Sunday, November 16, 2008

Managing Notes, etc.

Amstr, I've been following the conversation on UMass Disserters about DevonThink and Bookends. Any recommendations for PC users such as moi?

2 comments:

Amstr said...

Get a Mac?

I'm so far out of the PC market that I really don't have any idea. I can ask around, though. Our uni library website has a free bibliography program, but it seems to have been designed for non-technical librarians and is horrendous to use. Your library might have something better, or at least usable, and free to you. There also might be some way to use Google Docs (it would take care of the searching capabilities and back-up).

**And a big plug for back-ups** Statistically, you should have a copy of all your info at least 6 miles away from your house. If you don't have some handy online way to back up (even just to Google Docs), feel free to mail a CD over here, and we'll keep it handy in case of computer failure.

Amstr said...

Good news! Here's my friend Kevin's answer: Nota Bene.

Amstr,
The whole reason I started even looking for DevonThink was because of Frank Brownlow. We were chatting after some event at the Ren Center and he started raving about Nota Bene, as if the whole world knew what that was. When I went home to look it up (notabene.com) I discovered it was a pretty amazing academic program with database, biblio manager, and word processor in one. The testamonials really peaked my interest: all these big-whig academics basically say their careers depend upon it. But then I learned that it was only for PC users, and that there is no hint of ever making a Mac edition.

This program is what Mac users are trying to emulate with DevonThink, although Nota Bene has the benefit of incorporating a word processor and biblio manager all in one program. We have to piece it together.