2007 Predictions
Started by Daly de Gagne
on 1/2/2007
Daly de Gagne
1/2/2007 2:36 pm
Happy new year everyone!
After listening to all kinds of predictions on local media, I wonder what kind of predictions my fellow Crimpers might have for 2007 in terms of new software developments, approaches to info management, etc.?
As for me, I think we will continue to see more flexible, tag oriented approaches augmenting or replacing the two-pane outliners.
I am looking forward to the new version of IdeaMason as an indication of a new generation of academic/biblio software. The new version of Biblioscape still has not appeared, and I wonder how its developers are reacting to newcomers such as IdeaMason?
My hope is that ADM gets its act together, and releases a rock-solid version 4 -- the concepts are good, in spite of other issues.
I am disappointed that it seems development of Ariadne has been slowed, with the indication being there won't be anything new until perhaps fall 2007. With its system of notes, plus comments, I find it one of the best approaches for drafting and putting complex pieces of writing.
Surfulater, Zoot and MDE InfoHandler are my main info programs.
Surfulater is by far the best web clipper/saver I have used/
Of course, anyone with any awareness of Zoot is eagerly waiting for 32-bit Zoot, which could happen this year.
And MDE has released a preliminary edition of its next version that builds upon the existing design, while providing a basis for new features.
ndxCards continues to develop at a rapid rate, its last release having strengthened its outlining capability -- and I think we will see this product continue its development.
MyInfo could become a major contender if developed a more comprehensive approach to integrating with the web. Its current version is a major step forward, and shows the developer is committed to being part of the new generation of two-pane outliners.
UltraRecall's future development will be interesting to watch. Will it introduce some of the features users have consistently been asking for, such as approaches to making it easier to navigate the tree through a system of hoisting or some such, plus the ability to use a variety of links?
KnowledgeWorkshop that entered the market about the same time as UR seems to have brought development to a slow crawl, having greatly lowered its prices from what they originally were. I am not expecting much change here.
MicroLogic is unlikely to change its approach to marketing and supporting InfoSelect, promising a lot and often delivering less. I predict that a significant number of IS users will continue to be frustrated, and wonder why they keep upgrading or paying the yearly subscription fee.
I would predict that mind mapping programs will increasingly try to close the gap with outliners.
As well, we will continue to see programs designed to centralize and unify info handling, such as IDEA, the now-open source OMEA Pro, and MDE InfoHandler.
WIKIs, which I don't seem able to warm up to, will continue developing and proliferating.
And we will see more and more web based programs. Perhaps FOLDERA will finally release its beta version -- if it lives up to the developer's description it could be a very helpful product for folk who hop from computer to computer.
What else?
Daly
After listening to all kinds of predictions on local media, I wonder what kind of predictions my fellow Crimpers might have for 2007 in terms of new software developments, approaches to info management, etc.?
As for me, I think we will continue to see more flexible, tag oriented approaches augmenting or replacing the two-pane outliners.
I am looking forward to the new version of IdeaMason as an indication of a new generation of academic/biblio software. The new version of Biblioscape still has not appeared, and I wonder how its developers are reacting to newcomers such as IdeaMason?
My hope is that ADM gets its act together, and releases a rock-solid version 4 -- the concepts are good, in spite of other issues.
I am disappointed that it seems development of Ariadne has been slowed, with the indication being there won't be anything new until perhaps fall 2007. With its system of notes, plus comments, I find it one of the best approaches for drafting and putting complex pieces of writing.
Surfulater, Zoot and MDE InfoHandler are my main info programs.
Surfulater is by far the best web clipper/saver I have used/
Of course, anyone with any awareness of Zoot is eagerly waiting for 32-bit Zoot, which could happen this year.
And MDE has released a preliminary edition of its next version that builds upon the existing design, while providing a basis for new features.
ndxCards continues to develop at a rapid rate, its last release having strengthened its outlining capability -- and I think we will see this product continue its development.
