Testing everything in search of the best all-around program choice(s) -- Ultra Recall so far...

Posted by Daly de Gagne
Sep 9, 2010 at 02:22 PM

You’ve done a lot of searching. UltraRecall is good.

I prefer MyInfo because it is easier to use for what I want.

And it has one feature coming up which makes it a must-use program for me: Petko, the developer, has promised the next version will have the ability to open more than one window at a time. That means, as a writer, I can look at a couple of open windows of information, and work on a draft article in yet another window. EverNote also has this ability, but MyInfo offers me metadata columns, and a combination of a folder structure and tags. I use EverNote and Surfulater for web clipping - and once Surfulater has a cloud capability, will shift over to it exclusively because - again - it offers combination of folder structure and tags. As well, Surfulater has a very neat way of searching for items with more than one tag.

Please keep us posted on your explorations, and how you make out with UR.

Daly

TJohn wrote:
>I finally realized that I should file my data in some manner a bit more organized than
>simply placing it in folders. I tend to use Windows based programs although I use Linux
>as a secondary OS. My computing goes back all the way to Apple II and Steve Job’s
>proprietary greed bottlenecked Apple’s development just as VHS killed Sony BetaMax
>video back in the day. Mac never caught on with me and I’m sort of too lazy to get too far
>into Linux although I respect it. Mac to me is more of a “rich man’s” computer rather
>than a hack box so I put up with the combination of Win and Linux.
> >I am commenting after
>spending several days evaluating as many as 50 different programs and possibilities
>for data management. I didn’t bother with PIM type programs and info managers sooner
>because I got by with tools like Spartan Multi Clipboard—and I kind of like
>PhraseExpress although I have not used it much. Finding Data can be achieved with
>regular search or programs like Agent Ransack or DK Finder which is really simple,
>really fast and free. I would also tend to store tidbits in .mht files, or just .txt
>files and would use Notepad2 which is super fast. Nirsoft’s free SiteShoter archives
>complete webpages into .png files which is another little trick I have used for quite a
>while. Ultimately there are so many different forms of kung fu one can use when
>managing data. PicPick is free and a near perfect screencapture program that allows
>fast graphics editing so dumping tidbits into folders with keyword title names gets
>the job done for so many aspects of simplistic note taking. A windows program called
>DirectFolders offers a free personal license and allows for rapid bookmarking of
>directories - so you can jump from data location to location quickly if you’re not
>using a PIM of some kind. I’m just mentioning it because it’s so darn good. There is also
>a program called Linkman Pro that is really good for databasing browser bookmarks and
>it will work as a portable program.
> >Obviously I am new to outlining software use
>simply because I coped in other ways but since I went through a maelstrom of research
>this week I’ll just report what I’ve learned from my own perspective. If I have to
>choose a single data manager program, I think Ultra Recall looks like it’s the most
>versatile single choice. It has a ton of functions and it saves web pages and clippings
>quite well with a variety of ways of feeding the data into it.
> >MS OneNote appears to be
>a good choice for creative records and scrapbooking because it includes drawing and
>recording features. I kind of liked Treepad for a well rounded outliner, and Keypad
>seemed quite good considering it’s back under development and completely free to
>use. Treepad’s export to html is amazing if you need something to quickly build trees
>for the web. A program called Jreepad is a lite Java program that uses the Treepad
>format. Of all the programs, Treepad does have the some of the broadest options for
>importing/exporting data and it’s cross-platform. As most posters here note, it’s
>just a little bit behind and could include newer features.
> >I tend to think that mind
>mapping programs nearly take more effort to learn than they’re worth but I suppose I
>could be wrong. The FreePlane program looked great and is free to use. I still
>brainstorm with paper and pen or just with lists. I think someone with scientific,
>logistical or other needs might require mapping software. It really depends on what
>you’re doing.
> >So many of the programs are duplicates and have a variety of differing
>scheduling and contact management features. The program EfficientPIM seemed very
>well rounded and includes sticky notes and some good import/export functions. I
>don’t really like Microsoft and refuse to use Outlook. I discovered that Mozilla
>Thunderbird has the new Lightening plugin that allows for basic scheduling. This
