Monday 1 August 2011

External memory



Evernote, Pushnote, pin a note, write a note ... Notes are very useful things in whatever form we have them. Providing we do not have to many of them and we remember where they are and that we made them in the first place!
Evernote seems to be the answer to it all. Notes are stored in one place, they can be sorted, filed and the best thing about them is that they are available and accessible anywhere and through most of the electronic devices - computers, iPads, mobile phones etc. As Evernote describes itself on its website it is infinitely useful. All sorts of notes (including random thoughts which come to mind in the most unexpected moments) can be created and stored there. Planning trips or events, snapshots of white (or black) boards with important information on them, PDF files, results of internet searches, etc., etc. - all will find their space in an Evernote account.
What convinced me ultimately was the suggestion of keeping a record of favourite wines by snapping a photo of the label instead of trying to take it off the bottle (recently I tried, and tried and had to give up, why didn't I think of taking a photo myself?).
I have signed up!

This is what is so great about all these smart Things - they are accessible from anywhere (all you need is a computer with internet connection, this includes also smaller newer electronic gadgets, which you can carry with you all around the world). Not being an elephant (some people have this sort of memory, sometimes I suspect they make things up, telling us stories, they can do it because we do not remember anyway), I do appreciate any help in remembering things. An "external memory" like Google Calendar, TeuxDeux or Evernote are really great inventions. And they are free!

Reading through the pages of the Evernote website, I came across another online task manager - the Producteev. It seems to be a crossbred between Google calendar, iGoogle, Evernote and probably some more online gadgets. Unfortunately only the basic version of it is free. Subscribing to any of the more sophisticated varieties (bigger storage, better security, email and phone support) has to be paid for.

I am not sure I will use Evernote very extensively at the moment, but I see it's positive sides, not just one more set of ID and password to remember.

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