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I've recently realized the Importance of Visual Presentation of a software program for its impact on new users and generally speaking the Value of User Experience.  Hence, have improved its "feel and look" across board and made the search lighting fast.

If you have installed it before you may want to run the updater,
http://www.knowledgenoteb...nload/KN_Updater_v299.exe

""We are not amused".

Why don't you just speak for yourself?  So damned obnoxious!

[Admin: pls disable / remove this thread]

Admin: pls disable / remove this thread

It's not exactly an app but hopefully some of us may have a bit of fun with it...

http://70.188.6.142:8600/playgroundt6278.cfm

Note:
After playing with it for at least 50 times for fun or work I realized that my thought patter does not seem flexible enough...
http://www.knowledgenoteb...press/thought_pattern.png
(This is the first time I start to sort of lay one image upon another after some freaking 50 times already!)

"Immediate new features or feature improvements:
(1) The Note Entry screen would take up about 88% of the whole screen.  Currently the solution is F11 key.
(2) Same for the Note Editing screen.  F11 key won't have impatct here though.
"
It has been addressed with the latest release of Version 2.80.  And an updater would be released very soon.  Thanks.

@Paul Keith,

Put it bluntly.  If a potential user hesitates because this simple 30 days free license key requirement (a simple email to the software provider would suffice to obtain the key, 2 minutes or even less to get it done) despite a substantial interest then we're sorry that person would be out.  Has the user's privacy been violated by sending an email to the software provider?  I don't think so.

Even Google anf Facebook would require users to sign up for some service, 2 minutes or more and they may ask for more info.

btw, it's not a "30 day license key system" but rather a simple necessity.

@IainB

My conclusion is that Knowledge Notebook certainly looks very interesting - very impressive too - but, because of several of the points raised in the discussion and the website,

I'm confused by the above contradictoary statement.  On one hand, you stated
"very interesting - very impressive too", my guess is you formed such an impression based
on this thread as well as the KN website, but then, you also stated
"because of ... and the website", you seem to have an issue with the KN website,
what's it?

you are able to be more open about your strategy for the marketing and development of KN

Many of us have been users of software program of one kind or another, how many of us
have demanded the software program "manufacturer"/provider to share that type of
proprietary business secrets before using the software?  Probably less than 1/100.
Disclosure of your identity seems a reasonable call or pm may be helpful.

until some of the apparent constraints are sorted out

Please be more specfic, if you were referring to some of the nitpicking, please
check comment by 40hz 

Another major example: many on DC here have expressed dissatisfaction with Evernote's online approach (especially the disappearance of critical features) and dropped it but many may have adapted it for those same reasons.

C1: A loose interpretation is almost like half good half bad.
(C for Comment)

Another further example: many dropped Google Notebooks as soon as the announcement that it was going to be kept online but not updated anymore even though prior to that many were satisfied by the current set of features.
 

C2 = C1

Some of the more experienced testers or people with actual work to do probably has a "test load" they just copy paste and often they do that because an application is totally free or a priced app has a killer feature that actually made them want to test it regardless whether the app is free or not. (Even then it takes a hardcore notetaking searcher to do that and that was prior to OneNote being bundled in MS Office)
More importantly notetaker isn't a category that can't be replaced by a non-notetaker app like Word unlike those other examples.

If the following goals of learning and its process makes sense,
1) Capture knowledge and information most effectively
2) Organize them well (for most efficient access)
3) Encoding (layman term: turn them into yours)
   and Use them effectively (doing well with exams is a Key Objective in this regard
   for students)
4) Portability and Life-long Learning ...
Then one knows Word was not cut for that.  Now, if you are talking about creating a
proposal or the like, of course Word or other word process is the right choice, for others consumption Presentation is important otherwise not really.

Speaking of "killer feature", we can only speak of Knowledge NoteBook (KN) (it may sound biased):
* Innovative Flash Card Creation (not our words but users)
* Concept Mapping (virtually all male users LOVE it and the latest version
has improved its process to make it no brainer.  I don't exactly understand that part
though why all male users love it so much but have not heard anything back
from female users about it other than one I showed it to her and she said "cool".
* Contextual Link to Wikipedia (a valedictorian commented, "I've NEVER seen anything
like this, very cool!"

I'd like to make a few comments here:
a) It seems rational to try out a piece of software in earnestness for a few times or better for a few days and then to discuss its merits or deficiency.
b) On Free or not.  Reasonably intelligent students who use computer to take notes would take some time to check out a few such software tools to see which one fits him/her better.
c) On competition, everything has competition and they are not usually a zero sum game.

Also, we seem to send a wrong message somewhere somehow on "when the emphasis of an app is that it's free", it's not our emphasis but rather an extra.

