A while ago I decided to bring some sanity to the way I do things and organize all my stuff. I'm working on a design thesis in my multimedia undergrad degree, I'm co tantly doing research for my blogging work, and I have countle other projects and ideas that were growing in both size and disorganization in my Home folder. When I decided to finally start getting organized, I realized I might not be the only person in this position, and I figured I would turn my research and testing experiences into a post; a sort of survey of what some call 'digital junk drawer' a licatio .What follows is a pro and con summary of four of the most popular junk drawer a I looked at, but read this post with a few of my criteria in mind:
- I like keyboard shortcuts. I like them a < an style="font-style: italic;">lot. Being able to highlight a chunk of text in a browser or a PDF I'm reading and hitting a couple of keys to send it to a junk drawer a is far more efficient and le workflow-intrusive than having to use a mouse to drag and drop it to some far corner of my di lay.
- I decided not to touch a that employ entirely different paradigms such as the wiki-like VoodooPad; I'm not denying the usefulne of these other ways of working, but adding that entirely new level to this survey would've meant putting this post on the back-burner for longer than I would like.
- I'm using a MacBook Pro 2.0 Ghz with 1.5 GB RAM, and while I synced my notes library acro these a to gauge performance 'n all that jazz, my library is a mere 500 notes (URLs, PDFs, etc.) strong, so your mileage may vary.
< an style="font-weight: bold;">SOHO Notes (formerly StickyBrain) $39.99
Pros
- Can handle any files (with option of aliases or truly importing into database)
- exte ive su ort for i ut methods - drag and drop DockNote, keyboard shortcuts for grou or even a ending to individual notes, etc. (SOHO Notes doe 't even have to be ru ing)
- nested grou (folders)
- multiple databases
- sharing databases
- seamle .Mac syncing
- Searching - via menubar or a widget (SOHO notes doe 't need to be ru ing)
- audio recording notes
- different and customizable note styles (true Stickies, 'float on top' option, background images, etc.)
- blog integration (though I believe only Blogger-compatible)
- iPod export
- ta ed editing
- Must i tall its own database server (Mac OS X Tiger includes an SQLite database server, which, for example, Yojimbo uses)
- Doe 't quite feel as Mac OS X-like as the other a . Needs i taller
- Group ico not customizable; must chose from pre-defined list
- Fairly hefty system resource co umption
- not A leScript-able
Pros
- Can handle many (but not all) file types
- Can index logs from iChat and Yahoo Me enger (though I don't know about the new Yahoo Me enger beta that was just released)
- Export to iPod notes
- Can automatically 'cla ify' items, Pro version offers more powerful do-it-for-you type features
- Multiple, customizable views
- Automator Actio (Pro)
- Download manager (Pro)
- Dashboard widgets (Pro)
- multiple databases (Pro)
- A leScript su ort (Pro)
- Steeper understanding curve of a surveyed
- very un-Mac OS X-like
- < an style="text-decoration: line-through;">Group ico not customizable at all I stand corrected - sjk commented that group ico , in fact, < an style="font-style: italic;">are customizable, and it sounds like it's a very Finder/Get Info-like task to do so
Pros
- refreshing KI philosophy
- very Mac OS X-like feel
- Drop Dock option for easy importing into individual grou
- Handy bookmarklets
- To my knowledge, it's somewhat A leScript-able
- Group ico are completely customizable
- Seamle .Mac syncing
- One of the lowest resource loads of a surveyed
- KI philosophy needle ly limits the a in frustrating (sometimes minor) ways
- No nested grou
- Export/sharing/emailing optio aren't up to par
- No ta ed editing
Journler - Donationware
Pros
- Can handle any files (with option of aliases or truly importing into database), includes handy 'Resource view' for entries to help track down each relevant file (audio, ZIP, a , PDF, etc.)
- best iLife integration, hands down - incorporates media browser, Addre Book browser, one-click video/audio recording, send to iWeb, etc.
- blog integration (via iWeb or various blog APIs)
- Friendly diary/journal-oriented optio
- Handy calendar hel keep track of activity
- Adds new import option in system-wide Services menu with keyboard shortcut
- Very well-written, cro -referenced/linked Help file
- Lowest system resources used
- iPod export of individual notes or entire grou /library
- nested grou
- ta ed editing
- favorites ba< an style="font-weight: bold;">r
- Mentioned only because it's becoming a standard: No syncing optio (.Mac, FTP, etc.)
- UI could use a little hel strange use of serif fonts in a few places
- Not many other complaint I have to admit, I love this a
While I love the pure Mac OS X experience that Yojimbo offers, SOHO Notes and Journler tie in my book at the top of this list. From the per ective of browsing or doing research and using a junk drawer a to to stuff into, SOHO Notes wi hands-down for offering such exte ive optio and keyboard shortcuts for importing information and virtually any kind of file. Journler has also won a place in my Dock for offering such a fantastic iLife-infused experience. While SOHO Notes has the industrial strength researching and collecting activities down pat, Journler has the iLife side of the fence covered equally as well.
In terms of performance, re o ivene , eed and searching, all four of these a felt on par with each other, but as I mentioned earlier: I'm on a pretty fast machine with what is likely a comparatively small library of notes (these a typically boast the ability to store and index te of thousands of notes, so my 500 mea I'm sitting in the kiddie pool on that front). In addition to searching i ide themselves, I believe all of these a (with the exception of DEVONthink, though I might be wrong) are also searchable from otlight.
Obviously, which a you use will be determined by your unique needs and interests, and this list is by no mea comprehe ive or complete. All of these a offer more features than I highlighted here, and some of them could easily be deal makers and breakers for you. I simply wanted to i ire those of you who, like me, needed a little help and i iration to - if I may borrow from BareBone's Yojimbo slogan - "master the o laught".
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