Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

I've used
Brainstorm very well along with UltraRecall; for every project I have a Brainstorm
file called xxxproject-notes. This is maintained in the project directory and
linked/imported within UR.

This way I have all my project notes at hand as long as I
have my main UR file with me (it's always in my USB stick) and I can update them anywhere.
For text notes, I don't think anything beats Brainstorm. Now, if it could work in OLE
mode, one could actually see the content from within the UR window...

alx

I've thought of this and may revisit it. I do like storing important files within UR, as they are then always available as long as I have my UR file with me, which I always do. It may even be worth trying to devise a macro that would write out the BrainStorm file to the clipboard before closing, switch to UR and paste into the item notes pane for the linked/stored file; then the actual content of the BrainStorm file would be visible/searchable within UR.

Chris Murtland wrote:

Key concepts to strive for in
'08:
Continuity - Any system, regardless of perceived functionality or utility,
consistently applied over the long term, has to be more useful than haphazard
switching and "experiments" with different setups. Why can't I ever learn this
lesson? Arrrgggh.

Plain text backups of as much stuff as possible - Regardless of
what other nonsense I'm attempting, at least if I have a plain text backup of
everything, I can use desktop search and/or text editor searches to find stuff this
way.

Until a few years ago, having info scattered among several different PIMs wasn't too big a problem for me--I used a search program that could search all of my PIM files for what I wanted. Then, PIM developers started using different file compression methods to shrink files and my salad days of many PIMs had to end. Now, for info that I want to be able to access long term, I just use Jot Plus (since it has info from 10+ years ago & I AM NOT going to move all of it) and MyBase. EverNote is tempting, but I don't want to spend my old age moving or hunting everywhere for info. I still will use other programs for specific projects, like the book I'm currently writing.

-c

Since I have left my PC environment and switched to Mac some weeks ago, my list covers only a fragment of 2007, but I think it is far more realistic than an inclusive list with programs I will not use any more in the future...

So:

1. Tinderbox (a fantastic tool for notes of all kinds)
2. DevonThink (my throw-in-and-forget-about-it-tool)
3. FileMaker (Pretty useful if you have to deal with structured data)
4. OmniOutliner (for... well, outlining stuff)
5. iWork 08 (as a substitute for Office)

That's it.

hmm, top 5 would be:

calypso
servant salamander
opera
todolist
brilliant database

not including background and work apps.

As Chris Murtland said, Firefox has become practically an operating system for me, and truth be told my two most frequently used apps are Gmail and Google Reader. Aside from those:

1) OneNote 2007
2) Word 2003 (I write for a living so there is absolutely no getting around this one. Then again, I think Word 2003 is pretty good.)
3) Notepad++ (I love text editors and have tried -- and bought -- all the major ones, UltraEdit etc., but find that for the perfect combination of clarity and functionality the freeware Notepad++ is the one I invoke most often.)
4) XnView (This is an excellent freeware image organizing and presentation tool that resides both on my desktop and on a portable USB drive.)
5) NoteMap (though I plan to give MaxThink a spin in '08)

Then there are the ones I just like playing with: ConnectedText, BrainStorm, etc.

cpb wrote:

calypso
servant salamander
opera
todolist
brilliant
database

I hadn't seen a mention of Calypso for a long time (since the outliners.com forum). I loved it, but had to switch to something more updated because it didn''t handle Unicode in which many Greek messages are written. It is impressive how, even today, one's working language can limit the software tools available.

Re: Brilliant database. This is the first time I hear it. I looked at the website and it looks interesting. Any particular reason for using it, compared to Access, Alpha 5 or whataver else is available?

TIA
alx

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

Re: Brilliant database. This is the first time I hear it. I looked at the
website and it looks interesting. Any particular reason for using it, compared to
Access, Alpha 5 or whataver else is available?

I'm using bdb for anything that requires auto-form-filling and custom exporting.
So far its proven to be versatile and easy to use. Still has a few annoyances,
but its being actively developed in response to feedback.
I haven't seriously tried using access, alpha5 or filemaker so I can't compare
them yet. Maybe later if I really hit a wall with bdb.

UltraRecall
Total Commander
Firefox
Archivarius 3000
Launchy

Keynote
Launchy
TurboNavigator
EccoPro
And (alas) Word

I lust for a true outliner, ala PCOutline and an updated version of Keynote that has all its features with better handling of web sites. But after hours of wasted time, I'm back to these older programs.