MLO end of life?

[Grant]

Its been over 2 years since we have seen a significant new version to MLO, and 8 months since the last official version update (for Windows).  I did not check but the Android version is also lagging I think.

I am beginning to worry that MLO is a side project for the MLO team because they have other work/higher priorities (eg Apple only), and so we will see this trend continue while other newer or more focused products will innovate beyond MLO.

[robert roszak]

I've got same feelings.. I've started a search for other platform already. Honestly speaking I'm fed up with the pace of development. However, I promised myself to wait till MLO for Android 2 before making final decision whether to ditch MLO to other platform or not. If it won't match my expectations fully at release, I'll have to give up MLO - there's no point waiting for improvements/new features taking into account the pace of development. 

Robert

[Stéph]

Hello Grant and Robert,

From what I'm seeing on the beta form, the Android version is in active development and has reached the beta testing stage, with very active and detailed input from the beta testers. The look, feel and functionality of the new version will mirror what's been developed on the iOS version, with a few additional Android features such as widgets.

I have my wishlist of features, so I always keep my eye on the productivity app market.  However, as yet I haven't seen an app with anywhere near as much flexibility, as many features and integration with a Windows desktop.  Omnifocus looks like a good option for Mac and iOS users, but not for us Windows and Android users. 2Do has some good functionality, but the compromises are limitations which wouldn't suit me.

Good luck with the search.  Meanwhile, there's definitely a light at the end of the tunnel for those waiting for an Android update for MLO.

Stéphane

[Holmes245]

That's good to hear but I'm at the same point as Grant and Robert. I'm currently waiting it out to see what the 2nd version for Android looks like but even then, development is too slow.

Joel

[Dwight]

Hi, Joel,  Grant and Robert.

Would you be able to list what the neuckear negotiators would call your "red lines"?

In other words, you are waiting for MLO/Android v2 and if v2 is missing a certain functionality you are leaving?
 
-Dwight
Mlo betazoid on Android sgn2

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[Holmes245]

I think we're all mainly talking about the incredibly slow rate of development and lack of communication but for me, version 2 will have to mirror my set up in the Windows desktop version. 

Joel

[Lauris Ancupans]

Hi! I've spent SO MUCH time looking for a tool that would be on par with MLO. The MLO desktop app rocks, it's simply the best there is. The Android app ... no comments. Although by now I've gotten used to it, my fingers now know what to do and fast (sort of). All in all this is the best task management/gtd tool I've seen. I think I've spent too much time looking for alternatives, and no luck.

[Todd Gleason]

I'd like to answer that as well. I'm not going to characterize this in nuclear terms, but here are my top priorities, in rough order:

1. Android: Fix the time zone bugs (I understand the beta already has this)
2. Android: Fix the issue where the scroll bar on newer versions of Android interferes with both the star and the move icon; even if you let it fade, touching on the right hand side still invokes the scroll bar instead of these icons.
3. Android: Add full recurrence creation support
4. Windows: The By Due Date tab (is this a standard tab? This might just be the Active Actions tab) seems sometimes not to include the next instances of certain recurring items in the future, whereas Android shows them all. I'd like to always see the next recurring item. Also I'd like it to ignore items without due dates, or put them all at the end.
   
5. Android: Make it easy to postpone due dates on tasks by a day, a week, etc. (without having to dig so far through the menus)
   
6. Android: With some of my tasks with the longest notes, after I save and close the task, then switch out of MLO, and come back in, sometimes MLO wants to bring these notes back. It often crashes shortly after. I've never had lost or corrupted data from this, but it's still a concern.
   
7. Android: Add some sort of voice task input support that would interpret certain keywords such as due dates.
   

I wonder if any of these have been addressed yet?

[Elizabeth Lindsay]

I sometimes feel the odd man out on this forum.  While there has not been a big upgrade, I picked this tool because of the features it had at the time, not the future.  Sure, there are things I look forward to doing on Android, but I'm so happy MLO exists!  I could not have tracked all that I do without this tool.  Plus, how many tools out there are released one time and that's all she wrote?  Too many!  I'm thrilled a future exists for MLO and I'm fine with them taking their time.

[robert roszak]

For me dealbreakers are:

• fully automatic sync between devices. I've been using their cloud sync for few years and without fully automated sync it's just wasting my money
  
• rich text support in notes
  

Nice-to-have:

• usable location based reminders - currently they suck. If you don't know what I mean, use it for a while.
  
• advanced filters support on Android
  
• rapid task entry fixed - currently parsing text feature works unreliably even though you work by MLO manual
• attaching files to a task

These are just the most crucial points for me.

