Agenda Fusion 7 Released

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.handango.com/ampp/store/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=79456&productType=2' target='_blank'>http://www.handango.com/ampp/store/...6&productType=2</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Manage your time, contacts, tasks, notes and now projects easier than ever before with Agenda Fusion 7. Bringing you detailed calendar views, enhanced contact and task management, notes and alarm notes organization, and now an all-new Projects view to help you organize your busy life better than ever."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050224-AgendaFusion7.gif" /><br /><br />Here's some hot news! Version 7 of Agenda Fusion has been released. New features include project-style views, view tab customisation, performance enhancements, contact view improvements, easier dialling and much more. Click <a href="http://www.developerone.com/agendafusion/version700.htm">here</a> for more information on the list of updates. Unless you are one of the many customers who recently purchased Version 6 and are eligible for the free upgrade to Version 7, pre-existing owners of Agenda Fusion 6 can <a href="http://www.developerone.com/#upgrade">upgrade</a> to the latest version for $14.95. Owners of Agenda Fusion 4 and 5 will have to purchase the full version again to upgrade to Agenda Fusion 7. The <a href="http://www.handango.com/ampp/store/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=79456&productType=2">Pocket PC Thoughts store</a> is currently hosting a trial version of the newly-released application, so feel free to head over there to check it out. If you're interested in purchasing it for the first time, it's available for $29.95, but <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php">subscribers</a> do get the usual 15% discount.

[KTamas]

And? :P, PI 2005 aka PI6 aka PI Palladium beta is coming soon :)

Bottom line: Am i the only one who expected more from AF7?

[zilla31]

no i'm with you... i'm a longtime AF user/supporter and was really looking forward to 7. project view is pretty nice but i def expected a lot more from this "major" release.

[Jacob]

The project view is something I'd definitely like to see an equivalent in PI - although I think hierarchical tasks can do that a bit - but still would be nice to have something different.

I'm pretty sure this isn't enough to make me switch though.

[petvas]

I am pretty sure that the enhancements in version 7.xx do not stop here. The new Project View is great but of course there is always room for enhancements. I believe we should all be excited about the enhancements coming in the 7.xx releases. Remember, version 7.0 is just the initial release...

Performance has definitely improved, the new Project View is great and please have sth in mind: Better get it right than put a lot of features and never reach release...

[Doug Raeburn]

Project view is huge for those who can use such functionality. That's really the centerpiece of AF 7, and it's certainly enough to drive a "major" release, IMO. It's a first step towards addressing a need for the "professional" crowd that has been left largely unfulfilled on the Pocket PC. And it really can be used to organize any project, business or otherwise (parties, weddings, home projects, school activities, etc.)

I'm already in the process of organizing my current and future projects using this view. I believe that, as it grows, it has the potential of being a killer application for organizing and managing large sets of related activities.

Project view also has additional project related functionality, such as project tasks, time entry and timers, that goes well beyond what a hierarchical task structure alone can provide. And lots more will be coming as feedback about the initial release is received and evaluated.

But if such a view isn't useful to you, I can understand that the incremental changes to the rest of the product are perhaps less than you expected. If there's anything specific that you'd like to pitch as an addition or enhancement, the D1 support forum is the place to express those ideas. If you haven't yet visited it, there's lots going on all the time, so check it out!

http://forums.developerone.com/forumdisplay.php?f=10

[acetuk]

I'm a PI user and was initially very interested in the project view idea offered by AF 7.

However for it to work for me I would need it to make the tasks listed relational - the next one becomes active only when the current one is completed.

Having glanced through the list of features (and I may well be wrong here) I don't think it does that... yet. Maybe it will in time.

Until then I wait for PI 2005 to appear and see what that offers me.

One thing's for sure this is one area that PPC users are behind our Palm colleagues - software like Life Balance on the Palm really makes a lot of the PPC efforts for project-like control look not very good. I still miss that program after moving to the PPC camp over four years ago.

[Sooner Magic]

Conceptually, I think the project functionality is a great idea with quite a bit of potential. I have always heavily relied on AF and will continue to do so in the future.

Maybe I missing something, but it looks like all it provides is the ability to group tasks, appointments, documents together within one project. From a PIM standpoint, I use categories for this purpose. And the vast majority of documents stay on my laptop rather than my PDA.

What am I missing here?

[Doug Raeburn]

Conceptually, I think the project functionality is a great idea with quite a bit of potential. I have always heavily relied on AF and will continue to do so in the future.

Maybe I missing something, but it looks like all it provides is the ability to group tasks, appointments, documents together within one project. From a PIM standpoint, I use categories for this purpose. And the vast majority of documents stay on my laptop rather than my PDA.

What am I missing here?

You certainly can organize things that way. Personally, I view categories as a higher level concept that would cross projects, so I like the idea of keeping categories and projects as separate concepts. Also, projects are hierarchical, so it's more convenient to structure a project along with sub-projects using the Project view than it would be with the non-hierarchical categories.

Finally, projects have specifically defined functionality and characteristics that are quite specific to a project viewpoint and don't have counterparts in other areas of a PIM. At this point, those include project tasks, time recording and timers, with more to come as this view is further fleshed out, enhanced and refined.

