Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
General brainstorming for Note-taking software
superboyac:
A OneNote 2007 60-day trial is available for download from the MS site. It does require activation for the trial.
I don't know if it can be installed stand-alone or if it requires other Office 2007 components.
-dbrosius (December 06, 2006, 01:30 PM)
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Thanks, I will check it out. I got a free copy of the old Onenote several years ago, if only I could remember how...
srdiamond:
I am puzzled by the consensus that favors MyBase and Surfulator, yet complains of the difficulties managing large trees. Considering the problems users experience with trees, you would think that the leading programs would provide solutions. There are two solutions available, netheir well represented among the reviewed products. Since users want a usable tree, programs that make trees more accessible deserve a close look. One of the requirements for managing a large tree is the ability to move multiple headings simultaneously. Multiple selection in the tree is one basic property of modern outlining programs, and almost none of the trees have this capacity. Ultra Recall provides this modern outlining feature in its tree, in its most advanced incarnation, which it calls logical linking. This means topics can be subordinated to multiple headings (cloned).
Another program that allows creating a tree with multiple selection--this one, unlike UltraRecall, definitely definable as a "notetaking program"--is ndx Cards.
On the other hand, perhaps the tree isn't the best way to go about organizing notes. Then programs that use keywords exclusively and in a slick fashion might be the ticket. Here PersonalKnowbase, which has good notetaking features, thought not as good as ndx Cards, should be considered.
As to the process of creating a single note, Microsoft OneNote can't be beat. It has outlining within notes (that no other program currently in development has) and adapts to inputting notes in a variety of ways.
superboyac:
srdiamond, first of all, please keep in mind that this review was only the first of hopefully more roundups for this software category. It is a very difficult category to cover comprehensively, and knowing that from the beginning, I purposefully didn't worry about covering everything in one roundup. Otherwise, I would've freaked out and lost my mind. That being said, let me respond to your comments :Thmbsup:
I am puzzled by the consensus that favors MyBase and Surfulator, yet complains of the difficulties managing large trees. Considering the problems users experience with trees, you would think that the leading programs would provide solutions. There are two solutions available, netheir well represented among the reviewed products. Since users want a usable tree, programs that make trees more accessible deserve a close look. One of the requirements for managing a large tree is the ability to move multiple headings simultaneously. Multiple selection in the tree is one basic property of modern outlining programs, and almost none of the trees have this capacity. Ultra Recall provides this modern outlining feature in its tree, in its most advanced incarnation, which it calls logical linking. This means topics can be subordinated to multiple headings (cloned).
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Actually, Surfulater has the capability already to clone notes. The default action for copying/pasting notes results in cloned notes, not two copies of the same note. Mybase can't clone per se, but it can link to other notes, meaning that you can create a note that when you click on it, it will jump to the note that it is linked to. Not exactly the same as cloning, but functions similarly.
As for managing large trees, that is a topic that his been discussed extensively in this forum. There was a long discussion about how the trees were inefficient and that better methods exist such as categorizing using keywords or tags. A couple of programs do this, like Evernote and Zoot. The author of Surfulater has mentioned putting tags into the program in the future. Mybase also has the ability to "label" notes which is like tagging them with keywords. MyInfo also has an interesting way to tag notes (mentioned in the roundup). The thing is, neither solution is definitively better than the other. In some cases, the traditional hierarchy works better, and in others, the more virtual tag-based system works better. I feel that the simple hierarchy starts breaking down as the database becomes larger and larger, but for smaller databases, the hierarchy works well. Not all people are going to have an enormous number of notes, and the simple hierarchy may feel easier, simpler, and more familiar to them. Remember, not everyone is going to be a "poweruser".
As for UltraRecall, I remember trying it out and it seemed to have lots of features, but a bit too bulky for a simple notetaking program. I'll try it out again. Maybe the cloning of notes and multiple note selection is the deciding factor for you in choosing the right program, but you have to be careful not to make one little feature the focus of a general review of a broad category like this. With me, my favorite feature is the search-as-you-type feature (like in Evernote), but I purposefully make sure I don't make that the defining feature of notetakers.
Another program that allows creating a tree with multiple selection--this one, unlike UltraRecall, definitely definable as a "notetaking program"--is ndx Cards.
On the other hand, perhaps the tree isn't the best way to go about organizing notes. Then programs that use keywords exclusively and in a slick fashion might be the ticket. Here PersonalKnowbase, which has good notetaking features, thought not as good as ndx Cards, should be considered.
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I will take a look at those programs and add them to the next roundup. Just from a first glance, ndx cards seems to be unconventional about it's note organizing, which may be very efficient, but also may present an unfamiliar interface for users. But I'll say more when I have messed around with it a little more.
As to the process of creating a single note, Microsoft OneNote can't be beat. It has outlining within notes (that no other program currently in development has) and adapts to inputting notes in a variety of ways.
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OneNote was a gross omission from the first roundup and will definitely be included in the next roundup. It is clearly a popular and important software in this category.
superboyac:
ndx cards
So I tried this program out for a little bit today. As expected, I find its interface unfamiliar (as I thought initially from looking at the website). It seems to be an advanced kind of post-it software. It is technically a notetaking application, but I think it's unlike what most people in this category are looking for in this category. Is that good or bad? Well, that depends on the user. To me, it seems like users like srdiamond are looking for a more creative and unique approach to notetaking than what is currently being offered in general (ie heirarchies and similar tree-like interfaces).
I also want to point out that there is a distinction between notetakers and outliners. They are not the same thing. An outliner is an application that helps to create an outline that usually consists of short phrases and sentences. A notetaker just stores random bits of text (and sometimes other content) in some kind of container. Sometimes there is a gray area between the two functions. Also, the terms are sometimes confused because notetakers usually rely on some kind of hierarchy which reminds people of an outline, but it's not really the same thing.
Personally, it would be very nice if a notetaking application included a powerful outliner instead of the rtf ordered list options that are normally offered (bullet list, numbered list). A popular outliner in the past was ECCO's feature. NDX cards also has a nice outliner. However, for the most part, it is not the definitive feature of a notetaking application, but more of a nice luxury to have.
superboyac:
Personal Knowbase
This is an interesting addition to notetaking if you truly can't stand the hierarchical system and are looking for a tagging style option for notes. It uses a 3-pane system as opposed to the more common 2-pane system. I've always been intrigued by 3-pane notetakers because they offer interesting organization options. Other 3-pane notetakers are Zoot and Black Hole Organizer, but Personal Knowbase makes use of tags/keywords in it's system instead of categories or folders. There's no hierarchy at all in PK, it's all just keywords and it offers some cool options for filtering and working with them to organize the notes. Overall, it's a cool option for dealing with notes, especially if you can't stand traditional hierarchies. The list of keywords on the left reminded of Powermarks, a very cool program for managing your internet bookmarks.
I've always liked the keyword approach, but it's still not completely better than the normal hierarchical approach. There are pros and cons to each (which were discussed in this thread a few pages back). Keywords are nice to organize in the macro sense (especially for a very large number of notes), but the typical hierarchy offers a nice visual representation of your notes, and also has other nice little advantages for a moderate number of notes.
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