[SHADOW-DISCUSS] Re: Anyone still here?

['Harry Harrison' [e-mail] [SHADOW-DISCUSS]]

Yep still here. Still using palm tungsten t3. Still looking for something
better than Shadow.


h








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[[e-mail] [SHADOW-DISCUSS]]

Can't believe this group is still here ! Hope everything is good in your life, Jeff !

Shadow Plan was the main reason I stuck with Palm platform for another couple of years, and it took me for ever to find a suitable replacement. Unfortunately, the platform itself simply did not work for me.


Shadow was well ahead of it's time. I mainly used it for project notes / brainstorming / GTD.


Since then, I went through a few years with Windows Mobile (the original incarnation, a very capable OS that Microsoft managed to starve into oblivion), Android, and for the past three years iOS. Each has / had it's own set of tools. I'd say it was only in the past couple of years that the available tools started to approach and in some cases surpass what was available in Shadow Plan 14 or so years ago.


It's easy enough to find a good replacement on Windows Desktop. E.g. a combination of Onenote and Outlook, or (if audible / pop up alerts are not a priority) a free tool like Freemind / Freeplane. Freeplane especially can be tweaked to do nearly anything, and if I didn't have to sync to mobile, I wouldn't look anywhere else.


It's much harder to find a good setup that could be used across different devices and platforms without losing functionality. This was the main reason I decided to concentrate on one mobile platform (iOS).



Right now, I am using a mindmapping type application (iThoughts) to do most of the tasks I used Shadow Plan for. Brainstorming, project info tracking, and high level task list development. The directly actionable tasks are exported into iOS Reminders and synced to my laptop's Outlook. All of the documents, notes, study files etc. are saved to the cloud storage (synced between Google Drive and Onedrive for personal projects, and OneDrive for Business for work) and linked to the maps or reminders. (iThoughts allows direct file attachments, too). Finally, it's all tied together via Spotlight search on the mobile, and Windows indexing on the desktop.


Onenote would be even more powerful, and that's what I used for over a year for both the long time data storage and short-term project tracking, but I am wary of dumping all of my data into one program, and honestly I just grew tired of the interface. But it's certainly a very viable option.


A resurrected Shadow Plan, with ability to filter by date / status / priority, and support for file attachments and images, would be unbeatable. But this would be a gargantuan task and likely not enough payback in a saturated market.

[skeezix [e-mail] [SHADOW-DISCUSS]]

On Wed, 1 Mar 2017, ***@yahoo.com [SHADOW-DISCUSS] wrote:

# Can't believe this group is still here ! Hope everything is good in your life, Jeff ! 

Zombies :)

# Shadow Plan was the main reason I stuck with Palm platform for another couple of years, and it took me for ever to find a suitable
# replacement. Unfortunately, the platform itself simply did not work for me.

Its been a few years since I fired up a Palm OS device; with the
US border being potentially weird these days, it did occur to my to dig
out my old Treo for a border-crossing-phone :) I really loved the T|T3 and
later the T5 .. but they just don't hold up. The wifi is janky, and the OS
was too much a self contained little island.

We shot high with applications there .. made them like desktop
apps when we could, but they were still so isolated; thats what changed
with the iphone .. the apps and such all got cheap and crappy for the most
part (that race to the 50c or $1.00 price point), but with some rgeat
highlights. But they're all focused more on easy to use, and connecteness,
since the accessibility to internet changed entirely. From being 'too
expensive, you have to sync' to 'who needs offline, we're always online'..
that broke everything (thankfully :)

# Since then, I went through a few years with Windows Mobile (the original incarnation, a very capable OS that Microsoft managed to starve
# into oblivion), Android, and for the past three years iOS. Each has / had it's own set of tools. I'd say it was only in the past couple of
# years that the available tools started to approach and in some cases surpass what was available in Shadow Plan 14 or so years ago.

