Author Topic: OneNote now on Mac as well, +FREE everywhere, + Cloud service powered. (Read 61,059 times)

rgdot · « **Reply #25 on:** March 19, 2014, 03:47 PM »

Not trying to be funny, but I don't get it. No offline notes at all or only in certain cases (created on PC?) it won't be available offline? Colour me confused

Jibz · « **Reply #26 on:** March 19, 2014, 03:55 PM »

Quote from: rgdot on March 19, 2014, 03:47 PM

Not trying to be funny, but I don't get it. No offline notes at all or only in certain cases (created on PC?) it won't be available offline? Colour me confused

I just tried creating a new notebook on my computer instead of the cloud like the default one, and got the same dialogue saying this version can only create notebooks on OneCloud

.

I am starting to feel there is a lot of information about this free offer that would have been handy on the download page instead of all the stock photos of happy people

.

wraith808 · « **Reply #27 on:** March 19, 2014, 04:39 PM »

Yes... definitely. A 1GB download so that you can't save on your machine?

That sounds like a definite

rgdot · « **Reply #28 on:** March 19, 2014, 05:43 PM »

Just synced my desktop notebook to Android and everything is there, I guess that's obvious. Are they only stored in the cloud only, so this new OneNote won't function if the device(s) are offline (eventhough existing notebooks are synced pre-going offline)?

Yes, I definitely sound like I need an Internet 101 course

tomos · « **Reply #29 on:** March 19, 2014, 07:21 PM »

^oh well, there goes even the idea of OneNote....

IainB · « **Reply #30 on:** March 20, 2014, 05:55 AM »

Quote from: Jibz on March 19, 2014, 03:55 PM

Quote from: rgdot on March 19, 2014, 03:47 PM
Not trying to be funny, but I don't get it. No offline notes at all or only in certain cases (created on PC?) it won't be available offline? Colour me confused
_________________________
I just tried creating a new notebook on my computer instead of the cloud like the default one, and got the same dialogue saying this version can only create notebooks on OneCloud .
I am starting to feel there is a lot of information about this free offer that would have been handy on the download page instead of all the stock photos of happy people .

I don't understand.
If this discovery is the case - i.e., that client-based "offline" Notebooks are a disabled feature - then Microsoft's launch and advertising for this would seem to have been deliberately obfuscating/misleading. Furthermore, if they had wanted money for what is currently given away free, then it could probably arguably have been fraudulent.
What would be to gain by MS not being up-front about it? What would they expect to achieve otherwise? Wait for the unavoidable backlash when people realised that they had been conned? That doesn't make sense. It would be self-inflicted highly negative word-of-mouth advertising. This could seem to be a stupid thing to do, from a marketing perspective alone. It would not make sense.
And why such a big download file if there was to be no OneNote offline desktop functionality? Surely not a Trojan of some kind?

[attach]

Jibz · « **Reply #31 on:** March 20, 2014, 08:36 AM »

Quote from: IainB on March 20, 2014, 05:55 AM

Why would they not be up-front about it? What would they expect to achieve otherwise? Wait for the unavoidable backlash when people realised that they had been conned? That doesn't make sense. It would be self-inflicted highly negative word-of-mouth advertising. This would be a stupid thing to do, from a marketing perspective alone. It would not make sense.

One of the news sites called it a freemium^w version, which I think looks to be more or less accurate.

Perhaps if they had called it "OneNote Cloud", to differentiate it from the full version.

IainB · « **Reply #32 on:** March 20, 2014, 09:16 AM »

Below is an assembled image of the sequence related to opening the ONLINE Notebook on the PC. Also shows Help notes.

[attach]

IainB · « **Reply #33 on:** March 20, 2014, 09:36 AM »

I asked the Q above:

Quote

Has anyone following this discussion been able to use client-based "offline" OneNote Notebooks purely via this FREE install - i.e, without having, for example, MS Office 2013 or 2010 or 2007 installed as well?

Another Q: Has anyone managed to download, install and operate a 32-bit version of OneNote FREE?
The comments above seem to have been all about 64-bit installs only, with 64-bit installs being downloaded even when a 32-bit install had been requested.
I do know from my installation of MS Office 2013 that the recommended install was 32-bit rather than 64-bit, because of limited integration of the 64-bit products to date (including IE 64-bit) - and I think that is still the case.
Maybe an All-32-bit install of the OneNote FREE would work OK?

Out of interest, I'm about to double-check whether there's any difference between using IE 32-bit and IE 64-bit with OneNote 2013 and OneNote FREE online.

