

Why I’m ditching Evernote for Simplenote (and Notational Velocity) - dajbelshaw
http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2014/01/04/evernote-to-simplenote/

======
AdamGibbins
I've used nvAlt for years, absolutely love it. However, I still use Evernote
for its OCR - I scan absolutely everything (letters, business cards,
documentation etc) with a ScanSnap S1100 into Evernote and utilise its search
on a weekly basis.

I haven't found a solution that can replace this on OSX.

~~~
donniezazen
I ditched Evernote a long time ago because of lack of support for Linux
platform. There are several better solutions for notes taking (Emacs/Org-Mode)
but like you said nothing comparable for clipping pictures and articles,
annotating them, off the web and saving them in Evernote for future ideas.

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chmars
There is something I do not get: Note taking is very important to the OP but
he does not even want to spend 5 USD a month?

That also made me sad when Simplenote was bought by Automattic and became free
as consequence. It was great that Simplenote was not simply shut down,
however, 'free' is not a business model I want to rely on. But Simplenote is
still the best although it has some reliability issues too.

As a general side note, syncing – even of relatively simple text notes – is a
challenge. If you really on synced data, there is no way around having your
own independent local backup with some kind of versioning.

~~~
dajbelshaw
OP here. Thanks for the question, which I've noe clarified in the post. I've
got no problem with paying for it but wanted to make readers aware of it,
that's all.

~~~
chmars
OK, thanks!

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adrianhoward
For persistence & syncing: A folder called "notes" in Dropbox full of .txt &
.md files.

For editing: Sublime Text on my netbooks/macbooks. Editorial on the iPad.
WriteRoom on the iPhone.

Works for me ;-)

~~~
taeric
I'm thinking of setting up pretty much the same, but with emacs and orgmode
files. Even has a mobile app to view any outlines I want to look at.

~~~
crnixon
In that case, check out Deft:
[http://jblevins.org/projects/deft/](http://jblevins.org/projects/deft/)

It's a lot like Notational Velocity, but for Emacs. I've used it for over a
year and love it.

~~~
taeric
I'll try and take a look soon. Thanks!

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jseliger
This is tangential to the main article, but for years I've used Devonthink Pro
in the way Steven Berlin Johnson describes in "Tool for Thought":
[http://www.stevenberlinjohnson.com/movabletype/archives/0002...](http://www.stevenberlinjohnson.com/movabletype/archives/000230.html)
. This is more of a research-y and writer-y style, but it may also work for
people replacing Evernote.

~~~
dajbelshaw
Thanks! I know some people love DevonThink so I'll (OP) take a look.

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peterbraden
The ironic thing is that the lack of a good export is the one reason I'm
thinking of moving away from Evernote. My notes are too valuable for vendor
lock-in.

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denysonique
Simplenote reminds me of ZimWiki an Open Source not taking app with tags,
search etc: [http://zim-wiki.org/screenshots.html](http://zim-
wiki.org/screenshots.html)

------
volume
The OP didn't seem to explain too many reasons other than a link to
[http://jasonkincaid.net/2014/01/evernote-the-bug-ridden-
elep...](http://jasonkincaid.net/2014/01/evernote-the-bug-ridden-elephant/)
which to me seems to be a uber power user use case and a post that could use
some rewriting/editing to cut it down to a post instead of a rant.

I just use it for text notes though. Evernote works great for me - I'm not
going to worry about it.

~~~
dajbelshaw
Indeed, I could have gone into more detail but people don't tend to read long
posts. So I could have talked about the time I was in a taxi in Spain (not
speaking the language) and my only directions to a conference venue got
corrupted, or the time when a note to myself about my doctoral thesis
disappeared, or...

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pulmo
I'm using nvALT but I would never sync my private (as in "private diary")
notes with an unencrypted web service. For "transactional notes" like shopping
lists I use Simplenote though, because the Android app syncs really fast. Plus
I'm using Evernote for saving websites because it's the best solution for
saving the whole content including images and tables.

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razzmataz
I used to use Google's Notebook up until it ended, and switched over to using
a combination of ubernote and basket notes.

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daphneokeefe
So I went to the Simplenote website to check it out, and there's nothing
there. You have to register to see anything?

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kenjackson
Why not OneNote? Mobile clients on every major platform, desktop clients, is
simple to use, and supports nice stuff like ink support, task/meeting
integration, etc...

~~~
daphneokeefe
Can I use it on my Android phone and sync the notes to my Windows machine and
my iPad?

~~~
GilbertErik
Short answer: Yes, LMTGFY

[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft....](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.onenote&hl=en)

[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-onenote-for-
iphone...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-onenote-for-
iphone/id410395246?mt=8)

[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-onenote-for-
ipad/i...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-onenote-for-
ipad/id478105721?mt=8)

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sleepyhead
Simplenote? Is that a joke? Most of the sync problems I had were with
Simplenote. Notes deleted. Updates not synced. What a mess. Love NV though (or
nvAlt which I use).

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holychiz
Thanks for posting that etherpad at the end. neat to see your team's
productivity setup and workflow.

~~~
dajbelshaw
No problem! :-)

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nasalgoat
I use Notational Velocity every day, but the reason I still use Evernote is
that it supports images.

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Touche
Why are Mozillians using non-web apps for note taking?

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seshakiran
Notational is the best.

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moeedm
For fuck sakes. Nobody gives a shit what you use or how, or for what. Just
shut up and use wherever fits the way you work.

Seriously, at this point we've covered every facet of every note taking or
todo app. Enough already.

~~~
dajbelshaw
I think you've confused a generalisation with a pronoun here.

