Filed under: Software, Productivity
The Hit List takes aim at OmniFocus and Things
The Hit List, from the Potion Factory, is a new task management application set to go head-to-head with Things and OmniFocus. We haven't seen a lot of waves in the advanced, visually polished task manager wars lately, but this one is going to storm the gates. I tend to get overexcited about new productivity apps, but after test driving the beta release of The Hit List for a day, I'm convinced it's worthy of all the excitement I can muster. A few of us here at TUAW, in fact, have been trading notes and are in agreement that this one is a serious competitor.
The Hit List combines my favorite aspects of Things with some of the niceties of OmniFocus, and then adds some visual polish and usability tweaks. It works in a single, tabbed window; nice, because I've always been bothered by the floating palettes in OmniFocus. Beyond my personal tastes, though, the interface is beautiful both in aesthetics and simplicity. I can see immediately what each item on the screen means and infer what each button is going to do. For those with advanced needs, The Hit List provides a full-fledged tagging system, filtering and sorting, contexts and projects, notes, links ... the only thing I haven't seen yet is repeating tasks, but the application is still in development. Despite its beta status, though, it's been stable and highly usable.
The system-wide Quick Entry window is as simple and powerful as any on the market, and the tagging and context system is based on keyboard symbols ("/" and "@"), so adding them is easy: you just type them at the end of your task name. The interface is almost 100% keyboard-navigable; tasks can be moved and filed with a few keystrokes, and tags, contexts, start and due dates can be added to a highlighted task with their respective shortcuts.
A projected retail price of $70 places it between Things and Omnifocus on the cost scale. Given the features and ease-of-use it provides, I'll gladly pay in that range. The biggest problem for The Hit List is going to be that most of its target users have probably already shelled out for Things and/or OmniFocus. I think that a test drive will prove pretty convincing for a lot of folks, though.
The Hit List just went into private beta recently, but Andy from the Potion Factory is welcoming new testers. If you have the time to file bug reports and feature requests, head over to Google Groups and sign up for the discussion and get the download. [Google Groups link fixed, sorry!]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mike said 4:25PM on 12-18-2008
Huh? The Google groups link points to the Omnifocus page at Omnigroup.com
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Brett Terpstra said 4:54PM on 12-18-2008
Thanks for pointing it out... a grievous (and regrettable) error on my part, fixed now. I apologize for the confusion.
James Hull said 4:29PM on 12-18-2008
No native iPhone app - no bother.
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Brett Terpstra said 4:52PM on 12-18-2008
It's already on its way, according to the note in the iPhone sync preferences of the app. There are a lot of features not mentioned here, we plan to do a full review of it when a public beta hits.
James Hull said 4:59PM on 12-18-2008
In that case, keep us informed! And hopefully the sync will work better the first time around with this list manager. Things is awesome, but the sync keeps messing things up.
I do like the screenshot above though - does look nice - wish it could be bigger though (to see all the detail).
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Brett Terpstra said 5:02PM on 12-18-2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andypotion/3022222589/sizes/o/
:)
Brett Terpstra said 5:08PM on 12-18-2008
I did neglect to mention in the teaser that there's also already a robust iCal sync. Like Things' iCal sync, it's very flexible and works with the system calendar.
Craig said 5:13PM on 12-18-2008
I'm pretty underwhelmed by this. It sounds like it has all the same features as any other organizational software, but with just a different interface.
I'd like to see new ways of actually getting items into your todo list. Watching RSS feeds, parsing web pages, looking at your email for messages from important peopel/firms.
I'd also like to see some analysis of someone's particular ability to 'get things done', to the point of being able to use that information to create suggested schedules based on your unorganized behavior.
What magic feature would you guys like?
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don trenton said 5:13PM on 12-18-2008
Brett,
Any idea how long before software is out of beta? How long before iPhone app hits the store?
I've been using Things but very unhappy with their support so interested in alternatives.
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Brett Terpstra said 5:17PM on 12-18-2008
The developer isn't giving any dates yet, but I'm sure the more people who offer feedback on the private beta (see Google Groups link in the post), the faster it will make it to full release!
Brad said 6:05PM on 12-18-2008
I only had 5 min. to play around this morning, but I stumbled a little trying to move my tasks around. That reminded me of OF, and basic functions being harder than they need to be is why I switched to Things. I'll try it some more tonight to see if my impression changes (or I discover it was user error).
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Stephen Lang said 6:36PM on 12-18-2008
Awesome, nothing better than a new Task Manager to make you feel like you're productive while you're spinning your wheels!
I currently use Things and really like it a lot. But I am always happy to spend half a day learning a new app, entering all my existing tasks, and then going home for dinner.
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Neil said 7:13PM on 12-18-2008
I gave up on OmniFocus earlier this year but became a believer thanks to the iPhone app and MobileMe syncing. In other words, OmniFocus has set a high bar -- an iPhone app and OTA MobileMe sync are essential. Things only has the former.
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Rory said 7:27PM on 12-18-2008
I've been beta testing THL and I can tell you it's the most awesome bit of Mac software I've used all year. It looks beautiful, it's easy to use and hell it makes me want to organise my life more, what more can you ask from an app like this?
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Bryan said 9:04PM on 12-18-2008
I've been beta testing the program this afternoon, and I have to say I am very impressed so far. I am a heavy user of OmniFocus, and I've tried Things in the past. THL seems to combine the best of both programs. I love a lot of the little details, like tabs. It is also very easy to get around and do everything using just the keyboard. One of the best features is the "Quicksilver" like function it terms of getting around the program.
As soon as they have an iPhone app, I will probably switch to THL from OmniFocus.
@Brad, moving tasks around is very easy, they can either be dragged and dropped or you can use the keyboard and "file" tasks.
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adam said 11:38PM on 12-18-2008
Any chance anyone would be willing to share a DMG link? =D Would eagerly love to try this out tonight! I'm currently and Omnifocus user but would love to give this a spin, sounds like some OF users are already convinced a switch is in order...
Ryan said 11:09PM on 12-18-2008
Regardless how much devotees of Things may love it, they have not "shelled out for Things" already. Things Touch (for iPhone) is the only paid for option at this point from Cultured Code. Things for the Mac is (and has been) in a free public beta - the 1.0 release targeted for Macworld Expo. So the argument that The Hit List has an uphill battle with Things due to money already invested is false.
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Brett Terpstra said 11:14PM on 12-18-2008
This is true. I was thinking I had pre-ordered Things at $39, but have apparently only signed up for the newsletter. I pre-ordered OmniFocus, which was probably what I was remembering.
dave said 11:12PM on 12-18-2008
"The Hit List is going to be that most of its target users have probably already shelled out for Things and/or OmniFocus."
Impressive, considering Things hasn't reached 1.0 yet and isn't accepting money yet.
The hit list looks like a Things ripoff. I'll try it out, but a screen shot doesn't tell you much.
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Megan Lavey said 4:21PM on 12-19-2008
I had actually started trying Things when THL came along, and I personally think it's a lot better. Already in beta, it's ironing out some of the quirks that were bugging me with Things - like the inability to drag and drop in the left-side task bar.