The Omni Group

For many years now we've had an integrated crash reporting system.  This has helped improve the stability of our applications immensely (often report now start out with “Wow, this is the first crash I've seen…”).  But, it hasn't always been clear (especially in the alpha or beta timeframe) how well we were doing on overall stability.  We could guess by counting the number of crash reports vs. an estimate of the number of active users, but that wasn't very convincing.

Near the beginning of June, I added some support to our software update and crash logging frameworks to keep track of things like:

• total times the application has been launched

• total number of crashes

• total amount of time the application has been running

(As always, our software update system reports its information without including any personal details, and can be disabled entirely if so desired.)

Using this, we can now chart the total number of hours OmniFocus has been running vs. the total number of crashes (reported or not!).  As the pool of people testing OmniFocus goes up, or some testers go idle, or some user with large number of crashes isn't reporting them, we don't have to wonder as much how that affects our average crash rate.

After my latest crash fix, our rate has improved to about 8000 hours per crash.  We aren't sure yet what constitutes a reasonable lower limit for hours/crash, but this does let us notice when a fix we've made actually is addressing the issue.  We aren't yet tracking the number of hours that the application is active (an hour spent hidden counts the same as an hour spent in full use).  Whether this matters, when averaged across a large number of users, is open to question.

Still, there are only 8760 hours in a year, so if we can get above that, we'll be feeling pretty good.

Wim came up with a neat trick a while back that we've used to find and fix several bugs in our software, and to file a bunch of Radars.  There are several messenger dispatch functions in the Objective-C runtime.  Of particular interest here are objc_msgSend_fpret and objc_msgSend_stret.  These are used by the compiler when calling a method that returns a float or struct, respectively.

Depending on your architecture, the result of such a message can be undefined when sent to nil.  Messaging nil is very useful most of the time, but you can introduce rarely manifesting bugs in this case.

Looking at the disassembly for these two functions in gdb, though, gives us an easy way to catch them.  Under 10.4.8/x86, we see the following:

(gdb) x/50i objc_msgSend_fpret

0x90a573c0 :        mov    4(%esp),%eax

0x90a573c4 :      test   %eax,%eax

0x90a573c6 :      je     0x90a57420 

0x90a573c8 :      mov    0(%eax),%eax

...

That is, load the first argument, check for zero, if so jump to 0x90a57420.

Likewise, in objc_msgSend_stret:

(gdb) x/50i objc_msgSend_stret

0x90a57340 :        mov    8(%esp),%eax

0x90a57344 :      test   %eax,%eax

0x90a57346 :      je     0x90a573a0 

0x90a57348 :      mov    0(%eax),%eax

...

In our ~/.gdbinit we can have:

# Nil-handling path for objc_msgSend_fpret.

b *0x90a57420

comm

  p (char *)$ecx

end

# Nil-handling path for objc_msgSend_stret.

b *0x90a573a0

comm

  p (char *)$ecx

end

(where the print command shows the selector).

Omni's currently looking for a coder to help us implement our award winning apps.  Send in a resumé and join the fun!

Welcome to the third, and for this week anyway, final installment of “You Ask, We Answer!”. Brought to you by Diet Coke and the letter Q.

(Q for Qwality!)

Ayjay asked, many Mac developers have moved away from the use of drawers (especially now that Apple has taken them away from Mail) but you guys still feature drawers-a-plenty. What do you like about drawers? Have you thought about any other ways of implementing the functionality that drawers give you?

Ooh, good question. I had to call in the troops for help on this one, since my opinions on drawers are mainly limited to the kind you put your socks in. Ken, our CEO, and Bill, our UI Lead, put their heads together to answer you:

'We like drawers because they are a great place for content that belongs to the main window but doesn't necessarily need to be there all the time. They're great for “source lists”, from which you can choose what to view in the main window, like OmniGraffle's canvases or OmniWeb's tabs. Perhaps best of all, unlike a sidebar, you can show, hide, or resize a drawer all day long without affecting the dimensions or layout of the main content. And in Omni apps, you can move the drawer to whichever side of the window you prefer by Option-clicking the drawer button in the toolbar.

