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It rocks.

I'll try to be a bit more specific! I use The Bat because:

I have tried every IMAP client I can find, and I cannot find another client that will reliably update the folder count for virtual folders.

I do most of my communicating by email (I'm old-fashioned that way) and I live in a virtual folder ("saved search" in Thunderbird-speak) which I call "ToDo". That folder contains all of my unread mail and all of my starred (flagged) mail.

I can create a similar virtual folder in Thunderbird, but the folder count does not update reliably. I often have to refresh the virtual folder manually. Outlook won't even update the folder count reliably on standard IMAP folders.

This alone is enough to tie me to The Bat. UI-wise, I'd far prefer to be using Outlook, or even Windows Mail.

EDIT: I must admit that the last time I tried Outlook was the 2007 version. I got bored paying for upgrades, and I figured if they hadn't solved something as simple as updating IMAP folder counts by then, they were never going to do so. I am happy to be told I am wrong.

IMAP support is amazing. Even compared to Thunderbird.

Agreed - The Bat remains the best IMAP client, despite the slow development (I've been waiting a long time for something as basic as the option of a two-line message list, but still use it for its unparalleled IMAP support).

[H-Open]

Heise Media UK recently published a fairly extensive article on their H-Open  blog about replacing GoogleReader functionality with currently available software and hosting solutions. Read it here.

Thanks for the link -- that's the best summary of options I've seen so far. One thing I'd add -- in the article's description of Fever, it concentrates on the fact that Fever can rank news items by "temperature": a particular news item is hotter the more it is being talked about. But it's worth noting that if you don't include any feeds in Fever's "Sparks" list, then Fever behaves like a normal RSS reader, with all your feeds visible in full, in folders if you use them. I've been using Fever this way -- I haven't used the temperature feature.

The closure of Google Reader has been a painful lesson for many people. Although I have been increasingly worried about my reliance on The Cloud, I tried to be careful about the cloud services I chose.

I was sure that Google would never shut Reader, because although it's a niche service, it's a service used mainly by the early adopters/opinion formers/call them whatever you like -- the people in each household who know about computers, the people who give advice to other household members on what services to use. Google couldn't possibly be stupid enough to shut Reader and face the wrath of the early adopters.

I was wrong.

Lesson 2: the closure of cloud services that you use heavily is more painful than the disappearance of your favourite piece of desktop software. Generally, you can keep using the desktop software for years. The closure of Reader gives me a relatively close deadline to reorganise my online life. I spend most of my online day reading stuff in software that syncs with Reader.

I've installed both Tiny Tiny RSS (free) and Fever ($30) on my own server. I’m currently running both and switching between them to see which I prefer. Fever is easier to set up than TT-RSS.

I already use my own domain for email and use a paid email hosting service. I have no intention of trying Google's new service, Keep, despite my addiction to note-taking apps. Google have made their position clear. In so far as it is possible, it is time to de-cloud, and particularly to de-Google, my life. Hosting your own services is the only rational long-term solution.

I did take a look at Benubird and I'm sure it's a fine app, but unless I'm mistaken, Benubird creates its own database, rather than using the Windows file system. I want a system where changes I make in Windows folders are immediately reflected in the document management program, which is why I opted for Filecenter.

I spent some time recently reviewing the various options for a document organiser, and ended up going with Filecenter.

One of my criteria was that the program should use the Windows file system for storage, rather than move or copy the files to a separate database. That did limit the options.

In many ways, Filecenter is just a pretty interface to the Windows file system. Its UI, based on "Cabinets" and "Drawers", just represent folders and sub-folders. The Standard version ($49), doesn't even have a built-in search engine (it uses Windows Search or one of a selected number of other third-party options, if you have them). PDF is its main focus, but it will store any type of file, and the built-in viewer will preview many of them.

It works well, it encourages me to be methodical, and it offers everything I need (scanning, filing, searching, previewing) in one program. May not suit you, but worth a look.

CintaNotes due on BDJ soon at 50% discount...

