Author Topic: General brainstorming for Note-taking software (Read 1,153,647 times)

kartal · « **Reply #750 on:** January 10, 2009, 10:00 PM »

Well this thing does not fit any simple definition but let me give you little insight

1-it can record everything you write as image
2-it can record audio that is linked to what you write word by word, so anytime you tap on any word you wrote, it will play the audio that was recorded at the time of writing that word.
3-it can be used as translator(it has limited demo at the moment) you write the word on the paper , it translates it for you
4-You can use as just audio recorder
5-You can use as calculator by using the "printed " calculator on the paper, you just tap on numbers
6-You can use as a plain pen
the list can be very long actually, it is a computer with java sdk so waiting developers I guess

You need to use the dotted paper. The dotted paper can be used for recording or programming the pen, it is like the interface for the pen.

I do not think the notebooks are expensive also they let you print your paper but you need a postscript printer, might endup being more expensive.

Check out the videos they have on their site.

tranglos · « **Reply #751 on:** January 10, 2009, 11:42 PM »

Quote from: kartal on January 10, 2009, 10:00 PM

Well this thing does not fit any simple definition but let me give you little insight

Thanks, kartal, that's very informative! I'll go watch the videos next.

I can see why the pen needs the dot paper, but it just might break the deal for me, since I'm in Poland, so shipping time and price are a concern. The pen is sold by amazon.com, but, strangely, not by amazon.co.uk, so it looks like they're not targeting the European market. It's hard to find anything about shipping on their all-Flash site, so I'll need to email their sales dept first.

sciagent · « **Reply #752 on:** February 18, 2009, 01:40 AM »

Hi All

Great thanks to all of you for your effort devoted to this thread!

I work with information for years and got very tired of many different software packages I have to use to handle data. Thus I started my personal small research in order to verify the best available options for the note-taking + web-clipping + data/knowledge-management + research-tool software. This is how I came across this thread and was very lucky with it since I found some very interesting ideas here.

So, what is the most resent situation in this area? Do we have any conclusions? Is it a good idea to start round 2?

Here is a nice list of the research tools:
http://www.researchresources.info/

What about the use of semantic technologies, has anyone got any good experience with any applications from the discussion topic that are empowered with those? Those are the technologies (RDF, schemas, ontologies, query languages, etc.) that have their main strength in operations with data (to describe/annotate, link, query, etc.), thus, have to be very valuable for the applications we discuss.

Here are few examples:
• NEPOMUK Semantic Desktop:
http://nepomuk.semanticdesktop.org/
It is available in two forms, as Java application (cross-platform) and as an integrated part of KDE.
• Zotero:
http://www.zotero.org/
It is the Firefox extension but not only
• Hypertext Knowledge Workbench:
http://semanticweb.org/wiki/Hypertext_Knowledge_Workbench
A very young yet project

rjbull · « **Reply #753 on:** March 20, 2009, 09:34 AM »

Mark Wieczorek has a fairly short but interesting Comparison of Outliners that includes several I don't remember as having been mentioned in this thread so far.

cyberdiva · « **Reply #754 on:** March 20, 2009, 07:42 PM »

Quote from: sciagent on February 18, 2009, 01:40 AM

Here is a nice list of the research tools:
http://www.researchresources.info/

I took a quick look at this listing. Though it has a 2009 date, some of the information is not current. For example, it doesn't list WebResearch, software I have used with pleasure for years. It does list ContentSaver, which was the former name of WebResearch, but the name was changed several years ago. Moreover, the website the listing provides for ContentSaver is not connected to the research software.

I don't know how accurate the rest of the information is on this listing, but its handling of WebResearch/ContentSaver doesn't inspire confidence.

cianoc · « **Reply #755 on:** April 11, 2009, 10:55 AM »

Sciagent:
I don't think there is a best note-taking application, as everyone has very different needs. I personally have several notetakers that I used for a variety of purposes:

Flashnote: Very simple, lightweight hierarchical notetaker that I use for temporary notes I am referring to for work I am currently doing. This might range from needing a place to write down notes from a phone call, a place to put fragments of computer code or just wanting a scratchpad. This isn't long term storage, just a scratchpad.

