ForumsNewsToodledo Update August 2019
Toodledo Update August 2019
| Author | Message |
|---|---|
|
Anant G. |
Hi Toodledo Users,
Many people on the forums are saying that Toodledo is shutting down, that is not really the case. We are not going anywhere. Stacksocial promotion was only for the new users so that we can raise some money for hiring more contractors to improve the product. Since users can export and import the backup of their accounts, we enabled use of that promotion for current free users as well. I have been working on Toodledo since we took over from Jake. I am working on my task list and will share it with you guys here in couple of days. Things are going slow because code base is very very old and in the past it was never updated. In last one year we managed to update the code and rolled out few updates along with new features. We know there are some major bugs in Toodledo that we will deal with starting next month. I will try to make everything transparent on what we are working on may be weekly basis. Our priorities for next month is to fix major bugs and roll out another beta release of the mobile app. Toodledo team needs lot of support from its community and we will improve and grow Toodledo from here. Hope I answered all your questions! If you want to talk with me, you can email me at : [email protected] Thanks |
|
dripke |
Thanks Anant!
|
|
jzamoras |
It could be nice to offer stacksocial like deal in current user base first, just sayin
This message was edited Aug 29, 2019. |
|
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020 |
Posted: Aug 29, 2019
Score: 11
Reference
Anant wrote: Many people on the forums are saying that Toodledo is shutting down, that is not really the case. We are not going anywhere.
------------------- Thank you, sir. If you study the history of database software apps, you'll see a common pattern that indicates end of product life. First the company is sold, development is frozen, new executives come and go without explanation, bizarre events happen (like fire sale prices on third-party promotional sites), the company issues denials about their troubles... and then... the company disappears or is acquired by another company that eventually retires the core product or transitions users to something different. You can see why people in this forum are concerned and skeptical. They are wondering why there has not been more honest and open communication, and why loyal users were not directly offered the special promotion ($40 for a five or ten year subscription) while they were still being offered the $60 per year full price that was many many times higher than the third party special (essentially $4 per year), which they were never told about... even after a year of confusion where the price first went up too high, and now seems too low for you to fund and sustain the company. Many of us love ToodleDo and want to keep using it. I personally am fine with it staying functionally the way it is now with no significant feature upgrades as long as the infrastructure is kept up to date and the server keeps running. But we all need to feel confident that the critical data that we pay to store on your server is going to be secure, protected, and available when we need to access it. The investment of time and effort that I expend every day into maintaining my calendar / task lists / files / and notes is many times greater than $4 per year or even $60 per year. Some users are not confident in the leadership that has been displayed by the company over the past several months. We hope that ToodleDo will survive and thrive. But please don't keep us in the dark, and if you plan to do any more crazy promotions (like another 93.33% price cut), please try to find a way to let us know first. Thank you sir. Live long and prosper. This message was edited Aug 29, 2019. |
|
guardprivy-1 |
Thank you for the update, Anant. Many of us longtime users want very much for Toodledo to succeed. Keeping your users up-to-date on the company's status and plans is an important way to establish and maintain trust and loyalty - two prerequisites for success. As a longtime gold subscriber, I don't need a new mobile app (I very much like the current Toodledo app on my iPhone), but I do like that you are addressing longstanding bugs. Toodledo is really best in class for GTD. You have a fabulous product which, with prudent stewardship, could well become a lucrative endeavor!
|
|
oletros |
Posted by Anant G.:
Stacksocial promotion was only for the new users so that we can raise some money for hiring more contractors to improve the product. Thanks Ufff, doesn't look good This message was edited Aug 30, 2019. |
|
mjbernstein |
Sounds like the ramblings of a grandiose drunkard creating a sediment on the empty beer barrel of life.
