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ConnectedText on wine / mac and zettelkasten programs
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Posted by Browza
Jun 25, 2018 at 09:50 PM
Paul Korm wrote:
I’ve attempted several times over the years to run ConnectedText in a
>CrossOver bottle. CrossOver is a hyped up, sort of pricey, version of
>wine. CT runs OK, but CT’s user interface gets ugly when running under
>wine. Running CT in wine always messes up my CT license.
>
>If you Google the IPSFactory error you’ll find numerous threads on the
>topic. The gist seems to be an InstallShield issue. The advice seems
>to be “go find a different version of wine”. I’m sure that’s not
>helpful.
Welp, none of that sounds too promising. But thanks a lot anyways, knowing what not to do gets you closer to knowing what to do.
nblaz wrote:
>Because I’m erring towards note longevity on
>this kind of scale myself, I’m willing to sacrifice features, and
>believe that a plain-text methodology such as the one that Christian
>Tietze and Sascha Fast have published at zettelkasten.de fits the bill.
The plain-text-argument is definitely a strong one, as plain-text somehow vanishing is somewhat inconceivable (at least more so than other solutions I have come across).
nathanb wrote:
>I figure if the difference between the ‘best fit’
>software and plain text is a 20% gain in productivity/usefulness then
>that’s worth several days of hard migration every couple years. I also
>justify more CRIMPing by telling myself that ‘hard migration’ is
>basically a huge review of all your stuff which has a large theoretical
>value.
That’s sort of what Hans Blumenberg did (with a physical zettelkasten) when he moved not from program to program but from project to project. The question for me however, and this is coming from someone whose understanding of technology is sparse, is to what extent hard migration will be possible. I remember that, when I was about 16, I had an incredibly hard time trying to update my grandmother’s computer after she did not do it for 5 years, I don’t even remember if I succeeded… and there’s a difference between something of that extent and substituting all [[ for some other symbol etc.
Then again, if one is somewhat alert to technological change, it should be doable as you said. (especially with plain-text).
I also thought about doing a hybrid of digital/analog notemaking, where I strip down the digital functions to their very core and create the paper notes in a way that would allow me to rebuild a digital version if worst comes to worst…
But maybe I’m just a tad too tired/overthinking.
And as a side-note: It is very nice to see people both so helpful and eager for discussion (especially to/with newcomers as me). It is something that gets seemingly rarer each and every day. Thanks.
Posted by Dr Andus
Jun 25, 2018 at 10:44 PM
Jon Polish wrote:
Dr. Andus is the expert on CT and could probably assist with your
>problem and advice on application for your purpose.
Sorry, I’m more of a fanboi than an expert, especially when it comes to this sort of technical problem.
@Browza
Perhaps someone on the CT forum might be able to help you, there are a couple of Mac users there. I have only tried CT in (Android) CrossOver on a Chromebook, and it basically didn’t work.
>Also, a bit more generally: what are your thoughts on using digital
>zettelkästen? For one, it is not entirely clear to me whether
>ConnectedText will be developed in the next few years. But equally, I
>feel like I should be cautious about all programs when we are talking
>about a timespan of 20-30 years.
Once in a while I try to free myself from CT and Windows (most recently have been considering Dokuwiki), but every time I end up sticking with it, as nothing comes close to it.
The lock-in problem is not that bad in CT if you enable its automatic backups, which outputs human readable text files (with the *.cbk extension) to a folder of your choice. So even if CT failed one day to open for whatever reason, the content is safe.
My current Zettelkasten strategy is to stick with a Windows 7 laptop just so I can run CT on it with all the other supporting software (mainly Python 2.7 and Autohotkey) as far into the future as possible.
It would be great if one day I could run CT on a server somehow, so I could access it via a web interface, using a Chromebook.
Posted by nblaz
Jun 27, 2018 at 07:33 PM
nathanb wrote:
>This is a question we all struggle with. I keep asking myself what
>‘easiest’ means in this context. Does it literally mean the minimum
>time it takes to manage your info (overhead)?
This is a great question! I’ve gotten different answers every time I’ve asked myself what “easiest” means in the context of a zettelkasten-style note archive.
I’ve been working with a few contextual parameters that define what “easiest” means to me:
- immediate AND long term data portability: easy access to my data on all of my devices now, while also avoiding being hamstrung by an inactive tool or format with unique or rare features later on down the road
- as frictionless and enjoyable a workflow as possible for data entry and retrieval
- maximizing my time actually using the system, while minimizing the amount of time and effort necessary to maintain the system
I’d be curious to hear more about how other zettelkasten-style notes users define “easiest” in their own contexts!
nathanb wrote:
> I’m leaning towards using the best software available until it’s no longer
>viable, then doing a ‘hard migration’ when you need to switch platforms.
>Which could very well mean copying every single item individually and re-coding the links
>and metadata. I figure if the difference between the ‘best fit’
>software and plain text is a 20% gain in productivity/usefulness then
>that’s worth several days of hard migration every couple years. I also
>justify more CRIMPing by telling myself that ‘hard migration’ is
>basically a huge review of all your stuff which has a large theoretical
>value.
I’ve tried migrating and re-coding my metadata from some of the heavier weight tools I’ve tried in the past. In the end, I seem to lack the wherewithal to follow through on the process to completion, leaving behind data that I wish was in my current light weight system. I might get around to it eventually, but I doubt it… but might be my own personality quirk :)