Paul,

Thank you for your input and thoughts.  It seems in your view and also that of rjbull's that the 30 days switch to permanent use is a hassle that would seriously discourage people from downloading it... let us ponder over it a bit and then decide what to do...

The other point you raised about why only compared with Word, we've conducted serveral surveys with college students in the last few months, the first time, about 512 of survey takers, the second time, about 300 something, mostly in Virginia, about 80% of the answers to the survey question of "What software do you use to take notes with computer" is Word, hence, from business perspective, "attack" the weakest element first...

Don

@rjbull,

Eesh!  That's not just the tail wagging the dog, the dog's a chihuahua and the tail's a Great Dane!

Ahe, funny

Your choice, but it sounds odd, a bit like something that was once shareware and is now freeware, but where the author hasn't bothered to remove the licence requirement.

We'll stick to what we say, it's totally FREE.  In the meantime, there's a business reason for it, we could talk about privately if you'd like.

My scenario is of routinely running a user account under Vista Home Premium.  Installing anything means temporarily elevating to administrator, i.e., Windows wants me to put in the admin password.  Once installed, most programs then run correctly under the user account.  I think I wanted to be clearer about whether KN would do so too, or whether certain features were only available under an admin account, so it was always best to run KN as admin, which is an extra step and a nuisance.

Interesting point on security with lesser account.  My concern is even as admin equivalent user the Vista and even 7 keeps complaining / asking for confirmations all the time, which is extremely annoying.  A guess is, the majority of the users use admin equivalent account, your thought?

Thanks.

@40hz,

Sorry I was too quick in "shooting out"   and thanks for the welcome.

"Quick question: do you (or are you planning to) support links like in a wiki?"
Excellent question!  If you install KN to an installable Windows box you'll see how wiki is being leveraged (contextually)... and this is just step one for 'organic' knowledge extension...

On your guys being BIG on Note-taking software discussion, that's AWESOME!
Give me a bit of time to "settle down" here...

Best,

Don

@40hz,

I hope you're not jumping guns... see my response to @rjbull for the 100MB file size, yes, your gues-ti-mate is close... (besides, it's just one time download with fast speed connection)

@rhbull,

First off, thank you for your kind words and excellent questions, please see embedded answers below.

•100 MB download?  I thought UltraRecall was big enough, and that's only 10 MB.
The FAQ section mentions that the KN itself is only 1 MB, however, the software
comes with a web server, a web scripting language (Railo) and some other stuff like
an Access database, hence, they adds up.
 
•KN = "knowledge notebook" expires in 30 days, then you have to ask for a free license, albeit that's then in perpetuity?
This is a way to engage users.  When we say it's FREE it is free.  A decent company
will stick to its words.

•You have to turn UAC Off?  At least, the installation instructions say turn UAC Off, but they don't say whether KN will work properly thereafter with UAC On.
The instructions say "you may want to..", which implies that you don't have to, meaning, a user can leave UAC on to successfully install Knowledge NoteBook.
How could we word it better (clearer)?

•KN forces IE during installation, and IE7 or later is the primary browser, even if Firefox is permitted?
Two reasons for why defaults to IE:
a) Each Windows OS comes with IE (reduced risk of installation issue).
b) Some key KN features functions bettter or only with IE.

Yes, I'm aware that Firefox is more popular with the target market.
A suggestion to them is:
Why not use IE for KN only while having fun using FF or whatever other browser
of your choice?

Thanks again and keep questions/comments comming.

[wait for about a minute]

Hi,

Here's a simple note-taking software program for Windows XP, Vista and 7 and it's FREE.

Its key features and capabilities includes the following:
* Support either online and offline use (for offline use what if you don't have Internet access at some point or you want to avoid distraction)
* Instant flash card making (helps with memorizing important stuff)
* Notes organization (for knowledge/information access efficiency)
* Concept Mapping (a way to transcend knowledge into insight)
* Contextual Wikipedia reference (expand knowledge contextually)

Download the latest bleeding-edge version (June 10 2010):
http://www.knowledgenoteb...nowledgeNoteBook_v299.exe  (100MB)

Installation Instructions:
(1) Close all programs before installation.
(2) Click on the knowledgenotebook_v299.exe installer and then click on Install (use the default C:\Program Files directory for destination).
(3) When installation is complete, wait for about a minute or a little bit longer, the screen may appear to freeze but it does not, the Knowledge NoteBook software will launch with IE browser automatically. Please note, you are recommended to switch to Firefox after installation.

Assurance:
Industry Review
Venturebeat ran a story titled "A laptop app for  students who can’t stop typing" about us (Feb 19, 2010).
Industry  Recognition
Nominated as technology rising star of NCTC and received letter of congratulation from Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte ( March 31st, 2010).

We welcome constructive and thoughtful feedback!

Knowledge NoteBook
Roanoke, VA 24018

http://www.knowledgenotebook.com

Post last edited: June 11 2010