Maybe a little OT.

After posting a comment in another thread about a feature in TheBrain that I have been using more of recently, I knew I wanted to mention that here because I'm enjoying using TheBrain. Enjoy in the sense that using this or that software is a pleasure because it is interesting and delightful in design and features. I'd be curious what software readers here use not just because of what it **does** for them, but for **how** it does that desired thing.

My highly enjoyable software - easy to get lost in

TheBrain
Curio
ConnectedText

My drudgery software - get in and out as fast as possible

Microsoft Word/Excel/Powerpoint
Outlook or any mail client
OmniFocus (oddly, pretty but pedestrian at the same time)

Paul Korm wrote:

Enjoy in the sense that using
this or that software is a pleasure because it is interesting and
delightful in design and features. I'd be curious what software readers
here use not just because of what it **does** for them, but for **how**
it does that desired thing.

Yes, I couldn't agree with you more. It's probably not all that different from having your favourite tools if you're a craftsman, which make your job more enjoyable. The interesting question is why some tools are more enjoyable to use than others, and whether the tool makers can affect that.

I have a fairly long list of tools that I get a kick out of using (CT, WriteMonkey, Bonsai, O4D, Surfulater, Boogie Board, NoteTab, SmartDown, Freeplane, PDF Xchange Editor, Screenshot Captor, WorkFlowy, AutoHotkey etc., etc.), and the ones I wish I didn't have to use, like MS Word, Outlook, IE.

It's interesting that the latter seem to be complacent corporate products produced by employees, as opposed to labours of love by one-man bands or open-source volunteers (several of them free or donationware).

Another category I'd add is software that I'd like to love, expect to or should love, yet somehow I don't end up using a lot, such as Scrivener or OneNote (which seems to be an exception to the unloved corporate products), sometimes for reasons that I don't quite understand myself.

Dr Andus wrote:

make your job more enjoyable. The interesting question is why some tools
are more enjoyable to use than others, and whether the tool makers can
affect that.

If I think a bit harder about the reasons for why I enjoy using the tools that I do, most often these are rarely just aesthetic reasons (in fact I'm happy to use products others might consider ugly). I enjoy some of my tools because of the amazing time-saving productivity functions, or the sheer versatility and pliability, or the fact that they challenge me to keep learning about them, or the fact that they keep being improved (as opposed to some of the corporate software, which can take a turn towards dumbing down or just change for change's sake).

Yes, your list is interesting precisely because it's aesthetically varied – some of those apps are less than attractive, but they're all pretty good at what they do.

A good combination of streamlining and aesthetics does mean an app becomes a real pleasure to use.

One of my favourites, despite the fact it isn't cross-platform (yet), is Quiver, because it's, well, beautiful and practical at the same time.

Others I actively enjoy using include:
- Airmail 2 (don't take any notice of the negative reviews of this latest version of Airmail 2; if you've got lots of mail accounts, it's absolutely brilliant!)
- Keep Everything (neat, tidy and cross-platform)
- Outlinely (probably one of the most elegant outliners, although alas not being developed very actively. The same team develops SlickTasks)
- Preview (I love Apple's Preview! Apart from anything else, it's so much faster than most other PDF viewers)
- Letterspace (probably the most practical and elegant hybrid Markdown editor, especially now the syncing has been improved)
- SimpleNote (super-simple, super-elegant, super-fast)
- Curio (because it's just so gorgeous)
- Scapple (because it's the best and simplest mind-manager-like tool around)
- Ulysses (well, I'm hoping I'll be using this a lot in the near future, once the iOS version has emerged)
- Notebooks (but the desktop version still lags behind iOS)

Apps I really like but don't use enough:
- Scrivener (just, somehow, a bit too cumbersome)
- OneNote (fantastic on certain platforms - the latest iOS version is amazing)
- Outline+ (a wonderful OneNote alternative, but suffers from the same issues, really)
-

Great topic.

Software/services I think is delightful: Sublime Text, Workflowy, Onenote, Excel, XYplorer, X1 search (old version, 6), PDF Exchange, Github. Fond memories of Listpro.

Drudgery: Word, the web in general.

What delights me is generally what works well for me, what's fast, what's powerful. There's only one web app that I enjoy and that's workflowy.

