Software: OmniFocus for Mac, iPad, and iPhone

I wrote in a post a few weeks ago that my Things for Mac had decided to stop syncing with Things for iPad and Things for iPhone.  I rely on productivity software for my business (Prism Risk Management), as well as for non-profit service and personal use.

For reference, here's my Apple set-up:

• 2011 15" MacBook Pro running Mac OS X Lion 
• iPad 2 running the latest update of iOS5
• iPhone 3GS running the last update of iOS4 before the debut of iOS5
• The copies of Things productivity software (by Cultured Code) are the lastest available for all of the devices listed above.  

Between the devices and software listed above,  I cannot make Things sync.  [note: maybe a more technically inclined person can, but as a tech enthusiast business/lawyer user I cannot]   This is bad for me, as I relied on Things for iPhone to enter in tasks which came up while I was out at happy hours, events, informal meetings, lunches with friends, and while riding my bike.   Instead of emailing a task to myself, I would enter it into things and it would pop up across all devices after syncing.  I use the iPad during meetings and working lunches, thus Things came in handy there for entering lists of action items; however, since I usually have a legal pad with me at meetings, it is easy to work around a faulty iPad app.   It is the iPhone/Mac link which has been most critical.  

I'm done with Things.  I have switched over to OmniFocus for personal and non-profit items in addition to business tasks, and I have started to use it for everything (as opposed to just for longer project oriented lists).  

I like OmniFocus better all the way around.  With syncing, it's main advantage over Things is that it syncs to a cloud server which controls the master file for all of your devices running OmniFocus (just like Evernote).  There is no need, as with Things, to get all devices connected to the same WiFi network and then open the application on all devices.  With OmniFocus, you press a button and your updates are sent to the OmniGroup's central server.  If you then drop your phone in the lake, your updates are still going to show up across devices.  

Besides the cloud aspect of OmniFocus, it is generally a more powerful program than Things.  You can make voice notes to attach to tasks on the iPhone app.  You can also attach files, documents, etc. to individual tasks, set up tasks as sequential or parallel, make hierarchies of tasks, and set up start as well as due dates.  Tasks will pop up on your iPhone screen at an assigned time in order to actively remind you to do them.  Across Mac, iPhone, and iPad you can assign tasks to projects to a project and to a "context" (i.e., category.  One advantage Things has is that you can add multiple tags to a task, and thus cross reference it through multiple categories.  That was nice, but my need for syncing takes priority.  

Things is a cool program across its Mac, iPhone, and iPad permutations.  It is elegantly simple and easy to use.  But for the syncing failures, I would still get some use out of it.  However, as a person who comes up with a lot of ideas and gets a lot of requests (which need to be given to myself as reminders) while in informal and social settings (where I'm only carrying an iPhone), the syncing function is critical.  For me: OmniFocus delivers, Things does not.

Disclaimer:  As I mentioned above, I am a business owner/lawyer and not a particularly technically inclined person.  This post is about my personal experiences and is not reflective of Things for Mac, iPhone, or iPad or Cultured Code products in general.  You should investigate these products for yourself and follow the advice of IT professionals or knowledgeable software reviewers.  If I figure out how to sync Things, I'll let you know.