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Author Topic: Taonotes (weird software!)  (Read 6258 times)

superboyac

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Taonotes (weird software!)
« on: May 19, 2006, 10:39 AM »
http://actitrend.fre3.com/

I was going to post this in the notetaking brainstorming thread, but I felt it was a little off-topic there.  Anyway, I've stumbled across this Taonotes program.  I don't know what the hell this thing does.  I am kind of fascinated by it on one hand, and on the other hand, it looks like just a bundle of chaos.  I went on the forums and it seems like it's some kind of notetaking application, but not really.  I see an outliner and a notes section in the software, but it really doesn't function like a notetaking software.  And it's comapred to MyLife Organized, which I reviewed here in another thread, so I guess that means that Taonotes is also used to create an interactive ToDO list.  I see how that works in the program, because you can check and uncheck things as being completed.

But seriously, download this program and try to see if you can figure out what it can be used for.  It's weird.  I don't think I've ever downloaded a program and after using it, I think to myself "What is this supposed to be doing?"

patteo

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Re: Taonotes (weird software!)
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2006, 11:08 AM »
Actually, the following is a thread (verbatim) from the Ecco pro forum in which Vadim, the author of Taonotes is writing in response to the announcement of a new & forthcoming Ecco Pro "clone" by one of the long time Ecco Pro support experts, Phil Seeman

So you could say Taonotes it's a Ecco Pro wannabe in a sense.

Take note that Ecco Pro is an abandoned PIM (Outliner) with a cult like following despite having been abandoned close to 10 years

The posts are rather long, but it gives you an idea where TaoNotes is trying to position itself.

-----------------------------
<[email protected]> to eccopro
    More options     May 4
   I was not writting here for a relatively long time... but today
there is good reasons for that: 1) the topic that was initiated; 2)
today I am releasing new TaoNotes v3.00... so, I will use this case to
post here once... escuse me if you treat it as off-topic...

   I did not change my point of view... I do not believe in
announcements about concerned forthcoming products... None of them is
being developed well... Working on the main job as IT consultant for
life-living I develop TaoNotes in my spare time... But I think it has
progess despite of it's less than a year I started to develop it...

   So, I am in jeleous a bit when I see that someone announces the
new application arrival and about 100 people in the moment becomes
followers.... of nothing... and I have less then 100 followers of my
application working hard for a years...

   I need a beta testers too.... I do not promise user-definable
columns in this version, nor cross-referencing items.... just working
outliner with predefined columns set...

   So pardon my lirics above, I wanna inform you that there is new
New TaoNotes Pro v3.00 that delivers WYSYWYG content editing and many
outline navigation improvements. So now it's three-pane outliner with
possibility to edit and format (HTML formatting is supported) items.
visit http://actitrend.fre3.com to learn more....
-------------------------

And here are a couple of posts by someone else responding to Vadim's post

Vadim -

I think the critical difference -- one you keep missing, I believe --
is that your product doesn't provide any of the core functionality of
Ecco.  You've never taken the time to understand what Ecco does at its
most fundamental level, and so you product lacks any true "Ecco-ness".
 For that reason, it's simply not of much interest to anyone here (I
believe).

By contrast, Phil has been an Ecco-phile for many years.  He
understands inherently what Ecco does and how it does it, and he's
told us he's writing a new program to implement the basic Ecco
paradigms.  Consequently, people here are interested.

You want to get people here interested in TaoNotes?  Implement an
outliner coupled to an ad-hoc database, and you're half way there.

- Jeff

----------
These are all very good points.  In the absence of the character that Jeff
talks about, Vadim, your program becomes just another PIM.

I'm going to add another comment that I hope you will not take personally.
It is meant as constructive criticism.  I belong to a number of groups that
you apparently subscribe to, most of them involving GTD.  Your
self-promotion in these groups is constant.  In addition, though much less
important, when I have tried to engage you directly about some of the
characteristics of the software in these forums I have received no answer.
Given the above, especially the first, your posts have taken on the
characteristics of popup ads.  I believe that I can state with some
certainty that most people are ignoring them by now.  Combine this with the
petulant tone of the post below, bordering on the implication that you are
being persecuted because we are not all raving about your program, and I
believe you may start to understand some of the resistance that people may
feel about getting too involved with your software.  I've seen you make
other such posts in the past and I believe that I can state uncategorically
that they turn people off.  I'm deeply sorry to put it that way but I
believe that it is so.