I have a big catch-all note like that in KeyNote. Not just numbers and URLs, but some useful command-line switches for TotalCommander, the serial number of my WD drive in case I need it replaced, symbol of the battery model I need for my video camera, an address for a local animal shelter, someone's birthday... and wait, wasn't I suppose to organize stuff?

I don't know what to do with bits like that.

Many of us have battled, and lost, to find a single piece of software to manage our information. I gave up some time ago.

I too like RightNote, and plan to use it from now on as my main program for "organised" information.

But the other stuff? Here's what I do. I use not one but two clipboard capture programs.

One of them, your excellent Ethervane Echo, Tranglos, runs permanently in the background, in "inmemorydatabase mode", i.e. it will clean the database very time I reboot. Just recording information I might need for that session only.

The second program is Clipcache Pro. The auto capture is switched off most of the time. Then when I come across a snippet I know I might want sometime (e.g. a phone number), I switch on Clipcache's capture mode with a keyboard shortcut, then capture the number, and then immediately toggle Clipcache's capture mode.

Why go to this trouble? Because Clipcache is for information that I know I won't organise or manage. It's one big database of useful snippets. The important thing is to give the snippet a good title. So if the phone number is for the South-Eastern Electricity Company, the title should be 'South-Eastern Electricity Company phone number'.

I also use Clipcache for things like software registration numbers, recipes, software reviews, useful technical how-tos, film reviews, information on various hobbies...

I've been using Clipcache for several years now. Goodness knows how many snippets are in there. The database (SQLite) is about 50MB. I can find anything in seconds using search. It's one of the first programs I install on any machine. Invaluable.

And it means the serious information management programs are kept just for data that really needs organising.

Deal now live

Although I originally bought a Kindle mainly to read my own documents while on the move, I have started to buy ebooks recently (mainly the cheap 99p offers). I find the service excellent and reliable. For those concerned about Amazon unilaterally wiping their ebook collection, it is always an option to use a program such as Calibre to strip DRM from the Kindle files (i.e. creating a MOBI copy of the Kindle books), so that you always have a usable copy of your Kindle books if the worst happens. Against the T&C, I'm sure, but as the first rule of copyright enforcement is that the prosecutor has to demonstrate "economic harm" to the copyright holder (i.e. loss of a sale), you are on safe legal ground pretty much anywhere in the world.

Command prompt toolkit sometimes discussed here, "coming soon" at BDJ.

Since I last tested RightNote, they've added full web page capture in addition to the "Clipper" (snippet) option. Based on brief tests, both appear to "just work", with the web page capture making a faithful capture of fairly complex web pages. Which puts RightNote in competition with all the other apps fighting for the "information dump" market (Ultra Recall/TreeProjects/MyBase/EverNote/Surfulater/etc).

Yes, I'm still happy with mine. Re the hard drives: As I mentioned above I have six drives in mine. I think eleven might be pushing it,  from an air flow point of view. I'd call a halt at eight: four drives in the standard 3.5 bays, and four in the 2.5 caddy in the optical drive slot. Of course, if you don't need the flexibility of having eight disks (for RAID/backup/whatever), it would surely be cheaper to use a big 3.5 drive in the optical slot rather than the four 2.5 inchers. That's what I do, plus I sneak a 2.5 inch drive in behind the optical slot, with little impact on air flow.

Zentimo is continuing the giveaway on its web site until Dec 21 (free copy of program, not 40% off).

The all-time best improvement for me came not from the OS per se but from using an SSD as my boot drive.

+1.

I also agree that Win7 is both a much better OS than XP and also a more frustrating OS than XP. I have spent a fair amount of time trying to solve network/permission glitches on my Win7 machine. But Microsoft got it right with Win7, and x64 is worth it unless you have specific needs for x32.

As a side note, I also recently set up a Windows Home Server (WHS 2011 - x64 only) machine on my home network, and I am very impressed by the OS (essentially Server 2008 R2) and the consumer UI for the WHS features. Microsoft can do things well. And WHS now sells in the UK for about £35, which is a bargain for what WHS can do. You don't often get to say that about MS products.

