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'Life-Organiser' App: What does Apple have?
- Thread starter MacNoobGuy
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If you want cross platform compatibility, you're mainly looking at Evernote OR NV/Simplenote/Resophnote OR Outline+/OneNote.
If you do a google search for "Evernote vs Notational Velocity", you'll find several articles comparing the two.
Outline+ hasn't hit the apple store yet for mac, so there won't be that many reviews there yet (some might have written something during beta testing).
I think you just need to test things out a bit. Both Evernote and NV are free. Give them a try for a couple of weeks and see what you think.
Regarding the sync question: Evernote 'knows' what you edited last/ on which device. If Evernote is in doubt, it tells you that it has a 'sync conflict', and you get to choose which version you want to keep. Same with DropBox.
You don't need a Windows version when you have an iPhone in your pocket! iPhone for quick inboxing (with or without Siri), weekly review with iPad or Mac. Perfect system, in my opinion.
ok thanks.
so it's really only Evernote because Simplenote needs a 3rd party app for Windows and OneNote is only available in Windows Office?
i'll check the posts in the thread when i get back home.
The way round it is to use the iPad / iPhone version, when you don't have your Mac with you. The problem then is one of capturing tasks from your Windows mail system, Omni group now have a mail service, where you can forward a email to their service, and it will add it is an inbox item in your OmniFocus tasks.
OneNote syncs to Outline+ on iPad, and soon to Outline+ on mac.
SimpleNote will also sync to DropBox on Windows in plain text format.
Again, another vote for Evernote. The upgrades they constantly make come from users and are very helpful.
As far as the Cloud goes, lets be honest, the more of us using it, the more it's going to become a target. I think Evernote handled it honestly and responsibly. So, I had to change my PW, not a big deal. At least I didn't read about it two months after the fact on cnn.com...
DevonThink (personal, pro and pro office) are amazing and really powerful, but have a pretty steep learning curve. I use Pro for many things, but for day to day things, it's Evernote because it just works. My phone? Check. My iPad? Check. My MBP? Check... Away from all three and still need to check a note? Check... Online? Check. Offline? Check. Cross Platform? Check
Need to share a Note with someone else? Check and easy too.
There are many choices, but I'd recommend Evernote.
Coachingguy
As far as the Cloud goes, lets be honest, the more of us using it, the more it's going to become a target. I think Evernote handled it honestly and responsibly. So, I had to change my PW, not a big deal. At least I didn't read about it two months after the fact on cnn.com...
DevonThink (personal, pro and pro office) are amazing and really powerful, but have a pretty steep learning curve. I use Pro for many things, but for day to day things, it's Evernote because it just works. My phone? Check. My iPad? Check. My MBP? Check... Away from all three and still need to check a note? Check... Online? Check. Offline? Check. Cross Platform? Check
Need to share a Note with someone else? Check and easy too.
There are many choices, but I'd recommend Evernote.
Coachingguy
oh ok, so if the company died couldn't i just copy and paste my data over to something else? does anyone know if this would be a big deal? isn't there a way for me to 'backup' my data to my HDD in case this happened? Evernote is a solvent company, right?
yeah i keep hearing that OmniFocus is great, but it's not available on Windows.
ok thanks, what does YMMV mean?
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Your milage may very.
Again, in my opinion, you don't need a Windows solution if you have an iPhone in your pocket. YMMV, however.
oh ok thanks. what about their 'premium' version? it says you can edit offline with premium? anyone have experience with this?
ill get back to the other replies when i get off work!
I already answered this for you. You have to "download" the notebooks you want to use off-line. Once you do the next time you open the app when not connected, it will open and the notebooks you downloaded will be available. I have tested this and am 100% certain of my answer.
You really needn't worry about Evernote dying out or going away. While there is no guarantee, Evernote is a company that is growing and is in it for the long haul. But if that does happen I'm sure they will give us all plenty of notice so we have the time to download/export all our notes.
As for Omnifocus, yes it is an awesome application. Why do you feel you need the Windows version to make this thing work?
When you are using a Windows PC you can simply email a task to your own Omnifocus sync email address. Or you could add tasks to the iPod touch app and sync it when you get home (or do you have an iPhone?). I'm assuming your Mac is your home computer and the Windows PC is at work? If that is the case, do you really need a full blown app at work? Wouldn't the iPod touch/iPhone and the ability to email tasks to Omnifocus suffice?
