Priscilla’s Usage of Chandler 0.6.1 and 0.7 Alpha2 in May 2006

I was on holiday for two weeks so it's going to be a short feedback list this month.

Here are some top issues this month:

• I travelled to London, Berlin, Barcelona and Ibiza this month. I realized I never did change the timezone on my work computer. When I would calculate things (in my head) when I was deciding if I wanted to call in for the staff meeting, and since it was during my dinner time, I decided against it. So in other words, the most I might use time-zone for is to dial into a conference call.
• I use month view to give people or my office an idea of when I might be on holiday. Or when someone else is on holiday in the upcoming months.
• Started to use task lists in Chandler 0.6. Besides performance, it was hard for me to realize I was also viewing tasks of all the calendars I had selected in viewing. I create task list for myself, and I may send a task to Jeremy. Though rarely would I want to see tasks from other people.
• Couldn't figure out how to put a due date on my tasks even though one of my tasks had a due date on it.
• When I wanted to add a new item with the 'New' button at the tool bar, my main screen switched over to the 'All' screen and it was very unpleasant experience. I was lost, confused and frustrated to see so many items on my task list (which I thought I was on) all of a sudden.
• Wish I would do things such as re-order, color code, and cross/check off my task items.
• Installed Chandler 0.7 Alpha2 and have some first impressions. Nothing significant that was blocking me from using the calendar, although some collections did time out when trying to subscribe to them from my home.

5/19/06 - 4:11PM

Okay. I finally found a reason as to when I would use the 'month' view on an electronic calendar. I didn't bring in my New Yorker paper calendar as I've just returned from vacation. I received an email from the docent co-ordinator and have been tasked to send information about dates within the next few months of touring. I could not remember the upcoming holidays I may be out of town, even though I haven't many any special arrangements yet. But that is when I would use 'month view'. To view when the up coming holidays are.

Another thing that pisses me off is that I would like to merge my holidays together opposed to having them as separate collections. I mean really. Do the holidays in the US and Canada change? Perhaps they should fall in line as different types of collections to subscribe to. How does one differentiate between a calendar that would be forever changing and one that is forever static?

5/20/06 - 8:52PM

Have some time this morning to review all the things I need to do upon my return from European trip. So I've decided to list out my tasks in Chandler. It may be painful, as the performance is what really put me off from using it in the past. As I've tried to use it twice and have been frustrated. So, first I click on the 'task icon' on the top tool bar. I believe the collection selected is 'Priss' (my subscribed calendar). It gives me a list that is about 16 items. Took about 4 (alligator) seconds to move between calendar to tasks. I select the 'new' item at the top tool bar. Took about 5 (alligator) seconds for me to add a new item in the task list. But before I add my task item I am bewildered! My 16 item list become a HUGE list of items that overwhelms me and spans from the top of the application to the bottom. On top of that, I was confused what my original 16 items on the task list was, and now, there is so much more of the items I am confused what they all are. I take notice of the calendar icon on the left column. Then assume all items that are on the calendar. Except when I start reading the task list, I begin to realize I'm also reading tasks or calendar events that are not on my selected calendar. But are all items which are viewable collections. Meaning all the collections which are checked, are items from other people's calendars are also on my 'task' list.

I think I would prefer to just see my tasks since I have the 'Priss' collections selected. But I can understand that may be inconsistent to what the collection is doing with the checked/unchecked in the calendar behavior. Well perhaps that needs to be reviewed. In any case, I will add a new task to my task list. No real issues in adding my new task. Pretty straight forward.

I took notice of the 'checkmark' icon above the event details and read the hover 'put this onto the taskpad'. Which I select. Hmmm. Now what? No feed back on what I just did. Would like to know where is the taskpad? Is it like a stickie and floats around somewhere on my calendar? Confused what I just did. Oh wait. I now notice my first task, which I did not select that 'taskpad' icon. And on the list of tasks, there is no icon next to it. But the one I did select as a task pad, has a little check mark icon, very hard to read 'cause it's grayed out. I wonder if it's grey 'cause it's not clickable.

Interesting thought. I had a task item which I would like to add a due date to. In the end I just add it to the event details. But how would I like it to work. Well, maybe I check of some where about a due date, then the date boxes appear. And it can be added to my calendar as well as a task item. Is that possible? Would the event be displayed as a @time? I don't think I think of a task item w/ a due date as a calendar event. But as a task item w/ a due date. Perhaps there should also be another column that has the due date on it. Just a thought.

