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Suggestions for development of cross-platform Linux Outliner Note-taking software
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Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Sep 7, 2009 at 11:19 AM
If you want to enter the very crowded market of information managers, AND make it economically feasible, you’re going to need to do more than emulate OneNote. You’ll need to do something different. I can think of two paths you can take:
1. You can build a Windows version of GrandView, a great old DOS outliner that has never been duplicated in Windows. There’s a little bit of information about GrandView here:
and here: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1563/is_n6_v9/ai_10748021/
2. Create an index card model. That is, each record would be viewable in an index card, with a variety of meta data attached, as well. Subsets of these cards could be viewed in lists or on a virtual cork board, where they could be freely shuffled around.
Steve Z.
Posted by Franz Grieser
Sep 7, 2009 at 11:44 AM
Hi.
I find the idea of a cross-plattform note-taking application appealing. Windows and Macintosh are a must for me, Linux would be nice.
Be warned, however: Macintosh users are very picky about the GUI. A considerable portion of the Mac users I know wouldn’t touch a Java application (doesn’t look Mac-like, is slow). To attract them, your app has to be a Cocoa app (or at least Carbon).
An example of an app that has complete Windows look and feel on a PC and Mac look and feel on a Mac is the German word processor Papyrus (http://www.rom-logicware.com and http://www.papyrus.de).
>Do you think it would be better to go with:
>- a more simple OneNote style application
>- an Surfulator/ InfoQube/ ECCO model
Why either or? Make it simple to use AND flexible “under the hood”. This way the software will appeal to power and to occasional users.
And do not try to make it a jack of all trades: If it is a note-taking application, there is no need for a calender or email integration. You might, however, consider opening your app for plugins/add-ins.
Franz
Posted by David Dunham
Sep 7, 2009 at 05:23 PM
Carrot wrote:
>We don’t really
>have a very strong commercial/ profit motive in making this software- we want to make a
>full featured open-source note-taker for Linux (as our main goal but also
>cross-platform) just don’t want to go broke doing it.
I don’t have any understanding of the Linux market, though I suspect it’s tiny.
On Windows and Mac, you’ll be entering a very crowded market. What will make your app stand out? (For example, in my mind at least, my Opal focuses on ease of use.) Cross-platform isn’t enough, there are enough apps that do it. In other words, what is your marketing plan?
I wouldn’t recommend starting a business to do outliner software. You can certainly make money, but for “we” (multiple developers) to live off is likely to be hard.
Posted by JG
Sep 7, 2009 at 10:29 PM
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>If you want to enter the very crowded market of information managers, AND make it
>economically feasible, you’re going to need to do more than emulate OneNote. You’ll
>need to do something different. I can think of two paths you can take:
>
>1. You can build
>a Windows version of GrandView, a great old DOS outliner that has never been
>duplicated in Windows. There’s a little bit of information about GrandView
>here:
>
>http://www.faughnan.com/more/
>
>and here:
>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1563/is_n6_v9/ai_10748021/
>
>2.
>Create an index card model. That is, each record would be viewable in an index card,
>with a variety of meta data attached, as well. Subsets of these cards could be viewed in
>lists or on a virtual cork board, where they could be freely shuffled around.
>
>Steve
>Z.
Allow me to support warmly Steve Z’s first option. I would kill!! (read that “pay good money”) for a program that would mirror Grandview or PCoutline. These programs would be attractive to academics if they included a cut-and-paste function, the ability to link to websites, import functions from other programs, etc. I still use the outliner for my lectures, brain storming, and storing information.
Jim G.
Posted by Hugh
Sep 8, 2009 at 04:20 PM
My advice is: ?Don?t do it?. Unless you have a vision of a new way doing cross-platform note-taking, and a source of significant finance.
Very sorry to be so negative and rain on your parade. From a selfish point of view it would be really handy to see a new cross-platform entrant to the note-taking application market, and even better if it satisfied numerous requirements which I could list but most of which are covered in the posts above.
However? as David says, the market is very crowded.
On Windows, there are numerous competitors. OneNote is the elephant in the room.
On the Mac, the field though much smaller is slightly more open, but some successful developers have been established in it for a long time with products with solid track records. And some of the most successful, at least in reputational terms, such as the developers of Journler and Mori, have recently got out of note-taking software. One has to ask ?Why??
Overall on those two platforms you?d be competing directly with EverNote. EverNote is not perfect, but when the web version launched it went in a relatively new direction with a unique-ish combination of features, it?s become a well-financed operation, development is proceeding apace and it?s on every major platform. Except Linux, of course, but there?ve been calls for a Linux version of EverNote, and you can be sure that if you looked like establishing a strong market position on Linux, EverNote would have the resources to be there before you (if it thought the effort was worthwhile).
Of course, none of your potential competitors is perfect by any stretch of the imagination. There?s huge scope for a lot of improvements. Steve Z. has listed two really good ones. But many of the existing products are good enough for the general market that EverNote, OneNote and others supply, and for that market, ?good enough? is enough.
We on this forum can see the flaws, gaps and imperfections in all those applications, but we are connoisseurs and afficionados, we aren?t necessarily going to come up with the breakthroughs or vision that will have the market knocking on your door, and our purchases alone aren?t going to stop your operation from going broke.
So, at least in creative and inventive terms you?d have to out-EverNote EverNote. And then you?d have to have long-term determination and financial staying-power too. Oh, and luck.
As I say, sorry to be so negative.