Admittedly, I am an Apple fan. I love my MacBook Pro, and I am anxiously awaiting the next version of the iPad. And I’ve written many times about all the ways I use and love my iPhone.
But really, I can’t believe that Apple got something so basic so very wrong. I’ve written about how personal productivity is a weakness in the Mac platform, and if it were just “weak,” I could live with it. But how can there be NO native task support in the iPhone? And really, the task list in iCal is 
nothing more than an afterthought. Seriously, Apple? Don’t you know that your customers have very busy lives? We’ve got details to manage, for goodness sake! Could you please, please recognize this already, and give us some meaty, comprehensive task manager in the next OS update? Preferably something that integrates well with Mail, and syncs with iPhone? Aren’t you sick of Outlook kicking your butt? Don’t you realize there is a very lucrative segment of your customers spending money on all kinds of other solutions to fill the gaping hole you’ve left?
I’ve had to work hard to find a solution to this problem so that I could train my Mac customers on my Empowered Productivity System. And because none of the solutions are native to OSX, I have to change this solution every so often. This article from MacWorld has a nice summary of the best solutions available to sync from tasks in iCal to iPhone. I was using ToDo and Appigo Sync as they describe them, and suddenly it stopped working. I lost some tasks, and it became untrustworthy. That’s a deal-breaker. So recently I have moved to another product the article mentions, 2Do by Guided Ways Technologies. So far so good. The problem I think that both of these have is an inability to sync seamlessly from desktop to iPhone to iPad because, big surprise: tasks don’t sync up to MobileMe! Really, Apple? I’m so disappointed. Having to go outside the three programs I already need to run my life (iCal, Mail, Address Book) is just really inefficient.
I’ll tell you what. I’m happy to help you solve this problem in your next update. Lend me a programmer and we’ll take care of the rest. Are you listening, Steve? Steve?
I think a better use of your time, with more traction to be had, would be a repositioned version of this as “iOS Developers and Productivity Experts BIG Failure”.
Everything on your Mac, the Address Book, Mail, iCal, etc., are accessible to third party developers who could take any number of the bast “task management” techniques available. Since this seems to be your job you know better than I the many variations out there and the almost religious dedication, to one or the other, that people have.
Given this, and the VERY basic functionality to make use of in the included apps, there is a golden opportunity here for developers to work along side with any number of the leading “organize your life” better gurus and produce some really great innovate tools to help people do that.
Better yet I would like to see a variety of these based upon the different methods promoted by these many authors. That’s really what the iPhone is all about and what we should be advocating. I’m not sure I want Apple’s view of task management which, if present, might slow growth of other more advanced apps or at least make for a more difficult business case to create one.
So while I agree with your assessment of the current situation I think the solution is elsewhere. I’ve download and paid for a number of these apps and they all come up short and I think that’s because none that I have found are built under the watchful eye of a recognized leader in this space. That to me is just bizarre! One of these authors or “experts” must see the business opportunity here!
If not let me say, I DON’T WANT FREE! I WANT SOMETHING THAT WORKS! The time it saves me will more than pay for any application if it’s finally done right.
IMHO!
I agree with you and I would be happy to work with them on it. But here is why I think Apple is missing an opportunity…One of the greatest things about owning Apple products is the Genius Bar. If it doesn’t work, I walk it in, and they fix it. There is no “PC store” that offers this. If I have to use a 3rd party app, now I’m reduced to the email or phone support of the app, which is often non-existent. And if it’s not an Apple product, they usually can’t help you fix it at the Genius Bar. However, given that Apple probably won’t be calling me up any time soon, maybe it’s time for me to pair up with a developer to make a task application that works the way I think it should! =)
Thanks for your very thoughtful comment!
Good post, Maura. There typically is not very much to be critical of when it comes to Apple, but this is a pretty big deal. I just bought my first iPhone and moved to Verizon a couple of weeks ago. I’m in love with the iPhone over my old Blackberry and I am seriously looking at making the switch to Mac from my PC in the future.