That's not to say that you can't continue to use categories to organize your projects if that works well for you, but I believe that you'd find that the Project view provides capabilities specifically tailored to project management that aren't available using the category approach. Bottom line is that it all depends on your preferences.

[Ripper014]

I loaded it and tested the Project Add-on as it is what interests me most about this new upgrade. As a rule there has been little to distinquish this and Pocket Informant. Of the two PIM's I have always perferred this one just because the interface was more pleasing to my eye.

As far as the Projects Add-on it is still rather basic... but I like it. As mentioned above...

"However for it to work for me I would need it to make the tasks listed relational - the next one becomes active only when the current one is completed."

... this is not a feature I would want or need since I would like to be able to work on items out of order if required.

There is one issue that I find serious though... unless I missed something. When you complete any tasks and then sync them... they are removed from the Project... there is a item... but it does not link to anything. I assume that the Project addition is embedded in Agenda Fusion itself and not part of Pocket Outlook. What needs to be done in my opinion is to copy this data so it remains visible as a completed task, meeting, etc...

As it is... you can use it, but it has a ways to go before I can use it efficiently. It would also be nice to be able to check completed items off from the Project view.

But I will say I do like the interface much more than that of Pocket Informant.

[bbarker]

Two questions: Can it be installed on on a memory card or built-in flash memory?
I recently purchased AF6. What is the cutoff date for a free upgrade? I can't find that on their site.Thanks!

[zilla31]

i'm kind of excited about the new PI beta... i'm a long time AF user and there's no reason to switch with what's currently available - but i love competition - and can always be swayed :)

i do use webIS mail though, and phatNotes lite - anyone know how these integrate w/ PI (i'm not excited to install PI just to figure this out :)

thanks!!

[Zidane]

PhatNotes Lite shows up in the Notes section of Pocket Informant. Using PI, you can move notes in and out of databases. Plus, you can even move notes from the builtin app into PhatNotes databases, which is something you cannot do with PhatNotes Lite.

As for WebIS Mail, I haven't seen any integration, yet.

[Ripper014]

Two questions: Can it be installed on on a memory card or built-in flash memory?
I recently purchased AF6. What is the cutoff date for a free upgrade? I can't find that on their site.Thanks!

I believe that if you purchased v6.86 you are qualified to upgrade to v7.00

[bbarker]

Thanks. I guess I don't quality. I'll just keep my ear to the ground and see whether it's worth upgrading. Currently I don't even have AF loaded because it takes up working memory on my device. If only I could install it to flash memory.

(If only I could put the Outlook databases in flash memory!)

[Ripper014]

There is something else that needs to be addressed in Agenda Fusion... the "Name Column" in the "Contact View" only allows it to be 150 wide. With a VGA device it should be allowed to expand much larger so that you can have the full name in the column. Pocket Informant does this nicely.

The only thing really missing is to have Agenda Fusion integrate with Phatnotes...

[dlangton]

If only I could install it to flash memory.

I've always installed to a storage card. I know that Developer One claims that it has to be installed to main memory, but it works fine for me.

[Jerry Raia]

Mine is installed in the iPAQ File Store. Works fine.

[bbarker]

I think Developer One has said notifications don't work correctly when the program is installed to flash memory. Has that been a problem?

[Jerry Raia]

I get reminders if thats what you mean.

[petvas]

I think Developer One has said notifications don't work correctly when the program is installed to flash memory. Has that been a problem?
I dont think there is any issues with notifications in AF regardless of the installation location

[bbarker]

Sounds like I can put it in my onboard ROM area. Thanks!

[Abba Zabba]

Is anyone but me upset that they release a new version of either PIM wether PI or AF like every 5 -6 months. I feel like if I purchase this one that I should wait till version 7.8xxx or later that way I could get 8.xxx when it comes out a few weeks later :evil:

[bbarker]

Is anyone but me upset that they release a new version of either PIM wether PI or AF like every 5 -6 months. I feel like if I purchase this one that I should wait till version 7.8xxx or later that way I could get 8.xxx when it comes out a few weeks later :evil:
By coming out with a new full-numbered version (v6, v7, etc.) instead of an interim number (i.e., 6.9), they can charge for the upgrade whether or not it's really a major release.

[Jerry Raia]

You do wonder if you could have called this 6.9. I guess the rudimentary "Projects" is the new feature. Hence major upgrade.

[Tye]

Is anyone but me upset that they release a new version of either PIM wether PI or AF like every 5 -6 months. I feel like if I purchase this one that I should wait till version 7.8xxx or later that way I could get 8.xxx when it comes out a few weeks later :evil:

I don't keep up with the release schedule for AF, but PI5 was released last March. This means it's coming up at a full year before a major release from them. Personally, I think that's a fair time for a developer to wait to for new releases. Add into that the fact that there's usually a grace period of one or two months and your mention of a 5-6 month development time should be more than doubled.

How long should they wait to release new versions? I like upgrades... :?

[MBaas]

Ripper014 said:
Of the two PIM's I have always perferred this one just because the interface was more pleasing to my eye.

