BETA RELEASE: Actiontastic aka KaDo List
Due to popular demand on this blog and via email, I am publishing a pre-release version of Actiontastic (aka “KaDo List”) today. Here are the goods:
Actiontastic 0.8 Beta Release Download
Update: Get the Latest Version Here
(Mac OS X Tiger Required)
Actiontastic aims to be a Lean Mean Action Contextifying Machine. The idea is that simple tools are powerful in their flexibility when given to an intelligent community.
While this is the software that I use for my own Getting Things Done system, it is in fact pre-release software and should be treated as such. Some features are missing. Features that weren’t stable were put aside for the next beta release. The icons are still being refined by the talented Przemek Bojarowski, etc…etc.
The final 1.0 feature list may change based on your feedback so please post or email actiontastic-beta@kaboomerang.com with suggestions. No comment or post goes unnoticed and each one is the subject of discussion and brainstorming.
The next rabbit to be pulled from the Kaboomerang hat goes like this:
You, the ecstatic Actiontastic user…
- Plan your Projects, and Contextify your Actions on your Mac.
- Hop in your car and place calls from your @calls list, magically available on your web-enabled mobile phone.
- Knock out a few items from your @errands list while you’re out, thanks to this magic phone thing.
- View and update Next Actions at the office using your favorite browser.
Oh, the possibilities…stay tuned, and subscribe to the RSS feed if you haven’t already!
dan wrote:
wanna be the first to congrat u for your first gtd baby.
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 2:57 am | Permalink
Hawk Wings » Blog Archive » Actiontastic: Simple powerful GTD app wrote:
[…] Jon is actively seeking feedback and user requests. […]
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 5:31 am | Permalink
Benoit wrote:
Nice start…
I was wondering about the web sync, will we be able to sync to our own server or only to your server? It would be great if you could maintain it on our own. Depending of the format, one might also like to show certain stuff on a particular web site, a blog to be more precise. I would like to post my project list to a web site so that certain people that visit my site know what im doing. Kinda like a post but without a post. anyways, my two cents…
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 6:49 am | Permalink
specbebop wrote:
This app looks like the perfect GTD app to me. Clean and simple. Thanks so much for doing this. I too am wondering about the web syncing. While syncing via FTP or Webdav would be ideal, syncing to your server wouldn’t be too bad. What I hope it is not is a .Mac only solution. That’s my biggest annoyance with apps like Yojimbo. I don’t use .Mac and never will (unless it’s free).
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 8:43 am | Permalink
Thomas wrote:
FYI: 10.4 Required.
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 8:47 am | Permalink
Matt wrote:
Jon,
Great, easy program, there’s only two things I’d like to see, if possible, small and large. The small one is the ability for the program to start a new inbox item directly after you enter one, kind of like how Backpack works, so that you can “boom-boom-boom” go down the list of items quickly without having to press shift-control-L all the time. The second bigger thing would be to have a universal hot key to enter in inbox items on the fly. Maybe with quicksilver? Thanks so much.
Matt
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 11:01 am | Permalink
Jesse D. Hollington wrote:
This looks like a great little application for those of us looking for a very simple and straightforward GTD app. I’m presently using kGTD, but that’s often a little more than I really need.
The only real feature that I’d like to see that would make this a very useable app is iCal syncing (create tasks/todos in iCal based on the entries in Actiontastic). This would allow a wide variety of synchronization options to other portable devices like cell phones, PDAs, and Blackberry devices.
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 11:11 am | Permalink
historydoll wrote:
Thank you: it’s fantastic that you did this! I have a couple of questions:
is it possible to make subprojects, and if so, how?
is the only way to make a new action by making a new Inbox item?
Thanks!
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 11:12 am | Permalink
David wrote:
Simpler is better. Don’t let anyone talk you into featuritis. That said, I second syncing with iCal.
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 12:08 pm | Permalink
dan wrote:
i subscribe with the sync with ical feature. and maybe print on 3xx5 for hipster?
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 12:34 pm | Permalink
Bob wrote:
This looks fantastic, both in it’s design and simplicity. iCal syncing would be a huge plus for me, preferably via Apple’s Cocoa-based Sync Services and not a hacked-together method that uses iCal’s Applescript hooks.
Keep up the great work!
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 12:36 pm | Permalink
Technographer wrote:
Great start!
Add iCal synching (via SyncServices) and my credit card is yours. ;-)
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 1:56 pm | Permalink
n wrote:
This looks great! I think it would be even better if I could indicate when each action is due.
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 4:45 pm | Permalink
Tony wrote:
Add another to the iCal syncing wish-list…
I’m currently using kGTD, which syncs with iCal, and it’s a MUST for me. But, I’d prefer a “simpler” app…this would be great.
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 4:51 pm | Permalink
Alex wrote:
This looks really good; I love the simplicity, but it sorts data just as I like. iCal sync would be really clutch, though.
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 8:26 pm | Permalink
COAL wrote:
2 big Problems:
1. typing in actions is tedious, i should be able to hit return and start typing the next project or action , once I have them all listed than go and hit the actions or project, > must change this.
