Forum Posts Feed
Question: What software is absolutely essential to you
< Next Topic | Back to topic list | Previous Topic >
Pages: < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 > Last ›
Posted by Hugh
Aug 1, 2011 at 05:26 PM
I use Scrivener and DevonThink Pro Office every day - often every hour - and as far as I’m concerned they’re the best at what they do. I have a love/hate relationship with Tinderbox. I like and use the Omni Group’s products Omnifocus, OmniOutliner and OmniPlan. I’m also a big fan of Curio.
But are they essential to me? No. Apart from the Mac OS X file system, at a pinch a replacement for any information manager, the two applications which above all others are essential because they are pretty much irreplaceable are MS Word and MS Excel. Word can carry out virtually any writing task, just not very well, and enable collaboration and communication with other users. MS Excel is IMO unique and can of course be used for jobs ranging from complex multi-sheet valuation spreadsheets to PIM-creation to project management to - yes - outlining. You could probably make a mind-map with it - I bet someone has.
The irony is that I use them only very occasionally, but when I do they’re, well, essential.
Posted by Cassius
Aug 1, 2011 at 06:58 PM
For outline/organizing/productivity my choice would be myBase+WebCollect. (Hopefully the upcoming version will have Boolean search.)
Posted by Franz Grieser
Aug 1, 2011 at 07:08 PM
Well, if I am only to name one application, then it’s OpenOffice.org (Writer and Calc). That’s what I use to produce my newsletters and magazines, blog entries and website text.
Off course, supported by a collection of tools such as Duden Korrektor (THE German spellchecker integrated with OpenOffice.org or Word), Evernote, OneNote, Dropbox, Noteliner, Xmind, PhraseExpress, Ditto, Outlook, ThumbsPlus and SnagIt - on Windows.
Franz
Posted by quant
Aug 1, 2011 at 10:31 PM
Ultra Recall - by far the most complete and versatile PIM there is, IMHO :) , used 24/7 at work/home to store every important information I come across so that I can concentrate on thinking and undertanding instead of remembering -> for that UR is perfect.
Dont recommend UR if (some standard rants):
- you want to search across databases
- you’re taking 100s of grabs per day so that it’s essential that it takes at most 2.532 seconds instead of 3.5 seconds.
- you need some advanced formatting but pressing CTRL+J and waiting 5 second until your Word opens is waaaay too much.
In that case, just join this website and waste 100s hours installing and removing tons of software ... and 5 years later you’ll realize that UR was still the most comprehensive programs of all you’ve tried
;-)
Posted by Daly de Gagne
Aug 1, 2011 at 10:40 PM
Quant, your post brought a smile to my face. How well you’ve captured some of the idiosyncrasies of the people her. Uh…I mean the other people. Not me, of course.
Cheers,
Daly