IainB · « **Reply #34 on:** March 20, 2014, 09:59 AM »

Quote from: Jibz on March 20, 2014, 08:36 AM

Quote from: IainB on March 20, 2014, 05:55 AM
Why would they not be up-front about it? What would they expect to achieve otherwise? Wait for the unavoidable backlash when people realised that they had been conned? That doesn't make sense. It would be self-inflicted highly negative word-of-mouth advertising. This would be a stupid thing to do, from a marketing perspective alone. It would not make sense.
_______________________
One of the news sites called it a freemium^w version, which I think looks to be more or less accurate.
Perhaps if they had called it "OneNote Cloud", to differentiate it from the full version.
_______________________

Well, I don't see how the news sites could necessarily act as spokespersons or interpreters for Microsoft, who have already clearly indicated (QED) in their adverts that the FREE version makes OneNote available EVERYWHERE and is available on all devices (including PCs), for viewing stuff ONLINE and OFFLINE (see my diagram above illustrating this).

By the way, I have edited that bit you quoted so that it now reads:
_________________________
I don't understand.
If this discovery is the case - i.e., that client-based "offline" Notebooks are a disabled feature - then Microsoft's launch and advertising for this would seem to have been deliberately obfuscating/misleading. Furthermore, if they had wanted money for what is currently given away free, then it could probably arguably have been fraudulent.
What would be to gain by MS not being up-front about it? What would they expect to achieve otherwise? Wait for the unavoidable backlash when people realised that they had been conned? That doesn't make sense. It would be self-inflicted highly negative word-of-mouth advertising. This could seem to be a stupid thing to do, from a marketing perspective alone. It would not make sense.
And why such a big download file if there was to be no OneNote offline desktop functionality? Surely not a Trojan of some kind?
_________________________

IainB · « **Reply #35 on:** March 20, 2014, 10:15 AM »

Looks like OneNote FREE for the Mac is a seriously hobbled version: OneNote now free… or is it? | Welcome to Sherwood

IainB · « **Reply #36 on:** March 20, 2014, 10:30 AM »

Well, I'm disgusted by this now, after reading this self-explanatory post in OutlinerSoftware.com:

Quote

Outliner Software: OneNote for Mac on the horizon...
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Mar 18, 2014 at 05:36 PM

Ah, I knew there had to be a catch. I’ve been using OneNote 2010 on my Windows PC, which I paid for. I just downloaded the free 2013 edition, which was working just fine until I tried to create a new page in one of the notebooks that I keep on my computer (instead of on SkyDrive), and got a messages saying “Subscribe to Office to continue using this notebook.” From the “Learn more” link:
Quote
Anyone can download and use the free version of OneNote. When you subscribe to Office 365 Home Premium for just $9.99 per month, you get the premium version of OneNote, which easily integrates with the other latest Office applications and comes with additional capabilities, including the ability to:
Create notebooks on your PC. Create notebooks saved to your hard drive (offline) in addition to being saved to your OneDrive. Being able to work with notebooks offline as well as online is great for anyone with a spotty network connection or those who are always on the go.
Support your business needs. Your notes are synced to your OneDrive for Business, so you and your teammates can collaborate easily. For added security, you can password-protect your notebooks. And with Office 365 you get the latest Office applications, which means you get a complete note-taking experience, with embedded Excel files and added Outlook tasks, meeting notes, and contacts.
Record your notes. Why just write or type your notes when you can video- or audio-record them at the same time? That way you’re sure not to miss any important information. Perfect for students and for those important meetings.

Is this the deal breaker? Maybe. I don’t want or need all my work notebooks, which I keep on my PC at the office, floating around on SkyDrive or on my other devices. Indeed, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Steve Z.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #37 on:** March 20, 2014, 12:00 PM »

Granted it's (more than) a bit Rube Goldbergian but if preexisting local notebooks can be opened, but changes have to be saved to Sky/OneDrive ... Won't the sync feature sync the notebook file back to/with the local machine? Or is that possibility being actively blocked?

40hz · « **Reply #38 on:** March 20, 2014, 12:56 PM »

Quote from: IainB on March 20, 2014, 10:30 AM

Well, I'm disgusted by this now, after reading this self-explanatory post in OutlinerSoftware.com:
Quote
Outliner Software: OneNote for Mac on the horizon...
Quote
Is this the deal breaker? Maybe. I don’t want or need all my work notebooks, which I keep on my PC at the office, floating around on SkyDrive or on my other devices. Indeed, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Steve Z.

Sounds very much like a deal breaker to me.

re: free lunch

When it comes to Microsoft, nothing is ever "free." There's always a gotcha. And what 'deals' they do offer (e.g. Office 365) always come prix fixe.

