I have always used some kind of database application to track tasks and to-dos (and sometimes billing when I've been consulting), from the first custom application I wrote in the 1980's in Paradox for DOS, to a Filemaker database in the early 1990's, to an Excel spreadsheet in the late 1990's. What application I use seems to have more to do with what platform I'm spending most of my time in than the inherent qualities of the application itself. Mostly, I want the application to stay out of the way and be as easy to use as a text file.
These days, I'm spending a lot of time around web servers and have them running on all 4 of my computers, as well as at various data centers, and I am running a fair number of web applications locally on my laptops and desktops, like a Wiki, a family weblog and an RSS aggregator (Feed on Feeds). I still don't have the data synchronizing seamlessly between the different computers, but I'm getting closer.
It seemed natural to try a web application to keep track of my task list for some projects I am working on, so I recently started using Alex King's brilliant little Tasks personal to-do application. I've fallen in love with it.
As someone who has been part of designing several web applications, I know that doing good web application user interfaces is very hard. Tasks has one of the best web application user interfaces I have ever seen. King makes smart use of Javascript to enhance the functionality of the forms, and he uses small graphics to create a clean, uncluttered and highly functional look. It is very easy to enter, modify, re-arrange and view tasks. And, unlike lots of web applications, it seems to work well with a multiplicity of browsers. It is a well thought out, fast, lightweight server-based application. The only thing I don't like about it is that King picks font sizes that are too small for middle aged eyes -- luckily those are easy to change in the stylesheet.
If you want to have access to your to-do list from anywhere, or if you are already running web apps locally, and if you are comfortable installing a PHP application on your webserver, I highly recommend Tasks, both the older donation requested version and the updated $30 one. King just seriously upgraded Tasks and added a lot of features (and changed it from donationware to modestly priced software). I haven't had a chance to use the upgrade very much, but it looks good. King is offering an online demo and a free trial -- check it out.
Details:
Rating: Highly Recommended
Cost: Free -- $30
Version reviewed: 2.0
Date reviewed: May 6, 2004
Affiliate (i.e. Does Geodog get a commission if you buy a copy?): No
Link:Tasks 2.0
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Thanks for the great review! It is really nice for me to see someone enjoying my software. :)
Posted by: Alex on May 6, 2004 08:14 AMI completely agree! I just started using Tasks recently, and I am delighted with it - it's literally the very first task/to-do software that's ever really worked for me. The heirarchical structure just jives somehow with my own mental process. Honestly I had been planning on writing some kind of heirarchical task-management software for myself at some point; but now I don't have to - Alex beat me to it, and he's done a wonderful job.
Posted by: Avi Flax on May 6, 2004 02:24 PM