But back on topic, yes, moving the OS to an SSD created by far the biggest improvement to my everyday computing experience.

Thanks for taking the time to respond and explain.

A belated thank you for the giveaway. Much appreciated. One comment, if I may, on the pricing model for your products.

We all have different needs, and the one feature for me that I would like from the ultimate edition is the Real-Time Disk Change Monitor. Now I'm happy to pay more for it and I note that you sell it as a separate product (DiskPulse) for $25. Fair enough, I suppose, except it would be more desirable to have it built into Diskboss, but the ultimate edition is priced for business users.

And while I completely agree that features such as the SQL server are business-oriented and should be priced as such, I think command-line access to features is another thing. Many of the "home users" who visit this site are the kind of people who like using the command line if possible. Likewise, is "running as a service" really a corporate feature? So many of us run home servers now.

I think there's room for another "home user" premium version of Diskboss. For non-commercial use, pitched at say $50 (per home user, not per machine), that incorporates all the geeky Diskboss features that users of this site appreciate, without the SQL trimmings. Whether it makes business sense to you is another thing.

Might not suit your purposes, but I use a combination of Notezilla and Rainlendar for my desktop notes/todos/reminders.

I find Rainlendar particularly helpful. It has a desktop display mode which I use to show my todo list and calendar on the desktop, and it also offers reminders and syncs with Google Calendar/Tasks.

I bought my wife an iPad recently. Overnight, her use of her laptop dropped by more than 50%. For the things she uses a computer for (email, web browsing, Facebook), the tablet is just as good, and more comfortable to use when slumped on a chair. And as other have mentioned, instant on/off is a huge advantage. Huge.

The pattern of use I describe above covers much of the computer-using population. That's why iPads are popular.

Me? I use a HP Touchpad, which IMHO is a better device than the iPad (a better OS). And I use that a lot too. In the evening, for casual web browsing in my favourite armchair. I also have a 7-inch Galaxy Tab (with 3G) for portable outdoor use. And a Kindle, which is a fabulous device. And I use a laptop. And a desktop. Each has its place. Each brings benefits to my life. It's not either/or.

I recently built a NAS and ended up using a HP Microserver. Very popular in the UK recently because HP have been running a £100 cashback deal, so the Microserver ends up costing you about £130.

It's small and well-built, officially takes four 3.5" disks but I have installed 5 3.5" plus a fast 2.5" disk as my OS disk. It sips power (with 6 disks, mine idles at 45w).

I used Windows Home Server as an OS (currently about £40), so for £170 plus disks I have a very flexible box. As well as storage it runs programs that need to run 24/7 (my Squeezebox server, for example). One of my best buys recently.

Since the whole system is based on some form of magic (dividends, futures, forecasts) why would this be any different?

Because this time, there is no way out. They can't fudge it. The Euro will break up, either in a controlled way, or an implosion. Either way, the effect on the world will be pretty horrible. Not just the economic side of things, which will be bad for most countries and devastating for others, but serious social unrest is very likely, and historically, that leads to growing popularity for extreme political movements, armed conflict...

This isn't fantasy. The only reason the Euro hasn't broken up yet is that Germany is holding it together. And the only reason Germany is holding it together is that Merkel is clever enough to realise that, whatever way the cards fall, Germany is screwed. So she's putting off the inevitable for as long as possible.

Good fun, thanks for the link. I've been boring everyone I know, telling them that the Euro disaster is potentially the greatest crisis since the second world war. Everyone, understandably, ignores me and continues drinking their beer. I'm an optimist by nature, but the world is sleepwalking into an economic earthquake. Very, very scary...

CHANGED: Restriction on MaxLinesPerItem now raised to 1000 (requested by Johnk)

Thank you. Very few new pieces of software enter my toolkit these days, but Echo filled a gap. I use Clipcache Pro as my long-term clipboard storage (it's my database for all clips/snippets I want to keep), but I needed a short-term clipboard and Echo's database-in-memory mode is perfect.

I'll remove this restriction in the next release.

Thank you.

Thanks, MaxLinesPerItem was what I was looking for. But I can't set it higher than 10?