Author Topic: SuperboyAC's Notetaking Software Roundup #1 (Read 89,213 times)

mouser · « **on:** September 05, 2006, 07:49 AM »

A preview version of SuperboyAC's new review, The Notetaking Software Roundup #1, is now online here:

http://www.donationcoder.com/Reviews/Archive/NoteTakers1

NOTE: It is only currently readable by donating members of the website; it will be made public in about a week after it has been edited based on feedback here.

Congratulations to SuperboyAC on what is an impossibly difficult subject to review, as we have discussed on the massive Note taking Brainstorm Thread here (longest thread on the forum):

http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=2362.0

Please show your support by sending SuperboyAC some credits, and by all means post your dissenting reviews on his conclusions.

The field of note taking software is huge, and constantly changing. Different people have vastly different preferences of one tool over another. Because of this we have decided *not* to give out awards in this category as we normally do in our shootout reviews.

In recognition of the difficulty and subjectivity of judging note taking programs, we have decided to forgoe our normal comprehensive shootout comparison, and instaead invite our reviewers to express their own personal summaries of the software they have tested. This Notetaking Roundup represents the first of these summaries.

nudone · « **Reply #1 on:** September 05, 2006, 07:53 AM »

fantastic. i've glanced over it but will read properly later.

congratulations to superboyac - i can see that it must have been an ordeal to do.

great to see a major big review back again on DC too.

mouser · « **Reply #2 on:** September 05, 2006, 07:59 AM »

i must take the blame for not putting this up earlier; i've been a bit overworked and the truth is SuperboyAC sent this to me a long time ago.

I'm going to try to make my way through the backlog this month and get up another couple of reviews that have been waiting in the wings, some of which require more editing than others.. What we really need is a brave soul to take over Review Editing/Formatting duties, and then we'd have the Review problems half-way licked..

Of course i'll just say again, the other main way we can show the reviewers how much we appreciate their work is to send them a few credits (at the top left of each review is a link to donate to the reviewer).

nudone · « **Reply #3 on:** September 05, 2006, 08:28 AM »

message to superboyac - what happened to TexNotes (Pro) http://www.gemx.com/texnotes.php

app103 · « **Reply #4 on:** September 05, 2006, 08:32 AM »

WOW!

Great work in putting that all together. Job well done. I know I couldn't have done it. Credits are on their way!

The whole thread on note taking programs was a bit overwhelming for me to read & keep up with, but was a valuable source of info in my quest for the perfect sourcecode organizer, which I still haven't found.

A Google search for sourcecode organizers lead me to that thread back in February, and it was how I originally found this site.

It's great to see it finally in a format where people can handle that vast wealth of info.

I am totally impressed!

Comments:

Might be nice to include all of the programs that are in the first table in the feature table too, and not just the big 3. Maybe list the big 3 first and then the rest, and make the big 3 a dif color than the rest to make them stand out.

I really liked the Frankenote section. (so who is going to volunteer to write that? mouser?)

1 very minor prob that is easily fixed: broken image in the MyBase section.

rjbull · « **Reply #5 on:** September 05, 2006, 09:14 AM »

Interesting summary.

One monitor I use is small, and best at 800 x 600. I nearly went dizzy from scrolling the screen from side to side...

Suggest a bit more use of spelling checker: I think it's "hierarchy" not "heirarchy."

urlwolf · « **Reply #6 on:** September 05, 2006, 09:51 AM »

Nice review! will read it with more detail later (dc credits your way, this must have being quite an ordeal).

BTW, what happened to oneNote? It's the one I use right now

and I have seen several people defending it in the long thread... I think it's a major player that shouldn't be ignored. The outline features are outstanding. I'm talking about the 2003 version, the 2007 one seems to be much improved (I cannot say).

rjbull · « **Reply #7 on:** September 06, 2006, 11:05 AM »

Jot+ Notes import feature: wider than usual range of imports, including Treepad, KeyNote, AZZ Cardfile, Action Outline, MemPad, MasterCook, Vault, IE and Firefox bookmarks, etc. Good range of exports but (naturally) doesn't export to its competitors' formats

Full listing here

mouser · « **Reply #8 on:** September 06, 2006, 11:18 AM »

i was a real fan of jot+ in how simple and pleasent it was to use.

superboyac · « **Reply #9 on:** September 06, 2006, 05:11 PM »

Thanks for all the kind words and everything, I just realized there were comments here!

Quote from: nudone on September 05, 2006, 08:28 AM

message to superboyac - what happened to TexNotes (Pro) http://www.gemx.com/texnotes.php

Oh! I missed it, sorry. I will have to add it to the second roundup that I do. I'd add it to the current one, but I won't have the time for a couple of months.

Quote from: app103 on September 05, 2006, 08:32 AM

Might be nice to include all of the programs that are in the first table in the feature table too, and not just the big 3. Maybe list the big 3 first and then the rest, and make the big 3 a dif color than the rest to make them stand out.

True, I wanted to include more programs in the feature matrix. That might also be something I'll expand in the next roundup I do. The problem is that I'd have to become more familiar with the other software to be able to grasp the more detailed features. I use Evernote, Surfulater, and Mybase a lot so I was familiar enough to easily make that matrix.

Quote from: urlwolf on September 05, 2006, 09:51 AM

BTW, what happened to oneNote? It's the one I use right now and I have seen several people defending it in the long thread... I think it's a major player that shouldn't be ignored. The outline features are outstanding. I'm talking about the 2003 version, the 2007 one seems to be much improved (I cannot say).

