My Ten Most Significant Information Management Discoveries of 2005 (because I didn't have anything else more interesting to do this afternoon):

10. Personal Knowbase 3.0 (www.bitsmithsoft.com). Admittedly, this is not the most powerful piece of software in the PIM world, but there's a nice simplicity to it that appeals to me. Bitsmith are a bit slow (perhaps deliberate is a better term) in releasing updates, and this one was about 18 months or longer in coming.

9. UltraRecall 1.4 beta (www.kinook.com). Ultimately, I've been disappointed with UR after starting out the year very high on it. The way it works just doesn't match the way I think (which may mean it is smartly designed!). Still, I continue to hold out hope and the new beta is a nice upgrade, even though they have yet to figure out the hoisting issue.

8. AskSam 6.0 (www.asksam.com). I'm not sure why, but I always convince myself to get the latest update for AskSam. I like the concept... one big bucket to dump all your information into... but of course it isn't as simple as that and the program has some annoying quirks. This update introduced some nice visual navigation with the addition of virtual folders.

7. Keynote is dead. After two years of waiting for Keynote 2.0 to be complete, I learned the developer finally gave up and called it quits. While this is sad, it at least means one fewer web site I have to check on a regular basis.

6. NET Framework. Seems more and more information organizers are switching to this technology. One more way Microsoft is taking over.

5. Notebox Disorganizer (www.geocities.com/goosnargh37/NDC.html). This quirky little program will probably never be an important part of my information management system, but it is a nice reminder that you can occasionally find a new idea out there.

4. NeoMem (www.neomem.org). This free, open source program is similar on the surface to UltraRecall, but lacks UR's power. But, on the other hand, it has a cleaner, more user-friendly interface that I find a lot more appealing. The developer has a whole long list of ways he plans to improve it over time.

3. Liquid Story Binder (www.blackobelisk.com). While not technically an information organizer, LSB is a writer's tool that incorporates note management and crude outlining. It is still a few steps away from being a complete tool, but I like the way the developer is trying to create a complete writing environment.

2. Brainstorm (www.brainstormsw.com). A piece of software I've been using for a few years, but I continually feel amazed at how this simple-seeming program can really make my life so much easier.

1. Zoot (www.zootsoftware.com). I've been using Zoot for years, but there's always something new to learn about it. This year, I learned that I definitely can't do without Zoot.

Steve Z.

9. UltraRecall <snip> The way it works just doesn't match the way I think <

Could you elaborate on this?

Stephen R. Diamond

Interesting list thanks Steve.

A couple more from me .....

* In 2005 I stopped using programs designed for other markets, even though I own licences ie. Inspiration (education) & NoteMap (legal). If I get another email about a teachers' conference in the US, I'll scream. I do look at NoteMap occasionally, give it a pat and then close it.

* 2006 is an important year for Idea! They've got the concept exactly right (IMHO), implemented some creative ideas and worked hard on getting the base stable and bug-free. Now for some UI improvements and marketing :-) One thing that continues to puzzle me is the name. Idea! sounds like a creative, idea generating tool. For me it is a dashboard, a program for organising and retrieving data.

* One more .. The energy levels of David & Marck at Brainstorm never cease to amaze me. They must never sleep. Very impressive results in 2005.

Jack

Thanks for the initiative Steve; not much to comment on your list, which I think presents a good overview of our field of interest regardless of specific programs.

In 2005 I (finally) made an informed choice to stick with a core group of powerful and complementary information tools, namely Brainstorm, Idea! and UltraRecall in alphabetical order.

I also invested significant ammounts of time in participating in user fora and communicating directly with the developer teams of the a/m tools. Most of the issues I encountered during my use of those programs were resolved, in quite a number of cases through the incorporation of additional features and/or customisability in program updates. I am very grateful to these developers for their excellent after-sales service.

The few issues that were not resolved had, more often than not, to do with the underlying program concepts themselves, which goes to show that no concept fits all kind of information management. Other issues and WIBNIs (Wouldn't It Be Nice If) may be catered for in future versions of the programs as they require significant development work.

Last but not least, I continued to test and work with other programs that are more focused in visual presentation of information, namely Aibase, ConceptDraw, Mind Manager and Personal Brain.

alx

Hi!
My main discovery in 2005 was outliners.com. It just struck me that if anything comes close to a virtual pub, it must be outliners.com. After a minor argument with my wife I just clicked into outliners.com, and reading your accounts on significant outliner discoveries of 2005, I immediately relaxed and got my blood pressure under control ;-)

Peter.