*cheers*

# It's easy enough to find a good replacement on Windows Desktop. E.g. a  combination of Onenote and Outlook, or (if audible / pop up alerts
# are not a priority) a free tool like Freemind / Freeplane. Freeplane especially can be tweaked to do nearly anything, and if I didn't have
# to sync to mobile, I wouldn't look anywhere else.
#
# It's much harder to find a good setup that could be used across different devices and platforms without losing functionality. This was the
# main reason I decided to concentrate on one mobile platform (iOS). 
#
# Right now, I am using a mindmapping type application (iThoughts) to do most of the tasks I used Shadow Plan for. Brainstorming, project
# info tracking, and high level task list development. The directly actionable tasks are exported into iOS Reminders and synced to my
# laptop's Outlook. All of the documents, notes, study files etc. are saved to the cloud storage (synced between Google Drive and Onedrive
# for personal projects, and OneDrive for Business for work) and linked to the maps or reminders. (iThoughts allows direct file attachments,
# too). Finally, it's all tied together via Spotlight search on the mobile, and Windows indexing on the desktop.
#
# Onenote would be even more powerful, and that's what I used for over a year for both the long time data storage and short-term project
# tracking, but I am wary of dumping all of my data into one program, and honestly I just grew tired of the interface. But it's certainly a
# very viable option.

Thanks for your war story! Great tips!

# A resurrected Shadow Plan, with ability to filter by date / status / priority, and support for file attachments and images, would be
# unbeatable. But this would be a gargantuan task and likely not enough payback in a saturated market. 

This is my impression so far; I could easily kick off like we did
so long ago .. start small, keep evolving and adding features; but strikes
me as the needs of everyone are so diverse, it woudl be hard to find a
good solid tight path, and it would be a big uphill climb, with the odds
very much stacked against (ie: by nature of app stores, new apps get
punished severely.)

I'm not sure I have the energy for the amount of effort needed to
bustle into that market and make a buck, and not sure I need it enough
myself to do it just for giggles.

It is *so* tempting, but I'm wise enough now to know to consider
the limits of my free time :(

Thanks for writing!

jeff

--
If everyone would put barbecue sauce on their food, there would be no war.

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[[e-mail] [SHADOW-DISCUSS]]

Hi Jeff,

Great to hear from you.


Shadow Plan was well ahead of it's time. But now, we're looking for connectivity (as in constant access to data), interconnectivity (as in being able to link with other programs), file attachments, image attachments, easy way in and out (i.e. import / export), etc. I honestly don't know if all of the effort required to make it work in Windows *and* iOS is worth it.


Good luck in whatever you do !

[skeezix [e-mail] [SHADOW-DISCUSS]]

On Tue, 14 Mar 2017, ***@yahoo.com [SHADOW-DISCUSS] wrote:

# Shadow Plan was well ahead of it's time. But now, we're looking for connectivity (as in constant access to data), interconnectivity (as in
# being able to link with other programs), file attachments, image attachments, easy way in and out (i.e. import / export), etc. I honestly
# don't know if all of the effort required to make it work in Windows *and* iOS is worth it. 

I'm not sure interconnected is a thing anymore; I mean, it
_should_ be, but most applications go far out of their way to wall people
in (App Store included of course.) .. Facebook .. browser built in, keep
you in their app; their own messanger service, etc. Think how many
different competing chat protocols there are. Can you really share data
from one application to another? Not usually, and usually only across the
same app on different platforms.. not to entirely different applications.
The capability is there, just not the intent of the developers.

For most applications, probably you'd go for mobile first (phone +
tablet if you can, or depending on your application's intended use case),
and resource availability and success coming, go for a web application for
the various desktop OSes to use, or mobile devices in a pinch.

# Good luck in whatever you do !

I have ever been lucky; hard work makes its own luck, but I've
just been lucky all along; kids are good, more work than I can handle, and
a smile on the face!

And right back at you and everyone; one can hope everyone can
enjoy what they do, but sadly most do not have the luxury.

jeff

--
If everyone would put barbecue sauce on their food, there would be no war.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]