I'm currently experimenting with using either Cintanotes, or SQLNotes, as my inbox (GTD terminology) where I place stuff to be done/processed while doing other work. Cintanotes is excellent as a lightweight "dumping ground" for stuff to be processed later, on the other hand SQLnotes is where I'm increasingly putting the processed info in my PIM/GTD system.

For my thesis work I'm using ConnectedText, which is a personal wiki. This has the semantic data that you're asking for, and is an outstanding implementation of a personal wiki (Wikidpad isn't bad, but if you're planning on using it heavily, ConnectedText is well worth the money). I use this for processed notes; that is notes on things that I have thought about/read/critiqued. I use it as an ideas processor for my evolving thesis work.
I have a system where I place my bibliographic data into Zotero, pull out the Bibtex key for each item I write notes on and create a wiki page for it with relevant bibliographic data (title, abstract, tags and authors mainly). Then all my notes on that book/journal are linked to that item. Any other notes are placed in a notes bin, with relevant tags added. What's really useful about this, is once notes are in there I can very rapidly build meta-pages that pull in all notes that are tagged with 'phenomenology', and I can read through these, rewrite some of my notes and perhaps create a new note that summarises/critiques some of those ideas. Over time I use this to gradually evolve a paper, with all the relevant ideas in it as a 'first draft'. The really nice thing about this, is that it makes it trivial to keep track of where ideas came from, so you properly reference them in your papers. So I might create a note, that references five previous notes, and I can just follow the links back to those.

What I currently lack is a replacement for Evernote 2.2 (I lost my copy). I used to use this as a dumping ground for stuff that I found and didn't currently need/want to use, but thought might be useful one day. I guess SQLNotes might manage this

Finally, I'm currently experimenting with SQLNotes/InfoQube. This is a remarkably powerful program, that complements ConnectedText very well (neither does what the other does well, nor should they). The beta version has a LOT of rough edges, but it shows a lot of promise. Very steep learning curve, but for PIM needs it can almost certainly do what you want. I'm planning to use it for my GTD system, project planning, contacts info and (perhaps) as a replacement for Evernote's clipping capabilities.

tomos · « **Reply #756 on:** April 11, 2009, 01:13 PM »

Cianoc,
would it not be possible to get another copy of Evernote out there somewhere ? (then again, if you want something in development)

I'm not in no way a heavy user of these apps but I'm using IQ/SQLNotes for work, web-clipping, and now am organising my notes from evernote in there too.
I'm still using Evernote as a "scratchpad"

superboyac · « **Reply #757 on:** April 11, 2009, 05:16 PM »

Quote from: tomos on April 11, 2009, 01:13 PM

Cianoc,
would it not be possible to get another copy of Evernote out there somewhere ? (then again, if you want something in development)

I'm not in no way a heavy user of these apps but I'm using IQ/SQLNotes for work, web-clipping, and now am organising my notes from evernote in there too.
I'm still using Evernote as a "scratchpad"

I have a copy of it if anyone needs it. Evernote gave it to me themselves when i asked.

rjbull · « **Reply #758 on:** August 25, 2009, 09:29 AM »

Does anyone know anything about NoteFrog that's supposed to be on Bits du Jour special offer on 30th August? I say "supposed to be" because it looks like the 31st Aug. UltraEdit Bundle deal is off, see this DC thread.

NoteFrog sounds a bit like AZZ Cardfile and the online demo seems to reinforce that. One of the BdJ "Real User Say" comments compares it favourably to MemoryMate. If anyone else remembers MemoryMate, that's a good recommendation.

