Forum Posts Feed
Zoot 6 - the solution ?
< Next Topic | Back to topic list | Previous Topic >
Posted by JBfrom
Aug 5, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Ah ok, I see what you’re saying now. That is ambitious and interesting.
Posted by Slartibartfarst
Aug 6, 2011 at 10:35 AM
For a PIM such as Zoot, it is possible that pursuing a strategic direction of product integration with social networking sites may prove to be misguided.
Some people might say (not me, you understand) that it can be shown that social networking sites consume real human creative effort and/or work in their development, whilst providing a trivial service of no real value to humanity. That is, the service merely blots up the user’s productive time and cognitive surplus - hence the term “social NOTworking”.
For example: *Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKmQW_Nkfk8
Posted by maties
Aug 6, 2011 at 12:18 PM
The discussion is currently focusing on the social media services.
I would like to ask you to direct the discussion to another point.
There are so many programs out there and some features may overlap.
Some programs perform specific functions that no other
program offers.
For example, Devonthink has artificial intelligence.
Without this artificial intelligence, DEVONthink would lose its real value.
Back to my three main questions.
1 What are the core functions of Zoot, which you can not cope with the other programs.
2 What do you think is unique about Zoot?
3 What do you think is still missing in Zoot?
Posted by Steve
Aug 6, 2011 at 02:39 PM
These are good questions. I am wondering the same.
Too often I have flitted around to the “next best thing” only to find that I spent too much time converting data to use with the new “thing” and this new “thing” didn’t add that much to my knowledge or ability to find information. Lots of hype, lots of buzz, lots of flash, but not much more.
I like the solutions that are focused and fast. I like Brainstorm because it works. It’s unique. It is focused and I know what it can do.
Steve
maties wrote:
>The discussion is currently focusing on the social media services.
>I would like to
>ask you to direct the discussion to another point.
>There are so many programs out
>there and some features may overlap.
>Some programs perform specific functions that
>no other
>program offers.
>For example, Devonthink has artificial
>intelligence.
>Without this artificial intelligence, DEVONthink would lose its
>real value.
>
>Back to my three main questions.
>1 What are the core functions of Zoot,
>which you can not cope with the other programs.
>2 What do you think is unique about
>Zoot?
>3 What do you think is still missing in Zoot?
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Aug 6, 2011 at 05:38 PM
It’s hard to describe all the great features of Zoot, because there are so many. I used to say that Tom Davis would add functionality before anyone even realized they needed it; or to put it another way, if I decided I needed to do something with my information, I almost inevitably found that Zoot had that ability built in. Other applications have caught up some, but not in every area. The core function of Zoot, I suppose, is the smart folder. Not only do Zoot’s smart folders act as saved searches, they also can perform actions on your notes, such as moving completed items to a completed folder, highlighting items that have a certain due date. The only other application that has both those features is Tinderbox, at least that I’m aware of.
So there are two ways to use Zoot, I think. Dump info into it and rely upon smart folders later on to make sense of it. Or set up elaborate databases ahead of time to organize more structured information. I use it both ways. I have a database, for instance, for tracking my inventory purchases. I have the following columns in the grid:
Description
Item#*
Vendor*
Date
Type*
Invoice#
Paid
The columns I’ve marked with asterisks are “folder” columns. For example, the Vendor column creates a folder called “Vendor” and each new vendor I add gets a folder created automatically that collects purchases from that vendor. As I add records to the main folder, I instantly have my data organized for me. If I need to know all the purchases from one vendor, I just click on the vendor folder. If I need to see the last time we purchased Item X, I just click on the Item X folder. And this is fast and easy to set up.
Steve Z.
maties wrote:
>The discussion is currently focusing on the social media services.
>I would like to
>ask you to direct the discussion to another point.
>There are so many programs out
>there and some features may overlap.
>Some programs perform specific functions that
>no other
>program offers.
>For example, Devonthink has artificial
>intelligence.
>Without this artificial intelligence, DEVONthink would lose its
>real value.
>
>Back to my three main questions.
>1 What are the core functions of Zoot,
>which you can not cope with the other programs.
>2 What do you think is unique about
>Zoot?
>3 What do you think is still missing in Zoot?