Interesting. I initially used AF, but with v5 (I think) I switched to PI because of better functionality. And with regards to eye-candy, if I compare the current version of PI to the AF-screenshots, I am more than happy to stay with PI, looks (and feels) much better than what AF is showing...

Michael

[PhilH]

I'm a long-time PI user but, I've got to admit, I only chose it over AF because it looked (to me) so much nicer. I'm sure AF lets you customise the colour scheme, but all the screenshots show gaudy magentas, blues and oranges.

The PI interface looks so much more professional and, by the looks of things, PI2005 is only going to improve on it.

[Doug Raeburn]

I'm a long-time PI user but, I've got to admit, I only chose it over AF because it looked (to me) so much nicer. I'm sure AF lets you customise the colour scheme, but all the screenshots show gaudy magentas, blues and oranges.

The PI interface looks so much more professional and, by the looks of things, PI2005 is only going to improve on it.

Yes, the color schemes can have a lot to do with how professional either of these products look. I'm going to suggest to John that they use more subtle coloring on screenshots in the future.

However, both products look very professional with a good color scheme, IMO:

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/AF_agenda.gif
AF with what I consider a better color scheme

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/PI_good.gif
My preferred PI color scheme - looking good

But neither product can overcome the impression left by a bad color scheme. You've already seen it for AF... here's a similarly bad one for PI (the Fire scheme):

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/PI_bad.gif
Apparently captured from Ronald McDonald's Pocket PC...

So hopefully we all can realize that both products are subject to these rules:

Bright, jarring colors = unprofessional
Subtle, coordinating colors = professional

[Jerry Raia]

I had to put my sunglasses on for that last one :lol:

[Shaun Stuart]

To be honest I am really dissapointed with the upgrade policy - I use Agenda Fusion 5.7 but if I want to upgrade I have to pay the full costs :cry:

Where is the loyalty to current customers - at least give the people that supported the product from the start some form of discount.

I actually have both PI and AF - I will wait to see what the upgrade cost will be for PI before buying but I doubt that I will be paying twice for AF when 5.7 and 7 are essentially the same products.

[bbarker]

For years I couldn't decide between AF and PI. Winning a copy of AF a few months ago finally made the decision for me.

[PhilH]

So hopefully we all can realize that both products are subject to these rules:

Bright, jarring colors = unprofessional
Subtle, coordinating colors = professional

I agree. WebIS had the good sense to use their more tasteful colour schemes in their screenshots. As a graphic designer, I am very aware how bad design can detract from excellent software and vice versa.

It's very difficult to ignore a bad first impression.

Anyway, I'm very happy with PI. In my opinion is one of the nicest pieces of software available.

[StarTide]

I'm sure the new project view is useful for some. but not for me. At this point I see no reason to upgrade. Unless there are some new features added to the calendar or task views, I'll stick with version 6.

Startide

[Jerry Raia]

I upgraded, just cause I have to have the latest. I know it's a sickness. :roll:

[Mona13]

I upgraded and it works faster on my x50v. Before, at times &amp; less when it was on BIS than main memory, it would freeze on the date selection. With the upgrade, it hasn't happened once yet.

I know Developer One doesn't recommend it, but I read on here that some people put it on their SD card, so I tried it and it's working great. No problems at all.

I haven't even tried Project yet, but I think I will like it. Just for the better speed it was worth the upgrade price.

Mona13

[Jerry Raia]

Mine is in iPAQ file store. No problems.

[jlp]

To counter balance this, here are some Informant 2005 informations with VGA and QVGA screen shots (http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/index.php?showtopic=6580&amp;st=0)

On page 3, Alex gives a hint about the most probable release date which seems to be aproximately in one month from now (if nothing unexpected happens I guess...)

[Doug Raeburn]

Just keep in mind that what you see at this point in the new Projects view is just the tip of the iceberg. Lots more to come in the various 7.x releases.

[pjerry220]

I have upgraded from version 6 to 7 on my HP Ipaq 4705. $15.00 is cool to me. I have used Developer One products since Agenda Today. I wish there was a way to incorporate Aenda Fusion in the Today screen.

I have never used Agenda Fusion on the Ipaq File Store but I will be trying it in a few minutes. If it doesn't cause any problems I will leave it there. I like all the internal free space for processing applications.

[Darius Wey]

Some of you may be interested to know that in the past couple of days, Agenda Fusion was updated to Version 7.10, so simply visit the link in the original thread post to update it. For a list of changes, click here. (http://www.developerone.com/agendafusion/version700.htm)

[Sooner Magic]

I currently have AF installed into Main Memory, but would like to try it out in iPAQ file store, but have a couple of questions.

I use categories and category images quite a bit. I currently store the images on a SD card with no problems. If I move AF to file store, will that potentially impact the access to the images?

And second, should I unintsall the current version prior to loading the file store install?

Finally, how much space in left in your file store after loading AF?

Thanks in advance.

[pjerry220]

And second, should I unintsall the current version prior to loading the file store install?

Yes, you should uninstall A7 before reloading A7 in file store. However, it should retain your registration key.[/quote]