I wonder if "required" apps, that is, ones you have to use instead of choose to use, will tend to lean toward drudgery sipmly by the nature of the beast...

yosemite wrote:

What delights me is generally what works well for me, what's fast,
what's powerful. There's only one web app that I enjoy and that's
workflowy.

Oh, yes, while I mentioned versatility and pliability, it's also a delight when a single-purpose app works really, really well (such as WriteMonkey).

Speaking of web apps, I should have mentioned Gingko, which also has a fun factor for me.

And Caret (text editor) on Chrome OS (closest I'll get to the Sublime Text experience for free).

And browsing on my Chromebook (which makes browsing on any of my other machines a drudgery in comparison, even though I enjoy some of my Firefox extensions)...

I've always enjoyed using MyInfo because it has such an exceptionally smooth UI.

And the past couple of days I've been experimenting with NoteDesk, a corkboard overlay for Evernote. I'm not sure yet whether it's powerful enough for my needs, but I must say it's a lot of fun moving those little notes around on a corkboard!

I would to my list of delightful software

DayOne -- both the desktop and phone/tablet versions; powerful features but keeps it all hidden away to let you do the main thing you're there to do: a quick journal entry.

I think that's one sign of enjoyable software -- it's not all in your face with how clever it is. On the other hand, software that's so clever it is hard to decipher (like Tinderbox) are difficult to appreciate.

On the web, I very much enjoy LucidChart -- it just keeps getting better and the owners are so friendly.

That's another aspect of delightful software: there's a real person at the other end of the support@ email address who will engage in a conversation about their work, listen to comments and act on the good ones, and politely tell you why a bad suggestion is a bad idea. In the real world I favor family-owned small business for this reason, and in the software world I favor owner/builders who want to know their customers.

Sorry, a Senior Moment above. I meant to type CardDesk, not NoteDesk. I wonder if anyone else here has looked at it?

WSP wrote:

Sorry, a Senior Moment above. I meant to type CardDesk, not NoteDesk. I
wonder if anyone else here has looked at it?

Thanks for this, WSP. (I did search for Notedesk, and educated myself about all kinds of non-Evernote note desks - at least one of which could well prove useful one day!) But CardDesk? Anything which enhances the Evernote user interface is a "good thing" as far as I'm concerned, and, on ninety seconds' acquaintance, CardDesk looks worth exploring.

It looks interesting, however the last Change History notation on the beta is a year ago. The Chrome extension was last updated in late 2013. I wonder why updates stopped and the app never came out of beta.

WSP wrote:la
CardDesk. I

wonder if anyone else here has looked at it?

Spoken like a true CRIMPer, Hugh!

Hugh wrote:

on ninety seconds' acquaintance, CardDesk looks worth exploring.

CardDesk looks interesting - certainly the GUI aesthetic is better than Evernote's and added functionality is appealing.

Daly

MadaboutDana wrote:

Spoken like a true CRIMPer, Hugh!

Hugh wrote:
>on ninety seconds' acquaintance, CardDesk looks worth exploring.

I have thought about this questions since it posted, and the more I think about it, the more I realize how much things have changed since mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) and the "cloud" have become more commonplace. Prior to that, I would have said that Ecco and Pimlico's DateBk were my favorite pieces of software. They were enjoyable to use, and more importantly they served me quite well. You would think that with the advent of mobile devices, that things would get better, but really it seems like they are somewhat better, and somewhat worse. Better in that I can now use apps on the web, my computer, or on the mobile device of my choice. Very convenient.

But, the rate of change for these programs/apps is a bit bewildering at times. And, the amount of data flowing through all of our devices seems to have increased radically, such that it is hard to sometimes separate the signal from the noise. There are many good task managers and outliners to help us with our data, but shoving more and more data into them does not seem to help me move forward with what I need to accomplish, despite all of their filtering/tagging features. Sometimes a piece of paper is my best friend, as it does not share its function with anything else, nor does stuff find its way onto the paper without my writing it.

