Review: RMR Task
Score:
84%
Version Reviewed: 1.50
It's yet another "business" application for the Nokia Communicator and, as I've mentioned in other reviews, this machine may not be enough to satisfy the uber-geeks looking for ultimate performance and specifications, but it proves its worth in business circles.
RMR Task takes one of the weak features of the built-in software and improves on it. And I'm not talking just a little bit of an upgrade, I'm talking about a total replacement.
The Calendar/Agenda application has a To-Do view. And while it's okay for things like shopping lists and day to day uses, it's not suited to managing a large project (such as Software Development), let alone multiple projects - throw in helping maintain a web site, taking over the world and remembering to dry clean your kilt and you'll be looking for a new application. RMR Task is that application.
Once you get over the fact that RMR Task has the largest menu system on the planet, you'll realise it's actually quite easy to use. You create new tasks from the command buttons, enter the task details and a priority and save it. Now you can edit it later from the same buttons and have the tasks sorted by the priority you entered.
So far, of course, this is pretty much the same level of interaction that Calendar has. Now it's time for RMR Task to spread it's wings.
Not only does RMR Task keep track of when a task is due, it can happily tell you when you entered it and (if you're half way through a task) let you know it's only partially completed.
I love the little touches in applications, such as RMR Task's ability to automatically increase the priority of a task from "relax" through "did I unplug the kettle?" to "the mother-in-law is coming!" Of course, these aren't the real priority headings - you can choose from High/Medium/Low, or numbered from 1 to whatever you need.
The Agenda application allows you to have a page for each "Project" that you are working on, while RMR Task lists all your Tasks on the one page. It has not one category but two and you can rename these to whatever you like. I use "Project" and "Type of Work", but you could just as easily have "Application" and "Member of Staff" or "Web site" and "Type of Change" as the two indicators as to what is needed on each Task.
Obviously you can sort on either of the two categories, but that's not all the sorting you can do. You can also sort on the due date, entered date or priority as well. You can choose to include completed tasks or not. All these sorting options make RMR Task very flexible in how it displays information.
In addition, each category and each individual task can be given a different colour of text to make it easier to highlight items that are important to you.
Each task has space for a long text note - an entry such as "Arrange Meeting" can then have a list of people that you need to remember to invite. If that's not enough, you can attach a full Word document to a task (perhaps to keep the minutes of the meeting?)
RMR Task is simple enough for a basic user to make good use of it. As they use the app more and more, the extra features come to the fore and start to get used. It's a perfect learning curve, and you can find your own level very easily. That's a sign of a good program. I wouldn't hesitate to install RMR Task on any office bundle Communicator I find.
Final Score: 84% - An almost indispensable application for those who need to keep track of a million and one things, and an incredible illustration of what the OPL language can do.
Reviewed by Ewan Spence at