Recent Posts

651

Living Room / Re: Windows as a tablet OS

« Last post by Dormouse on April 01, 2020, 04:09 AM »

The Surface pen has much stronger magnetism than the Samsung, so I can see a well working on its own. The Samsung case has a well but needs the flap to protect it from being bumped out.

Having a Book, I never really looked at cases for the tablet alone. Most of those I saw for the Surface Pro seemed designed for the keyboard too. And that's quite a different use concept. I never found the clip very useful.

652

Living Room / Re: Windows as a tablet OS

« Last post by Dormouse on March 31, 2020, 05:17 PM »

And I have just discovered the Google Canary experimental setting to force dark mode on light web pages without reversing the colours in images 

653

Living Room / Re: Windows as a tablet OS

« Last post by Dormouse on March 31, 2020, 04:03 PM »

I don't typically last that long.  I've coped by using an e-ink reader for certain activities (unfortunately, this technology is really taking a long time to develop nicely), staying far enough away from displays (not easy for a tablet one is holding), reducing exposure, using a single display, keeping my code within about 80 columns, etc.

One thing I found that helped on the hardware end of things was Samsung's OLED displays.  This doesn't really help for external displays (too expensive / unavailable), but for tablets and phones, it seems to be less problematic on my eyes.

I learned about eye issues a fair bit from: https://ledstrain.org/ It appears people suffer for a variety of reasons and there doesn't appear to be a single practical "drop-in" solution, but there are many ideas there to learn from.

-ewemoa (March 30, 2020, 07:06 PM)

You seem to have it much worse than me. I'm hoping mine stabilises or even improves.

I find phones and tablets much easier. I'd explained it to myself by looking at the smaller size, but also that holding it closer meant that I'd often use my other, reading, eye. (No binocular vision, one eye general purpose, the other has always specialised in reading). But, now that you mention it, I have been using Samsung tablets and phones - apart from my limited usage of the iPads (they were only required because an essential work program only runs on them).

I'll have to have a look at that website. I'd never come across it before.

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Living Room / Re: Windows as a tablet OS

« Last post by Dormouse on March 31, 2020, 03:53 PM »

Tablets were added to the mix; I never used my iPads much, but did use my Samsung Note tablet a lot

-Dormouse (March 29, 2020, 09:22 AM)

This has been my experience too.  Stylus technology and software that utilizes it has improved sufficiently in some places -- am hoping this trend will continue.  The issue of how to carry a stylus without losing it doesn't seem to be well-addressed yet though IMO.

-ewemoa (March 30, 2020, 07:06 PM)

I think I've acquired a solution to that 
The Samsung tablet has a very shallow hollow for the stylus with a weak magnetic link - but it works as if it is rock solid with this case. Has to be attached right but that easy so long as you remember that any which way won't do.

Carrying a tablet around is something i find comfortable, reminds me of the days when filofaxes were endemic, and I use it for lots of things that it wouldn't be worth opening a laptop for.

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Living Room / Re: Windows as a tablet OS

« Last post by Dormouse on March 31, 2020, 03:28 PM »

I thought that the Book came closer.

-wraith808 (March 29, 2020, 07:38 PM)

You're right of course. Hardwarewise the Book is excellent as both a laptop and tablet. It's just the software I don't find so smooth.

656

Living Room / Re: Windows as a tablet OS

« Last post by Dormouse on March 29, 2020, 05:54 PM »

Yes. I'd like to emphasise that I like my Surface, and it's a tribute to its capability that I've been using it as a workstation instead of my desktop (which I've just taken down for renewal/rebuilding). It works OK as a tablet, and I could probably make it do better if I used it like that more - which I suppose I might in the future. But, when I came to the realisation that productivity required me to use a tablet much more of the time to cut monitor exposure, my immediate thought wasn't to just use the Surface as a tablet. Partly to avoid the switching between workstation mode and tablet but mostly because I find that the Windows programs work better on desktop than they do on tablet. And with tablets falling out of fashion I'm not sure there will be any further adjustment in that direction.

It's just a not unexpected discovery that a multi-function device is unlikely to be best at any individual function.