--3:45PM

Just thought of something else to add to my task list and noticed at the top tool bar, the 'All' button was pressed. How odd 'cause I don't remember selecting that button. I specifically remember selecting the 'Tasks' button and now I'm in the 'All' category. I don't like it when the software seems to think it's smarter then me. So I select the 'Task' button again. then notice only 5 items in the list. Two which are my tasks, and two which are not my tasks and belong to other collections. Hmmm. curious. I somehow manged to have two untitled tasks in my task list. I don't remember if I had pressed it twice or if it was from a task I was about input from before.

Here's a reason why I've been having trouble with creating tasks on Chandler. I'm still used to writing everything down w/ a pen. Even though I've had Chandler running on my machine all day today. It's not obvious what my tasks are for today. As I'd like to color code my tasks and have it up. Like a stickie. Sort of floating around my application, in-front of everything else on my desktop. That's basically what it looks like physically on my paper calendar. Front and center sitting in-front of my computer.

Here's a list of things which would make me use Tasks, besides all the performance stuff:

1. Easy to view at all times during the day. Sort of like Adium. I have it set so it's sits above applications, but perhaps other people do not need to have it front and center.
2. Easy to add items in, and focus specifically for that day. Or to place immediately in the Now, Later, and Done buckets. Or if they have a due date, does it automatically sit as an @time on my calendar? Or at least does it distinguish differently from the other calendar events?
3. Color code my items. Strike through or check off items I've completed and make it easy to do so 'cause I like the satisfaction of a 'task completed.

--4:34PM

Something popped into my head as I was thinking about what if I don't select the 'put this item into taskpad' button. then what. What happens to that task. It seems sort of lame, if not annoying to have to select the button every time I enter a task. I mean originally I was in task, and now I'm in 'All'. Maybe that's the problem.

Wait a second. This is really weird. Ok I discovered there is a 'Do-on' column as I clicked back to the task icon in the tool bar. I did a test in adding a task, but did not add it to the task pad. Then selected the 'task icon and moved from the All' state to the task section seeing only my task. (I also unchecked all the collections except my own, 'Priss'). I noticed the item which I did not add a 'task' to did not show up on this list. I hypothesized this would be true. But now I'm curious about the 'date (start-time/do on) column as the only single item that has a due date is not one I added on my self. I believe it was an item on Jeremy's calendar and now it's in my collection. As a task. And had a due date. How did it get there? Hmmm. The mysterious task. I will check to see if he had emailed it to me somehow. Or if he had added it on as I think I gave him read/write permissions to my calendar.

5/24/06 --10:15AM

Clicking over to task again, and it took about 30 secs. (no joke) for it to display my task list. This is on my work machine as opposed to my home machine which I documented above. The difference is that I have 10 collections. One of which is supposed to be a 'flicker' tracker which I haven't figured out how to use yet. All I did

What bums me now is that I have to de select the check marks on my collections to just view my tasks. As I don't really want to see every calendar's tasks. Perhaps the application should remember this everytime I switch between views. For example, in my calendar, I do want view multiple collections. Some calendar s are there, but I only view them if I need to, ie.

--3:13PM

So I'm back to my task list as I was this morning. Switching back to the task list was did not take as long, say 4 alligators. But as I did have to uncheck the other collections to just view my tasks. Now I noticed there is a 'My Task' collection, same as the 'my calendar' collection. Though since my Chandler had crashed before and I'm not subscribing to 'Priss calendar' the 'My Calendar' is an empty calendar. Solution. Allow merging of collections. I noticed that about iCal as well. I think I mentioned earlier about holiday collections not being the same as active calendar which I would edit etc.

In any case, so I'm trying to cross off one of my tasks and there isn't a 'done' sort of check box or anything so I'm feeling very 'ho hum sad'. I try and click on the check mark to the left and nothing. There is no item to show I have finished a task. The psychology of 'striking though' or 'check off' the tasks that I have completed my task has left me feeling empty. Instead, I'm left to deleting the item of the task list. Since the delete key on the mac still doesn't work, I'm left to finding the delete selection under the Edit menu. I am left unsatisfied.

--4:44PM

Added a new task. In my 'Tasks' area. Then instead of clicking on the 'New' icon, I found the 'New/ task' from the 'File' menu. After entering in my task, I selected the checkbox icon above my task details, and then I lost my task from my list. That was weird. Though I remember the hover said 'Add to my taskpad' but I have no idea where my task pad is. Now the search begins. I go to my 'All' list. I find the task and check on the check box again to have the 'check mark' icon. To be honest with you I'm not sure why I would even need to do that? Wouldn't it already know it's a task since I created it from my task list? I'm going to go back to my task area and see if it's back on my list. Ah ha. There it is. At the bottom of the list.

