In true GTD fashion, I would like to clear the deck of questions or issues that have been inhibiting progress both for updates to this blog and for Actiontastic and Actionatr code. There are things I am ready to begin discussing with you, but don’t want to cloud those discussions with the issues presented here. So, let’s clear the deck so that we can be productive. Together.

The Open Source Announcement

For the most part, the announcement of my open source plan has been well received. A few have been more anxious than others to see the real source code, but I have been reluctant to give out dates. If you’ve been in the industry for a while, you already understand what I’m talking about. Like setting a delivery date for a child, a software delivery date is more like the date when the software can almost be guaranteed not to be delivered. Most of the time, we hope to err on the side of being early, but the safest route is to stay agile, taking things in small increments and getting better with predictions over time as project-specific experience grows. The project-specific experience has been growing for domain-based knowledge such as “What does an ideal GTD system look like?” but has been in great flux regarding the technology being used.

I did, however, make a conscious choice to favor openness at the risk of creating (understandable) “Are we there yet?” sentiments for some. If you have asked about the delivery dates for code, or either piece of software, I count you as a friend of the project and appreciate your enthusiasm. If I had to throw a date out there, I would say October, but the CEO would probably kill me for doing so.

Technology Changes

The number of times Actionatr (and thus Actiontastic…more on that connection in an upcoming post) have been destroyed and recreated would be unbelievable to some. Sometimes progress comes through positive destruction and the code base has definitely benefited from this. From straight Objective-C talking to a Rails app, to a RubyCocoa app, to a Flex-based app, to the current incarnation (again, more in an upcoming post), my ideas for a ubiquitous productivity system have been sliced, diced, and remixed without mercy. I have been on a quest to find the perfect mix of ingredients for cross-platform, online, offline, synchronizing goodness. The latest round of tech is the 1.0 tech and is centered on a core of open technologies that have great promise for now and especially the years ahead.

License Change from GPLv3 to MIT

One of the most complex hurdles was presented by my own choice, that of the GPLv3 license. Targeting this license right away meant that I could not open up the code until everything in it was GPL-compatible. This is no small task for something like Actiontastic, which is built on lots of pieces that have conflicting advertisement clauses. The reason for choosing the GPL was that it seemed to be a nice “pay it forward” way of guaranteeing future openness for any who might wish to contribute code.

In the end though, I chose to move away from the GPL. While the concept itself is indeed beautiful, the pragmatic side of me won the fight with my internal idealist. The software is now using the MIT license which has a different flavor, one that exerts less control and serves more easily as an umbrella over the many components that the software is now using. This means less rewriting from scratch and quicker turnaround for features.

Questions?

Those who still have unanswered questions (not related to feature requests because I’m going to start talking about new features next) are welcome to leave a comment. I will attempt to provide answers where I can. Otherwise, let’s consider the deck cleared and get on with the new feature discussion!

This is my first post from the new residence in Walnut Creek, California. Walnut Creek is located in the East Bay area, near San Francisco. Formerly rooted in St. Louis, Missouri, this move marks the end of a busy period of non-stop work-plus-planning-and-packing, and the beginning of a new era of independent work here in this beautiful state. This move was made possible by encouragement from friends, family and colleagues as well as wonderful clients, both new and old.

Chances are, you are following this blog because of Actiontastic or Actionatr. You have my sincere gratitude for staying tuned in during a period of fewer posts and updates. The move to independent work means that I will be able to blog more frequently and also release an update that we’ve all been waiting for, myself included.

By the way, if any of you will be attending the iPhone Tech Talk in SF tomorrow and would like to meet, please send me an email (my first name at this domain) or a direct message via Twitter.