657

Living Room / Windows as a tablet OS

« Last post by Dormouse on March 29, 2020, 09:22 AM »

Over the years I've switched between phone/PC and then. phone/PC/laptop. Tablets were added to the mix; I never used my iPads much, but did use my Samsung Note tablet a lot until it started playing up after a few years ,at the same time as I was transitioning to mostly using Windows tablet/laptops instead of desktops (one Surface book; one Toshiba convertible). To an extent that has worked: it is useful to use Windows programs on a tablet. But only when needs must. It doesn't work easily or elegantly, so I mostly use them as a workstation. Partly i think the OS doesn't lend itself well to tablet use, though it tries and neither are the apps optimised for tablet use. The Android versions of the same programs often work much better on tablets, though usually with restricted functionality. So back to increased Android tablet use. It's not a major change in my workflow just change in the hardware I spend most time with.

Partly my switch is about eyesight changes and monitors. I really really like big busy monitors, but the brightness overwhelms me now after a few hours even though I've tweaked all my settings and limited the programs I use to ones that suit me best. Phones and tablets are much easier. I can imagine myself ending up with Android tablets/phones and Linux PCs (with Windows and/or WINE installed). Windows updates are uniquely disruptive and I seem to lose my theme setting every other day.

658

Living Room / Re: Archivarius questions (help using)

« Last post by Dormouse on March 29, 2020, 04:54 AM »

Great news!!! 

-Yatom (March 28, 2020, 09:37 PM)

Thanks for the persistence, description and precision.

Helps me remember why I chose Archivarius in the first place, but also reminds me why I drifted out of using it. A very fine program for the time, but, as it wasn't at the core of what I was doing, the time consumed always felt disproportionate. And, in the absence of self-contained expertise, the complexity required active support and preferably an equally active forum of users. I think most of my tasks just hit a "there must be a better way" moment and got broken down differently into smaller chunks. I now use the much simpler docfetcher; good enough for what I use it for now and apparently actively maintained. And less indexing, which I think is the core of my issue.

659

Living Room / Re: Archivarius questions (help using)

« Last post by Dormouse on March 27, 2020, 08:09 PM »

Any possibility of a Nazarene -Nazarenes working?

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Living Room / Re: Archivarius questions (help using)

« Last post by Dormouse on March 27, 2020, 05:32 PM »

I haven't used Archivarius for a long time - I've just checked and I don't even have it installed at the moment - so I'm not in the best position to answer your questions.

My only comment is on your Nazarene Vs Nazarenes question. I don't know whether you have tried a search with a space at the end of Nazarene. Some programs will ignore spaces, but I've found surprisingly often that I have to use spaces to make a program do what I want; before and after, depending on the word.

wrt Likasoft generally, I've noticed that updates have been coming infrequently (last update 2018) and I wonder if its writer's attention may mostly be elsewhere.

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General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on March 05, 2020, 03:42 PM »

Well this is interesting....why do you go to the Journal as a middleman?  I use the Journal also, so I am wondering.

-superboyac (March 05, 2020, 12:11 PM)

It imports Evernote export files and exports into individual documents (rtf, txt, docx, pdf, or html).

I don't know if it can do that for OneNote exports, which themselves are more limited than Evernote.

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General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on March 04, 2020, 07:22 PM »

garh!  too many cool software!

-superboyac (March 03, 2020, 12:20 PM)

The bit I found fascinating about Roam was the description of it automatically triggering someone to do Luhmann style in depth notes without any overt instruction or direction. i doubt I'll use the program myself because it seems to be at the opposite end of my search for long term safety and system stability, and isn't multi-platform. But it does seem to have a neat set of ideas.

ok safe to say, i haven't gotten very far with this experiment.
I am still using onenote for everything, mostly because it syncs to my phone and i have no discipline yet around organizing my brain farts.

-superboyac (March 03, 2020, 12:20 PM)

I've not got far either - have been too busy tied up with other things. But my organisation is building and I have a system that I can return to whenever I am doing related stuff - so that seems to be working. But zettelkasten does seem to require discipline and preferably regularity. I struggle with the first, but the second is never likely to be possible.

I agree about using OneNote because you can also use it on your phone. I do the same with Evernote, though I have a process that can take it to separate documents (EN>The Journal>separate documents). If I were regular I would do this daily or weekly; as it is, it is when I have a large group of notes to process and the time to do it (processing a large number takes little more time than doing a little).

also, i just finished an outline to a new screenplay, and it was all developed using multiple screenwriting software essentially...scrivener, outline4d.  not sure how zettl would fit in.  still like the idea.