If you're more the à la carte type, you're SOL when ordering from Microsoft's menu. $:-\$

(Note: the best way to keep your head on straight whenever dealing with the Gnomes of Redmond is to repeat three times: Microsoft does not offer deals. They negotiate licensing. It's a small seeming but very significant difference.)

rgdot · « **Reply #39 on:** March 20, 2014, 01:14 PM »

Still haven't seen any restriction so still confused by the original comment.... like I said it may be I have no clue

Jibz · « **Reply #40 on:** March 20, 2014, 02:05 PM »

Quote from: rgdot on March 20, 2014, 01:14 PM

Still haven't seen any restriction so still confused by the original comment.... like I said it may be I have no clue

Try pressing the purple Files menu item in the upper left corner, this opens a page with a menu on the left. Choose New from this menu, and you will get a page that lets you create a new notebook.

Here you can choose between your OneDrive, Computer, or adding a destination. Choose Computer.

Now enter any name for your new notebook and press the Create Notebook button. This should get you the dialogue in question.

Alternatively, if you right-click a notebook in the bar at the top, and choose Settings, you get a dialogue with a button labeled "Change location". If you press that, you get a standard folder select dialogue, but once you select a folder on your local computer, you get the same dialogue saying you cannot open a local notebook using this version.

Disclaimer: I have a Danish version, so the names of buttons and such are based on best guess of what the English version says .

wraith808 · « **Reply #41 on:** March 20, 2014, 02:18 PM »

Quote from: IainB on March 20, 2014, 10:30 AM

Well, I'm disgusted by this now, after reading this self-explanatory post in OutlinerSoftware.com:
Quote
Outliner Software: OneNote for Mac on the horizon...
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Mar 18, 2014 at 05:36 PM

Ah, I knew there had to be a catch. I’ve been using OneNote 2010 on my Windows PC, which I paid for. I just downloaded the free 2013 edition, which was working just fine until I tried to create a new page in one of the notebooks that I keep on my computer (instead of on SkyDrive), and got a messages saying “Subscribe to Office to continue using this notebook.” From the “Learn more” link:
Quote
Anyone can download and use the free version of OneNote. When you subscribe to Office 365 Home Premium for just $9.99 per month, you get the premium version of OneNote, which easily integrates with the other latest Office applications and comes with additional capabilities, including the ability to:
Create notebooks on your PC. Create notebooks saved to your hard drive (offline) in addition to being saved to your OneDrive. Being able to work with notebooks offline as well as online is great for anyone with a spotty network connection or those who are always on the go.
Support your business needs. Your notes are synced to your OneDrive for Business, so you and your teammates can collaborate easily. For added security, you can password-protect your notebooks. And with Office 365 you get the latest Office applications, which means you get a complete note-taking experience, with embedded Excel files and added Outlook tasks, meeting notes, and contacts.
Record your notes. Why just write or type your notes when you can video- or audio-record them at the same time? That way you’re sure not to miss any important information. Perfect for students and for those important meetings.

Is this the deal breaker? Maybe. I don’t want or need all my work notebooks, which I keep on my PC at the office, floating around on SkyDrive or on my other devices. Indeed, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Steve Z.

Better late than never.

Deozaan · « **Reply #42 on:** March 20, 2014, 10:06 PM »

I can access my notebooks without problem while my Android device is disconnected from the internet. I'm not sure I see a difference between storing it locally and in the cloud, as it seems to be functionally the same, to me.

I mean, other than the fact that of course it won't sync with my other devices while my device is offline. But how is that any different than having the notebook saved to your hard drive somewhere?

wraith808 · « **Reply #43 on:** March 20, 2014, 10:16 PM »

Yes... I didn't think there was any bait and switch about access them anywhere. From my experiences with my tablet, MS cloud file system caches things, and you can access them offline, and I was thinking that was going to be the case (though I wasn't sure enough to say so).

The problem is that outside of their cloud file system, you have no control over the file, i.e. if you want to save it to the root of your c drive, you can't. Or if you want to access a notebook that was created by the non-cloud version, you can't. And I'm not sure if you actually go and look in your sky/one drive, you'll see it there... from my experience with the truly cloud version of OneNote, you see a link instead of the actual file- not sure if this new version does the same thing.

Your data is not your own in a real sense.

rgdot · « **Reply #44 on:** March 20, 2014, 11:17 PM »

Thanks Jibz, Deozaan and everybody. Setting aside all other concerns (privacy, new notebooks, owning data etc.) I can confirm what Deozaan sees, so as long as the aforementioned concerns are acceptable this is a very good tool for notes on the go.

