Tasktop

A new season is around the corner and with it comes the latest seasonal release of Tasktop. Our splash screen continues to show British Columbia scenery, with cherry blossoms that signal the coming of Spring in Vancouver.

The most exciting thing about this release is that we were able to respond to all of the community interest for additional email integration. Tasktop now supports Google’s Gmail as well as generic IMAP. So if you’re a Gmail user, you’re in for a treat. The Gmail connector let’s you tag an email with your label of choice (I use “Tasks”), causing the corresponding message thread to automatically show up in your Task List. You can use this in conjunction with Gmail’s automatic labeling. For example, I have all email prefixed with “task: ” automatically labeled, which means that I can create tasks by sending myself email. I also have Google News Alerts automatically labeled, which means that instead of inbox clutter I have a task corresponding to each alert subject and with a click can open the corresponding thread. You also get all the other benefits that you expect from Tasktop for working with Gmail, such as offline access for the email tasks you collaborate on. Yes, you read right, Tasktop now gives you offline access to Gmail.

Since one of the most dramatic benefits of Tasktop is focused web browsing, we have had several requests to provide support for browser add-ins from those switching their default web browser to Tasktop. Some add-ins still make sense to use in the external browser, for example, if you want to inspect a page with the Web Developer Firefox add-in, you can easily do so by using the Open in External Browser action in the Tasktop browser’s Send to menu button. But the browser extension that we’ve had the most request for is del.icio.us bookmarks. We have created an early access program for early adopters to download the same weekly releases that developers at Tasktop use. The current weekly release of Tasktop includes a first cut at support for del.icio.us bookmarks. Also check out new features such as the Notes view and the Community feedback page. Enjoy!

Year after year, EclipseCon is my favorite conference. I have attended all EclipseCons to date, and each time the sheer amount of practical information in the program makes the week away from the office very worthwhile. One of the best things about the conference is the crowd it draws. It’s always a privilege and learning experience to be among such a collection of people responsible for creating, contributing to, and innovating on Eclipse. This gathering of the community helps establish the collaborations and relationships that form over the year ahead. If you’re able to go to EclipseCon, I highly recommend it. We’re sending six people from Tasktop, which is a good portion of our development team. If you’re interested but unable to attend, consider one of the other Eclipse conferences like Eclipse Forum Europe, or help build your own regional community.

For those fortunate enough to make it this year, we’ve got some great content on Mylyn and the ecosystem of tools forming around it. At this time each year, I prepare a new talk to premier at EclipseCon. I’m really looking forward to presenting this year’s Code at the speed of thought talk. It will start with an overview of why and how the Task-Focused Interface can accelerate the way we work in such a profound way. There will be several demos of Mylyn 2.3, followed by an overview of what’s coming in Ganymede and Mylyn 3.0, and then a survey of the Mylyn extensions—ranging from open source connectors, to enterprise development support for Spring, to productivity tools like Tasktop. The talk will take place in the grand ballroom right after the Tuesday keynote. Just look for the following slide:

If you’re attending, also consider checking out the other events related to Mylyn and the Task-Focused Interface.