Here’s an alternative for your readers to consider – todoist. I am using the Blue Tick app for todoist on my iPhone and it has a 2-way sync with todoist. I’m syncing it with my PC and Google Apps, but todoist also has a Mac app. http://todoist.com/macApp
Thanks for the tip Rick! Yes, there are actually several good to-do list applications, including mobile, desktop, and cloud. The problem for me is that you shouldn’t have to go outside your email and/or your calendar for your to-do list. Task items sometimes have relevance to a calendar and often times, tasks come out of email. It’s why I think Outlook is so powerful on the PC side, and it works pretty well on a Mac with the addition of Mailtags. It just shouldn’t be so hard to get tasks from iCal into your iPhone.
You’re right, Maura, task management is basically nonexistent in native OS X. I’ve experimented with lots of apps, and none of them do what I want. I’m playing with Wunderlist now, and it’s getting close, but it’s not there. What I really want is a voice activated app that I can use with all three devices, that will automatically sync to everything. I’ve even written a requirements document for it!
But before OS X can realistically support robust task management, the core apps need an enormous update. Mail, iCal, and Address Book are all pretty much the same as they’ve been for years. iWork is a dream to use compared to MS Office. Why hasn’t Apple given their core apps the same loving overhaul? I know there are changes coming to Mail, at least, in OS X Lion. Maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised, and they’ll all be greatly improved.
MobileMe? I’ve given up on it. I sync manually.
Great info Julie, thank you! Yes, the only reason I was going to use MobileMe is because I thought it might help with task sync, but it doesn’t. Although in theory it could be useful if you use different computers at home and at work. I understand it doesn’t always work properly, though. I completely agree re: iWork. I can’t believe that people buy Office for Mac. It’s so unnecessary and iWork is SO much better! I didn’t know about the changes coming to Mail, and I skipped the Snow Leopard update, so maybe Lion will make the hassle worthwhile. Voice activated sounds heavenly! Want to collaborate? 😉
Thanks so much for your comments!
I have been looking for a task management program ever since I started working with my Macbook. I have used several solutions and have finally ended up with a nice Iphone application called BusyCal. Fantastic product. The Iphone App works well with ICal, but iCal does not support recurring ToDos. I am having to rely on my IPhone for any recurring task. BusyCal does have a desktop application,but God does it cost a lot of money for the extra feature I need.
I have left it hoping the Mac OSX Lion will address the omitted function of repeat task.
Fingers Crossed.
I have been on apple products since the mid 1980’s (yes, before hard drives and the internet) and have always loved them. I am shocked at how childish the calendar/task/contact functions are on Macs these days. I used Now Software for many years. Apple should have bought them! As a business person I am looking at all options and I must say that I may very well not bother to say with Mac. It is too much work to solve their deficiencies. If you have to buy all 3rd party stuff and have all kinds of syncing issues, what’s the point? I guess Apple prefer to to service housewives and children. Some day they may realize that it is the business people who have the most money to spend.
Hi, I commented on your “Empowered Productivity System – Pt. 2 (for Mac) about this, but I wanted to join the conversation here incase anyone else gets notified or is subscribed to the thread.
There’s no doubt that NATIVELY, macs are not great at syncing. It does look like they’ve gotten a little better with iTunes and IOS5 for iPhone/iPad, but I don’t have an iPhone myself, so I’m not sure. But I do have an Android smartphone, and I need to be able to sync with my Mac as well.
I think that if you just try to sync via some kind of ToDo app, or using iCal/Google/etc… there’s still a lot missing as far as the total sync experience goes. I work on both Mac and PC, so I need my calendar/notes/email to be everywhere with me, definitely in the cloud so that wherever I can go, there it is. That being said, I’ve been looking at all of this myself for the past few years since I got my MacBook Pro in 2008.
To date, I think the best options(Paid, not free) available are The Missing Sync (http://www.markspace.com) or Syncmate by Eltima (http://mac.eltima.com/sync-mac.html). I never had a Palm myself, but I’ve known people who have and still miss that sync-up experience with calendar/notes/tasks. Although these programs are not free, I’m starting to think they really are the best option out there. Having said that, currently I don’t have the need for the products at the moment considering I’m a grad student and working from home all the time.
I get no commission of either link, but it would be interesting to hear if anyone checks them out and finds that they are an acceptable solution.
It appears that “Mountain Lion” will cure what ails you. At least I hope so.