-superboyac (March 03, 2020, 12:20 PM)

Congratulations on completing the outline.
I've not been working on this so can't give any ideas about how I would use a zettl to help with this, more than I already have. What i would say is that i doubt a zettl approach will be especially useful for one self-contained project. I'd also say that if you are already working well using a Scrivener/Outline4D combo, then stick to using that. Even if you have a zettl, there will always be a use for specialist programs.

663

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on March 01, 2020, 05:46 PM »

There is also a beta available for https://roamresearch.com/

-Nod5 (February 28, 2020, 10:12 AM)

A new option to take a look at: https://casual-effects.com/markdeep/

-wraith808 (February 27, 2020, 10:32 PM)

Thanks for these. Very different, but each interesting in their own way.
I've not looked at either in detail yet.

This seems to be an interesting example of Roam usage. Appears to describe a Luhmann process in action, though there's no reference to zettelkasten at all. Suggests that the move to more in-depth note taking arose purely from using Roam without any deliberate thought or action.

664

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on February 08, 2020, 07:11 PM »

Start using AsciiDoc with the AsciiDocFX editor. That is similar to MarkDown text format files. The AsciiDocFX editor comes with an automatic (real-time) preview, so it very easy to see how your content will look like, while you are typing it. Which should cover most, if not all, of your needs to alter the layout afterwards. But if you still find a need to do so, you can alter the default CSS style sheet that editors like AsciiDocFX use to render the content as preview.

-Shades (January 06, 2020, 06:22 PM)

Thanks.
I had a quick look. Preview feature worked well, but I couldn’t set up a colour scheme to suit  me, so that rules it out.

Also doubt preview as a solution. Goes back to the days of print and proofing marks (and preview would have been wonderful then). The problem is that it works by splitting writing and reading modes, and this has an impact on focus and efficiency. Like many writers, I typically write first, check and format later.  Putting headers in wouldn’t affect focus, but putting in a bullet list would - especially if there was a need to check the preview to see if it achieved the desired appearance. Also formatting is easier done with just a mouse - at least for me.
There’s then the assumption that post-writing mode is reading. In some cases it might be, but with the zkn notes it isn’t really. I design the note format to help direct my attention appropriately when I next look at the note. But when I do, I am as likely to be in edit/change mode as in read - and that means not wanting to switch between panes.

Text files like MarkDown and AsciiDoc have also the advantage that these are very easy to search through by any and all types of search engine software (local or remote). These documents are also easy to store in any database of your choosing or to serve up as (internal) web content, if you so desire. With RTF and other document types created by word processing software, such options are very limited in the best case scenarios to non-existent.

Depending on RTF and/or other document types, will bite you in the long run, in ways you'll never expected.

-Shades (January 06, 2020, 06:22 PM)

I accept text files are easier to search and plaintext is easier to manipulate (not so sure about markdown etc - it isn’t, for instance, recognised by docfetcher as a separate file type which means text shown includes formatting).
I also accept that there are risks in using RTFs, or other more complex document types, but here I have to weigh the risk against the efficiency gains I have from using them.
And I have to be aware that many of my sources are held in document formats of all types, including PDFs, doc/docx and ebooks, as well as informational image files. And all these I suspect are more likely to give problems than RTFs. As it is, I use text files where they are sufficient and RTFs where I need the formatting.

665

General Software Discussion / .txt/.md Vs .rtf

« Last post by Dormouse on January 05, 2020, 07:16 PM »

I was looking at the file size differences and thinking that smaller must end up being faster for search etc (RTF being twice the size of the others).
So I looked closer. TXT often doesn't have the formatting I'd want when i'm reading. MD is the same size, virtually, and not hard to learn, so I checked the commands.

They're easy enough, and probably faster if you prefer the keyboard. But I always format after writing and prefer the mouse - so i think RTF may be faster for me. Accepting that there will be some markdown editors which allow input in the same way - but having spent so much time looking at programs, I'm not keen on looking again quite at the moment.