MyInfo could become a major contender if developed a more comprehensive approach to integrating with the web. Its current version is a major step forward, and shows the developer is committed to being part of the new generation of two-pane outliners.
UltraRecall's future development will be interesting to watch. Will it introduce some of the features users have consistently been asking for, such as approaches to making it easier to navigate the tree through a system of hoisting or some such, plus the ability to use a variety of links?
KnowledgeWorkshop that entered the market about the same time as UR seems to have brought development to a slow crawl, having greatly lowered its prices from what they originally were. I am not expecting much change here.
MicroLogic is unlikely to change its approach to marketing and supporting InfoSelect, promising a lot and often delivering less. I predict that a significant number of IS users will continue to be frustrated, and wonder why they keep upgrading or paying the yearly subscription fee.
I would predict that mind mapping programs will increasingly try to close the gap with outliners.
As well, we will continue to see programs designed to centralize and unify info handling, such as IDEA, the now-open source OMEA Pro, and MDE InfoHandler.
WIKIs, which I don't seem able to warm up to, will continue developing and proliferating.
And we will see more and more web based programs. Perhaps FOLDERA will finally release its beta version -- if it lives up to the developer's description it could be a very helpful product for folk who hop from computer to computer.
What else?
Daly
Tom S.
1/2/2007 9:09 pm
Daly de Gagne wrote:
I would predict that mind mapping programs will increasingly
try to close the gap with outliners.
Yeah, I can see this. I think MindManager will always be the cadillac of software here but Personal Brain's latest version, which is currently in beta, promises to significantly enhance its PIM-related capability. It may be one to keep an eye on as it is a much cheaper option.
Tom S.
Stephen Zeoli
1/2/2007 9:53 pm
Daly,
I think you covered most of the developments to be looking forward to. The one I do think you missed is the new version of OneNote12 (or whatever it is called). Unlike several folks here, I haven't had a chance to try the beta version (can't download 200 MB via dial-up!!!), so I am looking forward to the retail version becoming available in the next month or two. I anticipate it's being a big improvement over ON2003, which I currently use all the time.
Like you, I am also looking forward to IdeaMason's new release. I haven't purchased it yet, but expect to when this next version comes out. I'm not generally a fan of .NET-based software (which I find to be slow and clunky), but IM seems so smartly designed and full of promise.
Steve Z.
I think you covered most of the developments to be looking forward to. The one I do think you missed is the new version of OneNote12 (or whatever it is called). Unlike several folks here, I haven't had a chance to try the beta version (can't download 200 MB via dial-up!!!), so I am looking forward to the retail version becoming available in the next month or two. I anticipate it's being a big improvement over ON2003, which I currently use all the time.
Like you, I am also looking forward to IdeaMason's new release. I haven't purchased it yet, but expect to when this next version comes out. I'm not generally a fan of .NET-based software (which I find to be slow and clunky), but IM seems so smartly designed and full of promise.
Steve Z.
Stephen Zeoli
1/2/2007 9:59 pm
Daly de Gagne wrote:
I like MyInfo. It seems to absorb information from many different sources easily. It has become my Zoot counterpart at work.
Some of its strong features:
- Customized meta-data in columns
- Keywords (which MI calls tags)
- Multiple databases open simultaneously
- Cross-database searches
Steve Z.
MyInfo could become a major contender if developed a
more comprehensive approach to integrating with the web. Its current version is a
major step forward, and shows the developer is committed to being part of the new
generation of two-pane outliners.
I like MyInfo. It seems to absorb information from many different sources easily. It has become my Zoot counterpart at work.
Some of its strong features:
- Customized meta-data in columns
- Keywords (which MI calls tags)
- Multiple databases open simultaneously
- Cross-database searches
Steve Z.
Jan Rifkinson
1/2/2007 10:04 pm
Daly de Gagne wrote:
ADM 4?