Anant--we need more. 1) The color tags have glitched. 2) The notes have glitched. 3) The auto-repeats have glitched. 4) The blog has never worked and went dark. 5) Promised made and delayed...and delayed...and delayed. Let's start with this. Update the team--who is the team--Aaron still listed as CEO, Sam and Ramon--who are they. Is there really a team or is there poor Anant being given an impossible task with minimal resources. I still have until late June 2020 before my subscription is up. But I have used the time to transition to (get this) paper. Nothing does for me what Toodledo could except paper. I will keep checking in and hoping to see something that I can trust--a correct team listing (proof of a team), a properly listed tier level, instructional videos that are up to date and when I see that (if I see that) I might renew. If I trust that my info my information is safe and secure and that I will not get a 404 error one day then I will go back. Marc This message was edited Aug 30, 2019. |
|
Ummagumma |
Hello Anant,
While Marc's reply is a bit harsh, in my opinion, he does raise a few important points. The lack of communication is very bad for user morale. Especially when there may have been some major shakeup at the top level which goes unannounced. Giving _lifetime_ subscriptions to new members which are cheaper than _yearly_ subscription that the loyal existing users are expected to pay is very bad for morale, it's a slap in the face actually. And the potential new users who fail to get the lifetime subscriptions are still going to be turned off by a very high price of the service. This reeks of desperation. The whole new pricing strategy has been extremely poorly thought through and executed, it really needs to be revamped back to sane level taking into account Toodledo's actual standing in the market. Not having a workable modern mobile application is a huge problem. Marc may be fine with pen and paper, but it's almost 2020 and you can't attract new users without it. All the bugs that don't get fixed are a huge problem. All together, it does not look good and paints a picture of a service in agony. Communicate, that's now one of your most important jobs. Even if the service is not dead already, it certainly will be if you lose the trust of your loyal user base, the ones who keep paying the bills. New users are going to read this forum and it does not instill confidence in TD. The best of luck. |
|
mjbernstein |
I meant to be harsh. I donated and paid what now seems peak price for a service; now glitchy. At the time Pink Java (Soap Opera Sam and Romantic Ramon were in charge) was in charge and I had confidence--now this vanished. Then All Talk and no Action Aaron pulls a vanishing act. During his tenure we all vote on all the changes we want and none happen.
Apple app update have been promised for YEARS. Where is Sam? Where is Ramon? What happened to Aaron? Is Anant able to do this full time or is it a side gig? What happened to Jake's unflappable commitment and confidence in Pink Java which disappeared very shortly after the sale of Toodledo? |
|
AA |
Posted by Ummagumma:
Not having a workable modern mobile application is a huge problem. You're exaggerating, I think. I use the Toodledo app on both Android and on iOS, and they're fine. Of course, I now only use Toodledo for tasks management and nothing else, the other sections being too buggy/unreliable. In any case, given the current state of things, doubling or tripling subscription prices compared to Jake's era is insanity. Guys, I knew it all along. As soon as I read the opening line of Jake's message announcing his sale of Toodledo ("Today is an exciting day for Toodledo", or something like that), I knew that was the beginning of the end. And here it is. This message was edited Sep 01, 2019. |
|
Ummagumma |
Posted by AA:
Posted by Ummagumma: Not having a workable modern mobile application is a huge problem. You're exaggerating, I think. I use the Toodledo app on both Android and on iOS, and they're fine. Of course, I now only use Toodledo for tasks management and nothing else, the other sections being too buggy/unreliable. In any case, given the current state of things, doubling or tripling subscription prices compared to Jake's era is insanity. Guys, I knew it all along. As soon as I read the opening line of Jake's message announcing his sale of Toodledo ("Today is an exciting day for Toodledo", or something like that), I knew that was the beginning of the end. And here it is. Well, with all due respect, I don't believe I am exaggerating at all. Toodledo mobile app on iOS does not provide background sync. At least it didn't when I used it. So unless I use a 3rd party tool that did provide background sync capability, I would have to remember to manually sync tasks if I was on a business trip and wanted to be alerted on time. It also does not support attachments - a premium feature that is one of the main perks of Gold subscription. It doesn't support Apple Watch or widgets. Basically, TD on iOS is an archaic app, just a little better than browser window. While I was still using Pocket Informant, this didn't really matter. Then PI was sold and became subscription based - on top of a redesign that I personally could not stand. This is when I realized all the limitations of TD on iOS. This is all a moot point, really. |
|
prusatomas |
Hi everybody,
the last Anant's post was 6 days ago. "I am working on my task list and will share it with you guys here in couple of days." When will you share it? "I will try to make everything transparent on what we are working on may be weekly basis." Any new information on progress? "Toodledo team needs lot of support from its community and we will improve and grow Toodledo from here." Is here any active member of your team? Please let us know here. "Hope I answered all your questions! If you want to talk with me, you can email me at : [email protected]" Transparent answers are not in a private email conversation but they should be here. Where the questions are, I would like to find also the answers. Watching this development is frustrating and I can't trust the service in this state - without a vision, without a transparency, without a development, with bugs, without a communication,... I was a gold subscriber until April and from the moment I haven't see a reason to renew it. That is a pity. Best wishes Tom This message was edited Sep 05, 2019. |
|
mjbernstein |
I have become a real Negative Nancy and now I am sorta having fun.
