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Ask HN: How do you take notes other than using paper?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you take notes other than using paper?

#61

Post by rch »

stinkytaco wrote: post #57
rch wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, but it could be in Keep (the OP asked what I'd improve). I use a few of the approaches you've suggested as well, which is why I find myself wishing I could do some things from the command line, e.g.: keep notes.txt list.yml --remind 'tomorrow morning' keep graphviz.png -m 'links #ok' keep -n 20 -f > notifications.txt and so on.

So what do you find to be the primary advantage of keep over those other options? I can see sharing (my wife and I share lists in keep), images (though that's workable in some solutions with filesystem linking and markdown) and reminders (the big gaping hole in org mode for me, I also do reminders in Keep).

The ones you list are the first that come to mind. I also use colors and labels in Keep.

How about a sharing a location based reminder to retrieve an unused network card from a server next time someone visits the datacenter?

Re: Ask HN: How do you take notes other than using paper?

#62

Post by lewisl9029 »

> I found that there is no app that allows me to quickly mix together text, math formulas, code, images, sketches, graphs, and other kinds of media (yes, yes, I hear you invoke the mighty LaTeX... but can you write correct LaTeX on-the-fly?).

This is where OneNote with a proper pen & digitizer screen really shines. It allows you to switch seamlessly between text and ink in your notes (it switches between text and ink mode automatically depending on the proximity of your pen tip), and attach any kind of multimedia you might need to your notes (including recordings that are time-synced with your note-taking, which I used often for lectures).

I bought a used HP TM2T with a Wacom pen & digitizer when I started college to use for note-taking and it was an amazing investment, allowing me to pretty much ditch pen and paper altogether when it comes to note-taking. And I was in an engineering program full of lectures involving long math equations and circuits diagrams that would have been impossible to draw in a timely manner without a pen.

Keeping all my notes in a proprietary format is still a scary prospect, but I haven't found any other note taking app that even approaches OneNote in terms of proper pen support and general usefulness.

Re: Ask HN: How do you take notes other than using paper?

#63

Post by gbl08ma »

I bought a Surface Pro 3 to use OneNote, and I'm quite happy with it. I think the best part is that instead of having to carry both a laptop and notebooks or paper sheets for taking notes, now I just carry a light laptop. My back is much happier since I stopped carrying around hundreds of sheets (easily weighting more than a conventional laptop) in my backpack. It's not a cheap solution, though: I spent 700€ for the SP3, plus 120€ for the keyboard (not really necessary for taking notes), and this was for the lowest-end model at a time when the SP4 was already out. Think of all the paper you can buy with that...

I take my notes just like I did on paper, which means I hardly use the keyboard. So I just mix handwritten text and math and sketches like on paper. One major advantage, especially for people who, like me, aren't very good at drawing, is that you can delete each line as many times as you want until it comes right. All of a sudden, I can figure out what I've drawn :)

I zoom in for drawing details, and resize stuff when I need to make something bigger e.g. to make the details more visible. Once in a while I insert snippets from exercise sheets and the like so I can draw on them, or fill out tables, etc.

I can't imagine myself figuring out the LaTeX representation for formulas or whatever as I try to copy stuff from a whiteboard. And I'm not going to be solving exercises in LaTeX, either. For me, it was either this or paper; sometimes I need to use paper (for taking exams, if not for anything else) and I don't find it strange at all.

I have handwriting recognition disabled as it doesn't tend to play very well with math formulas and the like, which means I can't use search, but then again paper doesn't offer full-text search either. Having recognition disabled has the added bonus of improving battery life.

I tend to organize my notes as I write them. I rarely reorganize stuff later - it's been like this since I started taking notes on paper. It never takes too long to find what I'm looking for so I'm probably doing this right...

When I need to share stuff with other people I just export the pages from OneNote. But it's still hard to send handwritten stuff through e.g. Skype.

You see, I like this setup so much that I'm willing to put up with Windows even though I don't like it very much. I'm getting a degree in computer engineering and as I move on from math and physics courses I believe I'll stop needing to write so much math, to a point where plain-text files will suffice and I can go back to my beloved Linux shell. But then I can't mix sketches with text...

By the way, when I say OneNote I mean the full Office version, not the Windows Store "app" version, which is still crap. Both are free. However, I think the reason for the success of this method is not so much the software, but the digitizer pen...

