Jarkko Oikarinen took inspiration from Bitnet's Relay and built the Internet Relay Chat (irc) for Unix. It was a little slow to take off, and has had its own drama (with net splits, etc.), but anyone with a Unix system can run their own server—and as a result, some 36+ years later it's still around.
Ultimately, with NSFNet expanding in '88 and commercial ISPs emerging in '89, we had more network and computing available than ever—just not on the IBM mainframes hosting Bitnet.
The Bitnet Relay software was rebuilt in compiled Pascal, with a binary network protocol that was much more efficient.
At the 1987 Spring NETCON, Jeff Kell gave a presentation on Relay where he concluded "Relay is on the verge of collapse. […] It is no longer due to network load. It is only marginally due to CPU load. It is due to the users."
Of course, the user base just kept growing: by the summer of 1986 we were seeing 150 users, straining systems again. Signup restrictions were added, etc., but the users just kept coming, with a crop of new students joining the chat in the fall.
So focus turned towards reducing CPU usage. Eric Thomas (who went on to create LISTSERV for automating mailing list signups) got involved and helped make Relay more efficient, converting some core routines from Rexx scripts to assembly.
This started taking up way too much CPU on some of the servers (like Bitnic), so they shut it down for days at a time. But while not running a local relay reduced CPU load, it placed more burden on the network again: users didn't stop chatting, they would just find a more distant relay to use.
Through August we started seeing as many as 20 users chatting on relay at the same time. By the end of 1985, we were averaging daily peaks of 50 users or so, sometimes reaching 80.
Jeff Kell realized that the problem wasn't chatting itself, but redundant traffic from independent connections. So he built the first Relay chat system. I got involved in August, setting up the 10th relay server and contributing code.
In early 1985, Henry Nussbacher sent a letter to all Bitnet contacts calling for admins to hunt down and destroy every chat server because a dozen users actively chatting could bring file transfers to a halt—file transfers being the primary purpose of the network.
Introducing OmniOutliner 6! Modernized, beautiful outlining with new Dynamic Themes, shareable Omni Links, Apple Intelligence automation, and more. Available for Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro. Your thoughts, in order.
www.omnigroup.com/blog/introdu...
We're thrilled to share that the next version of OmniOutliner is nearly ready as a universal app for Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro, and that we're making test builds available to anyone who wants to help make sure we haven't overlooked anything.
www.omnigroup.com/blog/testing...
Test builds of OmniFocus 4.7 are now available! This update introduces a range of exciting new features: Planned Dates, mutually exclusive tag behavior, improved repeats, and much more. Learn more, including how to sign up to help test, here: discourse.omnigroup.com/t/omnifocus-...
Mac Power Users 804: From NeXT to Liquid Glass, with Ken Case
Ken Case is the CEO at The Omni Group and has been developing for Apple platforms for decades. He shares with Stephen and David how he got his start in technology, what Apple gear he uses, his approach to cu... http://relay.fm/mpu/804
Had a fun conversation on this week's Mac Power Users with @ismh86.net and @macsparky.bsky.social, ranging from punched cards and Apple ][ in the '70s through developing for NeXT in the '90s to considering how to tastefully use Liquid Glass in the present. Hope folks enjoy!
bsky.app/profile/rela...
Liquid Glass buttons featuring glyphs representing OmniFocus and OmniGraffle, floating over a background image of Lake Tahoe—alluding to Omni's roadmap and macOS 26 Tahoe. (The buttons are rendered in Dark Mode on beta 2.)
What an exciting WWDC25! Liquid Glass. Foundation Models. iPad windows.
After, we like to take a moment. To quote Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Today, we share our post-WWDC update!
www.omnigroup.com/blog/omni-ro...
Thank you for letting me know! (Fixed.)
A road through a valley in a forest heading towards mountains in the distance, with light glyphs representing OmniFocus and OmniGraffle in the foreground. The image of the road was generated by Apple Intelligence via Image Playground, then cropped and composited with the glyphs using OmniGraffle.
One of our traditions each year is to reflect on the past and to share plans for the future: our roadmap. Learn about our plans for OmniGraffle 8, document links that can be synced and shared, new features coming to OmniFocus, and Apple Intelligence.
www.omnigroup.com/blog/omni-ro...
If there are any questions I can answer about what's new or different in OmniFocus 4, please don't hesitate to reach out!
I totally missed the new keyboard shortcuts in #OmniFocus until a tip told me.
Mark Flagged/Unflagged (F)
Edit Title (E)
Edit Note (N)
Edit Project (P)
Edit Tags (T)
Edit Due (D)
Edit Defer Until (Shift-D)
Edit Repeat (R)
Edit Estimated Duration (Shift-T)
support.omnigroup.com/documentatio...
Banner image from the blog post introducing OmniFocus 4.2.
Banner image from the blog post introducing OmniFocus 4.3.
Banner image from the blog post introducing OmniFocus 4.4.
Banner image from the blog post introducing OmniFocus 4.5.
- 4.1 — brought the app to Apple Vision Pro
- 4.2 — added new perspective rules like "has date in range"
- 4.3 — support for device Focus Filters
- 4.4 — lock screen controls, tinted home screen, Apple Watch double-tap
- 4.5 — powerful new Shortcuts, Genmoji, Mac appearance customization
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Banner image from the blog post introducing OmniFocus 4.0.
Banner image from the blog post introducing OmniFocus 4.1.
OmniFocus 4 shipped one year ago today! 4.0 brought a unified, approachable, modern, customizable interface to the app on all its native platforms.
Which of the major updates since then has been your favorite?
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A year ago today #omniFocus @omnifocus.omnigroup.com 4.0 was released, and I feel like @kcase.bsky.social and the team at @omnigroup.com have made so much progress on it in the last 365 days! Thank you for the commitment to quality, gang! #GTD #taskmanagement
Banner image from the blog, with icons representing improved areas of functionality in OmniFocus 4.5: font/appearance settings, in-app tips and guidance, Shortcuts, Spotlight, and Apple Intelligence "Genmoji."
We’re delighted to announce OmniFocus 4.5, a powerful update tuned to make you more productive through automation, integration, and customization.
www.omnigroup.com/blog/omnifoc...
An automaton making a short presentation about Omni Automation. The presentation references OmniFocus, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, and OmniPlan.
Got a minute or five? Today, we'd like introduce you to Sal Soghoian's latest project, Omni Automation Vids! These are super quick snackable nuggets to show you tips, techniques, and concepts related to Omni Automation. Each episode is a short video screencast.
www.omnigroup.com/blog/omni-au...
As a studio that’s always building apps, it’s crucial for us to stay up to date with the best in the business. Here’s a starter pack of some of our favorite apps and the studios behind a few of them.
go.bsky.app/PeVtxjv
I find it sad that our industry has trained so many people to expect that a free trial is going to automatically convert into some sort of payment when the trial ends, unless they somehow cancel the trial.
(In all of our apps at @omnigroup.com, the trial simply ends.)
We also shipped an OmniFocus 4.4.3 update yesterday! It has a number of improvements, but one of the most notable is improved sync times on Apple Watch:
• Sync — Apple Watch app will no longer attempt any database maintenance tasks, reducing sync times.
If you’re into productivity, planning, or OmniFocus check out my podcast appearance on The Omni Show. It was fun! theomnishow.omnigroup.com/episode/how-...
Mac test builds:
omnistaging.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/
TestFlight for iOS, iPadOS, visionOS (and, after a delay, macOS):
www.omnigroup.com/test/
Enjoy!