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Show HN: Open-Source Memex – Alternative Approach to Roam/Obsidian

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Re: Show HN: Open-Source Memex – Alternative Approach to Roam/Obsidian

#21

Post by steve1820 »

nynx wrote: post #20

This is really fantastic. I've played around with Obsidian periodically, but it's difficult to groom and maintain. This approach seems more manageable. I'd like to start using this, but at the same time you likely won't be maintaining it. Final point: we really need a memex/knowledge graph ecosystem with easily interoperable components (e.g. browser extensions, book highlighting, etc that can all feed into one of man…

I probably won't be maintaining this unfortunately :-(

You have a good point about interoperable components!

Re: Show HN: Open-Source Memex – Alternative Approach to Roam/Obsidian

#22

Post by hrishi »

This is a great concept, especially the link tracking.

One of my early research papers was about a tab reorganisation UI that tracked the links you clicked to reorganise your tabs to follow your train of thought. In most cases, the flat organisation is the worst, whereas if you follow my pattern of clicking links and moving to different tabs over time, you're halfway to describing (in a way that I can pick back up) my stream of consciousness.

Didn't get too far, for something like this to work it would have to be well integrated with the browser - and with new privacy restrictions, you'd have to end up recompiling a new browser to actually provide enough functionality.

Have you thought about ease of resuming where you left off? Biggest problem for me with Memexes isn't administration (even though it is huge and exponential as you say), it's that the longer it's been since I documented something, the harder it is for me to get back into the same mindset as I did then, with all the pieces still intact and connected.

Seems to me that finding a good representation of the internal mental model will help get over this.

Re: Show HN: Open-Source Memex – Alternative Approach to Roam/Obsidian

#25

Post by WalterGR »

wiradikusuma wrote: post #23

OOT, in Indonesia, if you replace x with k, it's a slang for female genitalia. A very strong word you don't want to say out loud at work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memex

The memex (originally coined "at random",[1] though sometimes said to be a portmanteau of "memory" and "index"[2]) is the name of the hypothetical proto-hypertext system that Vannevar Bush described in his 1945 The Atlantic Monthly article "As We May Think".

That cat's been out of the bag for at least 75 years.

Re: Show HN: Open-Source Memex – Alternative Approach to Roam/Obsidian

#26

Post by 082349872349872 »

wiradikusuma wrote: post #23

OOT, in Indonesia, if you replace x with k, it's a slang for female genitalia. A very strong word you don't want to say out loud at work.

Indonesians will just have to respond in kind with their own package, as coq was en revanche for bit.

    Il était une bergère
    Et ron, ron, ron, petit patapon
    Qui saisit formulaires
    Du Coquand pour pouvoir
    (Ron, ron)
    Verifier son chaton.

Re: Show HN: Open-Source Memex – Alternative Approach to Roam/Obsidian

#27

Post by wraptile »

nynx wrote: post #20

This is really fantastic. I've played around with Obsidian periodically, but it's difficult to groom and maintain. This approach seems more manageable. I'd like to start using this, but at the same time you likely won't be maintaining it. Final point: we really need a memex/knowledge graph ecosystem with easily interoperable components (e.g. browser extensions, book highlighting, etc that can all feed into one of man…

I actually feel the opposite about Obsidian: finally a note app that feels native with powerful keyboard/action shortcuts, vim navigation and great categorization (graphs, references, tags).

We use Notion (Electron) at work and it has been extremely painful to navigate, organize and maintain. I think electron (OP project as well) is not the right choice as it's just awful for native interactions which is really important for note taking app.

Re: Show HN: Open-Source Memex – Alternative Approach to Roam/Obsidian

#28

Post by steve1820 »

hrishi wrote: post #22

This is a great concept, especially the link tracking. One of my early research papers was about a tab reorganisation UI that tracked the links you clicked to reorganise your tabs to follow your train of thought. In most cases, the flat organisation is the worst, whereas if you follow my pattern of clicking links and moving to different tabs over time, you're halfway to describing (in a way that I can pick back up) m…

Interesting points regarding the internal mental model!

I agree, for effective information retrieval we (as humans) need to remember the context/ mindset where/when we consumed the knowledge.

I haven't really thought about this problem. It is definitely something to ponder on.

Re: Show HN: Open-Source Memex – Alternative Approach to Roam/Obsidian

#30

Post by wraptile »

steve1820 wrote: post #18
esseeayen wrote: post #15

Very cool, even if I hate electron. :P

It was my first time playing around with Electron! Overall pretty decent experience. What makes you hate it if you don't mind me asking?

Not OP but main gripe is that it fails to integrate with native environments and for efficiency-orentied note taking app losing that efficiency edge native environments provide is just counter-productive.
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