The Omni Show

Thirty (yes, 30!!) years of OmniGroup.com, 100 Episodes of the Omni Show, AND the 5th anniversary of this podcast? We try to contain our excitement as we reminisce with Ken Case. Various guests from past Omni Show episodes also send their greetings.

In this episode, Ken and Andrew time-travel to 1992...when it took all morning (and 35 floppy disks) to install an OS, Steve Jobs was at NeXT, and the internet was limited only by our imagination (and corresponding modem speeds).

While many things have changed over the last 30 years, at least one thing's been constant: our love of creating great tools that make people more productive.

Here's to you — our community — and here's to another 30 amazing years.

Some other people, places, and things mentioned:

Today, we’re talking with Leah Ferguson.  Leah’s a Canadian designer who creates experiences in the digital and built environment through way-finding and information architecture. In her spare time, she loves helping people navigate the world of personal knowledge management.

In this episode, Leah and Andrew talk about the power of environmental cues, context, and forward-thinking in reaching peak productivity.

Some other people, places, and things mentioned:

Today, we’re joined by Professor Inger Mewborn (Director of Researcher Development at Australian National University) and Jason Downs (Deputy Director, Quality and Standards at La Trobe University). Collectively, they host a great productivity podcast called “On the Reg.”

In this episode, they talk about using tags to stay sane, teaching others how to stay productive, and implementing a magical combination of both OmniFocus and the Bullet Journal. Professor Inger, also known around the interwebs as “Thesiswhisperer," may even school Andrew on a few Australianisms along the way (Milk Bar?  Who knew?).

Some other people, places, and things mentioned:

Ken Case, CEO, joins the show to break down his post-WWDC 2022 Roadmap.

What’s the latest? What’s amazingly cool? And — the annual question — just how much work will we be doing this summer?

With continual OmniFocus 4 progress, OmniFocus for the Web updates, single sign-on (SSO) authentication for enterprise customers, and more - there’s plenty of exciting stuff to talk about.

Andrew & Ken also speculate on what just-announced features might be useful in Omni software down the road.  Listen in for all the latest details.

You can find Ken Case on Twitter @kcase.

Some other people, places, and things mentioned:

It's probably no surprise that writing software is a somewhat difficult task. There's an unfathomable amount of iteration and detective work that goes into creating a product that feels intuitive for the new user, yet familiar to the ardent fan.

Surprisingly, the art of crafting effective software documentation demands some of the exact same iteration and detective skills. Inserting helpful guidance at just the right point in the user conversation (without over-explaining) can be a tricky dance.

Luckily, Dave Lonning, documentation wrangler, is up to the challenge. He returns to the Omni show (Episode 10, for you longtime listeners!) to talk about how his role has shifted over the last few years. Andrew and Dave discuss how he's approached the fresh challenges emerging in the software documentation process.

You can find Dave @davelonning on Twitter.

Some other people, places, and things mentioned:

Today, we’re spending time with Sam Newman.

In this episode, Sam shares how his passion for visual communication led to the creation of hundreds of OmniGraffle designs, many of which powered the illustrations in his popular "Building Microservices” book from O’Reilly.

On today’s show, we talk with Kaitlin Salzke. Kaitlin’s a tax accountant, mother, plus a computer science student, who just happens to be moving two hours away (all while coding OmniFocus plug-ins in her spare time!)

In this episode, Kaitlin details the mindset and practice behind her ability to keep multiple complex projects moving at once. She’s given her OmniFocus setup superpowers by taking maximum advantage of Omni Automation & plug-ins. You’ll love how easily she balances the theory of automation and plug-in coding with honest, real-world task execution.

Today, we’re hanging out with Stephen Dolan. Stephen is the chief of staff at Tuple, a company that makes remote pair screen-sharing software for programmers / developers.

In this episode, Stephen shares how he uses OmniFocus to manage operations at Tuple, plan his daily tasks, and keep others accountable. You’re sure to enjoy Stephen's perspective on OmniFocus and his ability to articulate it with clarity.

We’re honored to have Dr. Mark Hutchinson with us today. He’s the Director of the Arc Center for Excellence for Nano-Scale Biophotonics and the current president of Science and Technology Australia.  He also happens to be an avid OmniFocus user!

In this episode, Dr. Hutchinson and Andrew talk about the latest exciting advances in biophotonics. Mark also shares about how he uses OmniFocus to manage himself and his team.

Dr. Amy J. Ko's a respected professor at the University of Washington Information School and an adjunct professor at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering.

Dr. Amy directs the Code and Cognition Lab, where she and her students study computer science education, human-computer interaction, and humanity's individual and collective struggle to understand computing and harness it for equity and justice.