The problem with drawers, of course, is that the things just don't look modern. While the rest of Mac OS X interface was getting the sleek plastic or metal treatment, drawers are still as pinstripey, space-wastey, and noisy as they were the day they were introduced. Unless we want to cobble together and maintain some sort of custom fake drawer ourselves (or—gasp!—Apple actually updates drawers' appearance), we're going to have to get away from drawers eventually.

In meetings for our new products, we've talked about how to deal with this problem, and we think we may have come up with a good hybrid of the useful drawer and the sleek sidebar. You may end up seeing the first incarnation of it in OmniFocus, if we can do it right.'

Spencer says, I have had no luck at all with storing OmniGraffle documents in Subverson.  The icon seems to contain an illegal character or something.

Here's the response from our OmniGraffle tech support/product manager NINJA EXTRAORDINAIRE:

'This is likely due to OmniGraffle saving the files out as packages, which other file systems can have difficulty dealing with.

OmniGraffle will automatically save a file out to a package if an image or external graphic is present in the document; there is a hidden preference to avoid this behavior that can be enabled from the command line. To get OmniGraffle to always save as a “flat” file (which will have no problems on other filesystems), open up Terminal.app and paste this in:

defaults write com.omnigroup.OmniGraffle PrivateGraffleFlatFile 0

Afterwards, new documents should always save as a monolithic file, you may have to perform a “Save As” for existing documents to convert them.'

Man, I'm loving this whole 'fob off the hard questions on other Omni employees' gig. What else have you got, commenters? Bring. It. On! *spirit hands*

Matt wants to know, Do you guys plan on fixing RSS anytime soon? Its a sometimes it work, sometimes it doesn't work symptom. Usually I have to relaunch OmniWeb to get it to recheck RSS feeds- it doesn't do it by itself even though I have it set to recheck the feeds every hour.

Dang, this one's less fun to answer. Turns out we've seen this issue and we're able to reproduce it. It's a bug that we're hoping to fix in an upcoming release, after the 5.5.1 update. Sorry about that!

Conor asks, Can you tell me if OmniFocus will liason with OmniPlan so that you can plan projects in OmniPlan and then download your personal tasks into OmniFocus? Also, are there any plans to allow Wintel users to edit OmniPlan? I work in a mixed-platform office and, while I do most of the project planning on my mac, it would be nice to enable other employees to check off tasks, etc.

We would love for OmniFocus and OmniPlan to work together that way, but I think it's safe to say that they won't for OmniFocus 1.0. We're trying to limit the scope to what we can actually get out the door in a (hopefully) reasonable amount of time, but it's definitely on the plate for future consideration.

As for Wintel users…well, we likely won't ever have a cross-platform version of OmniPlan, but you can use OmniPlan to export to .mpx, .mpp, and MSPDI .xml for sharing with Microsoft Project and other project management applications. You can also export to a .csv file for import into Excel, and if people just need to see the data, not update it, you can export the Gantt, outline or both into several different image formats (PDF, PNG, TIFF, JPEG). And! You can export to html – either a single table of tasks, or a mini-website with a Gantt chart, tables, and calendar files that can be imported into iCal, Outlook or other calendaring apps.

Thanks for all your questions, folks, and if I didn't get to yours this week, my apologies. Please stay tuned for an Exciting Announcement (note: your excitement may vary) about OmniWeb I will be posting later today. Same blog time, same blog channel.

Happy Halloween, Omni blog readers! Troy is wearing a purple wig today, James is sporting some bright orange socks with bats on them (although for James that's a fairly typical fashion choice), Ken is wearing a lab coat, and Greg's son Miles has been transformed into…well, Darth Toddler:

Hee. I love the thumbs up gesture, there.

