[chandler-users] why I use Chandler and what would make me stop

[Sheila Mooney]

Rick,

Thanks for trying out Chandler and we really appreciate the detailed  
feedback! Addressing performance is an ongoing issue and we feel your  
pain since it's come up many times on this list. There are a few  
things we are trying in the short-term to provide better user feedback  
that may help, although truly addressing the performance issues  
involves a much bigger re-architecture project which is unfortunately  
not in the short-term plan. We are planning to have a 1.0 version  
before we address the major architecture issues.

In the meantime, we would be interested to know more about your  
configuration ie: what platform you are using as well as the number of  
collections and items.

Thanks again for you two cents!

Cheers,
Sheila


On Feb 5, 2008, at 7:42 AM, rer1 at cornell.edu wrote:

> As course director for a very large (16 credits) course in a  
> professional program, I have a need to be able to coordinate and  
> collaborate with a number of colleagues to prepare for and implement  
> this course, which is logistically complicated. I have investigated  
> a number of software solutions to no avail. These include:
>
> - Airset
> - Remember The Milk
> - Spicebird
> - ZOHO (project)
> - Google calendar
> - ThinkingRock
> - CodeProject
> - Mozilla Sunbird/Lightning
> - AbstractSpoon's ToDo List
> - open source project managers
>
> I have tried each one, but none worked because, depending on the  
> application, the web interface was too limiting, integration of  
> various components was insufficient, required components were  
> missing (task list with no calendar), collaboration was not  
> available, or the software had too long of a learning curve. Project  
> managers are simply the wrong solution.
>
> I stumbled across Chandler and was instantly enthusiastic. Being a  
> bit of a geek, I went with the flow when I discovered that cut/copy/ 
> paste and print did not work. Go figure! OK, I'll work with it.
>
> -- The desktop app is clean, slick, easy to use, easy to learn. Very  
> short learning curve. Screen real-estate is used effectively. No  
> other application puts collection lists, the calendar, and a detail  
> view all on the same screen. I can see what I need to see, all in  
> one place. In my opinion, having to click a button to access  
> information is a virtual brick wall. Chandler avoids this for the  
> most part.
>
> -- Multiple, overlaying calendars is extremely useful. That the  
> underlying calendar color fades is more-than-a-cool feature not  
> found in the likes of Google calendar. It was a bonus to discover  
> that I could copy an event to a second calendar and retain the  
> freedom to delete one of those copies without deleting both. Putting  
> "location" in the event on the calendar would be nice, but not  
> essential.
>
> -- The completely seemless connection between messages, tasks, and  
> events is unique in my experience. It frees me from having to think  
> ahead. I can brainstorm lists of tasks, then go back and stick them  
> on a calendar, moving them around as needed. I am not aware of  
> another application that does this. Ability to create "projects"  
> with tasks and subtasks would be nice but its absence is not a  
> showstopper. Inability to do a secondary sort on the triage table  
> reduces my productivity significantly, but it's not enough to make  
> me quit using Chandler...yet.
>
> -- The existence of Chandler Hub and the provision for easy sharing  
> of collections is an essential feature. For my situation, any  
> software solution must include the ability to collaborate  
> effectively and remotely. 
>
> So, what is the showstopper? Speed. That Chandler takes "forever" to  
> startup is not my first concern. While writing this email in  
> Chandler, twice I had to sit and wait for ~4 seconds each time while  
> Chandler took over, doing who-knows-what. Purging can easily take  
> over 5 minutes. Moving from one collection to another takes between  
> 3 and 4 seconds. This behavior is inconsistent, but as I add more  
> items to my collections, it's happening more often. It can easily  
> take 60 seconds to perform a series of tasks that should take 5. I'm  
> using Chandler to increase my productivity, but that won't happen if  
> I'm stuck waiting for Chandler to respond to a mouse click. I simply  
> don't have time to waste and, as much as I love Chandler, will  
> eventually switch applications rather than see my productivity tank.
>
> Are you asking, what would you switch to? I REALLY wouldn't want to  
> do it, but I would switch to Google Calendar. Remember The Milk has  
> just developed a method for hooking into Google Calendar and Gmail,  
> creating a semblance of the same functionality that Chandler  
> possesses. It is not seemless, suffers from the limitations of all  
> web apps, runs inside another application (a browser), and is very  
> inefficient with screen real-estate. But it's functional and does  
> what I need. I'm using Chandler because it does it a whole lot better.
>
> I can't help but wonder if Google isn't looking at 1) the proof of  
> concept with what Remember The Milk has done and 2) the market for  
> this sort of app. They could easily throw chump change to the tune  
> of a few million dollars to link email and calendar together along  
> with a task list. No need for Remember The Milk and the result would  
> give Chandler a serious run for its money. With Microsoft's recent  
> bid to purchase Yahoo!, I'm sure Google is intent on looking in  
> every nook and cranny for market potential. Chandler needs to  
> effectively grab the online/collaborative/server-based PIM market  
> and do it soon.
>
> Google's potential solution would be, in my opinion, second rate  
> compared to the route that Chandler's designers have taken. But,  
> Google has global name recognition and would have a serious jump on  
> the PIM market out of the starting gate. I lurk on the listserves at  
> chandlerproject.org and, based on the discussions I'm reading,  
> believe you're asking the right questions and making the right  
> choices. On the other hand, Google is one incredibly innovative  
> company with a truckload of money and other resources. As long as  
> it's stuck in Preview mode, I'll have to predict that Chandler  
> simply won't get a foothold. We need version 1.0!
>
> My two cents.
>
> Rick Rawson
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