Oh man! I missed OneNote too! I remember in the beginning of the thread, I wasn't too keen on OneNote. However, I think that recently (after I had already finished this roundup) discussions increased about OneNote, and the next roundup will include it as a prominent player for sure.

mitzevo · « **Reply #10 on:** September 07, 2006, 07:13 AM »

Lol rjbull..

What an excellent job you have done.. I don't know how you contained your self in writing this review, lol seriously, good work.

btw, I dont see AceText any where.. lol oh well

it's probably in a catagory of it's own under text-only or some thing

rjbull · « **Reply #11 on:** September 07, 2006, 09:16 AM »

Quote from: mitzevo on September 07, 2006, 07:13 AM

Lol rjbull..

What an excellent job you have done.

All credit to SuperboyAC, 'twas he who wrote the review...

superboyac · « **Reply #12 on:** September 07, 2006, 05:12 PM »

Quote from: mitzevo on September 07, 2006, 07:13 AM

btw, I dont see AceText any where.. lol oh well it's probably in a catagory of it's own under text-only or some thing

Well, Acetext seems to be more of a clipboard manager with some extra features than a notetaker. But it could definitely function like a notetaker if you wanted it too.

superboyac · « **Reply #13 on:** September 11, 2006, 10:55 PM »

nudone, I've just messing around a little with TexNotes, and I'm impressed. I can't truly say at this point that it offers anything particularly unique, but I will say that it is a very very nice program. Of the Big Three, it is most similar to Mybase, but it seems to be a much easier to understand interface and overall has a nicer feel to it. I will definitely include in my next roundup and probably feature it a little bit, because it is very nicely done.

rjbull · « **Reply #14 on:** September 12, 2006, 01:06 PM »

Quote from: superboyac on September 11, 2006, 10:55 PM

rjbull, I've just messing around a little with TexNotes

TexNotes was was nudone's query, not mine!

superboyac · « **Reply #15 on:** September 12, 2006, 03:48 PM »

Quote from: rjbull on September 12, 2006, 01:06 PM

TexNotes was was nudone's query, not mine!

That's twice now!

mouser · « **Reply #16 on:** September 12, 2006, 03:52 PM »

superboyac needs a vacation.

superboyac · « **Reply #17 on:** September 12, 2006, 06:00 PM »

Quote from: mouser on September 12, 2006, 03:52 PM

superboyac needs a vacation.

I agree!

tslim · « **Reply #18 on:** September 15, 2006, 06:05 PM »

I think CyberArticle deserves a place in the review, here is the link to the English version:
http://www.wizissoft.com/

superboyac · « **Reply #19 on:** September 15, 2006, 06:14 PM »

Quote from: tslim on September 15, 2006, 06:05 PM

I think CyberArticle deserves a place in the review, here is the link to the English version:
http://www.wizissoft.com/

I'll definitely include it in the next roundup.

mouser · « **Reply #20 on:** September 16, 2006, 01:03 AM »

Just wanted to congratulate SuperboyAC on a great review, which has just gone live

http://www.donationcoder.com/Reviews/Archive/NoteTakers1

A very difficult subject handled very well.
Now let's please remember to send him some of our donation credits to help him take that well-deserved vacation!

zj · « **Reply #21 on:** September 20, 2006, 06:25 PM »

My Notes Center: http://www.mynotescenter.com
shares many similar features with AM-Notebook, but is more powerful and feature richer.

surftwo · « **Reply #22 on:** September 24, 2006, 11:49 PM »

Hey great review.........but you missed one.

At least I think is a great program....it's simbust at http://www.simbust.com/default.php.

comes in two flavors free and paid

nevf · « **Reply #23 on:** October 04, 2006, 11:37 AM »

Hi SuperDuperBoyac.
I have to say you've done an excellent job of pulling together your review from what was the longest forum thread I've ever been involved in. I haven't checked recently and wouldn't be surprised if it is still going.

I've been torn between being extremelly busy and having two short breaks this past month and have only just read your entire review. I'm also a bit behind in posting on my blog and want to mention your review asap.

A few comments.

The Feature Matrix. Surfulater uses HTML Templates for all of its articles. These can be edited or new ones added. It is a little involved at present, but will become easier in future. I figure SUL should get a tick for its templates.
In the next release (V1.99.0.0 out any day now) you can edit the Style Sheets and add new ones. Two are provided.
Tags are planned

.
Thanks again for a job well done.

superboyac · « **Reply #24 on:** October 04, 2006, 02:28 PM »

Quote from: nevf on October 04, 2006, 11:37 AM

Hi SuperDuperBoyac.
I have to say you've done an excellent job of pulling together your review from what was the longest forum thread I've ever been involved in. I haven't checked recently and wouldn't be surprised if it is still going.

I've been torn between being extremelly busy and having two short breaks this past month and have only just read your entire review. I'm also a bit behind in posting on my blog and want to mention your review asap.

A few comments.
The Feature Matrix. Surfulater uses HTML Templates for all of its articles. These can be edited or new ones added. It is a little involved at present, but will become easier in future. I figure SUL should get a tick for its templates.
In the next release (V1.99.0.0 out any day now) you can edit the Style Sheets and add new ones. Two are provided.
Tags are planned
.
Thanks again for a job well done.

Nevf, I'm really glad you liked it. I was concerned about about my Surfulater portion of the review because your program is evolving the fastest out of the three, and I know that each new release has significant changes in it that will make any review soon outdated. I'll be sure to put a tick next to templates for you when I redo the roundup (maybe mouser can stick one in now?). I'm not sure, but I think the templates are a big deal to some users.