The guts have basically been done for the last 4 months, but it takes a whole lot of polishing to make it look and work up to the standards of our other apps. But it isn't from Apple itself, and the users don't seem to be - in general - all that satisfied with the existing alternatives. That having been said, there is existing direct competition on OS X for the app that I'm working on. Our apps take a lot of work and polish, and there just isn't enough residual unhappiness out there to make something like OmniMail or OmniPages or whatever worthwhile. Having lived through that, I think we are very shy about hitting an application area where Apple is including something with the OS. OmniWeb used to be the app that kept us in business, and now it is a distant third. The biggest thing that has happened as far as competition goes is, obviously, Safari.
#USING OMNIPLAN SOFTWARE#
I'd sort of agree with you about the sort of software niche that we look for, although all of our major apps came out when OS X was so new that there really wasn't much direct competition in any niche, so we didn't really have to think that much about avoiding strong competitors. And then if I'm successful, I won't be able to tell you about it. That's true, but if the Leopard preview comes and goes and there aren't significant iCal enhancements, I'll have another go of convincing my coworkers that it's something we should be doing. Also, I don't think the Leopard preview will guarantee a two year window because Apple could release an improved iCal in one of its yearly iLife updates. I'd love to see a real calendaring program as well, but it seems unlikely for precisely the reason Greg indicates. In all seriousness, If iCal remains unchanged in the Leopard preview at WWDC, then wouldn't that give you at least a two year window to own the app space? Is that not enough? I can guarantee you 100 site licenses on day one.
Really! There is always the danger that Apple will turn iCal into what it should be and immediately kill us, though, which is why I haven't been approved to do it yet.
#USING OMNIPLAN MAC#
What iCal should be, but isn't: a networkable, robust synching, workgroup calendar solution for the Mac based small business. This next application will be no different. Instead, every once in a while, they're going to show up with something nifty, ask for something reasonable in return, and then go about their business. The OmniGroup is not going to swoop down and save you from the applications you have grown to hate. But that's exactly where the Omnigroup has historically feared to tred, and is unlikely to go in the future. When people talk about what they want from Omni, they inevitably mention word processors, spreadsheets, email clients, and every other application with large, established competitors.
#USING OMNIPLAN MAC OS X#
(OmniWeb is arguable, but when Mac OS X first came out, it was pretty much the only game in town if you wanted a real OS X browser.) This appears to be the case for all of their major applications: OmniWeb, OmniOutliner, and OmniGraffle. It seems to me that, for the most part, Omni looks for software niches that are not (at the time of their original development) occupied by any strong competitors in the Mac community. I hate to be the party pooper, but I suspect it will not be anything that exciting.
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