--
Jan Rifkinson
Ridgefield, CT USA
What else?
ADM 4?
--
Jan Rifkinson
Ridgefield, CT USA
Jack Crawford
1/3/2007 2:24 am
I'm probably more interested in the information management rather than the hardcore writing features of these software products.
I've been playing with OneNote 2007 and am very impressed. MS has certainly raised the bar in the PIM Dept. The multiple notebooks, the "print to OneNote " feature, the suprisingly good text recognition, tags, tables etc etc all combine into an enticing package. You should be able to get data from just about any software that prints into OneNote in searchable form. Especially when used in tandem with IE7 and Outlook, OneNote is a powerful alternative.
In 2007, I'll be keeping an eye also on the activities of Brainstorm and Sycon (Idea!). They had a quiet year in 2006 from a user's perspective, so it will be interesting to see what they have in store for the new year.
Jack
I've been playing with OneNote 2007 and am very impressed. MS has certainly raised the bar in the PIM Dept. The multiple notebooks, the "print to OneNote " feature, the suprisingly good text recognition, tags, tables etc etc all combine into an enticing package. You should be able to get data from just about any software that prints into OneNote in searchable form. Especially when used in tandem with IE7 and Outlook, OneNote is a powerful alternative.
In 2007, I'll be keeping an eye also on the activities of Brainstorm and Sycon (Idea!). They had a quiet year in 2006 from a user's perspective, so it will be interesting to see what they have in store for the new year.
Jack
Hugh Pile
1/3/2007 11:19 am
Daly
One other omission from your list is Evernote 2.0, currently out in beta. For those who prefer tagging to hierarchies in their note-takers, it provides a relatively inexpensive option.
Overall, I wonder whether the release of OneNote 2007 and the growing maturity of one or two other products will lead to a shake-out in this marketplace in the next twelve months. Hitherto a hundred flowers have bloomed. But one does question why some of them continue to be nurtured, especially now that MS have crashed the garden-party. Perhaps the offerings will be reduced to a handful in each major niche category: wikis, tagging and trees?
Unless, of course, someone can devise an effective new synthesis - like IdeaMason, whose third version I look forward to also.
One other omission from your list is Evernote 2.0, currently out in beta. For those who prefer tagging to hierarchies in their note-takers, it provides a relatively inexpensive option.
Overall, I wonder whether the release of OneNote 2007 and the growing maturity of one or two other products will lead to a shake-out in this marketplace in the next twelve months. Hitherto a hundred flowers have bloomed. But one does question why some of them continue to be nurtured, especially now that MS have crashed the garden-party. Perhaps the offerings will be reduced to a handful in each major niche category: wikis, tagging and trees?
Unless, of course, someone can devise an effective new synthesis - like IdeaMason, whose third version I look forward to also.
NW
1/4/2007 10:24 pm
Eastgate might get their PC port of Tinderbox out for us to try.
Nigel
Nigel
Francis Morrone
1/4/2007 11:04 pm
It could be a very exciting year: ConnectedText 3.0, Zoot 4.5, a new PersonalBrain, OneNote 2007 (which is frighteningly huge, requires the separate installation of Windows Desktop Search, yet has awesome functionality), the new IdeaMason, and, one hopes, Tinderbox for Windows. I don't sense yet a Microsoft-induced shakeout. Some programs, like ConnectedText, are developing with astonishing speed and sensitivity to users' requests.
Jack Crawford
1/5/2007 1:43 am
Francis
A minor correction, if you don't mind ..
OneNote 2007 doesn't need Windows Desktop Search. It's own internal search function is quite powerful and IMHO doesn't require the added overhead of Windows Desktop Search. I use OneNote happliy without it ... and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Jack
A minor correction, if you don't mind ..
OneNote 2007 doesn't need Windows Desktop Search. It's own internal search function is quite powerful and IMHO doesn't require the added overhead of Windows Desktop Search. I use OneNote happliy without it ... and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Jack