2. Their is no reason why you could not have moving marker bar or Pie or to give a quick visual of how far each project has gone.
3. Check marks are old news, hard to see a Red Flag would be cool. A check mark could be used, and a Open circle could be anonther good marker.
Add those and I think you will have something to talk about, its all about speed and visual. than you should have a cool video showing how fast you can use this app, and blow peoples minds. that would be cool, but that is my style.
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 8:27 pm | Permalink
PoorBC wrote:
I get it immediately, which is a good thing. The only thing I don’t get is how to make the Next Action. Maybe that’s one of the features not enabled in beta?
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 9:54 pm | Permalink
afrofur wrote:
Three comments.
1. Very nice - this could be my gtd ‘conversion’ app.
2. Add my vote in support of comments before mainly, iCal syncing, time due and Coal’s comments.
3. I see nothing listed in the Inbox (tho I can add items there, before they disappear). A readme/help file explaining each item even very briefly - see PoorBC - would let me know whether this is a bug or a, uh, feature.
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 11:04 pm | Permalink
David wrote:
How can I help with iCal syncing?
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 11:17 pm | Permalink
Zack wrote:
Fantastic simplification of GTD
-a little HELP would help alot
-iCal sync obviously for mobility
-ability to organize projects Work vs. Home
-hipster printing would truly enable real time capture and smother Omnifocus
Thanks for the beautiful app.
Posted on 28-Sep-06 at 11:38 pm | Permalink
Anonymous wrote:
Actiontastic aka KaDo List…
Actiontastic aims to be a Lean Mean Action Contextifying Machine. The idea is that simple tools are powerful in their flexibility when given to an intelligent community….
Posted on 29-Sep-06 at 2:32 am | Permalink
mGee wrote:
Great work! Although pretty, Midnight Inbox can’t compete with the simplicity of Actiontastic. So far, your app is the one to beat when it comes to mac gtd.
I can’t wait for the final release…. although it’s quite usable already.
Posted on 29-Sep-06 at 7:08 am | Permalink
Dirk Spiers wrote:
iCal synching too for me, for dates and to do’s. That also ensures that I can synch it to my treo.
Posted on 29-Sep-06 at 8:29 am | Permalink
Alexander Kucera wrote:
I am with the other guys. Your GTD app rocks!
But I also miss the ability to enter inbox items more easily.
Posted on 29-Sep-06 at 9:29 am | Permalink
specbebop wrote:
After using a bit, I have a few more things I’d like to see:
1. Hipster (3×5) Printing
2. Subprojects
3. iCal syncing
4. And, from my comment above, syncing across multiple machines, without the use of .Mac
Posted on 29-Sep-06 at 10:07 am | Permalink
Frank wrote:
Please make this work with Panther 10.3.9!!! Many, many Mac users still have to use Panther on older, yet quite capable machines. As a matter of fact it was only last year that the Tiger adoption passed 50% according to Apple’s own stats. That means you are leaving out a BIG chunk of Mac users from being able to use Actiontastic.
Posted on 29-Sep-06 at 2:13 pm | Permalink
m d wrote:
The inbox UI seems a little off for speed entries.
Why have the “is project” “is action” clickable selector?
I don’t think you really need to be able to create projects in the inbox (without actions attached to them). Maybe it’s just me, but I use the inbox to dash through all the new stuff that comes up during the day.
I think a much more useful way would be to be able to create new actions and attach them to projects straight from the inbox. something like:
hit return -> enter action -> return -> project (if project doesn’t exist already, it’s created on the fly) -> return -> context
I’d also love to see the “energy level” and “time required” as additional classification options (both clearly detailed in GTD, not being featuroidistic here… (I know it’s not a word…))
Way too much clicking around so far for me to be usable. I’ll definitely keep an eye on it though, it’s light and clean…
Posted on 29-Sep-06 at 6:04 pm | Permalink
Modoc wrote:
Looks great. A few features I’d really like to see before I can look at moving away from kGTD:
1. iCal/iSync support
2. Manual Next actions. Sometimes I need to force an action to next, even if it isn’t “next”.
3. Attaching notes to actions (urls, phone numbers, etc…).
4. Easier entering. I don’t want to have to keep mousing to the + button, when entering a list of actions.
5. The ability to select multiple contexts, and seeing the next actions or all actions associated with all of them. I know GTD is all about working in contexts, but getting a picture of my day is important.
Thanks!
Modoc
Posted on 29-Sep-06 at 6:52 pm | Permalink
Alexander Kucera wrote:
One thing that just occurred to me, which I believe no one has mentioned yet is an export option. Please give us the possibility to export what we put in. A simple text file, xml or tab-delimited csv would be fine.
Posted on 30-Sep-06 at 1:48 am | Permalink
Rui Carmo wrote:
Very nice, but I found the lack of keyboard navigation to be a major put-off… For instance, tab does not work anywhere where you’d anticipate (like setting something as an action or project in the inbox - ideally you’d just enter the item, tab and then use space to toggle the action field…).
