In the mid-1980s I was first earning my stripes as a project manager, and I was fortunate enough to have Apple's MacProject application to help me out. As Microsoft Project began to capture a larger share of the project management software market in the 1990s, Mac users weren't left out in the cold thanks to AEC Software, which introduced a powerful cross-platform project scheduling and management application called FastTrack Schedule.

FastTrack Schedule 10 is scheduled for release this fall, and includes a redesigned, iWork-like interface to make using the application much less intimidating. Experienced PMs are going to love the new assignment contouring capability, and other new features such as resource usage graphing on the Gantt chart and an iMedia browser for dropping in photos or diagrams also add to the mix. The application still retains a high level of data compatibility with Microsoft Project.

When the new version ships, existing users of FastTrack Schedule 9 can upgrade for US$149, while new users can purchase FastTrack Schedule 10 for US$315 by pre-ordering (regular price is US$350). If you're not familiar with the application, AEC Software also provides online training courses to bring you up to speed.

In a previous work experience, I was a project manager for a certain large IT service provider with a three-letter acronym for a name. Part of the reason I left that job to become a self-employed Mac consultant was that the project management tools we used were non-intuitive, slow, and Windows-based (the fact that my boss sucked was the other part of the reason...).

App4Mac has just announced the final beta of Projector, their new project management application for the Mac platform. The official version will ship on April 24th at a price of €49 (US$65.25). Projector replaces App4Mac's previous project management offering, xTime Project. If you're an xTime Project user, you can upgrade for free to Projector by simply installing the new application and using your existing license.

The public beta of Gridiron Flow for Mac has been released, and I have to say I'm blown away. I love Curio for project management and brainstorming, but for the nitty gritty of version management, file collection and project source file relationships I'd just as soon have something magically do the job for me. Flow does it quite nicely, at least with Adobe, iWork, Office files and the like. As all-seeing as this software is, it inflicts a remarkably small hit on system resources. Mike Rose filmed a great preview last year, so have a look at that, and at Gridiron's FAQ for Flow, for a better idea of what it does than I could convey here.

The beta is available for download, and currently has no restrictions. I expect Flow to be a costly bit of software, but I haven't been able to track down any price predictions yet (Update, as pointed out by Nicholas in the comments, it's listed -- fairly obviously -- for $249 right now. About what I expected, really ). For now, have a look and dig into automatic versioning, tag-based organization and project visualization that just takes care of itself. It's especially geared toward designers, and will be of the most interest to those who spend their time with InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. Personally, I'm hoping I don't get too hooked on it only to find out it's outrageously expensive. Here's hoping for some pocketbook sympathy!

The idea of tagging files as an organization and project management method has been around for some time now, and we've mentioned applications in the past (FileSpot, TagBot, Punakea ... ) which touched on some useful applications for the tagging method. A truly seamless, system-wide implementation, however, has been hard to find. Back at WWDC, Gravity applications gave me a taste of a new application which takes the concept to a new level. Tags, finally released yesterday, provides a hotkey-triggered HUD which allows tagging and searching from a wide range of applications, including:

• Finder and Path Finder
• Mail
• Address Book
• iPhoto
• Safari
• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.)
• Adobe Photoshop
• Xcode
• Rapidweaver
• Omnioutliner
• Pages and Keynote
• Quicktime

The list goes on. Basically, any application which can tell AppleScript what the current context is will work with Tags. Those that don't can also have their items tagged from Finder, which is especially easy if they have a "Reveal in Finder" shortcut.

Tags uses Spotlight metadata instead of the old Spotlight comments method. Files tagged with Tags are immediately indexed in Spotlight, allowing for searches and Smart Folders outside of Tags, as well as integration with other Spotlight-enabled applications. Its keyword storage method is directly compatible with Ironic Software's Deep, and the same method is planned for use in Leap, eventually. Ironic has actually just announced OpenMeta, an open source library for accessing and modifying this kind of metadata (more on that coming soon).

Read on for more on the concepts behind Tags.

I've been looking for a project management solution for a long, long time. I've tried everything from homemade systems -- based on folders and Spotlight tagging -- to attempting to bend applications such as Bento to do what I really want: collect my notes, work-in-progress files, communications and brainstorms in one place with a fluid way to associate them, organize and rearrange them, and find them quickly ... without forcing me into a single mode of thinking.

The first time I looked at Curio, I had what I've learned is a fairly common reaction to it: I balked at the apparent lack of structure. As every designer knows, a blank page is a scary thing. It was a few months later that I was reading an article about it which re-sparked my curiosity (no pun intended), and I dug back in. It was at that point that I realized that Curio was the project management, note-taking and brainstorming solution I'd been looking for, or at least as close as I've found so far. Read on for an in-depth look at Curio's possibilities ... and a 10% off coupon code!

I'm currently working on a piece detailing exactly why Zengobi's Curio has become a favorite of mine, especially in the area of project management and brainstorming, but also in general as a truly enjoyable-to-use application. In the meantime, though, I thought I'd better get an announcement out for version 5.3, released today. For those unfamiliar, Curio is a note-taking, brainstorming, to-do managing, file-gathering application which works in a (surprisingly productive) free-form manner. It's similar in concept to Circus Ponies Notebook, but I find it to be even more flexible and powerful.