666

General Software Discussion / Efficiency Vs Complete

« Last post by Dormouse on January 05, 2020, 07:08 PM »

I was sent an academic paper today. I didn't think it was very good. Argument but no evidence. So i thought I'd delete it.
Then I thought that I have it, so it's no loss to keep it, and easier too.
Then I thought, I've read it already. I do have thoughts about it. Maybe I should make a note.
So I did. But only one note, done in a single pass. But still had to do the naming and tagging and add the link. Can't say it felt like the best use of time.
And probably inconsistent with Luhmann's injunction about selective reading.
But then, most academic papers are poor, so this is just normal.
So okay. I'm content enough to have done the note. And sure it wasn't worth going over and over.

I feel that getting this balance right is the key to making the process effective.

667

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on January 05, 2020, 12:46 PM »

For me a helpful article because it starts simple and rules out what doesnt work in most systems; (flounders a bit in the middle imo); and only towards the end really describes the zettelkasten system as they see it.

-tomos (January 04, 2020, 07:11 PM)

Thanks. I agree that it's quite a good article, although I think it incorporates the weaknesses I personally perceive in the zettelkasten movement.

There's a reification of Luhmann as super productive, with an assumption that this is down to his unique working methodology which he described in some detail. Many academics, writers, scientists etc etc have been super productive, but they haven't left descriptions of their working methods; there has been a tendency for their productivity to be put down to their genius.

No-one else has achieved long-lived highly productive success using a zettelkasten. There simply hasn't been the time since the method became widely known. Most (all?) evangelists of the movement are relatively young. Presumably they have suffered some frustration with their previous approaches and hope that zettelkasten will help them to success. This necessarily means that they don't have experience of how a highly productive method feels in action over a long period of time, and will be proceeding on the basis of faith using the descriptions they have read of the system.

What strikes me most from this - and all the other articles - is that it is technocratic. All about the technique, digital or physical, and little about the content. Whereas, to me, the key feature is the thinking and reflection time enforced by the system. I say enforced but the degree is actually individually determined: some people will use the system as described, especially if they are using one of the programs mentioned, mechanistically and with little thought. Equating productivity with the number of notes or the number of links.

I believe that it can be a very helpful system (to some but not all), but only if people use it as an aid to their own thinking. I'd also note that Luhmann was highly successful and productive very early in his career when his zettelkasten system was still fledging.

668

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on January 04, 2020, 05:52 AM »

The zettelkasten part of the system is much simpler. Everything I think about goes in. It’s the antithesis of the project zettelkasten approach.
The underlying concept is that if I spend some time thinking about anything, then I might think about it again in the future.

• Notes based on reading are usually processed as a group because I don’t distract myself from reading by making a detailed note.
• Usually I will mark a section that gets put in as a direct quote.
• Next I make a quick brief note (the fleeting note) - might be done at the time of marking, otherwise later but soon after reading.
• Next, usually after some hours, I make a fuller note. I regard this as a Level One note. The format is as a document with the quote at the bottom, the fleeting note above and the Level One note at the top.
• Naming and tagging can be done at any point, but is usually most convenient when the Level One note has been completed and the note is placed in the long-term zettelkasten (previously it was moving through staging folders).
• Within days, I hope to complete Level Two notes. These reorganise the ideas in the earlier notes so that the concepts are clearer and better separated. This is the first major linking stage when the linking may become more complex.

Subsequent notes are simple. They are written, linked, named, and tagged in one pass.

For me, the initial stages of making notes are more rigid and time consuming than conventional systems. Thereafter it is efficient and integrating new thoughts into previous structures is easy.
The later notes in conventional systems are either more time consuming or only retain their ease at the cost of full integration with previous thoughts.

No system copes well with independent small thoughts and small notes. Database systems work best (The Journal is okay). I simply combine them to create documents to put into the archive. Time will tell whether this is effective. I think it will work where the combination is on a single topic, but thoughts aren’t always like that.

669

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on January 03, 2020, 02:33 PM »

This is a graphic illustrating the document flow in my system.
The central features are the document archive and the zettelkasten.

Evernote is primarily a collection and holding pen facilitating organisation prior to transmission to the archive.
The main use for the Journal is combining smaller notes into single files. Secondary use as a journal.
The OneNote project is simply there to show that some work might still take place in database programs if that is more efficient.

670

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on January 01, 2020, 03:09 PM »

I've provisionally decided on my initial tagging system. Tags in file name and body of file. Any tagging during use will go into the Tagspaces sidecar.

Seven tag fields.

