HomeTime-Tracker 2.0 Preview
It has been a busy holiday season and I’m running a bit behind schedule, but Time-Tracker 2.0 is almost ready. So, without any further introduction, check it out here:
http://www.formassembly.com/time-tracker2/
The application runs in ‘read-only’ mode, which means you can view your existing tasks and play with the new app safely, but changes are not recorded. This quarantine period will insure that everything run smoothly and that no data will get corrupted or lost in the upgrade. This also means registration doesn’t work. Go to Time-Tracker 1.0 if you want to register.
New Features in Time-Tracker 2.0
- Drag & Drop sorting.
- Sub-tasks - Tasks can be nested under each other.
- Safari & Opera support (tested with Safari 2.0 and Opera 8.5).
- Filters, to show duration for the day, week or month.
- Improved user interface.
- Runs on Freja- the new zero-latency Javascript Framework -
Upcoming features
- Task Reports
- Complete API
- Windows & Mac Widgets
If you’d like to contribute one of the feature above, email me. Any help is appreciated !
Technorati Tags: Productivity, Time Management, Ajax, Freja
January 1st, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Nice, but the requirement of “aditional browser” plug-ins for the Date selection is ugly IMHO. There are many javascript based solutions and a pure DHTML application is much better.
January 2nd, 2006 at 9:13 pm
please, Please, PLEASE stop using low-contrast colors. They may look aesthetically pleasing, but they’re horrible for day-to-day usability. Eye strain is already enough of a problem for your typical user. Try not to make it worse!
January 2nd, 2006 at 9:16 pm
Ahem… I recant. Apparently that fit of irrationality was triggered by the continuing usage of TimeTracker V1 and the form assembly pages.
January 2nd, 2006 at 9:30 pm
A few more productive comments:
I like the new clock widget, a great improvement over that in v1. That said, I don’t disagree w/ Ahmed either, though I like being able to “wind” the clock, and I’m not sure you could reproduce that in javascript so easily.
It’d be nice to see the xml export, to know if / how I need to update my excel reporting spreadsheet to support v2. I have added some gantt-chart functionality to the spreadsheet that I should also release.
January 4th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Wow, that new clock is *so* much better than the v1 clock.
Two ideas:
1. With the time filter, it’d be awesome to be able to set your own date ranges, so in addition to “Show Today” you could show yesterday or any date or date range you want.
2. It’s really difficult to get a task to be a subtask. I actually have the same suggestion about the form builder.
I can’t wait for v2! Happy new year.
January 6th, 2006 at 3:42 am
Brett, yes I want to add a custom range in the filter… I temporarily gave up the idea because I couldn’t find a javascript calendar component that would allow the selection of a week or a month.
About the dra&drop to a subtask I’ll see what I can do to improve the usability… but what’s the main problem in your opinion ?
January 6th, 2006 at 3:43 am
Bryce.. the changes to the XML are minimal so far. I’ll get a sample for you asap.
January 8th, 2006 at 8:29 am
this looks awesome!
only things I’d add to a wishlist would be the ability to add notes to time slices (sure I worked 4 hours for client X but what the heck did I do!) and maybe have a way of syncing to Outlook (so if I’m out of the office I can record time on my Smartphone in Outlook, Active Sync back to the PC and then sync that to Time-Tracker)
January 9th, 2006 at 10:10 am
OBM, the time slices comment is a good suggestion, and easy to implement, so you might see it soon.
The synchronization issue is an important one, but I think I will set up an API first, and see from there.
January 10th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
How about a nag feature that you can set for a specific time interval. That then opens a new window that you can say what you’ve been working on for that time period.
January 12th, 2006 at 1:49 am
I just discovered your site & this program today, and must say I’m quite impressed! I’ve been considering developing a time management program of my own, but, not being interested in reinventing the wheel unless it’s necessary — is there any possibility of your releasing Time Tracker under the GPL or LGPL?
January 12th, 2006 at 3:49 am
Julie, thanks for your comment. I’ve no plan at this point to release the Time-Tracker as open-source. It wouldn’t make much sense anyway since it’s a web-hosted service.
It will remain free for the forseable future though. I also intend to release an API so that 3rd party tools can integrate it and/or provide alternate user-interface (thinking desktop widgets.)
Freja, on the other hand is open-source. It’s the javascript framework under the Time-Tracker’s hood.
January 12th, 2006 at 3:54 am
Michael, the nag feature is interesting. I can see how it could help people to keep their schedule on track.
To be effective though their should be a way to alert the user even when he’s not on the time-tracker (since keeping the browser open is not required). An email notification would be easy to do.. I guess some people would like SMS and whatnot.
I’ll try something simple for a start, but it won’t make it for 2.0 which I intend to release very soon.
January 12th, 2006 at 8:34 pm
Ah. I’m just so used to free web software = open-source web software that it always surprises me a bit when that isn’t the case. But it makes much more sense (i.e. as a business model) to do it the way you’re doing it, obviously, so I can’t complain.
Thanks for providing it for free.
January 13th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
I would move the OK button to the top of the page. Or some semblance of it. When I add a task and the screen moves down (showing the clock) I invariably have to scroll down to hit the OK.
No biggie of course
. Just feedback
Stickining with it.