Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
General brainstorming for Note-taking software
nevf:
I just want to let everyone know that there is a new Surfulater release now available. Download from http://www.surfulater.com and read the Blog post about this release at http://blog.surfulater.com/2006/07/08/elusive-no-more-surfulater-v19830-is-waiting-for-you/ and the Release notes here.
Surfulater V1.98.3.0 addresses some specific issues that superboyac has raised, including the new 'Content
Elements' filters which let you hide elements in the content window such as the Pencil cells, the layout of the content window has been tightened up, the content window no longer scrolls when you edit an article and more.
I've put together a short movie showing the content elements filters in action here.
The next release will enable easier creation of article templates along with some interesting new layouts that move the Label column so it is on top of the field contents. I'll be blogging about this when it is released. It also includes a major update to the content display to use multi-threading. This makes a dramatic difference when you are displaying a folder which has many large articles.
And finally I've just e-mailed mouser with a new discount for DC Members.
PS. willyram, excellent post. I look forward to hearing more of your ideas.
johnk:
I have spent a small fortune over the years on an endless variety of notetaking and data capture programs. There aren't many I haven't bought or at least trialled. Nothing has ever felt "just right", although currently I am a big fan of both Ultra Recall (http://www.ultrarecall.com/) and nevf's excellent Surfulater. Both good in very different ways.
Having said all that, the program I am using more than any other in recent months has taken me by surprise — because I didn't install it either as a notetaker or as a data capture tool. It's Clipcache, one of many clipboard enhancers.
Gradually, I realised how easy it was to capture and organise data in Clipcache, and how adding a note was simply a matter of hitting Ctrl+n and typing. Like all Clipboard enhancers, all you need to do to capture other data (including web snippets) is hit ctrl+c. It handles HTML well. And the new version (3, still in beta - http://www.xrayz.co.uk/forum/) is based on a robust SQL database engine, which cures what some see as a weakness in version 2. I am using version 3. Search is quick and efficient. Layout is based on the traditional and familiar three panel layout - tree, list, preview. Screenshots for version 2 here: http://www.xrayz.co.uk/clipcache/?page=screenshots
If you want something for quick notes, web snippets and basic data organisation, it's efficient. Perhaps not for heavy-duty use — for long-term stuff or major projects I'm still likely to put large buckets of data into either Ultra Recall or Surfulater (can't decide between them yet). But for "miscellaneous" stuff or casual use, Clipcache has merit.
rjbull:
johnk,
Having said all that, the program I am using more than any other in recent months has taken me by surprise — because I didn't install it either as a notetaker or as a data capture tool. It's Clipcache, one of many clipboard enhancers.
--- End quote ---
I registered ClipCache mostly as a "thank you" to the author, but I've never bothered to install the shareware version because the last freeware one (available e.g. from http://www.woundedmoon.org/win32_freeware.html) did all I wanted as a clipboard enhancer. Perhaps it's time to look at the newer versions. Clipcache has been mentioned on DC before, e.g. this thread
ClipCache Plus 3.xx Preview...Don't Get Too Excited where the OP (the currently very quiet Nighted) was distinctly underwhelmed.
Lately I've been using NetSnippets for Web capture, because it can hold Web pages complete, or in part. You can add to them and you can organise them. Unfortunately, at work, I can only use it with IE. I prefer Firefox, but I can't install any Firefox plug-ins. I think they're blocked by corporate IT policies (I have no problem at home). However, superboyac's main focus for this thread is note-keeping applications with the accent on text, and that's my main interest, and evidently yours too:
currently I am a big fan of both Ultra Recall (http://www.ultrarecall.com/) and nevf's excellent Surfulater. Both good in very different ways.
-johnk (July 13, 2006, 02:31 PM)
--- End quote ---
I'd be interested in how you compare them with the other two of superboyac's Big Three, MyBase and Evernote?
Perry Mowbray:
Anyone else have a play with InfoMaster (http://www.leersoft.com/infowonder-home.asp)?
Comes with a bit of a pedigree, but it didn't last very long on my computer.
It did have some really nifty ideas:
* Each note can have a date and/or reminder set, therefore creating calendars
* User created forms
Both of which I thought I could put to good use.
johnk:
johnk,
currently I am a big fan of both Ultra Recall (http://www.ultrarecall.com/) and nevf's excellent Surfulater. Both good in very different ways.
-johnk (July 13, 2006, 02:31 PM)
--- End quote ---
I'd be interested in how you compare them with the other two of superboyac's Big Three, MyBase and Evernote?
-rjbull (July 14, 2006, 05:43 AM)
--- End quote ---
I think one of the questions in this area (as others have mentioned) is whether you're going down the "all-in-one" route or the specialist tool route. Both routes have their temptations. Ultra Recall is an all-in-one solution. I think it's a wonderful piece of software, though probably more for data capture than for dedicated note-taking. I find it difficult to find any fault with it, and I urge anyone investigating this area to try it out. Good forums too. But there is a learning curve.
However, if what you really want is a light, speedy note-taker, then I'm not sure I'd suggest Ultra Recall. Again, as others have stated, it's up to each individual to list the features they need, and then examine the alternatives. I keep jumping from specialist programs (e.g. the elegant but expensive Notemap (http://www.casesoft.com/notemap/) for outlining, the well-designed Notesholder (http://notes.aklabs.com/) for on-the-fly notetaking) back to all-in-ones. My main problem is that I can never make up my mind. I waste too much time trying out programs, and not long enough making the most of them.
It's a long time since I tried MyBase, so it might have improved, but I can't imagine it has outpaced Ultra Recall (they have similar structures). And while Evernote looks very interesting, I have not tried it - I currently have a self-imposed ban on trying new note-taking/data capture programs (for the reasons outlined above).
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