More InfoQube answers needed

Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Nov 28, 2008 at 12:31 PM

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:
>... it has been
>stated here repeatedly that InfoQube’s ‘weakness’ is its non-intuitiveness and
>lack of ‘how to’ documentation. I’m sure that some of it can be improved, but overall I
>would note that many of the programs praised here are far from intuitive. In fact I
>would risk the hypothesis that the most powerful programs—those that can become our
>information management companions- are the least intuitive and easy to grasp.
> >Was
>GrandView intuitive? I doubt it. Zoot has been notorious for its learning curve but
>its regular users swear by it. Many here have commented that they “don’t get”
>Brainstorm—but I personally never write a text longer than a paragraph without it.
>Others have praised MaxThink on a similar front but I haven’t as yet grasped many of its
>concepts, let alone integrate it in a workflow.

Alexander,

I agree with your basic premise here, that the more powerful the application the more likely it is to been difficult (or at least time consuming) to learn. This is especially true of one of my favorite programs, Zoot, which does take time to master. However, with just a few basics, you can begin to use Zoot effectively. What—in my opinion—sets Zoot above so many programs is that as you master its concepts, you can apply them to your data, but you don’t need to know all of these techniques for Zoot to be an effective information gatherer and repository. I remember when I finally realized that Zoot’s folders were only “virtual” folders—I’d been using the program aggressively for over a year! I think it took at least two years before I understood how to create “folder columns,” but when I did, that opened a whole new realm of power.

My reluctance to master InfoQube’s learning curve is not a criticism of the program, but more an acknowledgment of my own limitations. There is just so much of my time I can devote to mastering various software. Perhaps in a few years, once IQ has been officially released and has received raves from this group, I will see that an investment of my time will be worth it.

As for GrandView… one of the things I always appreciated about it is how intuitive it did feel. Perhaps part of this is due to the fact that the whole concept of computer outlining was new to me, so I didn’t have any pre-conceived notions. Nevertheless, building an outline always felt really easy to me… keystrokes all made sense. I could create an outline and re-organize it with all my concentration devoted to the structure and virtually none devoted to recalling the proper keystrokes. Yes, some of its other powerful features needed exploration and mastery, but they never felt too overwhelming. Again, however, I think this was as much a matter of it all being new territory for my brain, so that it wasn’t a matter of unlearning something.

So, though I’ve commented on IQ’s non-intuitive feel, I wouldn’t want to imply others shouldn’t check it out for themselves to decide if it is the right program. Pierre certainly seems committed to its development and open to suggestions. I definitely wish him well.

Steve Z.