Vesper app | Hacker News Reader

Vesper app

vesperapp.co

58 pointspstinnett36 comments

(please note that my post is meant to give others another use-case for the Vesper app, and isn't an ad for a competitor product!)

I don't care much for a diary or travel book, but I do use DayOne[1] (for OS X and iOS) as a journal of interesting stuff I find (mostly on HN). Years ago I used delicious to save/tag webpages, after its stagnation I used other services (I don't even remember their names), then started tagging stuff in Evernote, but none of them were as natural and easy-to-use as DayOne. It lacks a lot of features, but the Markdown format and its general ease of use makes up for that - I just press Control-Shift-D and start typing (or pasting a URL + it's HN discussion link for future reference). Occasionally I write down an interesting quote or image, or a passage I've read in an article. Also, the way it stores entries is using plist files, so I'm not afraid of platform lock-in. If I find something better (like this Vesper app here), I'll just write a convertor and translate those .plist files to the new format.

I haven't tried Vesper yet (probably will wait until there's an OS X client, which is where I use DayOne 99% of the time), but it looks very nice and promising.

[1]: http://dayoneapp.com

Looks like they have punted on encryption for over a year, which seems like a very weird and careless thing to do:

1. http://dayoneapp.com/support/passwords/

2. http://iphone.appstorm.net/reviews/lifestyle/day-one-a-gorge...

3. http://web.archive.org/web/20120902234719/http://dayoneapp.c...

The app looks really interesting, though, and I would probably have used it otherwise. Maybe now's a great time to address encryption with the focus on the Vesper app.

If encryption is your main requirement, you could try AnyLocker - http://anylockerapp.com

It's main selling point is that it encrypts all your data (notes, pictures) with SHA-256 before storing it on your device. Give it a try (Disclosure - i am the developer in the team that published this app)

Reviews/feedback always welcome...

Nah, I already have Ben the Bodyguard[1] for that.

I don't really use it, but I use a to-do app constantly, and miss a tool to continue writing on my projects' Markdown files.

[1]: http://benthebodyguard.com/

I uninstalled Day One when it fired off an alarm at 3am reminding me to write in my diary.

An honest mistake on their part, but still very annoying.

I hate that too - It can be turned off in the Preferences though.

Seems strangely devoid of information... Am I supposed to already know what vesper is?

A ‘Vesper’ is a cocktail drink that was introduced in Ian Fleming’s novel ‘Casino Royale’. John Gruber is a fan of the James Bond stories and of high alcoholic beverages. I don’t see how the name has anything to do with note-taking, though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesper_(cocktail)

The app is sold by Q Branch LLC

Yes, which is the company Gruber started with his friends. The kid in all the app’s screenshots is Jonas Gruber, John’s son.

Like Vesper, the name ‘Q Branch’ also refers to the James Bond franchise (Q is the mastermind who provides James Bond with all of his clever gadgets).

http://www.macworld.com/article/2040883/meet-vesper-a-notes-...

There's more info on the appstore:

Collect your thoughts.

Vesper is a simple and elegant tool for collecting notes, ideas, things to do — anything you want to remember. Use tags to group related items into playlist-like collections. Vesper imposes no system; organize and curate your notes whatever way comes naturally to you. Eschewing complications, Vesper's focus is on how it feels to use it.

• Attach photos to notes.

• Use drag-and-drop to reorder items. Move important ones up, inessential ones down.

• When you’re done with an item, swipe it to send it into the archive. Out of sight, but remembered forever.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vesper/id655895325

I was disappointed, as well. Looking forward to reading more about vesperapp. (I've just set up a Google Alerts for it).

Vesper means evening or evening prayer

Which is presumably where Ian Fleming got the name for Vesper Lynd, the love interest in Casino Royale, for whom the drink (a martini with gin & vodka [usually an either/or thing with a martini] and lillet insted of vermouth) is named.

Vesper Lynd is a pun: "West Berlin", spoken with an accent.

Well there you go.

I'd love to know what the background/reasoning was for another note-taking app. Sounds like a great team but like some other people have said - it doesn't look like a brilliant space to start out in.

The MacStories Review [1] has a gif that shows how the app transitions from screen to screen. To me, that's the most interesting part of the app because it introduces a new UI/UX that feels faster and seems unique. Who knows if this will catch on, but it could be something not unlike pull-to-refresh, the hamburger button, or the basement metaphor on iOS if people really like it.

So maybe it's just another note app that won't work for those of us already using a different solution. But the UI/UX design is pretty cool and potentially noteworthy.

[1]: http://www.macstories.net/reviews/vesper-review-collect-your...

Gif direct link: http://90a2cc4b7deb50ba0492-5793e9161196cd023f2e1f1322f2910e...

It's new - but I'm not decided whether it is better. It feels like the loss of the 'metaphor' of a physical page/tile takes away something... but I'm not sure if that is just preference.

I just don't get this app. There are thousand alternatives cheaper or free.

Deleted comment

If you're going to start lobbing moral accusations on the worthlessness of work that doesn't have any direct moral implications, you have a lot of posts on HN to go through. ;)

I know the original comment was deleted but I wanted to comment on this anyway since I spent the last school year teaching in a low-income high school.

First off, don't assume that the two are mutually exclusive. One of the things you learn as an educator in a tough environment is that you need hobbies as an outlet to survive and not become depressed. If you do start to go down that rabbit hole of depression you can have a poor outlook on your and your student's ability to succeed and that is not what an ideal educator needs in order to be successful in the classroom.

Second, I could have used this app over the last year to make me a better teacher. The ability to capture thoughts with words and pictures like this app provides would have been phenomenal for my organization and let me be more effective. I tried other apps and they would not have been as useful as this one would have been so don't discount it because the time was spent working on it instead of other problems that you feel are more deserving of attention.

I'm sure a lot of Bill Gates' projects might seem equally meaningless, but he's still on track to completely wipe out Polio and has donated $28 billion to charity.

Besides that, not all of us are qualified to tackle those sorts of problems, or are even interested in them.

Deleted comment

Maybe someone who works in disease prevention will use this application for taking notes.

What about a web version of this? If you want to write more than 100 words the iPhone becomes something really annoying. I hope they release, at least, this option some day.

Android version in the works?

Given the team that made it (i.e. John Gruber, Brent Simmons, Dave Wiskus), I probably wouldn't expect one any time soon. Not merely referring to their personal preferences, with only one developer on their team I can't imagine they have much resources to go cross-platform.

Any time soon?

Even if the other two decides to do it Gruber might threaten to jump off a bridge!

Don't expect one

I thought about making an app like this for a long time. Kind of like indexing your thoughts. However, I feel like evernote may have taken the space in a way that wouldn't allow any competing apps to scale.

It looks good but damn so difficult to install. it doesn't appear in appstore!

I think the appstore updates 1 PM PST. You'll probably see it then.

i really like it!

feature request: allow for a lock-code on this app please.

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