IainB · « **Reply #45 on:** March 21, 2014, 07:23 AM »

Quote from: wraith808 on March 20, 2014, 02:18 PM

...Better late than never.
_____________________________

Yes, well, that's more or less what I thought too.

The thing is, there is apparently a rather large gap between what MS advertising seems to be clearly saying is the OneNote FREE functionality (see my diagram above) and what turns out to be the actual functionality subsequently reported by others and as revealed in system error messages.
I always try to be positive and trust that people/organisations will endeavour to do their professional and honest best, with integrity.
From this discussion thread and the OutlinerSoftware.com thread, MS would seem to have disappointed on both those fronts.
So, @40hz's comments above are probably spot-on.

Innuendo · « **Reply #46 on:** March 22, 2014, 12:21 AM »

Quote from: IainB on March 20, 2014, 10:15 AM

Looks like OneNote FREE for the Mac is a seriously hobbled version: OneNote now free… or is it? | Welcome to Sherwood

Well, to be fair, one could argue that Macs are seriously hobbled versions of computers.

Sorry. Tried to resist, but couldn't.

IainB · « **Reply #47 on:** March 22, 2014, 11:16 AM »

Quote from: Innuendo on March 22, 2014, 12:21 AM

...Well, to be fair, one could argue that Macs are seriously hobbled versions of computers.

Yes, an interesting point. You probably could argue that, and I would agree, but history indicates that it used to be the reverse was the case. Not all that long after the IBM PC (DOS) was introduced with its text-based Intel CPU and 80-character wide display, the Macintosh came out with a graphics-based Motorola CPU, and the Xerox-PARC GUI using a mouse. That and the applications you could get on it placed it light-years ahead of what the PC could do. For example, running MacProject, which enabled people to run Gantt/PERT project planning, and not to forget the Desktop Publishing software ~~Adobe~~ Aldus PageMaker.

The reasons for the Mac's apparent decline seem to hinge mainly on over-pricing (so reducing quantities sold as demand is price-elastic), an insistence on remaining a relatively closed black-box/proprietary system (so these two points led to fewer applications being developed), and considerably slowed forward technological development. The Mac thus appeals to a relatively narrow market nowadays.

The PC, on the other hand, seems to have evolved rapidly to generally catch up and then eclipse the Mac. It has become the lowest common denominator for computer technology. Especially important here is the growth in the domain of applications development - making the PC appealing to a relatively wide market. The PC has become a ubiquitous commodity with a progressively reducing price (in real terms) due to economies of large-scale production, produced to meet a correspondingly increasing demand (which is price-elastic).

It's a fascinating study in technological evolution.

rgdot · « **Reply #48 on:** March 22, 2014, 12:29 PM »

It is because it's main marketer had no interest in seeing anything but its own logo on their devices, extrapolate that way of thinking into other business decisions and Macs are exactly what he wanted.

40hz · « **Reply #49 on:** March 22, 2014, 01:52 PM »

Quote from: rgdot on March 22, 2014, 12:29 PM

It is because it's main marketer had no interest in seeing anything but its own logo on their devices, extrapolate that way of thinking into other business decisions and Macs are exactly what he wanted.

Don't give Apple too much credit for the Mac. I think it's more that Apple was fortunate enough to come out with the Macintosh about the same time as Adobe Postscript first appeared and laser printers were becoming affordable.

Bit o' history: The combination of a 300dpi Laserwriter and Macintosh II (loaded up with Aldus PageMaker) was a pretty awesome proposition at a time when having a service bureau typeset a page on a Linotronic Typesetter (and outputting to 600dpi "film") ran about $15-$25 per page.

Desktop publishing was the "killer app" that made the Macintosh and secured Apple's future. (Just as the spreadsheet Lotus 1-2-3 did for the IBM-PC.) Some years later, Quark Xpress, Photoshop and Aldus Freehand cemented Cupertino's leadership in 'desktop' graphics - and Apple never looked back.

If Apple was clever about anything it was coming out with the legendary then $4000 LaserWriter.

In an era when other laser output devices went for $10K and up, the "LW" was a bargain that corporations and graphic designers couldn't scoop up fast enough. It's been said (I think correctly) that it was the LaserWriter that sold more Macintosh computers than anything else Apple ever did by itself. And Apple knew it. They took great pains to make sure it wouldn't interface with any hardware but their own.

It used to be fairly common to go into companies with 100s of PCs and find a single Mac or two sitting in a back corner under the watchful eye of a secretary (remember those?) for communal use whenever "hi-rez" output was needed by some boss.

Too bad the "dog in hayloft" mindset has since spread now that Apple has shown tech companies the way... $:-\$