DTTG1 is surprisingly robust compared to its competitors, even considering its advanced age. One thing I recently enjoyed a couple months ago while on the road and unable to access wifi (sometimes access, but on unsecured networks) was the bluetooth sync. Amazing. And simple. It’s not a terrible leap beyond what I had on my Sony Clio 11+ years ago. Yet, no one else has it.
In their race to the cloud (and all of the security / access issues that brings), all of the other companies left alternatives behind. In other words, as Jim said, they designed for the lowest common denominator. This is great for always connected folks who don’t have any sensitive data. But, if you aren’t comfortable with the cloud, or even unable to use it because that would expose you legally, then you are out of luck. The only folks spending the time to think through this stuff and design for lots of potential use cases is DT. Kudos to them for having a different business model.
In my opinion, one thing that has been missing for a long time in DT / DTTG (in my opinion) is effortless syncing. That’s something I hope that DTTG2 will bring to the table. I may not be able to just turn on my device and have it sync (as Evernote does), but hopefully just a single button push will accomplish the task, ideally through a cloud provider like Dropbox (encrypted database, of course) without my computer turned on in the same room. The fact is that Evernote doesn’t have encrypted databases or syncing outside the cloud. Neither does OneNote. DT does, and this attention to user needs puts it heads and shoulders above the competition, even if the development cycle takes a few years (aeons in Internet years).
They probably need a longer development cycle considering the size of their company and the market they are designing for (not really the grocery list cloud – a bit more demanding). I think we have to get used to that. DT has repeatedly explained over the years that they are working on DTTG2, and they’ve made no promises, beyond saying that the upgrade would be free for existing DTTG1 users. Just because we are impatient to receive it doesn’t make frustrated users right, regardless of whether they are in the minority or majority.
More importantly, to me, is the fact that I get to support a company that aligns with my values. They think security is important. They place value on producing a solid product over making money. They don’t make us join a subscription pay model. And, they take vacations. It’s inconvenient for us when they take off during the summer, but it is cool that they try and create a sustainable, healthy business for their employees. I’m cool with waiting a bit longer if it means that we are going to get a better product and we are supporting a better, more human-friendly business model.
Some stuff I like:
“While developing and selling high-end software with top personnel, our goal is to bring responsible action and responsibility for people and the environment together. Working on our team is as enjoyable as using the software created, and the impact on the environment is minimal.”
“We do not track app usage or receive any other data from installed copies of our apps.”
“We try to treat all people fair and equal, whether they are our customers or not. Our prices are reasonably calculated and not open to individual negotiations; we give student and educator discounts and we don’t take money from NPOs.”
“From Jun 8th through 22nd our headquarters will be closed for vacation. Customer support will, of course, be available but might be a tad slower than usual. Very technical questions that require an answer from our head developer or myself might get answered only when we are back and our Macs on June 23rd.”