Hello,
Well, do you want a short or a long story?
The short version would be: What desktop-based application, either cross-platform, for Linux, or for Windows (provided it can work in Linux through Wine) would you recommend for use with GTD?
The long one: as clearly not everyone's needs are same, I, despite my best efforts, find myself caught up in the trap of trying and failing to find the right desktop application to implement GTD with. I admit I have been warned not to try to adopt a new app and the GTD methodology itself at the same time or it might get back at me, but that is what is actually happening at this time. If that's of interest, I am using Fedora Linux, but I'd gladly use a Windows app if it would run through Wine (most do nowadays). That means I differentiate software by merit (good vs. bad), not by ideology (free vs. non-free).
I recall hearing David Allen say in a podcast that you should use whatever you are familiar and comfortable with, but that only led me to the broader problem that I have never been truly comfortable with any PIM -- to me, all of them seem to be geared either at corporate world or at hobbyists, with nothing decent in between that I am aware of. Now, the amount of work I have to do might be somewhat comparable to a corporate executive, but its type is way too different, as are my personal needs, values and lifestyle -- this also calls for a different application.
Namely, I need to dismiss Outlook-style applications as I do not want my email to be coupled with my task lists -- this is not to say that I don't get much email, rather that email is not the central source of input for me. The other reason is that I have grown accustomed to the Unix philosophy that a program should do one thing and do it well -- that means I want to have an email client and a task list manager as separate applications. I am also mindful of not exposing my personal information to security vulnerabilities that are so common in communication programs. I know I can't have absolute security and privacy as long as I am connected to the Internet and don't live in a cave, but I tend to mitigate risks as much as possible. That also explains partly why I don't want to store some of my highly sensitive data "in the cloud", but as I was active in programming and developing software mainly in the early days of PCs, modern OSs and WWW, and in days before all of those, I guess I am plainly unaccustomed to the whole cloud thing.
So, having dismissed Outlook, Evolution, various calendaring plugins etc, and also all web apps that don't have a standalone frontend, I looked at the apps advertised as simple (Tasks, Tasque, GTG etc.), and they instantly reminded me of the Einstein quote in the book: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." -- they all seemed a bit simpler than possible. OTOH, TaskCoach and Chandler are somewhat more like what I am looking for, even if bloated a bit, but they are slow as hell -- I suppose the choice of Python as the development language might have added up to this considerably. And I plainly dislike Sunbird.
So, I am at a loss as to what to use from now on and hope some of you could come up with a good suggestion. In a nutshell, what I need from a GTD app:
1. Desktop-based (cross-platform, for Linux specifically or for Windows if it works through the Wine compatibility layer).
2. Open source or shareware: I like and support open source, but I wouldn't mind purchasing an app that can meet my needs provided that it would allow me to try it before I buy it.
3. Efficiency: it must support quick entry, copying and deletion of actions.
4. Simplicity: tasks and possible calendars, but without mail functionality.
5. Synchronization: as I don't have a PDA currently (but I am considering getting one), this is more desirable than necessary, but nevertheless a sync plugin or another sync possibility would be nice.
Thank you for your suggestions,
Dusan
Well, do you want a short or a long story?
The short version would be: What desktop-based application, either cross-platform, for Linux, or for Windows (provided it can work in Linux through Wine) would you recommend for use with GTD?
The long one: as clearly not everyone's needs are same, I, despite my best efforts, find myself caught up in the trap of trying and failing to find the right desktop application to implement GTD with. I admit I have been warned not to try to adopt a new app and the GTD methodology itself at the same time or it might get back at me, but that is what is actually happening at this time. If that's of interest, I am using Fedora Linux, but I'd gladly use a Windows app if it would run through Wine (most do nowadays). That means I differentiate software by merit (good vs. bad), not by ideology (free vs. non-free).
I recall hearing David Allen say in a podcast that you should use whatever you are familiar and comfortable with, but that only led me to the broader problem that I have never been truly comfortable with any PIM -- to me, all of them seem to be geared either at corporate world or at hobbyists, with nothing decent in between that I am aware of. Now, the amount of work I have to do might be somewhat comparable to a corporate executive, but its type is way too different, as are my personal needs, values and lifestyle -- this also calls for a different application.
Namely, I need to dismiss Outlook-style applications as I do not want my email to be coupled with my task lists -- this is not to say that I don't get much email, rather that email is not the central source of input for me. The other reason is that I have grown accustomed to the Unix philosophy that a program should do one thing and do it well -- that means I want to have an email client and a task list manager as separate applications. I am also mindful of not exposing my personal information to security vulnerabilities that are so common in communication programs. I know I can't have absolute security and privacy as long as I am connected to the Internet and don't live in a cave, but I tend to mitigate risks as much as possible. That also explains partly why I don't want to store some of my highly sensitive data "in the cloud", but as I was active in programming and developing software mainly in the early days of PCs, modern OSs and WWW, and in days before all of those, I guess I am plainly unaccustomed to the whole cloud thing.
So, having dismissed Outlook, Evolution, various calendaring plugins etc, and also all web apps that don't have a standalone frontend, I looked at the apps advertised as simple (Tasks, Tasque, GTG etc.), and they instantly reminded me of the Einstein quote in the book: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." -- they all seemed a bit simpler than possible. OTOH, TaskCoach and Chandler are somewhat more like what I am looking for, even if bloated a bit, but they are slow as hell -- I suppose the choice of Python as the development language might have added up to this considerably. And I plainly dislike Sunbird.
So, I am at a loss as to what to use from now on and hope some of you could come up with a good suggestion. In a nutshell, what I need from a GTD app:
1. Desktop-based (cross-platform, for Linux specifically or for Windows if it works through the Wine compatibility layer).
2. Open source or shareware: I like and support open source, but I wouldn't mind purchasing an app that can meet my needs provided that it would allow me to try it before I buy it.
3. Efficiency: it must support quick entry, copying and deletion of actions.
4. Simplicity: tasks and possible calendars, but without mail functionality.
5. Synchronization: as I don't have a PDA currently (but I am considering getting one), this is more desirable than necessary, but nevertheless a sync plugin or another sync possibility would be nice.
Thank you for your suggestions,
Dusan