Okay! On to more questions, before all our pumpkins turn into…uh…chariots, or something.

Dan asks, Is there any sort of official list of ideas and feature requests for future releases?  Have you ever thought of doing something like an “OmniProduct Focus Group,” or is this something that would be completely unnecessary?

We definitely have an internal system for tracking ideas, feature requests, and bugs, and assigning things to specific target releases for all of our products. I'm guessing you're wondering more about a publicly available list, so you can see what's already been suggested? We don't have such a thing, exactly, but you can see what other people are talking about on our forums, and add your input there. Otherwise, we always welcome feedback via email, so please feel free to send us your requests.

As for a focus group, we've never hosted a formal type of group (the kind where you get free soda and people with clipboards peer at you from behind one-way mirrors), although we have asked people to join an “Alpha Brute Squad” where they get a really early look at our software (sometimes when it's in a mildly terrifying, devouring-its-own-tail state of bugdom!) and have a chance to provide feedback on features and UI before it goes into public beta.

I don't yet know what we'll be doing for OmniFocus, but I'd recommend signing up on this mailing list if you're interested in potentially being tapped for Brute Squad duty.

Kirk wonders, Any chance of transferring an Outliner license to Focus when it comes out?

Sort of. We will be offering discounted OmniFocus licenses for OmniOutliner customers, so while you won't be able to transfer one app license to another, you won't be charged full price either. We haven't made any final pricing decisions, but we definitely recognize that we need cross-product discounting.

David asks, How do I enter curved text in OmniGraffle?  That is, if I want a line of text to follow a curved path (like a squiggle or around a circle/arc), can it be done [...]?

Sorry, you can't created curved text in OmniGraffle (although you should be able to copy and paste it in from a graphic created elsewhere). If you don't have Illustrator, as you mentioned, maybe something like LineForm or EazyDraw would work?

Dan asked another question: is there a story for the change in the status of Omni's apps that come bundled with most Macs, with the switch to Intel?  (Specifically, the addition of OmniOutliner to all consumer Macs and the loss of OmniGraffle.)

If there's a story, only Apple knows it. We don't really have any influence over what Apple decides to include, or not include, in their hardware – we just review what they ultimately propose and decide if we want to say yea or nay. The expanded bundle deal for Outliner has been great, although in general I wish our software were easier to discover. You know, instead of being all tidily tucked away in the Applications folder, maybe it could be…sitting in the Dock? (Apple? I'm just sayin'.)

Nik asked several questions, most of which I've sent on to tech support,  but here's one for the blog: Is it possible to save an OmniOutliner document so that it's JUST the XML file and doesn't have the bundle “wrapper” around it? (Then I could check it into source control and stuff.)

You can check it into source control, I'm told. OmniOutliner supports CVS and SVN, so you can check it in as is, folders and all.

All righty then! This concludes today's Q&A With Omni. I may follow up with a third and final post on Thursday, so if you have any more questions, leave them in the fancy comment box.

And now, I'm off to help my son trample large metropolitan areas. RAARRRRR!

Oh crap, you mean you're actually going to ask, like, real questions? Well FINE. Make me work, why don't you.

(Note: if you need technical support on any of our apps, it's best to send it to our support team using Send Feedback.. under the Help menu in your software. I may not get to *everyone's* question this week.)

Richard asks, How can I get OmniWeb to open up RSS links in Vienna, my preferred RSS reader?

We have a current OmniWeb bug described as:

“Request: Allow news icon to send RSS feed subscriptions to outside program/external viewer [newsfeed default]” 

This should be implemented in 5.5.2, an update that should be available soon (I'm not sure exactly when, but not too long from now).

Matthew has some Omni software on his laptop, and now that his employer has provided him with a PowerMac, he wants to know how to use those same apps via network licensing.