It's like watching a car wreck in slow motion from which I cannot divert my eyes. Anant promises the world as have those before him...then we have a report of tasks appearing directing people to suspicious websites--that should be a major, major and not a peep from admin. I feel very entitled to be a real twit--because I paid in the past and heck I paid all the way to June 2020. So may as well have some fun with it since I had to transfer all my task management. At this point I do not think there is a team. It's a sad joke. Anant--prove me wrong and I will apologize. Marc |
|
CJD |
I have been a Gold member for years and years.
I expire in a few days, I have moved to Toodest, but it lacks a certain key features. I am in such a conundrum as to what to do, plus the big price jump, for what I am not sure. |
|
crs_pl |
imagine if Toodledo code would be released as Open Source so everybody could contribute and make application better. It would also make possible to host it on your own server. I can't even express how great it would be for me.
|
|
AA |
Posted by Ummagumma:
Toodledo mobile app on iOS does not provide background sync. At least it didn't when I used it. So unless I use a 3rd party tool that did provide background sync capability, I would have to remember to manually sync tasks if I was on a business trip and wanted to be alerted on time. I don't think so. I think you can set up alarms to "come from the website", so then they arrive on your mobile device without you having to sync anything manually in advance. At least it seems to work for me. (I use both Android and iOS, and I'm not sure if it works on both platforms, but it definitely works on at least one of them; I'd say iOS for sure.) |
|
Ob-La-Di+ruben |
Posted by mjbernstein:
It's like watching a car wreck in slow motion ... Then we have a report of tasks appearing directing people to suspicious websites Hi Marc, I think I missed when it was called out that tasks are appearing in user's tasks lists directing folks to other websites. That's really bad. Can you point me to that? Is it this one from Joel? If so, he never really clarified what he meant by someone asking him for money. Do you know more? New task appears - "Security Notice - Someone has access to your system Train wreck - seems so - hoping perhaps we'll be able to stick with the status quo, at least. Thanks. |
|
mjbernstein |
That is what I was referring to. Demands immediate addressing. Seems a potential hack...must at least be addressed.
|
|
c5000nc |
I think those may be spam to email that gets sent oto ToodleDo, maybe by your settings. I get those periodically. I don't think they are caused by ToodleDo and seem harmless if you don't click on the link in the email. I just delete them on ToodleDo and email.
|
|
mjbernstein |
Posted by Anant G.:
Hi Toodledo Users, Many people on the forums are saying that Toodledo is shutting down, that is not really the case. We are not going anywhere. Stacksocial promotion was only for the new users so that we can raise some money for hiring more contractors to improve the product. Since users can export and import the backup of their accounts, we enabled use of that promotion for current free users as well. I have been working on Toodledo since we took over from Jake. I am working on my task list and will share it with you guys here in couple of days. Things are going slow because code base is very very old and in the past it was never updated. In last one year we managed to update the code and rolled out few updates along with new features. We know there are some major bugs in Toodledo that we will deal with starting next month. I will try to make everything transparent on what we are working on may be weekly basis. Our priorities for next month is to fix major bugs and roll out another beta release of the mobile app. Toodledo team needs lot of support from its community and we will improve and grow Toodledo from here. Hope I answered all your questions! If you want to talk with me, you can email me at : [email protected] Thanks A couple of days--come and gone. Weekly update come and gone. Monthly updates long gone. So far we have seen only words and no action and I paid in advance. Fool me once shame on you...I will not be fooled twice. I am as mad as a hornet. Marc |
You cannot reply yet
U Back to topic home
R Post a reply
To participate in these forums, you must be signed in.