I know lots of people are content with MLO, I also was for some time in the past. I think I reached a point where I need more integrated solution - of course I can e.g. use Evernote in tandem with MLO to have rich text notes already, but it's just not the same. I've got impression that many people here have built their solutions with usage MLO and external apps just to work around MLO's flaws - and yes, it works this way, but it just consumes too much time to keep that system going. I prefer spending time for doing my tasks rather than setting the system and keeping it consistent, that's why I have a need for more integrated and easy to use solution.

Robert

[Todd Gleason]

You're right, of course. I too bought my copy of MLO for what it had at the time, not what it might become, and it has a huge lead--despite not much new development--over everything else I've seen.

Since then, the big issues for me have been the time zone issue (something I had taken for granted until I was surprised by it while traveling) and the scrolling issue (a matter of "code rot"--it used to work in older versions). Everything else seems like minor issues or nice-to-haves.

I do understand the emotional response of wanting rapid updates, but it's not worth changing to a lesser platform. People who think otherwise can feel free to leave, but I'd like to know what better outliner/task manager exists, at least for Android+Windows.

[bird...@gmail.com]

While the MLO's PC version's user interface has some inefficiencies that I've mentioned in this forum, the reason that I stick with it is that I have not found anything better.

Most importantly, I attribute any development slowdown, to it's having just about everything feature you can pack into it. Over the past couple years that my business and grown and become more complex, I've found features I've never used before and MLO has adapted to my needs.

The area where I think it needs some movement is where you take the existing interface and just make it easier or more intuitive to use. But as for as development on features themselves, my list is short:

1) Make the iOS versions pull in reminders spoke in through Siri

Other than that, just make it easier to use. Would be nice to have macros for repetitive series of commands for example. 

I am one of those who "thinks" he's tried everything started with EccoPro in the 1990's to what's current both in the PC and iOS world. It would be labor intensive to list them all here, but if to Google best "Task Managers" AND best "ToDo lists for iOS" chances are good that I've tried the all ones that are the highest ranked. The one exception is Nosbe (too much ego over there).

Currently there are 4 that I use:

MLO (for past 3 years --a record!)

ToDo Cloud (for 4 or 5 months)

SimpleMind (Mindmap)

iMindQ (Mindmap - temporary hiatus until they got their iOS act together)

Though only reason I use ToDo Cloud is due to it's impeccable Siri integration. But I wind up send a good chunk of those reminders to MLO. 

Eddie

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[Grant]

Todd, I too bought it for what it could do.  And it is the most complete solution out there (if not maybe too complex).  But also I knew there where some basic features missing that I would suffer for. Two of these have been asked for by over 400 users, for many many years.  Thus I expected that development would respond to the customers voice and work on these and implement them in a year or two.  Now, I think 5 or more years later, neither have been introduced (text formatting in the notes section, and a calendar view). Link to this the fact that for the last two years there have been no real improvements, and I my frustration turns into worry that MLO development has pretty much stopped and is possibly headed toward End of Life.  Sure, i will be able to go on using it for years (unless Cloud Sync also ends), but it will alway be just that bit crippled...

[SRhyse]

I'd certainly enjoy some of these features as well, but as a beta tester, I can tell you the apps themselves that comprise the MLO family certainly aren't dying or languishing in any capacity. On the iOS front, I honestly think the biggest holdup for new releases to users has largely been from the development resources being spread somewhat thin, and a lot of them spent catching up to new iOS iterations that come out pretty much yearly -- which I don't say as a 'giving away insider secrets' kind of thing, but just my personal speculation based on working with a lot of developers on the iOS front that are relatively modest in means.

I think one of the biggest problems MLO has on this front is that many other developers have made their app's development a more iterative, frequent, social type of thing that people have come to enjoy and expect as part of their app using experience, whether or not it at all contributes to their personal or professional productivity. Considering the team has expanded over the past years and development is still very active, you can rest assured MLO isn't in any way dying, and any features you love about it now will always be there, barring global catastrophe taking out cloud sync. But in a situation like that, I'd have bigger problems than getting MLO to work.

[Grant]

Yeah, overall I understand.  I was maybe just kicking the ant nest.  You can see it did raise the voice of many users who are also frustrated by the slow release of much wanted new feature (thus just not new versions to have new version bu to get those new features that everyone is asking for released).  

Good to hear the team is expanding.  

My boys also have their own application development company, only for mobile solutions, and so I actually sympathize with the problem of trying to develop for multible platforms, including iOS.  Android is even worse to get right (if you want it to be backwards compatible), and tends to have less paying users than iOS, so its obvious why iOS has the lead.  Its just frustrating for use Android and Windows users.  ;-)

Cheers