Ask HN: What would you choose today as your note taking device and app
I'm looking at various options such as Surface, and Remarkable2 and their limitations. What would be your choice and why?
No slow modes, or toolbars – just click anywhere and start typing, then drag to move or connect thoughts/cards together
(It's called kinopio and you can use it with signing up, https://kinopio.club)
Right now, it’s partially offline: if you load kinopio but lose your connection while editing, your changes will sync up when you regain connection
Mind sharing what tech you’re using?
If you don’t take notes currently, a device for taking notes probably won’t change that.
Note taking is a habit not a technology. It is a way of thinking. Not a set of tools.
For example, no device can replicate writhing notes in the margin of a book. Not even other pieces of paper. An underlined sentence can only happen where the sentence occurs.
If you want a new Surface buy one because you want one. Don’t pretend that it will cause you to take up note taking.
It's not obnoxious to pull out and jot something down as it would be to take out a digital device would be. I have a record that's easy to look through. I line-out items that I don't need anymore. If it's a large block of text or picture that I've transfered to somewhere else, I 'X' through the whole thing. It looks neat and clean.
I used various apps and paper based means in the past. OneNote is the tool I use for 5(?) years now.
Private stuff DEVONthink with DEVONthink to go. Great search and sync across all my devices.
I have a personal knowledge base that currently includes 6,000-7,000 Org files that contain my notes on the thousands of subjects that I've studied during the past couple of decades, and all of these files are interlinked using hierarchical tagging. I've encountered numerous people over the years who use paper for notes, and when I ask them how large their knowledge bases are and how extensively are their documents interlinked, their answers are always very unimpressive.
... so I built my own tool. I call it NonConOS (non-consensus operating system)[1]. I haven't opened it up to other people yet but if you want to give it a shot, I'm always happy to let others try it. The idea is: use markdown but enable tags as well! Simple.
I'd love a device with a reflective LCD screen since I find that my eyes hurt after staring at bright screens for so long. Ideally it would be color, giving it a distinct advantage over eink. TCL NXTpaper looks very interesting for this reason.
As for apps, I'd be happy if it ran Obsidian, Sublime, Scrivener, and Office (or really anything powerful enough to let me write my papers with proper Japanese support and do code snippet highlighting).
Having a pen input might be nice for diagrams and mindmapping.
I guess I really just want a reflective iPad.
My only doubt for now is if it will pass the test of time.
My only complaint is that they weren't around when I was in college.
Also the writing experience is 90% of the way to natural writing, and the battery life is amazing.
Not an ad, I just like the product.
The downside is that browser security updates almost killed it, since in its simplest implementation it's a single file that lives on your computer, accessed and saved via the browser. Browsers no longer allow modification of local files in a simple way. I found the best method for saving the file, of the several listed on the website, to be to run the Ruby server (a minimal server using Ruby Webrick, point your web browser at http://localhost:8000 to view and save the file).
Obsidian and DEVONthink look interesting for many of the same reasons, but I don't want to commit to something that dies in a few years (and I'm hesitant to pay). DEVONThink has been around for a long time now however, probably because it's a paid product.
Like, how often do I ever reference my school notes... rarely. But the act of synthesizing and writing something down physically just feels sort of like a memory hack.
Finally I just settled for RemNote.
My answer is, just try out the alternatives out there and choose what suits you. There is no ONE alternative that fits everyone's requirements.
I am using `doom emacs` config and `spc + X`
The app works well, works offline with sync, secure notes, hierarchical notes in folders…
Very good solution if you already have synology.
A paper notebook, mechanical pencil, and eraser.
A large whiteboard sheet pinned to wall, colored markers, and whiteboard eraser.
Each has it's own use case. There is no one tool that applies in every situation.
Multi device, conflict resolution
Another good tool is ZimWiki but the limitations of desktop only applies .
But to me cross device Joplin works brilliantly.
Works with Siri and share extension and is available for free on iOS and Android.
I have released it 5 years ago as a side project and keep updating it since then, motivated by the organic traction and (lot of) positive reviews !
I also use Simplenote. Free with markdown support, sync, and publishable links.
I use Samsung Notes for trivial stuff, like chores or shopping list.
If I want to easily sketch inside a note app, OneNote is the best. But it is weird in a sense that there are two OneNotes- one that comes with Office, and anotherthatcomes with Win 10. But OneNote is buggy and slow. You can barely use it in mobiles. I don't use windows that much.
Which brings me towards Obsidian. Best data policy, custom plugins, and what not!?
I am using it everyday. I am using another sync service to sync between devices.
My vote would to to-
Obsidian + Simplenote.