>means that something like Ultra Recall allows for adequate data management without
>worrying about contact management so much. GemX DoOrganizer looked like quite a
>nifty integrated package out of the bunch. A salesman might like something like that
>one.
> >I don’t like the idea of storing personal notes online with something like
>EverNote. I’m not very mobile and if I was I think I’d try http://simplenoteapp.com/
>before jailing my brain to EverNote. The login feature of EverNote and it’s fee-based
>structure was probably the single most annoying experience of this week’s marathon
>of testing. I try to keep things simple, inexpensive and practical if possible.
> >A
>program called Chandler is free and seems great if you want to schedule a lot of events
>and contacts in concert with other people but it’s not something I really need right
>now. There is a program called InfoLevin that seemed somewhat promising and well done
>if it gets off the ground. It was one of the more obscure titles so I’m mentioning it
>here. A program called PerfectNotes was unique because it appears to record audio
>lectures and allow notes to be added on a timeline. All things considered I thought
>there would be a lot more educational software by now but maybe pen and paper or laptop
>text notes are still popular in University.
> >All of these programs are really quite
>fascinating and there are too many to mention but the Ultra Recall does seem to be the
>most all-inclusive of the bunch. I think if I was stuck with one choice only it would
>adapt to most operations at least for data storage. It wouldn’t calculate like a
>spreadsheet or database but I was quite impressed. I really like OneNote, but I
>suspect I won’t end up using it simply because it’s kind of bloated. The “tree” method
>of data storage seems to be the most practical and all things considered that’s what
>I’ve always used via the OS file manager functions.
> >Ultra Recall had gone on sale a
>few months ago as reported on this forum at a site called bitsdujour.com. There are
>good programs like Surfulater, Webresearch, MyInfo and MyBase, WinPIM and such but
>out of all of this chaos I have a suspicion I might go with Ultra Recall and keep using
>Thunderbird/Lightening for email, contacts and schedules. The various freeware
>tools and utilities available help process data storage and I suspect I might steer
>clear of OneNote. It’s really advanced but I suspect in a practical sense it might not
>be rapid enough for daily use. As a mention, Corel Office suite has a very simple
>program called Wordperfect Lightning for notes that seemed practical but is
>probably way too bare bones for most people. CintaNotes or FlashNote might come in
>handy for some people although Ultra Recall covers the basic import clipping
>functions of those programs as well.
> >So I liked a lot of programs and didn’t like
>others. There certainly is a variety of functions and uses depending on what you’re
>doing. Once again, out of all the programs I think that EverNote is the biggest “death
>trap” for data. Sure, you can upload it and preserve it but who the heck is going to be
>raking through your entire life? We’re talking about notes, contacts and personal
>data. I don’t think I could ever trust that program or settle for it’s insistence that
>you set up an account in order to use it.
> >I thought that some of the software was priced
>a bit too high and someone offering better pricing might really attract a following -
>but that’s not my business. I’m not trying to be biased about Ultra Recall but it does
>appear to be the one program with the largest overall variety of features. There was a
>strange program called StudyBuddy for Windows that would display “cue cards” for
>students but it didn’t seem to qualify as a data manager. A program called ZuluPad has
>to be one of the more annoying of the trials as it’s free version wouldn’t even print
>unless you upgrade to the Pro version. A program called AllMyNotes was well laid out
>but had a very washed color scheme. Zoot had the most obnoxious color scheme I saw. I
>even tried XLNotes which is a free-form add-on for Microsoft Excel. That allows for
>the storage of any ‘junk’ you want to cram into an Excel spreadsheet.
> >I went through
>everything I had time for except some of the bizarro research software and ultimately
>I learned that it’s about databasing. It’s all just databasing with a different
>front-end and every computer user already does the basics with the OS file
>manager/finder of choice. There are just so many different options and I suspect that
>in a decade things will be a lot smoother and better integrated especially in regard to
>OLE object linking and embedding functions. It’s probably too early to fuss too much
>about mobile data storage and I certainly don’t need it yet. It’s not exactly a private
>world anymore but uploading ALL one’s data to online accounts seems to be pretty
>brainless if you ask me. Anyway, that’s my two cents.