Forum Posts Feed
MyInfo 3.59 released
< Next Topic | Back to topic list | Previous Topic >
Posted by Jan Rifkinson
Jan 18, 2007 at 06:58 PM
Derek Cornish wrote:
>What features of MyInfo particularly attract your interest? [snip]I use Zoot so much. [/snip]
Hi Derek. Nothing wrong w your question, but I can’t answer it the way you’ve asked it but let me reply this way:
I *love* the way zoot handles text data & yet it is a 16bit program in an advanced 32bit world. It is a tribute to Tom Davis that it still has such a following. To me, it’s like the Ecco aficionados. Both these programs were (& in some ways are) still ahead of the curve. If I could combine these two I would have my ideal program.
So being dissatisfied by both, I—like many people on this forum—have been on a quest for the holy grail.
I think Steve Z answered the specific questions about the functions/design that I find useful. Having stated that, however, I think MI v4 will offer huge improvements to the current version & hopefully it will go on from there.
Currently I use ADM on a daily basis because it has more of the characteristics that I want/need such as multiple views of the same data, easy importing of data, multiple columns, etc. However, ADM can’t even search across dbases. Graphics & web captures are not handled well & there are a bunch of other pretty basic things that are missing but—as Daly concurs—it is very advanced in other ways so I’ve stuck w it.
However, IMO its future is clouded by a variety of rather ‘strange’ circumstances so I no longer have faith in the product.. It would be better if I’m proven wrong & I’m hoping I am but it’s a feeling that doesn’t leave me. And although it is easy to get data into ADM, it’s *not* so easy to get it out so it’s useful in another data program.
As a consequence I would *very* much like to switch *out* of ADM & start over again in some other program, even if I have to give up a few things. Of all the programs I’ve played with, tested, blah, blah, I think MI will eventually enjoy the broad range of features permitting data manipulation/gathering/organizing not currently available in any other package that I’ve seen.
As for workflow, MI v3 is not in my workflow. I’m waiting for v4 due out Q2 ‘07. There’s a road map & list of features that are planned for v4. At that point I’m going to try like hell to switch over.
One other thing to consider when reading my response. Unlike some of you, I want to find *one* program that does it all. I hate the idea of putting one kind of data in one program & another kind of data in another program. .I know some of you do this but I can’t keep track of what I’ve put where.
Early alzheimers or something…...
—
Jan Rifkinson
Ridgefield, CT USA
Posted by Derek Cornish
Jan 19, 2007 at 12:48 AM
Steve -
Thanks. that was very helpful. It’s so easy to dismiss software after an all-too-short evaluation. MyInfo, for example, has a 30-day limit. I prefer the 30-non-sequential-day type of trial as it means one can come back to a program after having had to to be busy on something else.
I can see how useful MyInfo could be for certain tasks that Zoot can’t handle. For me, I think that maybe my requirements are simpler than those of many on the forum. For example, I don’t do project management, or need much in the way of PIM-type features, or places to store pdf and other files. I file-link them to Zoot in the main, though this does not facilitate sequential browsing. For special projects I tend to use Web Research, because it’s good for internet stuff, and its files can be linked to Zoot items, as well as being browsable (and categorizable) within WR itself. My recent shift - modest compared with Graham’s - back to plain-text has also had an effect. Once I had decided to accept Zoot as it is, keeping to plain test for as long as possible in the writing parts of a project seemed the easiest route to take.
We’ll see, though, as I have IdeaMason 3.0 - just in case :-).
Derek
Posted by Derek Cornish
Jan 19, 2007 at 01:14 AM
Hi Jan,
> So being dissatisfied by both, I—like many people on this forum—have been on a quest for the holy grail.
Me, too, but I keep on coming back to Zoot and - as I mentioned to Steve - I’m even trying to work more closely with it by keeping where possible to plain text. I find it quite liberating actually, and it’s easier for me than for some because my requirements are fairly modest - notes and ideas organizer (Zoot), brainstorming and outlining (Brainstorm and PocketThinker - or Grandview), and initial drafting (EditPad Lite). At the end, of course, I have to use MS-Word, and there are also one or two other programs I use regularly, like Biblioscape, Web Research, and NetSnippets. Usually, though, most of my work is done with Zoot, PocketThinker (these days), and EditPad.
All I am looking for in Zoot 32-bit, really, is the ability to store longer text-notes, to have more virtual folders available, and to allow file folder sync with subdirectories as well as directories (this would make NetSnippets more useful). This would improve its value as a “command-centre” with links to other programs. RTF is not a priority for me, but I know it is for others.
> Unlike some of you, I want to find *one* program that does it all. I hate the idea of putting one kind of data in one program & another kind of data in another program. .I know some of you do this but I can’t keep track of what I’ve put where.
I agree to some extent. For example, the question of where to put the fruits of internet searches is a perennial problem. Partly through laziness, and partly for special projects, I may have some of this material in Zoot, in NetSnippets, in Web Research, and in Windows folders. But for different tasks I like to use different programs. It’s rather like the “hoist” feature in good outliners: it can help to keep one focused on the task in hand.
But, if IdeaMason keeps developing the way it is currently, maybe I’ll change my mind.
Derek
Posted by Jan Rifkinson
Feb 1, 2007 at 05:58 PM
Derek Cornish wrote:
> [snip] It’s rather like the “hoist” feature in good outliners: it can help to keep
>one focused on the task in hand.
>
>But, if IdeaMason keeps developing the way it is
>currently, maybe I’ll change my mind.
Derek, Don’t know Idea Mason (I’ll look @ it) but ADM currently has hoisting features, both in meta data & in topics. Unfortunately, despite its advanced development, there’s no communication to speak of with the developer, Eric Sommer so I can’t vouch for ADM’s future altho I currently use it every day.
—
Jan Rifkinson
Ridgefield, CT USA