NoteFrog reverts to a de-featured completely free edition if you don't register. I suspect that too many good features have been removed, but haven't tried it. At $19.95 it's pretty low-cost even before the BdJ deal.

NoteFrog looks big on tags, for those who like them, but doesn't appear to do tag clouds.

[edit]
I should have said, NoteFrog has the "live search" feature that many people like. You can also "live search" within a "live search," as it were. Make your first search, get your hits; make a second search, and the remaining results are the two searches ANDed.
[/edit]

EliCohen · « **Reply #759 on:** August 26, 2009, 08:14 AM »

If you are looking for note taking software for studying have you considered Wiznotes?

Eli Cohen
Wiznotes

rjbull · « **Reply #760 on:** August 26, 2009, 09:15 AM »

@Eli Cohen:
A quick DC search shows a number of hits for WhizFolders and it looks like WhizNote (with an "h") is a de-featured free version of it. Is WizNotes without an "h" a different application?

Are you associated with WizNotes?

mahesh2k · « **Reply #761 on:** August 26, 2009, 12:56 PM »

Found Chandlerproject. Not sure if it fits for every needs.

J-Mac · « **Reply #762 on:** August 26, 2009, 04:34 PM »

Quote from: mahesh2k on August 26, 2009, 12:56 PM

Found Chandlerproject. Not sure if it fits for every needs.

Mahesh: It has been discussed here a few times. Here are a couple of threads:

http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=16678.0

http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=14409.0

Thanks!

Jim

J-Mac · « **Reply #763 on:** August 26, 2009, 04:39 PM »

Quote from: EliCohen on August 26, 2009, 08:14 AM

If you are looking for note taking software for studying have you considered Wiznotes?

Eli Cohen
Wiznotes

Hi Eli and welcome to DonationCoder! So Wiznotes is your creation? It looks interesting. I like the graphics - large icons with a kind of cartoon look to them! Appears to be geared almost exclusively toward students. (Correct me if I'm wrong!). Not inexpensive, though.

Maybe someone here will take a closer look and review it.

Thank you.

Jim

Edit: Thought I'd add a link for those who want to take a look: http://www.wiznotes.com

superboyac · « **Reply #764 on:** August 26, 2009, 05:02 PM »

Wiznotes looks cool.

EliCohen · « **Reply #765 on:** August 27, 2009, 12:06 PM »

Quote from: J-Mac on August 26, 2009, 04:39 PM

Hi Eli and welcome to DonationCoder! So Wiznotes is your creation? It looks interesting. I like the graphics - large icons with a kind of cartoon look to them! Appears to be geared almost exclusively toward students. (Correct me if I'm wrong!). Not inexpensive, though.
Maybe someone here will take a closer look and review it.
Thank you.
Jim
Edit: Thought I'd add a link for those who want to take a look: http://www.wiznotes.com

That is correct - it is geared for students. Wiznotes is a productivity tool specifically designed to help students to take notes, save time and succeed in their exams. Wiznotes 3.0 will be coming out within the next few weeks. Version 3.0 will be free to university/college students. If you have any questions we will be happy to answer them.
Thanks for adding a link to our website.

Carrotnote · « **Reply #766 on:** September 06, 2009, 05:50 PM »

Hi

I don't want to cross-post- but I posted a question here http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=19817.0
asking advice regarding the development of a cross-platform note-taking application.

I will survey the discussions in this discussion forum. But we would also appreciate advice on designing its architecture and suggestions for features.

I look forward to suggestions and advice!

rgdot · « **Reply #767 on:** October 26, 2009, 04:10 AM »

I have read this thread and all or most others on organizing and I wanted to get some feedback.

What has been on my mind is finding a note repository or PIM that is capable of presenting a view of all my saved notes or appointments or tasks and to me this is important, not just their respective titles or headers but a more detailed view. There are examples that come close like Do-Organizer and others which have 'reports' but I believe these are more tailored for printing purposes. May be what I am looking for is to have my notes arranged on the screen like a mind mapper but again may be.

