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A different approach to note-taking and research

ummm.co

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Re: A different approach to note-taking and research

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m working on Bangle[1] which is similar that saves notes locally in Markdown but provides a nice notion like UI. [1] https://bangle.io

thank you for posting this.... it looks like exactly what I've been wanting. Looking forward to where the product goes!

Thanks for the kind words, my goal is to make note taking portable and delightful.

Re: A different approach to note-taking and research

#44

What I learned from visiting the site: It's an app that lets you take notes horizontally - apparently there's a claim that this is an advantage. I'm supposed to buy a subscription for more than Evernote costs and hand over all of my data, which may or may not be encrypted, to a random person on the internet. Sorry if this is harsh, but the website didn't make its case to me, and this is an extremely crowded space.

It does say it’s for “professional” thinkers. I’m a non-professional thinker.

(Sorry, can’t help the snark.)

Re: A different approach to note-taking and research

#45

What I learned from visiting the site: It's an app that lets you take notes horizontally - apparently there's a claim that this is an advantage. I'm supposed to buy a subscription for more than Evernote costs and hand over all of my data, which may or may not be encrypted, to a random person on the internet. Sorry if this is harsh, but the website didn't make its case to me, and this is an extremely crowded space.

+1

Re: A different approach to note-taking and research

#46

I do something similar with https://foambubble.github.io/foam/ and there I have everything in my own repo in github Not sure how a 9 euro monthly subscription is justified in comparison particularly since I can use vscode as a power user

Can you embed websites[1] inside Foam? [1] https://www.ummm.co/#:~:text=embed%20websites%20and%20links%...

Idea behind Foam is that they use GitHub and vscode features - answering on your question, I didn't find any extension with this feature. But more interesting question, do you really need this "copy/paste" feature in your research (or just simple notes)?

Re: A different approach to note-taking and research

#47

I've been using my CatWiki[1] for making notes since 2016 and find it quite easy to use. It stores notes as Markdown files on a local hard disk. [1]: https://github.com/cabalamat/catwiki

I’m working on Bangle[1] which is similar that saves notes locally in Markdown but provides a nice notion like UI. [1] https://bangle.io

Bangle looks like an interesting project.

I tried using it but couldn't get it to work. It relies on keystrokes like Ctrl-P and Ctrl-Shift-P, which I dislike for 2 reasons:

(1) it forces people to remember commands when they shouldn't have to. GUIs have used menus, buttons etc for this for ages.

(2) Perhaps importantly, it doesn't work for my setup (Firefox on Linux), where Ctrl-Shift-P opens another Firefox window for privater browsing.

Also I note that File System storage only works with the Chrome browser. This is probably a good thing because I do not want random web pages being able to look at my filesystem!

Re: A different approach to note-taking and research

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m working on Bangle[1] which is similar that saves notes locally in Markdown but provides a nice notion like UI. [1] https://bangle.io

Bangle looks like an interesting project. I tried using it but couldn't get it to work. It relies on keystrokes like Ctrl-P and Ctrl-Shift-P, which I dislike for 2 reasons: (1) it forces people to remember commands when they shouldn't have to. GUIs have used menus, buttons etc for this for ages. (2) Perhaps importantly, it doesn't work for my setup (Firefox on Linux), where Ctrl-Shift-P opens another Firefox window f…

Those are great points, I will be working on the product to improve upon those.

> Also I note that File System storage only works with the Chrome browser. This is probably a good thing because I do not want random web pages being able to look at my filesystem!

Just like how a random web page cannot access your webcam, similarly a random web page cannot access your file system without your permission.

Re: A different approach to note-taking and research

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you embed websites[1] inside Foam? [1] https://www.ummm.co/#:~:text=embed%20websites%20and%20links%...

Idea behind Foam is that they use GitHub and vscode features - answering on your question, I didn't find any extension with this feature. But more interesting question, do you really need this "copy/paste" feature in your research (or just simple notes)?

Opening external links in an external browser is too distracting and cumbersome for me.

Re: A different approach to note-taking and research

#50
As a former user of a number of proprietary, web-based notetaking app services, I come from the future to tell you never to sign up for one of these. Not even if it's free. The company will fold after a year or two, and sometimes take your notes down with it. You'll be left with the nightmare of losing all your notes—or, in the best-case scenario—at least having to convert all your notes to a new format.

You need: (1) free and open-source software, which (2) uses open and future-proof file formats. I use org-mode and org-roam on Emacs, but there are plenty of other solutions for those outside the Emacs world. Others in this thread recommend Foam for VSCode, and Obsidian for a standalone solution.

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