I am swamped at work and at home right now, and I am sitting and staring at a long list of tasks in Asana, and I cannot help but feel that somewhere in that list is something that has been forgotten because it takes time to keep rescanning the list for what should be marked priority. I cannot really blame the software makers for the fact that many of us are running way beyond our bandwidth, but I am not certain if what they are promising is a full solution to our problems, but rather just one tool in the solution toolkit. I am tempted to dedicate one device to just handling all of my productivity needs, but the last thing that I need is to manage another electronic device. So, I still seem to keep a small piece of paper with me so I can list what is needing immediate attention. I do not fully understand why I revert to scraps of paper for small lists when I have all of the software in the world at my disposal, but I guess there is some comfort in the fact that a newer version is probably not going to be released tomorrow that will require me to learn a whole new set of commands and unlabeled icons. How I wish I could truly fall in love again with some really great software.

--Ken

I really enjoy using The Hit List, both for task management and for note-taking/general outlining.

I find it effortless to use with the keyboard commands (mainly the WASD cluster for moving items, and 'T' for essentially starring an item and putting it in the Today list). The format of the list page makes it feel more like an outliner, and less than a spreadsheet (subtasks are just nested tasks), as does the ability to have 'outlines of outlines' (organizing lists into folders).

The (now free) sync service is really fast, all that is missing is an iPad version.

I like Simplenote a lot, although I don't know that I would say I really enjoy using it. I enjoy the utility of it it.

One other app that I really enjoy using (when I am at my work PC)- WriteMonkey. Such a simple program really, and yet I really wish there was a Mac port.

I sync text files via Dropbox, and use Ulysses on my Mac. Ulysses is a really nice app, but I'd probably be using WriteMonkey instead if it was available.

NEW software that I have found fun to use:

- Mindscope. So cool to drag around text in a way that is NOT constrained to mind map rules, with "nesting" to give it added oomph.
- Moo.do. Many of the joys of Workflowy, but with a boost of calendar and contact hooks.

Both of these gave me that frisson of being immediately useful, of solving a problem I hadn't realized I had.

I couldn't agree more. I enjoy my notebooks, my pens and pencils. I enjoy notetaking on paper more than anywhere else. As much as I enjoy CRIMPing and the software I've recommended in this thread and elsewhere, I believe that much of what I evaluate about working with this or that software is how close it comes to the same mental experience of writing in a notebook.

Ken wrote

Sometimes a piece of paper is my best friend, as it does not share its function with anything else, nor does stuff find its way onto the paper without my writing it.

Paul Korm wrote:

I couldn't agree more. I enjoy my notebooks, my pens and pencils. I
enjoy notetaking on paper more than anywhere else. As much as I enjoy
CRIMPing and the software I've recommended in this thread and elsewhere,
I believe that much of what I evaluate about working with this or that
software is how close it comes to the same mental experience of writing
in a notebook.

Ken wrote
>Sometimes a piece of paper is my best friend, as it does not share its
function with anything else, nor does stuff find its way onto the paper
without my writing it.

I agree. Before word processors, before even personal computers, I made my living writing or re-writing thousands of words a week, and I used well-sharpened pencils, A4 pads - and the third essential tool (apart from a constant supply of coffee) rubbers (sorry, erasers) on the ends of the pencils (because nobody's perfect). My requirements of software now are similar to those I required of that kit then: that it does what it purports to be able to do, and its "user interface" is clear.

However, I have to say that with rare exceptions I gain greater satisfaction from ends rather than means. I can put up with quite a few minor failings and imperfections in the tools I use, as long as the objectives towards which I'm working promise to bring me enjoyment.

Paul Korm wrote:

I couldn't agree more. I enjoy my notebooks, my pens and pencils. I
enjoy notetaking on paper more than anywhere else.

Well, when you get tired of CRIMPing, you can look into its analogue in the ink and paper world. A good starting place is http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum I know quite a few tech oriented people who enjoy writing with fountain pens.

Hugh wrote:

Paul Korm wrote:
I couldn't agree more. I enjoy my notebooks, my pens and pencils. I
>enjoy notetaking on paper more than anywhere else. As much as I enjoy
>CRIMPing and the software I've recommended in this thread and
elsewhere,
>I believe that much of what I evaluate about working with this or that
>software is how close it comes to the same mental experience of writing
>in a notebook.
>
>Ken wrote
>>Sometimes a piece of paper is my best friend, as it does not share its
>function with anything else, nor does stuff find its way onto the paper
>without my writing it.

