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Author Topic: In search of ... Android-Windows task software  (Read 5373 times)

barney

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In search of ... Android-Windows task software
« on: December 01, 2015, 12:12 AM »
Folk,

Have a friend, [Capt.] Chris, who runs a sailing school.  Has a Galaxy S5 (Android).  He's been pretty unsuccessful finding a task management program that isn't overkill.  Told him I'd ask around here.

Due to scheduling, he's frequently out on a five (5) day class when some bills come due.  So he needs a task manager/reminder list that will
  • alert him when a bill is coming due, say two (2) or three (3) days in advance
  • alert the day the bill is due
  • bug him until the bill is paid, i.e. he manually kills the warning w/o killing the task

As a ferinstance, he has dock fees due on one (1) date, phone bull due on another date, maintenance tasks on the boats on a regular schedule (no fixed date, but schedulred nontheless), boat girl(s) to clean the boats after a class (no fixed schedule), and so on.  Problem is that his extended classes require four (4) to five (5) days, depending upon the courses, with a goodly part of that time spent overnight at anchor or at other marinas than his base marina.  So if he has a five (5) day class starting Monday and a bill or task is due Wednesday, he'll likely forget it by end-of-class Friday.  His description of some of his student body on some of the classes is, "I'm just waiting to see how this class will try to kill me."  He isn't far wrong, if at all.  Most of his students are brand-new to sailing, so no amount of lecture time is going to keep them from making mistakes that could kill him, them, and the boat  :o :P.  Should go without saying that bills are not a primary concern at such a time  :D.

So.
I would ask of you, collectively, whether you know of such an app?  Not a search, but one (1) you've actually used/tested?  'Twould be a plus should it also function on Windows (XP or 7 as of now).

We've both searched the apps available, and found eleventy-seven variations, some too simplistic, most overly complex, but none that really fill the bill on functionality.  I've found a few that worked well, but they did not support scheduling.  Each month's tasks had to be entered manually every month.  So I guess this would be a combination of a scheduling system combined with a grocery list - one (1) time entry - of items.  If he spots a problem with a boat while at sea - not life-threatening, but requiring attention nonetheless - he's prone to forget it once the sail is done [until the next time he takes that boat out, of course!].  There are also times he needs to make note of some part(s) or part number[s) for a trip to a hardware store or a repair facility.

Bottom line, as near as I can figure, is that he needs a combination long-term scheduler and a grocery list combo.  Anyone familiar with such a beastie  :-\?  Please?
« Last Edit: December 01, 2015, 12:24 AM by barney »

4wd

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Re: In search of ... Android-Windows task software
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2015, 01:20 AM »
FWIW, I use Google Calendar for scheduling reminders, you can assign multiple alerts for each task/event, eg. 5 days in advance + 2 days in advance + 1 hour in advance.  The alerts can either be put to sleep, (ie. they'll keep bugging you), or dismissed entirely.

You can access the Calendar in Windows either by a browser or I use Thunderbird with the Lightning extension.  Probably any other software able to access CalDAV or the Google API would be OK.

Scheduling is pretty flexible, I have things scheduled specific date in each month, annually, biannually, last Friday of the month, etc, etc.

I also use it for just noting down things I've done on a specific date, eg. service the car, distance traveled, bought something, general note kind of things, etc.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2015, 01:25 AM by 4wd »

dspelley

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Re: In search of ... Android-Windows task software
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2015, 07:14 PM »
I've been a ToDoist user for the last few months and like it very much. Cross platform - Windows, iOS, OS X, Android. They have extensions for both Chrome and Firefox. Can also email tasks to it. Free, but some advanced features may require subscription.
We are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we grapple with problems. But there are tens of thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on.
--- Richard Feynman (1918-1988)

jeromg

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Re: In search of ... Android-Windows task software
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2015, 03:26 PM »
I would recommend MyLifeOrganized, they just launched their new (long awaited) Android app which is really great. There is a learning curve with MLO but it's well worth the investment. Over the last 10 years, I've tried many task tools, the only one I always come back to is MLO.

Cheers,

Jerome

dr_andus

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Re: In search of ... Android-Windows task software
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2015, 06:18 PM »
FWIW, I use Google Calendar for scheduling reminders, you can assign multiple alerts for each task/event, eg. 5 days in advance + 2 days in advance + 1 hour in advance.

Gee, I completely missed that! Good to know...

dr_andus

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Re: In search of ... Android-Windows task software
« Reply #5 on: December 07, 2015, 06:29 PM »
he needs a combination long-term scheduler and a grocery list combo.

I'd second 4wd's suggestion re Google Calendar. It syncs with every platform (via browser - it helps to make it the home page of the browser or pin it as the first tab to open automatically). The reminders are there. And if you want to see it as a grocery list, just need to switch to "Agenda" view.

Nod5

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Re: In search of ... Android-Windows task software
« Reply #6 on: December 13, 2015, 03:38 PM »
Google Calendar now also has new, enhanced Reminders features.



http://gmailblog.blo...google-calendar.html