I would strongly and constructively suggest that you limit your own posts to
these groups advertising your software to major upgrades, perhaps about once
every 6 months.  I would also constructively suggest that you not respond to
posts about other people's software, whether it exists or not, with
promotion of your own.

Tom S.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2006, 12:07 PM by patteo »

superboyac

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Re: Taonotes (weird software!)
« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2006, 12:22 PM »
Wow!  That's some drama there!  Thanks patteo.

Regarding the last post, I know what he is talking about.  Now, I don't know enough to really say anything, so I don't want to take sides.  But in the yahoo powertools forum, Vadim would always post about taonotes, and I can understand what Tom is saying about it turning people off.

At least your post somewhat clarifies to me that Taonotes is an odd software.  Like, I'm not the only on here.  Now, I'm interested in this new ecco product!

nevf

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Re: Taonotes (weird software!)
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2006, 05:14 PM »
TaoNotes 3D has to be one of the most cluttered apps I've ever seen. I did try to engage the author a while back and offered advice I thought should prove useful. I did get a reply, but I have noticed any action on his part. And what's with the 3D bit!
Neville Franks, Clibu a better way to collect, use, manage and share information across all devices.

actitrend

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Re: Taonotes (weird software!)
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2006, 10:10 PM »
   I want to reply to nevf!

   To make things the clearer I must notice here that nevf is the author of another note-taking program (in another words - the competitor to my TaoNotes application).... I think he's post is characterized him as a person well enough...

   I think I can reveal the "advice"  he gave to me then.... it's about "to stop distributing freeware version of TaoNotes".... because it's decreases the sales of our shareware products.... right nevf?

   I said in reply that "I will thought on that subject".... and next day I abandoned the development of freeware version.... That's the truth I abandoned freeware development on version 1.68....

   But on other hand the "link popularity" of the my project decreased after that.... So I'm thinking again on releasing freeware version anew.... may be that would be smart.....

   Regards, Vadim Schetinkin
   TaoNotes author, http://actitrend.fre3.com

   PS: I've changed the name to TaoNotes 2006 (without "3D" appendix)... just FYI...

Posted by: nevf
Insert Quote
TaoNotes 3D has to be one of the most cluttered apps I've ever seen. I did try to engage the author a while back and offered advice I thought should prove useful. I did get a reply, but I have noticed any action on his part. And what's with the 3D bit!

actitrend

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Re: Taonotes (weird software!)
« Reply #5 on: May 25, 2006, 10:45 PM »
    And I want to reply to superboyac...

    You're right.... TaoNotes is note-taker... and TaoNotes is doto manager too!... I can say more it's perfect bookmark manager also.... more over it can be used as outliner-document tool for writer -> it produces nice rich-formatted output on the basis of outline provided...

    But comparison with EccoPro is incorrect a bit.... EP is full-featured PIM... it has contacts and calendar..... TaoNotes does not..... They only planed in the future versions...

    You called it "weird".... the main reason of misunderstanding here.... is the absence of good manual I think..... if you could have a good manual you have a chance to understand it's power and strengths....

    Vadim, the author

>I went on the forums and it seems like it's some kind of notetaking application, but not really.  I see an outliner and a notes section in the software, but it really doesn't function like a notetaking software.  And it's comapred to MyLife Organized, which I reviewed here in another thread, so I guess that means that Taonotes is also used to create an interactive ToDO list.  I see how that works in the program, because you can check and uncheck things as being completed.

mouser

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Re: Taonotes (weird software!)
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2006, 12:54 PM »
first of all,
actitrend/vadim - welcome to the site! glad to have you here and participating in the discussion  :Thmbsup:

second of all, any program that can be called weird, by my way of thinking, is a good thing :)  99% of the software in this world is just plain bad and boring. so when someone calls your software weird, to me i say bravo   :P

it's very hard to balance writing a program that works according to what people are used to and then trying to do something new.  and of course everyone has different tastes.. 

so like i said, welcome to the discussion and i hope you stay around join in, especially in the note taking discussion thread,
https://www.donation...index.php?topic=2362.

superboyac

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Re: Taonotes (weird software!)
« Reply #7 on: June 01, 2006, 05:42 PM »
Yes, Vadim, welcome to the site.  I can see why your program works differently if you are trying to capture the Ecco feel.  I know a lot of people really loved that software and would like to see a replacement for it.

I never used Ecco, so I never got used to it, so that's probably why your Taonotes feels quirky to me.  But, innovation is always important and you never know who will catch on.  I'll keep tinkering with Taonotes...