There is a lengthy explanation of our different licensing types here, but in a nutshell, you'll just need to install your Omni application of choice on your Power Mac (grab the download from our website), then use the same license you've been using on your laptop. You cannot, however, run two copies of the licensed software using one license at the same time – otherwise, both of your computers will explode.

(Okay, they won't technically “explode”, but it would violate our licensing policy and that would mean that somewhere, a kitten would cry. Won't you please, please think of the kittens?)

Edward would like to know, Are there any “secret” ways to get OmniWeb to run quicker?

Down at the lower righthand corner of the screen, there is a very, very small button that's labeled “TURBO”. Click it, and –

Okay, I'm making that up. I wish I had some kind of cool answer like that, but unfortunately there's no simple response to that question. There are too many variables to consider, like when you're experiencing the issue (I assume you mean that the browser is running too slow at times?), what else you have going on, etc. You are running 5.5, right? If so, I suggest using the Send Feedback…option to tell us more about this so we can look into it, or email us.

BZ asked a LOT of questions, JEEZ. I'll answer two of them for now: When is OmniFocus coming out and who do I have to kill to be on the beta?

To be 100% honest, we don't know when OmniFocus is coming out. There is a team working full time on developing this product, but it's just too early to make predictions. We all really want to get it in your hands as soon as possible, though. As for the beta, when the time comes we'll be asking for volunteers. If you want to get your name in the hat now, subscribe to this list and we'll get in touch with you as soon as it's Beta Time (like Hammer Time, except with slimmer pants).

Stack said, Tell us a little bit about OmniFocus.  [...] The GTD system gives you breathing room to be implemented in a few different ways, but aside from interface stuff I don't really see how your product can distinguish itself from its competitors in the market.  How will OmniFocus be different?

I can't make any commitments yet on specific features that will be included in OmniFocus (I know, I'm all “ask us anything!” and then I give you, “errr…except that”). We're still defining how features will work; figuring out implementation and UI, and creating crazy mockups using OmniGraffle (oh, OmniGraffle, is there anything you can't do?).

I will say that the “interface stuff” – how the software looks, the way that it works, the experience you have when using it – is exactly what can distinguish one app from another and make all the difference in its value. If OmniFocus ends up being a joy to use, if it seamlessly integrates into your workflow, if it stays out of your way but provides you with what you need, then we'll have accomplished some of our biggest goals.

Our friend Corentin (who has done countless French localizations for us, merci!) asks, in part, What's planned for OmniWeb 5.6? When will a beta be out the door?

We are planning for 5.6 to be a WebKit update. As for timing, we have to get through 5.5.1 (currently in beta), then 5.5.2, then revisit the WebKit situation so…in short, we're not sure when 5.6 will be available, but it shouldn't be too long of a wait. *knock wood*

Daniel says, I'm playing through Oni at the moment, and I've found a few bugs. If I report them, do they have a chance of ever being fixed?

Well…probably not. That's what I'm told, anyway. We did the game port many, many moons ago and no longer have anything to do with Oni, which is now owned by Take 2 Interactive. You could contact them with your bug info and request an update, but it doesn't sound very likely that it will happen. Sorry, I wish I had a more helpful answer.

WHEW. That's all for now, folks, I'll try and answer more tomorrow. Oh, and for the record, we have one cat. Her name is Lotus. She's kind of mangy and makes horrible yowling sounds, but she is loved nonetheless.

Since I just committed my last OmniDazzle fix (at least until QA tracks me down…), I thought I'd share a fun graph.

Omni has been using source control systems like CVS and Subversion since forever.  A while back, we converted to Subversion and imported most of our CVS repository (none of our old consulting projects, just our apps).  Here is a graph of the number of commits in our repository over the last 13 years.

You know, after something like 22 years of working on Macintoshes, I have found that I care little about the actual “look” of an application's interface, instead focusing on the “feel”.

This in no way makes me a “touchy-feely” sort of person.

