In the past many people in this group showed interest in the ADM platform.

For this reason I bring to this group's attention the following mails.
Gianni

From: Gianni Meneghini [giannime@...]
Sent: 04 March 2007 06:52
To: 'Getting_Things_Done@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [GTD] Problems with ADM

After Daly's mail I was expecting some reply from Eric Sommer, who is
the ADM CEO and who usually reacted
promptly to such messages, but no reply came.
Then I went through the last announcements of the ADM's beta versions
and I realized that instead of the
Eric's usual quotations,

"True development puts first those that society puts last."
-Mahatma Gandhi

"Dare to be naive."
- Buckminster Fuller

"Work for the world."
- Karl Marx

"A loving heart: In all the world this state of mind is best."
- ADM CEO

the closing sentence was:

This email communication was sent on behalf of:
Eric Sommer
Suite 21 @1091 Broughton St.
Vancouver, B.C. V6G 2A9
You are receiving this email communication because you or someone
using your address either submitted an
online form or autoresponder to either us or one of our associates.


If you feel that your receipt of this mailing has been in error...
please go to the following url:
http://rm.inetcomm.us/r.asp?i=8386022-0-563-0-gia-6

To better understand what is going on I went to that link and
immediately I got the following message:

Your remove request has been processed.

Indeed, I reckon this time Eric Sommer avoids to be naïve.

From my part, a part from crying for the 100 dollars I paid for the
beta, I can only reiterate and stress Daly's
message, at least to warn everybody of the danger.

Gianni

--------------------------

From: Getting_Things_Done@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Getting_Things_Done@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Daly de Gagne
Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2007 2:53 PM
To: Getting Things Done
Subject: [GTD] Problems with ADM

I feel compelled to write the following, having in past been a strong
supporter of ADM, an information
management program with features I believe make it an ideal GTD platform.

First of all, I am wondering how many people here use ADM, or have
considered using it, and
encountered either good or bad experiences with the company?

ADM4 has been in beta for many months, probably well over a year. Some
people, I am told, have paid
for ADM at the end of the trial period. In essence, they are then
paying for the right to use a beta
program.

Some of the people most directly connected with providing input on ADM
development from version 2
onwnard have been removed from the private developer's list. I myself
was removed after questioning,
in private email conversation mind you, the decision by Eric Sommer,
the ADM CEO, to moderate the
developer's list even though there was virtually no traffic on it, and
neither spam nor out-of-control
members. Eric lives in China now, and said his decision was made after
being made aware of the
benefits of moderating on a tv show.

We have been told the program is being recoded so that it is has a
more robust data engine. If the
coding is done well, and a decent effort is made to get rid of bugs,
version 4 could be a great program
if it is released. Time passing, and little or no communication,
hardly inspires confidence that the
program will be released or, at least, released soon.

As I have been on record on this list for recommending ADM, I feel it
is an ethical necessity to now go
on record saying that:
1. No one should pay for a program that is still in beta because then,
in essence, one is then paying
for the right to do the company's work at one's own expense.
2. I can no longer recommend the program to anyone, in spite of its
various merits, because of the
mercurial nature of decision making and lack of communication at the
top -- decision-making
that frankly leaves me with a lack of confidence about the program's
future.
3. Also preventing me from recommending the program is the lack of
consistent communication
from the company on its own list. In the last 18 months or so members
had to take Eric to task
for communication lapses. The list in question had provided Eric and
ADM with the equivalent
of hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteer hours of checking build
after build after build for
bugs, and making dozens of suggestions that have improved the program.
It is with sadness that I write the above, which is, of course, my own
opinion based on experience with
ADM and Eric.

There are alternative programs, such as MyInfo (which I use
increasingly), UltraRecall, InfoSelect,
MDE InfoHandler, as well as a myriad of GTD-specific programs that
have been written about here
recently.

If I have a reason to regain confidence in ADM and its style of
customer relations, I will again
recommend ADM.

Daly