I wish there was a way to reorganize my list so I know what my priorities are. I like to look at my task list from top to bottom. And I wish there was a way to reorganize my list, ie. Omni outliner. Speaking of that program, I started to use it at home to see if it's a useful tool for me. I will take a snapshot so you can see what I using it for. It might not be using the program to it's full potential.

* Priscilla's task list in omni outliner:

A few notes to add about my Omni Outliner list:

Please note, as mentioned, I only started to use this program to write down all of my tasks and things in the world I'd like to 'get done'. So far, I miss the easy access to my paper calendar and the ability to view the notes at home an in the office w/out emailing the note to myself. (Which already had some issues because I had an older verion at home which I think I forgot save and had to rewrite my list again at work.)

1. I like to color code. Especially when things are important as they dates grow closer.
2. Re-prioritizing is also very important. The more important they are, the higher on the list they go. The less important, the lower on my list the items go.
3. Grouping the items into categories are also useful for me visually. I also noticed that some items maybe dependant on other items or that I would need to follow up on the item. So, I couldn't exactly check it off yet. So I could create a sub-task based on the first task to follow up later.
4. I really enjoy checking the items off. Though I feel unsatifactory when striking it off with my pen.

5/26/06 --12:02 PM

As I am using the task list more and more, it seems odd to me that when you enter in the task, the icons above the task should have the little 'checkmark to 'put onto the taskpad' as I am already adding it to the task pad/list. Perhaps my terminology is confusing, but I'm addressing the task list as the task pad to the calendar 'Priss'. Especially since I proved in my previous entry, that when I select the check mark button, it disappears from my task list.

One more small note which I assumed is in the works is to have the delete key function on my mac. For some reason the backspace delete and the 'delete' key both do not work on my mac and I always have to find it in the 'Edit' menu options. I know it works on windows, so give us mac users a break will ya?

5/27/06 --1:01 PM Installing 0.7

I've downloaded the latest version as I had some time today. I'm excited to start using the new task list, or the 'now, later, done' list. The first thing I notice are how the buttons are not matching the pallette. Ok, please excuse this ranting. This is the design side of me. I'm really stressing on professionalism here. I do think there is a bar to making things have a certain professional level and I'm feeling burned that although that is not the 'goal' of an application. I just don't buy that. I think there has to be something to be said about this. If Ford motor company could release early versions of their products to people, they would. But would they release versions of a car w/ out a good paint job? Probably not. Even though one could drive the car around, perhaps make it from point A to point B. There is still a bar that all cars must have some form of paint job. And it's in their interest to have a good paint job on the car to hide the fact that they have an engine that hasn't been redesigned for 20 some odd years. (that said I don't have any real evidence to back that statement up. My apologies again for the ranting.)

Here are first impressions:

• The Welcome note is still at 0.6. Probably needs to update to 0.7. FILED BUG?
• Subscribing to my collections AGAIN. Well they had improved how to subscribe, but it seemed confusing if I needed to keep the greater than and less than arrows within the user name. Unfortunately when I added the user name at the end of the URL, it didn't seem to work. Luckily I still had the tickets to all of my collections and that is how I added all of my collections.
• When I added the PPD collection it jumped to my 'all list', when it was originally in calendar view. That was weird. I don't like that 'cause it always startles me.
• Seem to have errors on an off when submitting collection URLs. "User timeout caused connection failure"
• There is a line at 12 before the time, and it's probably there to help define morning vs. evening. It looks like a mistake.
• Window menu should be before 'Help' menu. Might have been a bug (confirmed this was logged already).

5/29/06 --6:27PM

Noticing some refresh problems when selecting 'All' from 'Calendar' and the 'Task' list. The center list area does not seem to show up.

Events which are scheduled less then an hour, or is an @time event, the text is not displaying in the lozenge.

I like the 'auto fill text' feature, but on the mac, one is used to hitting the 'tab' key opposed to the return key to auto complete text. At least that has been my observations FILE BUG

5/30/06 --10:11AM

Found out from Dan that I can make the list appear again when I resize the window. Secondly, I downloaded 0.7 Alpha 2 on my work machine and noticed that my tasks in 0.6 did not sync with 0.7. Where did they go? (Went through the application with Mimi and she informed me again on how to share not only my calendar but my tasks as well. Boy is that a hidden feature. There has to be a better way to share this in a more visable manner.)

-- PriscillaChung - 02 Jun 2006