Orchestra is a Collaborative, Synchronized, To-Do List app for iOS and Web
lifehacker.comSometimes the synchronicity of HN blows my mind. To wit:
I've been looking progressively harder for some kind of simple project management/task management tool. I've combed through quite a few so far (basecamp, hitask, wedooist, backpack, pretty much every service Google turns up). As of yet, nothing fits the bill.
Essentially I want to be a glorified secretary, but also the boss. I want to be able to get up in the morning, determine what needs to be done, then push "to do lists" to the appropriate people and let them take care of things. Most of the project management software is too complicated, or has far too many features, or is just plain awkward. Most of the task management stuff is too simple or does not allow multiple people to view/edit the list. Email is too cumbersome.
I think a number of the tools I've looked at have usable pieces. Worst case I'll have to adapt my vision to the tools that exist (ugh). But nothing has blown my mind.
So, lo and behold, I pop over to HN to kill some time and on the front page is a "collaborative, synchronized To-Do list" application. I'm going to give it a hard look, but if anyone has any other suggestions (or wants to build a tool!) let me know.
We want to build that tool, maybe you should work with us? :) I hope you come to love our product, what you are describing is what we are trying to build as a company. Give us feedback, please!
Are you possibly tying the voice transcription tool into how people edit the transcription so you can do some learning over time of what people mean? (ie improve the voice recognition over time?)
I really like how when its first launched it does a nice walk through of all the ui actions. Most people are terrible at discovering the full touch ui of apps, so good job there!
Legitimate question: how come it's free? Do you plan on charging at a later date, or is there some paid account necessary to share via web?
I just can't believe this would be completely free, no strings. I don't mean to cause offense or anything; I'd actually love to pay money for something like this.
I'm going to give it a look over the weekend. I must say, it looks interesting and has some unique features. I'm sure I'll have some insights for you after I mess around with it.
Having used it for a while now, I'm still blown away by how simple (yet effective) it is for getting tasks done. I wish I could escape the world of email, Fogbugz, and Pivotal Tracker... and bring everyone with me to Orchestra. Congrats on the great coverage, hope my wish becomes realized!
Android version better be coming soon.
I outsource small web dev projects with freelancers in India using this app and dropbox. It's fun to use. The push notifications are great.
We hear you. We're focused on bringing Orchestra to more platforms, we're hiring, too! If anyone is interested in working on this with us, we're hiring jobs (at) orchestra (dot) com, mention HN.
Without any disrespect, can you explain how you plan to differentiate yourself from astrid (www.astrid.com). Your app certainly rocks but I couldn't find any key differences.
On the surface Orchestra looks like any number of to-do lists, but beneath it's actually a real-time messaging system. Think group chat for getting things done, with sync that just works without ever having to "pull-to-refresh" (so 2009). Also, welcome to Hacker News!
I'm a long time lurker but registered so that I could ask you because I loved orchestra but I need the android app to be useful for me (ios+android you see)
Is this anything like Flow (http://www.getflow.com/)?
Yes, it's trying to meet a similar need. Orchestra is free (vs. $10/month/person) and has a stronger emphasis on mobile + realtime chat.
@gentry, congrats on the launch and the coverage! Waiting for an Android version :)