Hate or Love Steve's Journal tool?

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by Bruce Achterberg

I found The Journal a bit too limited for what I wanted to do (suffice to say I'm very specific and know what I want when it comes to software). I might buy it eventually, but for now, I can't really justify the purchase.

I use KeyNote, which you can download and use for free (it's freeware).

KeyNote is similar to ActionOutline, but in my opinion, better in some ways. And free. Can't complain with free.

Would you say that Checkvist: collaborative online outliner and checklist is as good as those Windows-only outliners?

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Lupe

Would you say that Checkvist: collaborative online outliner and checklist is as good as those Windows-only outliners?

Thanks for linking to Checkvist--I just signed up and took a minute or so to check out the features.

I'd like to check it out some more, but it looks like a great web tool for basic checklists (i.e. a simple list of tasks, with maybe a few notes).

For anything other than basic checklists, though, I think Keynote wins hands-down, with The Journal coming second, and ActionOutline coming third. (Keep in mind I've only tried out free trials for ActionOutline and The Journal).

I can't remember why I didn't like ActionOutline, but I remember thinking "why would I use--and pay for--ActionOutline when Keynote does exactly the same thing?" If I recall correctly, I think I found the lack of customisation to be annoying. Keynote is very customisable, and while it isn't the most polished program around, it does damn well for being a free program.

I actually used The Journal for the full free trial of 45 days. I really liked a lot of what it offered, especially how it automatically created a new journal entry for you each day (but only if you needed it--it handled that really well). The templates and formatting options were nice, too.

What irked me about The Journal was that some features seemed kind of buggy (like the "highlight text to tag it and add it to an index for that tag" feature), and I didn't like that I couldn't add a sub-notes to journal entries made in the journal part of the program--I could only make sub-notes (or "child" nodes--whatever you want to call them) in the free-form tree thingy that was separate from the journal (i.e. the "thingy" that isn't actually a journal, just a tree hierarchy). It frustrates me when programs lack basic, pretty obvious features such as that (especially since it's a program you pay for), so whenever I used The Journal, I always missed being able to create sub-notes within the journal section and had to figure out other ways to do what I wanted to (and I did, but it was more clunky than I wanted it to be... I had to conform around the program a lot). (Granted, I could have suggested that change be added to future versions, or submitted any bug reports to David, the creator of The Journal. From what I've heard from Steve, David is very responsive.)

I've often considered trying out The Journal again (since I've got a new PC, so I could re-do the trial) since I want to like it, but Keynote is free, familiar, and almost as good (and in some cases, better) than programs I'd have to pay for, so I continue to use Keynote.

Maybe one day I'll upgrade to The Journal. For now though, Keynote serves me well (and I also hear it's going to get a complete re-write, since it recently went opensource. I'm keen to see what Keynote will look like once it's more fully integrated).

Postscript

I should mention that I'm really picky when it comes to journaling/outlining software.

I have very specific desires when it comes to such programs (lots of freedom and flexibility to name a few), so my standards are pretty high. I reject any programs that lack freedom and flexibility pretty quickly.

[Bruce Achterberg]

On a semi-related note, I've actually designed a journaling/outlining program. I even ran the design by a programming friend of mine who happened to also be interested in productivity and software that caters to a Getting Things Done way of doing things, and he really liked it, too.

If I actually have it made I'd have to flesh out the design a bit, but I have the basic ideas down. Basically, it's similar to Keynote in terms of the base functionality, but it allows relationships between information you enter beyond anything I've seen offered from any programs currently available.

Suffice to say I'm a big fan of really intuitive functionality when it comes to programs, and the program I designed would allow a ridiculous amount of flexibility in that the user would have to conform to the way the program functions less. I always whimper a bit when I use a program and have to create lots of tricky solutions just to do something that could be handled so much easier by better design.

I'll surely make that program available (for free or for purchase; I'd love to make it available for free) if I ever have it made (and manage to not scare programmers away with my crazy design and high standards when it comes to how the program functions). It'd be a big project, though, since I think it might have to be designed from scratch (although with Keynote being opensource, I wonder if you could build on top of that. Hmmm).

[Daffy Duck]

I tried the demo of The Journal and found it to be a good software, but it didn't offer anything special for me that I couldn't do with other software I already had, or by using free journal software. The main thing I liked about The Journal is Steve's material that came along with it. I saved that material and uninstalled The Journal.

It is better to keep private information offline instead of putting it on the Internet. Keep in mind that any password protected file from any program has the potential to be broken -- not just Microsoft Word. However, Word is an easier target since more people use it. I doubt someone is going to bust into your computer and want to read your journal though.

[sirkinm]

I've tried a lot of online productivity software, like RemembertheMilk.com. Even though it was good, I can't get into the habit of using them. I always go back to my old pattern of writing things down in 1 of 5 undifferentiated notebooks, plus scattered pieces of paper, post-its, etc....

[Antarananda]

For a cloud based solution, Evernote rocks. I don't use the functionality for creating notebook entries (I use it more as an online repository for clippings of web content I find interesting), but it is full-featured if you wish to use it to save and organize your documents and notes. It has very good tagging and search functionality.

Evernote enables you to have access to all your data, all the time, whether it's on your PC/mac desktop client, your mobile internet device (iPhone, Blackberry), or via the internet anywhere you go.

It's free for non-premium accounts.

[Rossoneri]

I love it, so easy to use and so much fun. I especially love the make your own template so I could make one when I learn something I want to try out for a 30 day trial.