Take, for instance, the current controversy (I like the way some British-English speakers pronounce that word, con-TRAHV-er-sy) surrounding the “under construction” title bar for the latest OmniWeb 5.5 Sneaky Peeks. Quite polarizing, it turns out. Kind of like a Quentin Tarentino movie. Yep, that's it—The OmniWeb 5.5 SP title bar is EXACTLY like a Tarentino movie. Jackie Brown, as a matter of fact.

Anyway, myself, I don't even notice the SP title bar. I, unlike some folks, am able to peer INSIDE the window of pretty much any application,be it an Omni one or no, and direct my focus on the content of said window instead of its framing. I don't know why or how I can do this, perhaps it's due to being from another planet altogether, or that can of spinach I just consumed, but I can do it just the same.

And while I can easily dismiss a series of diagonal stripes from my visual acumen (not to mention red, yellow, and green buttons therein), I would be horribly upset if that for some reason the addition of said stripes were to disable the dragging of a window around on my display, or if it broke double-clicking to minimize to the Dock, or simply displayed the wrong window title completely.

I'm like that. Pretty easygoing so far as the colors/styling quotient lies. Wasn't always this way, I distinctly recall working on the inspector icons for OmniGraffle 4 and getting pretty worked up on getting a good consensus as to what they should look like, what colors to use, etc. Debates such as that one have led to the UI team taking a much more proactive role in application development.

I'm not on that team for good reason: I'm at that point where an application icon is something I poke to switch to an application, nothing more. Of course I'd like it to look all sorts of swell, but in the end I don't even notice it anymore. It's a click target for me to get something done. A title bar is a thingy that has a title in it. A toolbar button has to advertise its function, and little more.

Now, on the other hand, those folks ON the UI team? They have to think about this stuff. Rather constantly, to boot. Not only due to the Omni Group as a whole being pretty vociferous about personal preferences concerning user interface and experience (yours truly excepted only a little bit), but because our users are pretty darn discerning as well.

If they weren't, they wouldn't be using our software, I should think.

Oh, I try to add my feedback, however obliquely, to the UI effort, but in the end it's only a couple of pennies at a time. But really, I'm glad that I'm not on the UI team here at Omni—Not only is it work cut out for them that's horribly involved, we also have the good sense not to include content (as in the opposite of discontent) users of OS X such as myself on such teams, which is what helps considerably in pushing open the envelope of overall user experience with our applications.

Advertising is always a difficult activity for a company to justify. It's not cheap, for one thing, and it's not an instantaneous return-on-investment expenditure–not too many people see one ad and break their legs rushing to a store in order to buy the promoted product.

Well, unless we're talking about the complete second season of Deadwood, because speaking personally I just can't get enough of Calamity Jane. I'd share my favorite Jane quote with you, but this is a family-friendly blog.

Anyway: advertising. We don't typically do web advertising, in part because we have this browser we develop that helps you avoid web ads, but we did decide to buy some space in a couple Mac magazines and see how that went. 

We've been advertising in Macworld and MacAddict for a while now, and I thought I'd share the upcoming June artwork for those who are interested (and even those who aren't, I guess, in which case I apologize for today's ho-hum content and direct you to this fine link instead).

(This is the same ad we ran last month, but we've had a number of different ones. Maybe I'll post an Omni “ad gallery” so you can see them all.)

I can't really tell you how definitively successful (or not) the print campaign has been–there's that elusive ROI thing again–but we have heard from a few folks who may not have known about Omni otherwise. That seems good.

We chose to try advertising because we're a small software company with a limited number of resources trying to get our name out there. It doesn't seem like it would be such a challenge in a fairly finite Mac OS X world; after all, a couple of our applications are bundled on a LOT of Apple hardware these days. And yet a not-uncommon description of Omni is “the best software you've never heard of”. 

So, talk to us, folks. How do you typically find out about software? Magazines, news sites, blogs, the shelf of a retail store, word of mouth–what's most useful to you?

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