-Dormouse (November 18, 2019, 03:14 PM)

In the end I decided to be much simpler. Short 2 or 3 letter tags to make typing easier, and I'll type many in directly. Tags and sub-tags. No maximum or minimum number. Should be intuitive and obvious (to me).

I'll need a master list. Thought it would be easiest in a table. Requirements: easy to have the background colour I need, easy zoom and easy alphabetical sort. I checked through the text editors and word processors I usually have open. Could they do it? No! Wasted time looking, gave up in the end and just used Word. Ah well.

671

General Software Discussion / Enhancements

« Last post by Dormouse on December 29, 2019, 05:48 PM »

Two things struck me that could be enhancements to a zettelkasten program/process for some people for some usages.

Coloured or labelled links like spider diagrams or mind maps.
A limitation is that it imposes a consistency in the use of the concepts behind the links.
Doesn't suit my approach but would really help some.

Tiny notes attached to other notes.
I use stickies attached to documents, but the method is irrelevant.
These mostly arise from subconscious thinking, or something read in passing, rather than deliberate cogitation. Small thoughts, nothing complicated, so if I'm developing a character it might be 'Douglas Firbrae' or 'red hair'; I'm not going to actively think about it at the time - probably actively working on something else - but I don't want to lose the idea and I need it to be where I need it when I do actively work on the topic.

Some tiny ideas, of course, deserve notes of their own. I recently thought of Edward Siwardsson. No time to work it up, but worth retaining. My subconscious may decide to play around with it. Or not. (fwiw, very little is known about him, but he was an Anglo-Saxon/Northumbrian nobleman at a time when the development of Scotland and northern England was being contested between the Gaels, Picts, Irish, Danes, Norse, Anglo-Saxons, British, Normans - some more directly involved than others. He won the battle which was pivotal in giving David I the throne of Scotland; David brought to Scotland the Norman knights whose descendants would later fight for the throne (the Bruces, Stewarts, Balliols, Comyns etc)).

You can see that issues around tiny ideas and snippets are still unresolved in my mind. I'm assuming that Luhmann never had any need to manage them because his thoughts were always longer and more complex. But many of mine are small. They just pop into my head when my brain is unfocused. I have always assumed that this is normal.

672

General Software Discussion / Re: Top 3 programs you use

« Last post by Dormouse on December 22, 2019, 06:18 PM »

This also relates to DoogiePIM ... development has slowed somewhat

-rgdot (December 22, 2019, 05:28 PM)

It has. Came back from the dead, frequent updates at start, but much slower now.
Quite a few things on the list to be addressed haven't been (yet). Forum pretty inactive. I've not bothered installing the latest update yet. The code might have been rewritten, but there really aren't many changes from GemX in the way it works. But it does what it does and keeps on going, which may be enough. I don't think there would be enough money to justify an Android version of such a huge program.

Ultra Recall was almost left to die but has been revived. Updates aren't cheap though.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Top 3 programs you use

« Last post by Dormouse on December 22, 2019, 05:15 PM »

Maybe there were too many two-pane organisers for the market to bear, as there appears to be a winnowing going on.

-rjbull (December 22, 2019, 04:09 PM)

I think TreeDBNotes most recent version is 2015, and there had been only tiny changes for some years before that.
I remember some vehement argument and criticism in the forum for a year or two before it was closed down. Many posters arguing for more PIM features. I thought they were wrong, and that more could be done to develop the text editor, whichh I believed was always its best feature.

I think there were too many organisers, but I think that the major problem was that the market simply moved away from the concept. Developers took themselves into a PIM cul-de-sac, and had nowhere to go when better answers to the PIM need arrived. Very few people want purely local anymore.

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General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on December 22, 2019, 03:19 PM »

somtimes it's hard to understand the system when reading about the details, this a very helpful description

-tomos (December 22, 2019, 11:29 AM)

The pure zettelkasten is just the room, mainly the table.
But, for me, it doesn't work without the rest. Including my librarians, Tag and Search.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Sagelight Image Editor v4 and is Pay-What-You-Want

« Last post by Dormouse on December 22, 2019, 11:05 AM »

yeah, just had a look, nine years ago he had some sort of lifetime deal via gizmo (techsupportalert?)
Curious to see the new one.

-tomos (December 22, 2019, 10:22 AM)

I think he had sales independent of the gizmo deal too. I appear to have two licences.