Re: Ask HN: How do you take notes other than using paper?

#64

Post by rffn »

jxy wrote: post #53
Apreche wrote: post #11

iPad pro + magic pencil.

Going back to the question, what apps do you use and how do you like them?

I use the iPad Pro and the pen as well.

For taking handwritten notes, drawing, annotating slides, etc. I use Notability. I reviewed a few of these apps and liked it because it has a macOS version, offers the option to store all files on a local WebDAV (no cloud needed), differentiates between finger (movement) and pen (writing) and is reasonably simple, i.e. quick to use.

I also looked at Evernote and OneNote. Both are fine programs and I am ok with having most of my notes on their servers; just not all of them. OneNote lost a bit lately. It used to have local handwriting recognition. This is now in the cloud. Impractical and a privacy issue.

I also looked at the MS Surface 4 instead of the iPad but found that I rather have a oversized tablet then a laptop with a detachable keyboard. I enjoy a selection of excellent epub readers and touch enabled video players more than a RAW workflow (Darktable, etc.). These were the things I found being much better on the iPad or on the Surface. There are for sure more differences, depending on the user's needs.

On the iPad I also find PDF Expert for PDK journals and books and Hyphen or Marvin for epubs quite useful. Using Working Copy as a git client is nice for occasionally looking at code or keeping notes in ASCII text. Surprisingly typing on the large 12.9 inch screen works well for me. This was not the case with smaller screens.

The iPAD is the paperless office for me as well as a portable library. It could do much more I think. Working on it.

It is also a good player for Netflix, etc. :)

Re: Ask HN: How do you take notes other than using paper?

#65

Post by taserian »

simon_acca wrote: post #21
thomasfoster96 wrote: post #17

I used to use OneNote a lot (partly because my high school used it a lot). It was alright, but the free version on the Windows Store is horrible and I don't have enough use for it to pay for the full version. I've tried using the notes app on my iPhone but it's just not quick enough to write things down in - although that might be because I have a 5s with a smaller screen than newer phones. I've used it when I have b…

MediaWiki.{exe|app} exactly! That's what I'm trying to build, and this is the best description I've heard so far :) Related question: would you prefer this to be local or on the cloud? I am oriented towards a cloud service because of cross-platform support and auto sync between devices, but open to suggestions.

Have you looked at TiddlyWiki? http://tiddlywiki.com/

It's a simple wiki-on-a-page, with collapsing and linking built in. You can also keep it completely off-line, or have it sync with your preferred solution (Dropbox in my case).

Re: Ask HN: How do you take notes other than using paper?

#66

Post by darkmuck »

I use a combination of methods. For notes that I want to keep and reference later I use Google Drive docs because it provides reasonably advanced formatting tools, ability to insert images, and has tools to export in multiple formats. For short or temporary notes and lists I tend to use Google Keep. I like these two tools because they are available on and sync with my phone.

Re: Ask HN: How do you take notes other than using paper?

#67

Post by rimunroe »

> I hear you invoke the mighty LaTeX... but can you write correct LaTeX on-the-fly?

Actually, I used to do exactly this when I was studying physics. I'd use a pencil and paper to copy down figures, but copied down derivations and text notes in LaTeX. I slowly built a pile of macros for things I commonly did. I ended up being way faster with that than with just a pencil and paper, especially when we were working on derivations (copy & paste makes equation reuse super easy).

I'd pretty up the document after class and add in the figures. The process of doing that seemed to really solidify the stuff in my memory more than the actual transcription did.

Re: Ask HN: How do you take notes other than using paper?

#68

Post by intrasight »

I mainly use Emacs, which explains that my notes are all text. I do also have a paper notebook on my desk. If I'm on the phone, I tend to use paper so I don't have to keep switching mute on and off. I've been saying for years that I want to get a digitizer. Probably will arrive for me soon in the form of an iPad Pro. Any suggestions for apps? I don't want proprietary save formats.

Re: Ask HN: How do you take notes other than using paper?

#69

Post by ericzawo »

I've been really, really into https://dynalist.io/ since discovering it last week. It's basically Workflowy plus LaTeX and Markdown (huge!) support, which solves 100% of the issues I have with Workflowy. There's also options to create folders and organize like that, and not just have one root tree from which you make sections. Highly recommended if you're like me and love just puking out notes all day on virtually everything in your life.
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