Changes re: Circus Ponies NoteBook

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Posted by mprazoff
Nov 2, 2015 at 10:23 PM

A few months ago the User Forum for Circus Ponies NoteBook disappeared. This is often an ominous sign in the lifecycle of software. Today the App Store version has disappeared as has the iOS version. The web page no longer contains reference to the iOS version. NoteBook (and NoteTaker) were once one and go back to the days of NeXT. Both have some unique strengths. Sad to see them both in state of decline.

Posted by mprazoff
Nov 3, 2015 at 03:54 AM

Further reading of the website found the following FAQ re iOS version of NoteBook:

“We developed a version of NoteBook to run on the iPad but the most-recent iOS update breaks it (there’s a crash when accessing the onscreen ruler). We have withdrawn NoteBook for the iPad from the Apple App Store until Apple fixes the bug in their software.”

Regarding updates to the Mac version, which is still for sale on the Circus Ponies website:

“A bug in Mac OS X El Capitan prevents NoteBook’s Clipping Service feature from working. Please contact Apple for an update on when it will be working again.”

Certainly an interesting attitude towards bug fixes.

Posted by Hugh
Nov 3, 2015 at 12:25 PM

I know that one shouldn’t be sentimental about software - but Circus Ponies NoteBook was a reason (not the main reason) that I moved to Apple Macs eight-plus years ago. It was also, at the time, one of the five or six best-known of Mac applications, IIRC. In one sense it’s been unfortunate that a product with such a chronological lead and some interesting ideas (not to mention its memorable name) seems to have been overtaken in its niche by other newer products, such as Alfons Schmid’s Notebooks and Evernote. Getting hung up on skeuomorphism, especially in its iOS app, possibly hasn’t helped. Clearly, in app development you can never afford to slow down.

Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Nov 3, 2015 at 04:12 PM

Like Hugh, I switched to Mac partly due to the allure of CP Notebook (though Scrivener was more powerful). But I quickly found the adherence to the notebook metaphor a bit too limiting. Also like Hugh, I have a softspot for CPN and I always check out the latest updates, hoping something will click with me and that I’d start using the app productively.

Anyway, I hope this is just a hiccup with them and not a sign that Notebook is going away.

Steve Z.

Posted by Paul Korm
Nov 4, 2015 at 12:36 AM

I recall that CPN often had difficult times with the iOS app. It’s seems to be a major challenge to pair an iOS app with a successful desktop app—many devs have not succeeded. Got to be a very expensive and frustrating situation for them.

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