Tops in 2005

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Note: This message is from the outliners.com archive kindly provided by Dave Winer.

Outliners.com Message ID: 4815

Posted by stephenz
2005-12-29 16:38:00

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 (http://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 (http://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 (http://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 (http://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 (http://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 (http://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 (http://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 (http://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.

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