If you still feel that you need an all out full version app on Mac, Windows and iPod/iPhone then start using Evernote and get busy. You can get stuck by information paralysis. At this point you have all the info you need. Download Evernote and start setting it up
The good thing about Evernote though is the ability to create different notebooks for different subjects/needs/categories. So when starting to use Evernote it's important to take the time to set it up correctly. You can in fact set it up as a GTD client by using different notebooks for Inbox, Someday, Projects etc. Then you can use tags for context. It takes a bit of doing but it can be almost as powerful as Omnifocus if you take the time to set it up. There are plenty of tutorials on the web, Google is your friend
oh, ok this sounds good. can you recommend how i should go about setting up Evernote correctly?
ok thanks. i don't have a WiFi router, but i believe i can setup a wireless connection using my Mac Mini's inbuilt wireless card and iPod Touch wireless card.
when i said 3rd party, i meant 3rd party as in how SimpleNote has another company making their Windows compatible version. i didn't mean 3rd party as in SimpleNote or Evernote.
ok this sounds great. is this how someone could backup their Evernote data?
ok thanks. i think you're right, i'll try Evernote out first.
oh ok that's good to know.
so it seems like whatever device i'm using, i need to be connected to the internet. it's not possible to make changes offline in the morning and then connect to the internet when i get home and allow it to sync? this is what i was confused with on how syncing works... wouldn't i run into problems by editing offline on the iPod Touch at 10am and then make changes on a Mac Mini at 2pm and then sync the iPod Touch online at 9pm? maybe this deserves another thread. wouldn't i be overwriting data?
thanks a lot!
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ok thanks guys. i'd just feel more comfortable using an App that was made by its developers to be run on Windows for example, instead of having another developer make it. i think conflicts would turn up later.
ok thanks a bunch mate. what do you mean by users 'making upgrades'? is this like how Firefox has users that make 'extensions'?
what's to stop Evernote from checking your notes though? that's what i was wondering.
yeah, i like how Evernote seems to be running on so many platforms. who knows, i may get an android tablet or something in the future. with Evernote, i'm covered if this were to happen.
i guess i could use .txt files, but then i'd be limited on how i could store information.
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well i also have Windows machines i use as well. i can see what you mean though.
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I already answered this for you. You have to "download" the notebooks you want to use off-line. Once you do the next time you open the app when not connected, it will open and the notebooks you downloaded will be available. I have tested this and am 100% certain of my answer.
You really needn't worry about Evernote dying out or going away. While there is no guarantee, Evernote is a company that is growing and is in it for the long haul. But if that does happen I'm sure they will give us all plenty of notice so we have the time to download/export all our notes.
As for Omnifocus, yes it is an awesome application. Why do you feel you need the Windows version to make this thing work?
When you are using a Windows PC you can simply email a task to your own Omnifocus sync email address. Or you could add tasks to the iPod touch app and sync it when you get home (or do you have an iPhone?). I'm assuming your Mac is your home computer and the Windows PC is at work? If that is the case, do you really need a full blown app at work? Wouldn't the iPod touch/iPhone and the ability to email tasks to Omnifocus suffice?
If you still feel that you need an all out full version app on Mac, Windows and iPod/iPhone then start using Evernote and get busy. You can get stuck by information paralysis. At this point you have all the info you need. Download Evernote and start setting it up
ok thanks a lot bro. so working with Evernote offline isn't difficult? i'd have access to all my notes offline the same way i'd have access to them online? i wouldn't be missing any notes?
how is Omnifocus better than Evernote anyway? you mentioned earlier in the thread that you can set Evernote up 'correctly', how do you do this? what makes OmniFocus so special anyway? does it have advanced settings or something? i'm not an advanced user obviously, can't Evernote be setup in the right way so that it's not too different to OmniFocus?
well, i have a Mac Mini and a Windows laptop. i just don't want to be tied down to the Mac platform, or any one platform.
i think you're right about information paralysis, good advice! there are just so many options out there. i wish there was a site that'd recommend the best App for every category so i wouldn't need to research so much!
i just installed Evernote on my Mac and iPod Touch so i'll be trying them out.
by the way, did anyone read this: https://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/02/evernote-issues-password-reset-after-security-breach/ should i be concerned?
ok right now i'm just looking for a 'fast start' guide to Evernote. can anyone recommend something for me to look at? some kind of article? i'm in Evernote now and there's just so many features/options. even a video would be good!
