

Why should you use Evernote? Because it will change your life - Gertig
http://www.andrewgertig.com/2013/05/why-should-you-use-evernote-because-it-will-change-your-life

======
kellros
I've started using Evernote over a year ago after a colleague suggested it. I
was looking for a simple way to manage to do lists and other arbritary
information (especially from what I receive in e-mails). I use the non-
synchronizing private notebooks for work related stuff - I don't use Evernote
for personal reasons.

So far it has served the purposes for what I needed, I have only one gripe
with it at the moment - and that is the copy/pasting of HTML like content that
often ends up mangled (which is sort of expected from HTML based WYSIWYG like
editing).

~~~
Gertig
I agree that the formatting of pasted HTML is not ideal, it's difficult to
accomplish anywhere though because you are not actually copying the CSS styles
with it unless they are inlined.

------
hardwaresofton
not to be a debbie downer, but though I read your article, I dunno that the
reason you gave (being searchable) was really worth using Evernote. A text
file on your desktop could do just as well, if that were all Evernote was good
for, right?

I signed up for an Evernote account years ago, but instantly got turned off by
the fact that my personal notes would not be private any more. Completely
unrelated to the break-in they suffered, just the fact that now, my notes,
that I carefullly and meticulously take, would be on the internet somewhere.
That actually didn't do it for me.

~~~
Gertig
Evernote's searchability is key because it applies to everything you put in
it. It uses OCR to make images with text in them searchable, it does the same
with PDFs etc. So it really is not the same as a text file.

Why do you think your personal notes are not private in Evernote? Wouldn't
that be the same thing as not using Gmail because your email is on the
internet somewhere? I see your point but it's hard to get away from using the
cloud to store personal data.

~~~
hardwaresofton
So in addition to agreeing with jackrabbit --

Other non-connected applications can use OCR. Maybe you can make a case for
Evernote's specialty recognition of cursive or handwriting, but, in the end,
it boils down to text. they sure aren't doing picture-searching

It's not that personal notes are not private, it's more that anything that is
put on the internet's privacy is questionable. Whether it SHOULD be that way
or not is up for debate, but if you upload something somewhere, unless that
somewhere is a black hole, someone might be able to retrieve it, through
legitimate or illegitimate means.

The thing is, Gmail is something I can't do myself. It facilitates exchange at
a level reasonable for use (like, I can't duplicate the USPS, and I can't
duplicate Gmail) -- of course, I could just send email from my own IP, but
they offer something special, verification of my identity, and make it easier
to send messages... Where is that special functionality from Evernote?

As far as using the cloud to store personal data -- It might be hard, but it's
easier to avoid actively pursuing new ways to put personal data on the
internet

