard Ethan Schoonover to build the Kinkless heir apparent, OmniFocus, but with iGTD getting solid marks on most all fronts (and not being a fully commercial product) I wasn’t about to hold out and wait.

Now I’m not so sure anymore. I’ve been using beta versions of OmniFocus for about a month straight now, and it seems very polished for a beta application. It’s outline view is refined and familiar as a former Kinkless user, and I’ve found myself using OmniFocus’ Focus mode often (lets you drill down on a particular list or context easily and remove distractions), as well as the nice nested project structure that can run tasks either parallel or in series.

I’ve a few nitpicks, albeit minor, of course. Printing functionality came late in the beta cycle, but is still very basic. I’d like to have access to custom print views/templates for the occasion I want to get a hard-copy of a specific list/next actions/etc and format it for a specific binder/organizer/size/etc.

Sync with iCal has been mostly solid, with a few occasional dropped items or the like (update- this is much tighter in recent beta versions). I can chalk this up to beta status, and not a public beta at that.

An interesting feature in OmniFocus is the ability to turn on a small server of sorts on your local machine to syndicate your tasklist via a web interface. It seems this is geared towards getting OmniFocus lists onto your swanky new iPhone, but I’ve yet to find a solid use for it (as my home network dynamically assigns IP addresses, which means I regularly have to update the URL’s IP address in my iPhone browser, which is a bit annoying). I want to have the list on my iPhone live, but alas with Apple’s stance on third-party development the rather disappointing ‘build a web app’ statement being what it is, I’m not sure I have a better suggestion right now.

Aside from the sweet Quicksilver/CLI syntax in iGTD, I haven’t found myself seriously lacking features in OmniFocus. As OmniFocus has it’s own Quick Entry interface/hotkey that’s not a deal-breaker, but given my Quicksilver jones I’d like to see the same functionality in iGTD extended to OmniFocus (but won’t hold my breath, it’s a bit arcane for most users). Performance is also better in OmniFocus than iGTD (in my opinion)- it starts up quickly whereas iGTD started to lag with larger lists and take a while to boot.

It’s hard to say which of the two applications will end up getting my full-time support, but in my opinion OmniFocus just entered the race at the front of the pack. If someone can crack the web sync problem, and give me an *easy* way to synch and access my GTD lists from my iPhone, that may just be the deciding point. Neither app does it well right now, but I’m holding out hope.

All told, OmniFocus rocks- as it’s fast, uncluttered and very focused (no pun intended). I’ll be using it for quite some time.

Things have really moved forward for GTD advocates on the Mac, methinks. I’m pleased as punch right now with iGTD (and don’t like to switch software often, if at all) but will be hard-pressed to not check out OmniFocus with a little hands-on love when a beta version is finally available. These are great times to be a slightly over-organized Mac-head.

Linda posted a brief update today on the Omni Mouth blog showing the first known screenshot (under development) of OmniFocus, and talking a bit through the requisite feature set planned. Read all the details at the Omni Mouth site.

My initial thoughts- OmniFocus looks nice, but I’m very pleased with my experience in iGTD so far, and it’s price is damn fine – free. OmniFocus will be a commercial app, and there is no release date yet. I’m also still not sold that the feature set noted for OmniFocus is any significant boost over iGTD. Solid, yes – but not enough to move me over yet. Although the ‘quick entry’ form planned for OmniFocus sounds great, it doesn’t appear to cover the ground that iGTD’s rich Quicksilver integration covers – and I’d prefer to stick with Quicksilver’s undeniable and mind-blowing awesomeness than dedicating another hotkey combo to a myopic ‘data entry’ screen dedicated to OmniFocus alone.

[Update: Ken has now set me straight via comments- Quicksilver is supported via plug-in as well, so OmniFocus would appear to still be a strong contender for my tasklists! ]

Of course, the OmniGroup folk are also known for their awesomeness- so I’ll withhold true judgment until I can get my hands on a prerelease. For now I feel that they’re chasing iGTD’s tail, but time will tell…