iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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.

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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.

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The Bitnet Relay software was rebuilt in compiled Pascal, with a binary network protocol that was much more efficient.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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OmniOutliner @omnioutliner.omnigroup.com · 06/01/2026

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.

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Reposted by Ken Case

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...

omnigroup.com

Introducing OmniOutliner 6 - The Omni Group

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Ken Case @kcase.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

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...

omnigroup.com

Testing the next OmniOutliner - The Omni Group

Great things often begin as outlines. Whether you're a writer or a student, an attorney or a software developer, outlines can help clarify and develop ideas and concepts. We're thrilled to share that ...

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OmniFocus @omnifocus.omnigroup.com · 08/07/2025

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-...

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Relay @relay.fm · 06/07/2025

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... relay.fm/mpu/804

relay.fm

Mac Power Users #804: From NeXT to Liquid Glass, with Ken Case - Relay

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 customer communication, and his thoughts on WWDC.

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Ken Case @kcase.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

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...

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Ken Case @kcase.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

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...

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.)

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Ken Case @kcase.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Thank you for letting me know! (Fixed.)

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Ken Case @kcase.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

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...

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.

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Ken Case @kcase.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

If there are any questions I can answer about what's new or different in OmniFocus 4, please don't hesitate to reach out!

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Peter Ramsing @peter.coffee · 23/12/2024

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...

support.omnigroup.com

This chapter gathers the commands and shortcuts found throughout OmniFocus into a single reference.

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Ken Case @kcase.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

- 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 [2/2]

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.

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Ken Case @kcase.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

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? [1/2]

Banner image from the blog post introducing OmniFocus 4.0.

Banner image from the blog post introducing OmniFocus 4.1.

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Eric Bowers @eabowers.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

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

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OmniFocus @omnifocus.omnigroup.com · 11/12/2024

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...

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."

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Omni Automation @omni-automation.omnigroup.com · 04/12/2024

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...

An automaton making a short presentation about Omni Automation. The presentation references OmniFocus, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, and OmniPlan.

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Reposted by Ken Case

Lickability @lickability.com · 26/11/2024

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

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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.)

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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.

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Mac test builds: omnistaging.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/ TestFlight for iOS, iPadOS, visionOS (and, after a delay, macOS): www.omnigroup.com/test/ Enjoy!

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OmniFocus @omnifocus.omnigroup.com · 25/11/2024

Not to rest on our laurels, today's test build of OmniFocus 4.5 introduces new and updated Shortcuts actions across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro; Genmoji; improvements to Omni Automation; and Mac support for custom fonts and a black background.

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Reposted by Ken Case

OmniFocus is a finalist for #AppStoreAwards Mac App of the Year! When we built OmniFocus 4 with Apple’s new SwiftUI technologies, our goal was to make the app approachable and easy to use. We're thrilled Apple has named us an award finalist for "fostering focus with simplified task management"!

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The Omni Group @omnigroup.com · 25/11/2024

Welcome! We're the Omni Group, a small software company based in Seattle. We make award-winning productivity apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro, such as: - @omnifocus.omnigroup.com - @omnigraffle.omnigroup.com - @omnioutliner.omnigroup.com - @omniplan.omnigroup.com

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What a wonderful bit of news to wake up to! This morning the App Store announced the finalists for the Apple #AppStoreAwards for the best apps and games. For Mac App of the Year, they wrote: "OmniFocus 4, for fostering focus with simplified task management." www.omnigroup.com/blog/apple-n...

App Store Awards 2024 Finalist: OmniFocus 4.

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Summary: We think that valuing respect and humility, along with working hard to create great software products, helps us contribute more to the world than we take from it. And we hope that spreading these values through our work inspires others to do the same!

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There are always new things to learn, and if we listen to our customers, community, and each other with humility we'll learn much more quickly than if we bring our own hubris to each problem.

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Core Value: Be humble Decades of experience may have taught us some of the questions we need to consider in our work—but it's important to remember that we still don't know all the questions, much less all the answers.

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Privacy at Omni - The Omni Group - The Omni Group

Truly respecting our customers leads to profound outcomes in our work—such as our stance on privacy, that your data is yours (www.omnigroup.com/privacy). Another implication of being respectful is our policy of being honest about the state of our products (and everything else).

omnigroup.com

The sitemap offers an easy way to browse all pages on omnigroup.com.

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A lack of respect leads to conflict rather than reconciliation By treating everyone and everything around us with respect, we strengthen every interaction and every relationship.

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The Four Horsemen: Contempt

Core Value: Be respectful One of the strongest foundations for any relationship is respect. We may not always see eye to eye with everyone we encounter, but, as John Gottman found (www.gottman.com/blog/the-fou...), a lack of respect is poisonous to any relationship.

gottman.com

Contempt is the worst of the four horsemen and the most destructive negative behavior in relationships. Gottman tools can help you beat it.

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We believe that improving the world we live in is the highest priority in life, and that our company is an extension of ourselves and not a separate, amoral entity. We believe we can contribute to and improve the world around us every day through the work that we do.

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Our ethics and values: We value people more than profits, and measure our success in these terms. Businesses lose their way whenever they value profits more than people—whether those people are employees, customers, or bystanders.

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We think it's important to find and maintain a joyful balance between our work and the rest of our lives, spending time with our families and community.

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Priority 3: Live balanced lives When we have good balance in our lives, our work produces better results. We work hard, have fun, and enjoy our work of building, documenting, selling, and supporting great applications.

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