SOULBARN  I don't quite get all the four and five star reviews.

Things is really good. It might be the best complex, GTD-oriented task manager out there.

But that's because most of them are awful.

Yes, the Things creators have done their homework and are on the way to something great.

But they aren't there yet. They aren't even close.

The software has plenty of unimplemented features - I won't go into all of them, because even the rave reviews mention them. For my purposes, the worst among them is machine-to-machine sync. Essential for power users who carry more than once machine. (And if that's not available, then iPhone sync - and not the kludgy iPhone wifi sync. It needs to be seamless, as it is with other iPhone task managers.)

(I'm revealing my biases here - a genuine five-star task manager MUST, in my view, be universally available; that means on my iPhone and at least on my travel and home machines. I believe this is a reasonable expectation, both because it is fairly standard in the category's feature set, and because the Things folks have more or less said so.)

Right now, the best alternatives are a Remember The Milk or ToodleDo account, plus the ToDo, RTM, or ToodleDo native iPhone app. Neither RTM nor ToodleDo are as pretty or intuitive as Things, but both offer extraordinary feature sets, including RSS feeds, text message reminders, Google gadgets, and open APIs that may (for many users) compensate for the lack of beauty in the interface, since the feature sets - especially with ToodleDo, which allows folder-based project management - are pretty close (too bad that ToodleDo is shamefully ugly.)

ToodleDo's iPhone app is $3.95, and it works quite well; ToDo is $9.95, the same as the Things app, and it syncs with both RTM or ToodleDo, or via Wifi with your desktop. I'm not saying that these are necessarily better than Things in all ways - but I do assert that they're more mature, and that it is Things' lack of maturity that is the reason it does not yet merit the accolades it is being given, and that merits a "buyer beware" at this point.

I'd add that at the price for Things and the iPhone app, the bar is set very, very high. I'm not saying the product is too expensive - in fact, I'm all in favor of charging as much as the market will bear. But I believe that there's a disconnect between what people think they're getting and what they actually are.

I'm also dismayed that Things recently removed their user forums from their website; again, at the price, offering such an area for comments and help - even if critical - seems near-obligatory, and it makes me suspicious.

I like Things. A lot. It has the potential to be the best task manager available. But it has yet to live up to that potential, and with so many missing features at the premium we're being asked to pay, I can't possibly see it as anything more than a three-star app. Those fourth and fifth stars need to be -earned-, not offered for future promises and potential, which Things may or may not - and I hope it does - deliver.

I urge anyone considering buying this to give the demo a hard, hard look.   
(Version 1.1.2)

SOULBARN  Well, to be honest, I'm just trying it now. It seems to function as promised with Aperture, which is a plus. But - other than to get a free copy - I don't have much more to say at this point, as I haven't yet given it a true workout. (Sorry to be so drab, but that's the truth!)  
(Version 1.8r7)

SOULBARN  I am not trying to be super-negative, but this version - which has even more features - still can't get the basics right:

- INEXCUSABLY Loses data

- Fails to sync properly - or at all.

In addition:

- Even when you tell it not to sync contacts and calendars, it does (increasing the risk of data loss.)

-It is virtually impossible to fully uninstall.

-The items that do sync often show up as read only on the client machine, making two-way changes impossible.

-Syncs are slow and often time out.

- Still creates "ghost items" - note entries that don't appear in the database, and that have no titles - that get caught in an endless loop, constantly calling the "conflict resolver" dialogue, over and over and over...

- Still a blackout on user-to-user support.

What says it all? If you look at the sync log, you'll find that the software generates error messages like this (a direct quote, btw):

"Failed to launch sync session for some reason."

I spent a full day trying this software out - that's how much I value the features it offers, but doesn't deliver. Chronos should be ashamed.

I can give the "reason" the error message refers to: Soho Notes is junk.  
(Version 5.7.1)

SOULBARN  AMAZING FEATURE SET - and the worst implementation you'll find (not to mention callous tech support.)

I love SOHO notes - when it works. It is so much more capable and richer than the other similar note-taking database programs.

BUT - many of the features SOHO offers just don't work. Primary among them is .Mac sync., which not only fails frequently, but does so in a way that loses data. I could detail a dozen other problems.

And don't expect help from the manufacturer. After the SOHO problems began piling up, Chronos - rather than offering a fix - simply pulled their online forums. Tech support is only available by email. There's a paid and free version of the email support. I sent a question to the free one and never got an answer. Nor did the company's CEO respond to a personal letter asking for help, assistance, basic info, news, etc.

Too much time acquiring new customers, not enough time taking care of the existing ones. I regret saying this, because deep down, there's a gem of a program in SOHO notes...at the moment, though, you end up with something more like a lump of coal.  
(Version 5.6.2)

SOULBARN  I've owned both Pocket Mac and Missing Sync. I can't comment on the customer service issues (people seem to have complaints about both companies) but I can say that Missing Sync is - to me - the better of the two programs.

The downside is that this means that Missing Sync works more often (and fails less often) than Pocket Mac. But MS does have plenty of glitches, some of which lead to if not data loss, then date headaches. Pocket Mac led to more data loss for me, and was far more glitchy in terms of crashes, installs, speed, recognizing my devices, and consuming system resources.

Neither of these programs is elegant; MS is more successful because it sticks to the core functions - syncing your contacts, tasks, and appointments - and does it at a C+ to B- level of acceptability.

The lesson here? I'm betting that getting these complicated Windows Mobile devices to sync to non-Windows computers, with non-Windows software requires kludges beyond belief.

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(Version 2.5.1)