Tagamac

For those hardy souls who want to try every single Getting Things Done application available for Mac, the alpha version of iGTD 2 is now available for download. Please note that the iGTD 2 alpha is Leopard only. Additionally, as alpha software, it is likely not feature complete and is probably rife with bugs (already there’s been reports of problems with changing the sort order in the task tab). This is an excellent chance to try out all the alternatives before OmniFocus’s half-price sale ends, but I doubt you’ll want to use iGTD 2 for actual work yet.

Personally, I’m really excited to be able to try iGTD 2 out next to Things to see how two different developers implemented a similar idea. I had mixed feelings about iGTD 1, but given how much I’m enjoying Things, I suspect that iGTD 2′s interface changes and general approach to tasks will make it a much more compelling task management app.

Code Collector Pro has been updated to version 1.1.2. This minor update includes 11 bug fixes, such as fixed PHP syntax coloring, better usage of TextMate bundles (including third party bundles), and a number of other fixes. For more information, head over to the Code Collector Pro page and click the “Change Log” link.

The developer also noted that progress on the next version is going well, and CodeCollector.net has another teaser line: “Sharing is good!” Looks like Code Collector Pro will indeed be implementing shared snippets via an integrated online service (time will tell as to how well integrated).

FileSpot, the Spotlight utility that I so loved, has been updated to version 2.1. This update adds Quick Look support, fixes a date-constraint editing problem under Leopard, and shows search results as they are being built instead of waiting until the end.

For the most recent release notes or to download the new version, visit the FileSpot download page.

Quick Tag, a tagging utility for iTunes, has been updated to version .6. While still beta, this update adds Leopard compatibility, a new icon, improved tagging speed and performance, a new tag cloud window, advanced control over tag delimiters, and a number of bug fixes.

For details about the .6 release, visit the blog announcement. To download, visit the Quick Tag page. For help with using Quick Tag, see the Quick Tag quick help.

As if you didn’t have enough to do this holiday season, the alpha version of iGTD 2 is slated to be released sometime near the end of December. As of this writing, the alpha is about 95% done and presumably ready for public consumption.

I’m honestly a little perplexed by the number of independent Mac developers releasing alpha software these days, complete with bugs and lacking promised features. I’m sure that the pending release of OmniFocus is the reason GTD developers are pushing their software out the door as soon as possible, but it still seems like a fairly dangerous move. Even software that is publicly released in beta form often gets seriously delayed as the developer becomes swamped by feature requests and duplicate bug reports, and I imagine the problem is far worse for hotly anticipated applications like Things and iGTD 2. I’m sure releasing alpha software results in an initial burst of interest, but I wonder about the long-term benefits.

As a telecommuter I don’t have a lot of interaction with real people over the course of a standard day, and I’ve gradually been trying to find new ways to get a bit more human interaction through that wonderful impersonal medium, the internet. A college friend invited me to Twitter, so I’m giving it a shot to see if it can help connect me to the broader world a bit more.

Only problem is that I don’t really know anyone who uses Twitter. I’ve started the account following some people I find interesting out in Mac Software/Design Land, but I’d love to find some like-minded web designers or folks involved in the Mac software scene (any taggers out there?). You can find me at twitter.com/onecrayon/; help me find some web developers and just generally cool people before I start twitching and talking to myself! (Well, okay, I’ve been talking to myself for years; but the twitching is a definite danger.)

Pukka, a Mac del.icio.us client, has been updated to version 1.6.6. This minor update finally quashes the last of the Leopard stability bugs that have plagued Pukka, so it’s a must-have if you’ve been experiencing crashes under Leopard. Tiger users may as well just grab it when the auto-update notices it.

For more information, see the 1.6.6 announcement, or the more informative 1.6.6 beta announcement.

Public preview invitations for the alpha version of Things, the tag-based GTD app from Cultured Code, have begun to be distributed. If you’re already on the preview list you should already have received your invite or be receiving it soon-ish (I’m not sure whether invitations are being sent out in bulk or in waves).

Things is still not feature-complete, but particularly since the last alpha version (which you can see in my Things screencast) making Things my primary task manager has been a no-brainer thanks to the inclusion of a bug-free Quick Entry window and the ability to link to just about anything in the file system in the notes area of a task. Synching is still MIA and the team features aren’t fully implemented, but if you’re on the preview list, you’re in for a treat (although for many people, it will probably need to mature before you can use it full time).

This has nothing to do with tagging. However, for anyone out there who does web design and needs a text editor, skEdit version 4 has finally been released. skEdit is one of the best text editors available for Mac (along with TextMate), particularly for internet text editing. Its inline code completion and project-based editing (of local and remote files simultaneously, keeping them in sync) make it a very compelling text editor, particularly given its lower price point.

Although TextMate is a more powerful editor in some ways, skEdit’s learning curve is far shallower, and if you are editing HTML, PHP, CSS, and so forth then skEdit is an excellent choice. Definitely worth taking a look now that version 4 has finally gone live.

St. Clair Software released Default Folder X 4 today, the next incarnation of the venerable Mac utility. Default Folder X has enhanced the default Mac open and save windows for years, and version 4 is another solid step forward, poviding a new HUD-style interface, support for Quicklook in Open dialogs, Leopard improvements, support for TagBot, improvements to Spotlight comment auto-completion, and much more. Default Folder X is a great utility for anyone who wants a better workflow when saving and opening files, and is an indispensable tool for people rolling their own tagging solution because it allows you to edit a file’s Spotlight comments while you are saving it.

Given the number of excellent enhancements in version 4, Default Folder X is definitely worth checking out. For those who purchased Default Folder X after June 1, 2007, version 4 is a free upgrade. For everyone else it costs $34.95 new or $14.95 upgrade (and for those true old-skoolers who used the Classic version of Default Folder, you can snag it for $19.95). If you’d like to see the full list of changes and improvements, see the Default Folder X Change History.