ok i just read this: "If you have something within a note that you want to keep privatepasswords, financial information, counseling notes, etc.you can do so by highlighting the data, right-clicking, and selecting Encrypt selected text. You will then be prompted to enter a password. In order to view that information in the future, you (or anyone else) will have to enter the password to do so." from http://michaelhyatt.com/is-your-data-safe-in-evernote.html
does anyone know how secure this is? i'm guessing it's not possible to place a Truecrypt file into Evernote? what i mean is, how is this more secure than the regular password to login into Evernote is? i mean the encryption is still made by Evernote so wouldn't Evernote be able to decrypt it as well?
thanks a lot!
does anyone know how secure this is? i'm guessing it's not possible to place a Truecrypt file into Evernote? what i mean is, how is this more secure than the regular password to login into Evernote is? i mean the encryption is still made by Evernote so wouldn't Evernote be able to decrypt it as well?
thanks a lot!
so far Evernote's interface is really great.
however, one thing that's holding me back is security and what i should or should not keep in Evernote. i'm worried that someone from Evernote or outside it will access my notes and see everything i've written down including things like my personal goals. is it safe or a good idea for me to keep personal information in it?
thanks!
however, one thing that's holding me back is security and what i should or should not keep in Evernote. i'm worried that someone from Evernote or outside it will access my notes and see everything i've written down including things like my personal goals. is it safe or a good idea for me to keep personal information in it?
thanks!
You are being overly paranoid. If both small and large companies trust Evernote for their daily needs I feel confident enough to use it myself. You can encrypt text within a note but I think that's overkill unless you're going to store bank, passwords or other sensitive info. Trust me no one cares about your goals and furthermore no one has access to your notes. There's no one at Evernote sitting at a desk looking through anyones notes.
As for Omnifocus: Omnifocus was built from the ground up to follow the GTD (Getting things Done) way of helping you manage your todo and daily life tasks and goals. Where with Evernote you have to set it up to do that, Omnifocus is already set up for you. That is exactly what it was created for. You can customize it to your needs and there is a learning curve. First you should look into GTD by reading this about page. If you think it serves your needs then you can try Omnifocus to see if you like it. You can download a trial on this page.
When I said to set up Evernote properly, what I mean is, take the time to figure out what notebooks you'll need i.e. Todo, Tomorrow, Someday, Projects, Home, Office, Goals etc... Only you know what you want to organize and track using Evernote. So all I mean is take your time and think it through.
Coachingguy here:
For my piece, no Evernote isn't open source. However, they've got a VERY active user base and are constantly making improvement based on feedback from there users. In addition, they recently bought Penultimate a GREAT notetaking app for iOS which leads me to believe you'll be able to enter notes and both via keyboard and stylus or your finger, as in by hand - like writing and drawing.
What makes Evernote so popular is its multi-platformness... I wouldn't worry about going from an iOS device to and Android device to a Windows computer to an Apple computer... My experience is it just works.
As far as Evernote looking at my notes? Geez, since I decided to not overthrow the status quo, I'm not overly concerned. They've got millions of users, creating millions and millions of notes... If you're concerned, I wouldn't use the cloud period. Couldn't you have the same concern about Dropbox?
Coachingguy
ok thanks rocknblogger. i didn't think large companies used Evernote. do you know of any i can look at? i'm trying to find a video i can look at now.
see i thought i'd start using Evernote and just add in what i want on the fly rather than setting it up from the beginning to have certain categories.
oh, and thanks for letting me know what GTD means, i wasn't too sure.
Sorry I don't know of any videos. As for setting it up, you can do it on the fly but if you take the time to set it up properly in the beginning it'll work better for you. If you try to do it on the fly it could become a mess. If organization is a problem for you doing it on the fly probably won't work that well in the end. If you set it up GTD style but for your own needs it'll force you to be diligent and consistent.
If you are visual learner I strongly suggest you take a look at screencasts online - Don McAllister does a new Mac and iOS tutorial every week, and he has a huge back catalog. He has recently done three screencasts covering the new version of EverNote. Subscription is $23 for 3 months unlimited access and you can download or stream the screencasts. For someone new to Mac I can't recommend it enough.
alright thanks i'll check it out when i get home.
does anyone know of something that doesn't sync to the cloud directly? OmniFocus looks great, but there's no Windows client....
i'm still looking for an article or other evidence that'll show me how secure Evernote is and how i don't need to worry about putting my stuff in it and trusting them.
thanks!