Posted on 30-Sep-06 at 4:35 am | Permalink
Oliver Nielsen wrote:
I am eagerly wollowing both iGTD on mydreamapp.com and the upcoming Midnight Inbox, both look very interesting.
Yours excels at simplicity. And the interface in very intelligent - I am happy you give me one more choice, and an original choice.
Good luck! And have a nice weekend!
Posted on 30-Sep-06 at 5:36 am | Permalink
Elliott Cable wrote:
I, personally, would LOVE to see some Tracks integration with this app. Right now I survive off of Tracks; this app is pretty much useless to because I can’t access the data in it from Tracks. But if this could be configured to trade data with Tracks, and perhaps sync with .Mac too, I would LOVE it!
I’m a rails dev, and could help from the Tracks end if you are interested, feel free to e-mail me!
kaboomerang.com@e.avxw.com
http://www.rousette.org.uk/projects/
Posted on 30-Sep-06 at 7:29 am | Permalink
Alexander Kucera wrote:
And another thing that popped up just now. I accidentally clicked on “Is Project” instead of “Is Action”. There was no way to remove this.
So my third feature request would be to be able to convert actions to projects and vice versa at the click of a button.
Posted on 30-Sep-06 at 10:58 am | Permalink
Joel wrote:
Actiontastic is currently my default GTD app. Nicely done.
Any chance you can merge ideas with the guys at
Thinking Rock - http://thinkingrock.com.au/
iGTD - http://mydreamapp.com/forums/viewforum.php?id=35 ?
Why these two? Well, Thinking Rock is quite ugly right now but is very functionable. While Jeff Greenberg (of iGTD) has this passion about GTD that’s quite hard to equal :)
Posted on 30-Sep-06 at 5:17 pm | Permalink
Joel wrote:
Added Actiontastic to the GTD wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done#Applications
Posted on 30-Sep-06 at 5:56 pm | Permalink
Bill wrote:
The only thing I can think of that might help to improve the interface is to slim it down a bit. Right now I use Stickies to accomplish most of what I would use this for. My deterrent to using it would be the size it takes up on my screen. Stickies are much less obtrusive.
Posted on 30-Sep-06 at 10:51 pm | Permalink
myMacBUZZ wrote:
Quicksilver and Automator support please. Thanks for this great app.
Posted on 01-Oct-06 at 11:18 am | Permalink
Andy Fragen wrote:
Now that there’s an application should we consider moving the discussion to an email group list?
Jon, naturally, has the ultimate vote. :-)
Posted on 01-Oct-06 at 12:47 pm | Permalink
Joel wrote:
Feature request: alphabetical columns. I’d like to click on Action or Context and have the column alphabetize A-Z or Z-A, just like in Finder.
Posted on 01-Oct-06 at 4:18 pm | Permalink
KaBlog / Regarding iCal Syncing wrote:
[…] (If you’ve just stumbled upon this blog, you can read about the beta in the previous post.) […]
Posted on 02-Oct-06 at 8:14 am | Permalink
Robb Irrgang wrote:
How are you going to want to handle bug reports? First one I’m noticing is in the inbox, If I create a new item, type into it but do not finalize it, and then create another item, the half-complete item reverts to reading “New inbox item”.
Posted on 02-Oct-06 at 4:25 pm | Permalink
Garçon aka Martin Kopta » Blog Archive » links for 2006-10-02 wrote:
[…] KaBlog / BETA RELEASE: Actiontastic aka KaDo List Actiontastic aims to be a Lean Mean Action Contextifying Machine. The idea is that simple tools are powerful in their flexibility when given to an intelligent community. (tags: gtd osx) […]
Posted on 02-Oct-06 at 6:28 pm | Permalink
Alexey Blinov wrote:
Good piece of software! Thanks!
I bug i found - i can’t delete action.
I create record in Inbox than push Project littlegray button. Record become “Project” Nice=) but i can’tdelete it. I press [-] button (Remove or Delete….). I get dialog “Sure? yes or no” and when i press Yes - nothing happened… I press No - nothing. I press Cmd+Q. Restart Actiontastic and THAN i can delete this action.
PS
Are you plan to sell licenses via PayPal? I hate PayPal… It doesn’t work in Russia and thats why i can’t use tons of beautiful apps (
Posted on 03-Oct-06 at 7:21 am | Permalink
Alexey Blinov wrote:
This error was in Version 0.8 (20)
Now i have Version 0.8 (22) - everything OK =)
Thanks
Posted on 04-Oct-06 at 2:06 am | Permalink
Keith Bradnam wrote:
For those of us that work on multiple macs, syncing across computers via .Mac (or other method) is a necessary feature.
Posted on 21-Nov-06 at 12:43 pm | Permalink
Dirk Spiers wrote:
What is new in 8.3?
Posted on 19-Dec-06 at 4:10 am | Permalink
Jon wrote:
@Dirk:
Check the bottom of the blog post covering 0.8.3 for a quick list of new features.
Posted on 20-Dec-06 at 9:08 am | Permalink