I agree. Before word processors, before even personal computers, I made
my living writing or re-writing thousands of words a week, and I used
well-sharpened pencils, A4 pads - and the third essential tool (apart
from a constant supply of coffee) rubbers (sorry, erasers) on the ends
of the pencils (because nobody's perfect). My requirements of software
now are similar to those I required of that kit then: that it does what
it purports to be able to do, and its "user interface" is clear.

However, I have to say that with rare exceptions I gain greater
satisfaction from ends rather than means. I can put up with quite a few
minor failings and imperfections in the tools I use, as long as the
objectives towards which I'm working promise to bring me enjoyment.

It is a bit ironic that you mention writing on pen and paper vs word processing as I absolutely hated writing reports with pen and paper. Having a word processor was very liberating for me, as I could easily change whatever I wrote, and this granted me a bit of freedom, as writing and organizing my thoughts never came easy. This is still true today, and having a task manager like Asana (or previously Ecco then Toodledo) is also needed for long term task management, but when swamped or needing to narrow down the list, paper always seems to come through. I suspect that it is because I do not have to wade through numerous items, or see all of the items outstanding, so perhaps it helps reduce the stress of feeling overwhelmed. Yes, I know that all of these programs can filter lists, but I still know there are tasks lurking beneath the filter, and at work, I also know that my screen has an open Outlook window, so new mail is lurking as well. I guess that paper is somewhat of a false security blanket, but it works in times of great stress.

--Ken

One of my first professional jobs was all about documenting a computer system. I put about six months into it using the pre-word processing methods: pen and paper, typed and photocopied review, revisions, etc.

Then I used an Apple IIe, first without then with an 80 column card -- and finished it in three weeks.

So I too get nostalgic for the past every now and then. But not enough to give up the advantages of computing! Bottom line: I just get more done in less time.

jaslar wrote:

So I too get nostalgic for the past every now and then. But not enough
to give up the advantages of computing! Bottom line: I just get more
done in less time.

I get more done in less time as well (for the most part) thanks to the many great software programs I use. It just seems like more items (tasks, mail, assignments, etc.) keep coming down the pike than in the past, much more on many days. It kind of reminds me of hardware and software. Just after newly released hardware with more processing and storage abilities is released, it seems that software gets more bloated and requires more processor power and memory storage. I know the size of my Android and iPad apps has continued to increase over the years. And, the amount of mail I now receive has dramatically increased over the past couple of years. So, the S/N ratio seems to get smaller, and the companies sending the mail keep increasing their volume, hoping to increase their specific ratio, only to actually lower my overall ratio. With most of my mail being available on my phone, I have become much more brutal with frequent senders (mostly companies) after just reading the subject line and the first few sentences. But I often still feel as though I am not getting ahead no matter how hard I try, not unlike drinking from a fire hose.

--Ken

In my first real career-oriented job almost 35 years ago, I was a copywriter for the bicycle manufacturer Cannondale. I pounded out my (admittedly crappy) copy on an IBM Selectric Typewriter. As we didn't need a full-time copywriter, I also helped out in other ways. One of these was re-typing my copy into the typesetting machine (itself just a big word processor with a bunch of codes to adjust line length, alignment, text size, etc...

Anyway, my point is that when I got my first IBM PC with Wordstar as my word processor, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. In my view, all the refinements to computers and software in total since then amount to a smaller upgrade in ability than that one giant leap from typewriter to computer, in terms of writing. I use a notebook to jot down ideas, to log events, but I can't write anything creative or worthwhile on anything but a computer. That probably says more about me than the applications. (And it doesn't stop me from continuing to try and use all those new apps.)

Steve Z.

Back in the early 1980s, I was publishing my first magazine (about multi-player postal games and the early computer games). I wrote most of the copy on legal pads and typed in submissions and author-supplied content - which came by post - on one of those "newfangled" typewriters that had a little single-line screen on the front where you could see several of the words you had just typed. I don't remember the model name. If you caught a typo before the word left the screen, you could correct it before it hit the paper. Then everything had to be retyped into one of those monstrous Varitypers (a typesetting machine). ANY of the software that I use today would have seemed magical back then.