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.

-tranglos (February 22, 2012, 09:43 PM)

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.

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.