Version 5.3 adds to an impressive feature list with customizable print headers and footers, the ability to convert lists to mind maps and vice versa, as well as an importer for AquaMinds NoteTaker. Detailed release notes are available here. Version 5.3 is a free upgrade for all Curio 5 users, and upgrade pricing is available at the Zengobi store. The regular version of Curio is $99USD, and a Pro version is available for $149USD (find out what the difference is here). Academic discounts are available, and a free 15-day trial can be downloaded on the Curio page.

Project managers know two things; first, that they need to keep a close eye on project scheduling and costs, and second, that the PM world revolves around Microsoft Project. Unfortunately for Mac users, Microsoft Project is a Windows-only application, so you either have to run Project in a Windows virtual machine or settle for a less powerful or compatible Mac application.

Techno-Grafik and Zisser Software have taken a step towards making life a little easier for Mac users with iTaskX 2.5. It's an update to their €80 (US$106.25) Mac OS X project management tool. Their press release notes that the big change to the new release is better support of Microsoft Project files. Users can now open native MS Project files or exchange data using the XML and MPX support of Project.

iTaskX 2.5 is now a Universal Binary app, and schedule information can be exported to iCal. Registered users of iTaskX can download the update for free. Note that the iTaskX website still shows version 2.5 as beta-ware.

Don't be shocked, but here's some non-iPhone news!

Marware's project management application for Mac OS X, Project X, has received a feature and bug fix update. Project X version 1.5 requires Leopard and offers a pile of enhancements over previous versions:

• New flexible licensing system
• 60% speed improvement
• A duplicate command for duplicating tasks, milestones, resources, etc...
• Resources are dispersed to all child tasks when you drag and drop resources on subprojects.
• New project templates for Law, Marketing, Software, and more

As a former Project Manager for a large multinational corporation, I can see where this application would have limitations for large projects. However, it is a great way for smaller workgroups who use Macs to set up and track their projects. I'm impressed with the way that Project X integrates iCal, Mail, and web sharing.

Project X version 1.5 is a free update to current owners of the application. There's a free demo available for download, or you can purchase Project X for $199.95 online or from a number of Apple Stores. If you're new to the profession of project management, be sure to visit Marware's online training page for tutorials and links to PM sites.

Basecamp is a popular and powerful web-based project collaboration and management service from 37signals, makers of other TUAW favorites like Backpack and Highrise. Fortunately, even though Basecamp is web-based, 37signals provides a rich API with which 3rd party developers can make all sorts of neat apps and widgets that tie into the service. A group of students did just that for a class project, resulting in Avalanche, a free Basecamp widget for Yahoo! Widgets.

While I don't use Basecamp to any serious degree, Avalanche seems to be pretty feature-filled, offering access to all your Basecamp messages, todos, time entries, contacts and milestones. Going above and beyond, however, the 37signals blog reports that Avalanche includes features not found in Basecamp, such as auto time entry, spreadsheet generation of time reports, time estimate tracking and contact exporting (which I thought Basecamp already did).

Ultimately, Avalanche looks like an impressive widget for a service loved by its vast and growing base of users. Of course, as with many other widgets, Avalanche is offered free from Avalanche-widget.org.

People seem to enjoy tracking the time they spend on various projects, so it's no surprise that a plethora of project-tracking apps are cropping up. We've mentioned dozens in the past, including iRatchet, iBiz, Billable and even On the Job, but now users have a new choice on the 'simple and streamlined' end of the spectrum with Project Calculator from blue banana software. Project Calculator features many of the fundamentals one would need for recording the time spent on projects, such as tracking multiple projects, manually editing projects and the time spent on them, exporting to various formats (CSV, PDF, HTML, etc.) for sharing with clients, wages/cost calculation, searching, filters and much more.

A demo is available, while a licenses costs a mere $14.90.

You've seen the screenshots, and you've even seen it in beta. Now, and for the first time ever, OmniPlan - the project management app from the makers of OmniOutliner and OmniAnythingElse - has gone officially official. The ultra-hip 'beta' moniker has been put to rest in the back yard in favor of a final 1.0 app, complete a non-expiring demo (though limited to 20 items in a doc), a $149.95 price tag and a $60 'Competitive Upgrade Rebate' for anyone switching from a valid copy of PMX, FastTrack Scheduler, Merlin, and ConceptDraw. Now there's a way to make a splash.

Ah, project management on the Mac... one of those application categories where the near-blasphemous suggestion "Why don't you just run MS Project in Parallels and be done with it?" isn't completely and utterly unreasonable. If you've already been down the FastTrack, done the Project X thing and you can't wait for OmniPlan to hit 1.0, perhaps a visit from a wizard would do you good -- the new version of Merlin shipped last week. (Not Merlin the Mann, Merlin the app.)

Merlin v1 was a promising if slighly unpolished effort from German development house ProjectWizards. With version 2, they've added more view options, enhanced import/export, built bridges to mind-map applications like NovaMind and MindManager, and thrown in resource integration with Address Book and Entourage.

A demo download is available and the full package goes for 130 Euros. Granted, it's not as cheap as a couple of months of Backpack, but it makes such lovely Gantt charts...

OmniPlan is the latest apps from those wild cats at the Omnigroup, though precious little is know about this app. We know it is a project management application, but what does it bring to the table?

Our friends at Infinite Loop managed to snag some screenshots from the private beta, so if you're into project management on the Mac you should check them out.

I still manage my projects the old fashioned way: poorly.