Any thoughts? Point me to one discussed in this or other threads that may come close?

Paul Keith · « **Reply #768 on:** October 26, 2009, 05:15 AM »

rgdot you might be looking for a software sticky notes app like the one app uses.

...or you could be really looking for a PIM that integrates with gmail which is possible using greasemonkey scripts

...or you could be looking for something else.

It all really depends on what you actually want to achieve with that view and how many notes we are talking about here.

For example this topic might help or it might not: To-do Visual

rgdot · « **Reply #769 on:** October 26, 2009, 05:33 AM »

Sticky notes are close to what I am thinking too but I prefer to have the view as an aggregation of things and not actually create sticky notes, if that makes sense. Although Stickysorter (mentioned here http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=16910.0 where app also mentioned her postit program), which I tried a while ago, can import csv data to create a collection of sticky notes. So that's a possibility.

As far as integration with gmail, probably not, very much prefer something local.

I just want to have things in front of me all at once, including as much detail as possible. As for the number of notes, the more the better, it's not going to be less 50. I will read the thread you linked, thanx.

superboyac · « **Reply #770 on:** October 26, 2009, 07:02 AM »

Quote from: rgdot on October 26, 2009, 04:10 AM

I have read this thread and all or most others on organizing and I wanted to get some feedback.

What has been on my mind is finding a note repository or PIM that is capable of presenting a view of all my saved notes or appointments or tasks and to me this is important, not just their respective titles or headers but a more detailed view. There are examples that come close like Do-Organizer and others which have 'reports' but I believe these are more tailored for printing purposes. May be what I am looking for is to have my notes arranged on the screen like a mind mapper but again may be.

Any thoughts? Point me to one discussed in this or other threads that may come close?

There aren't too many of these that I have encountered. It is a feature that has been discussed in this thread somewhere in these gazillion pages. I think the feature is useful, also.

The only programs that I know of that do something like this are Onenote and Evernote, with Onenote probably coming the closest. In Onenote, in case you don't know, all the notes can be spread out over the screen showing their full contents. In Evernote, the full notes are all visible, however they are organized vertically only. The benefit in Onenote is that all the notes can be laid out however you like.

Paul Keith · « **Reply #771 on:** October 26, 2009, 07:26 AM »

@rgdot,

Btw app has switched to notezilla these days.

With regards to aggregation... hmm... could you clarify?

Maybe if you describe what you think sticky note fails at, it would be much easier to get an idea of what you're looking for.

rgdot · « **Reply #772 on:** October 26, 2009, 03:11 PM »

I need to re-visit Evernote, though I don't want or don't need to use any web features. But that does remind me of the thumbnail view of notes it had (?) which is also a good possibility. Onenote I am one of the few I know that has never used. Might be time to try.

I looked at Notezilla and it says "Stay Neat: Organize sticky notes inside folders to avoid clutter on your Windows Desktop." Does that mean I can view stickies within the program window instead of on the desktop? It would be nicer not to use desktop but if I have to then sticky programs in general may be an option, if nothing else.

I used the word aggregation in this sense. If a program supports tasks, reminders, appointments, etc. I want everything to displayed in this view that I am imagining. I guess, probably wrongly, I associate stickies with short reminders when I am hoping to have maximum amount of details in front of me.

One that I have comes across is Pigeonhole (I have no affiliation to them at all) that is probably the most promising yet but I want to keep looking.

[attach]

superboyac · « **Reply #773 on:** October 26, 2009, 03:58 PM »

Pigeonhole still doesn't show all the notes in their entirety. Really, check out Onenote. I was looking for a screenshot of it doing what you wanted but I couldn't find it.

rgdot · « **Reply #774 on:** October 26, 2009, 04:06 PM »

True, that is partially the reason why I want to keep looking.
I will try Onenote.