The best Mac app I own

260 words, 2 minutes.

Things by Cultured Code is the best app I own. And I use the word ‘own’ quite intentionally.

During a discussion with a good friend a few days ago, he mentioned he organises his todos using the Things app. We’ve been friends for almost 20 years, and I’m surprised we’ve never discussed this before, truth be told. Because I’ve been using Things since 2008! (our conversation caused me to look through its logbook, as I couldn’t remember when I started using it.)

Near the beginning of my tech career, 30 years ago, a wise man told me I had to write things down that needed doing. Else I’d forget. He was probably right (it still astonishes me today when I find somebody who doesn’t note todos, whether old skool analogue or digitally).

I went through many notebooks and ‘systems’ (think: graph paper, tick boxes, lines, codes, etc.) before discovering Things. I like admin to be simple, and most tech applications are anything but (design, the problem is design; or rather, a lack of good design).

Things, however, is both simple in its interface, and in its user experience. Over the course of 17 years of use, the developers have resisted the temptation to mess with it too much, keeping it simple. Design right out of Dieter Rams’ book.

It’s also blazingly fast to synchronise notes. I’m constantly amazed, with all the crud mine has accumulated over the years, that it’s still so fast.

And the most important detail is, Things is still a one time purchase. No subscriptions! No enshittifcation.