Comments on: Mindhacks for the fingertips http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:29:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Evelyn Jarmel http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-291334 Evelyn Jarmel Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:49:25 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-291334 <b>magistra</b>, that text on the DevonThink homepage only appears if you visit from Windows computer. When visiting with a Mac, that text doesn't appear. Of course, since your chief complaint was the unappealing nature of their evangelization efforts towards Windows users, I don't think this minor point really matters to you. <b>David</b>, as a Mac user, I still feel that the folks at DevonThink are coming on a bit too strong. The line I would encourage them to take is to state the strengths of the application, and leave the fact that it's a Mac-only application in the "system requirements" section. magistra, that text on the DevonThink homepage only appears if you visit from Windows computer. When visiting with a Mac, that text doesn’t appear. Of course, since your chief complaint was the unappealing nature of their evangelization efforts towards Windows users, I don’t think this minor point really matters to you.

David, as a Mac user, I still feel that the folks at DevonThink are coming on a bit too strong. The line I would encourage them to take is to state the strengths of the application, and leave the fact that it’s a Mac-only application in the “system requirements” section.

]]> By: Jon H http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-291039 Jon H Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:19:59 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-291039 At our lab the researchers keep stuff in Circus Ponies' NoteBook. At our lab the researchers keep stuff in Circus Ponies’ NoteBook.

]]> By: John Holbo http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290662 John Holbo Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:23:14 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290662 RE: the scanning point. One reason my new system works is precisely that I keep the scan itself. I have the OCR for searching and it does make it easy to pluck a quote out and have it be almost typo free. But I don't risk losing the original, or inadvertenly importing an OCR error into my scholarship, because I can always just visually verify what I've got if the OCR is dicey. RE: the scanning point. One reason my new system works is precisely that I keep the scan itself. I have the OCR for searching and it does make it easy to pluck a quote out and have it be almost typo free. But I don’t risk losing the original, or inadvertenly importing an OCR error into my scholarship, because I can always just visually verify what I’ve got if the OCR is dicey.

]]> By: Ben Alpers http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290653 Ben Alpers Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:04:00 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290653 I have DEVONthink but I don't use it as regularly as I should. My go-to program for note keeping (though I don't use it to organize .pdfs) is Tinderbox. I have DEVONthink but I don’t use it as regularly as I should. My go-to program for note keeping (though I don’t use it to organize .pdfs) is Tinderbox.

]]> By: Barry http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290637 Barry Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:04:37 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290637 Perhaps it's time for the other John (Q, that is) to run an updated version of his productivity post. Perhaps it’s time for the other John (Q, that is) to run an updated version of his productivity post.

]]> By: Alan S http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290634 Alan S Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:39:05 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290634 I'm a devotee of Zotero, and have been trying to move to it more and more for my reading and note-taking. Of course, in practice I have a mish-mash of paper, PDF, post-it and backs of envelopes :-) But the 2.0 version of Zotero (though labelled Beta, I've found it very stable for all of the "local" - non-synchronising - features) has lots of useful tools for dealing with PDF's - renaming from the database attributes e.g. author-year-title, retrieving PDF metadata (great for those files you collected and ddin't index), rich-text notes, PDF indexing and full-text search etc. But with regard to John's elaborate and impressive "workflow", I think this poster to the Zotero support-forums has good claim to have developed an even more complicated set-up: http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/9183/htmltopdf-workflow/ BTW, the author seems to like a tool called "bluebeam"(http://www.bluebeam.com/web07/us/products/revu/standard/). I’m a devotee of Zotero, and have been trying to move to it more and more for my reading and note-taking. Of course, in practice I have a mish-mash of paper, PDF, post-it and backs of envelopes :-) But the 2.0 version of Zotero (though labelled Beta, I’ve found it very stable for all of the “local” – non-synchronising – features) has lots of useful tools for dealing with PDF’s – renaming from the database attributes e.g. author-year-title, retrieving PDF metadata (great for those files you collected and ddin’t index), rich-text notes, PDF indexing and full-text search etc.

But with regard to John’s elaborate and impressive “workflow”, I think this poster to the Zotero support-forums has good claim to have developed an even more complicated set-up:
http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/9183/htmltopdf-workflow/

BTW, the author seems to like a tool called “bluebeam”(http://www.bluebeam.com/web07/us/products/revu/standard/).

]]> By: Mark G http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290632 Mark G Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:37:06 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290632 I tend to use Evernote just for web clipping, but Evernote has OCR abilities and fairly nifty iPhone/mobile device integration. It's free unless you use more than 40 MB/month on uploads, and has both "cloud" and standalone versions. I'm not sure, however, that they can actually display PDFs--using the Windows version I was able to search the text of various PDFs but not to view the finds directly within Evernote. They do seem to do a better job developing the Mac version; my sense is that PDF abilities may be more advanced on that side. Anyone know if OneNote does a better job? I tend to use Evernote just for web clipping, but Evernote has OCR abilities and fairly nifty iPhone/mobile device integration. It’s free unless you use more than 40 MB/month on uploads, and has both “cloud” and standalone versions. I’m not sure, however, that they can actually display PDFs—using the Windows version I was able to search the text of various PDFs but not to view the finds directly within Evernote. They do seem to do a better job developing the Mac version; my sense is that PDF abilities may be more advanced on that side.

Anyone know if OneNote does a better job?

]]> By: David http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290626 David Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:39:55 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290626 I think magistra is a trifle touchy here. The front page for DevonThink states, in no way aggressively, that it is built for Mac OS X. Farther down the page is an equally low-key observation that one can run Windows on a modern Mac. No breast beating, crowing or hipper-than-thou proclamations. I think magistra is a trifle touchy here. The front page for DevonThink states, in no way aggressively, that it is built for Mac OS X. Farther down the page is an equally low-key observation that one can run Windows on a modern Mac. No breast beating, crowing or hipper-than-thou proclamations.

]]> By: nick s http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290624 nick s Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:26:41 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290624 I sympathise with magistra (and agree on keeping scans), but with regard to the Mac thing, truth is that most of the decent generalist software for research, writing and overall text-driven productivity is being made for OS X only: DEVONthink, Yojimbo, Scrivener, Ulysses, Nisus Writer Pro, the various bibliography tools, etc. That's not likely to change any time soon, as the presence of an active development community creates an incentive for writers and researchers to switch. I sympathise with magistra (and agree on keeping scans), but with regard to the Mac thing, truth is that most of the decent generalist software for research, writing and overall text-driven productivity is being made for OS X only: DEVONthink, Yojimbo, Scrivener, Ulysses, Nisus Writer Pro, the various bibliography tools, etc. That’s not likely to change any time soon, as the presence of an active development community creates an incentive for writers and researchers to switch.

]]> By: Barry http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290617 Barry Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:47:22 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290617 Here's another method, using iTunes: http://sciencesampler.blogspot.com/2007/04/organizing-pdf-papers-in-your-computer.html Here’s another method, using iTunes:

http://sciencesampler.blogspot.com/2007/04/organizing-pdf-papers-in-your-computer.html

]]> By: Ginger Yellow http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290601 Ginger Yellow Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:49:31 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290601 Well, I was going to suggest Zotero, but then I read your penultimate sentence, so it would be a bit redundant. It's great, though - one of the few productivity apps that actually does something really useful for journalists. Why aren't there more like that? When we ran Macs in our office (for editorial - we still do for production) I was very tempted by DevonThink, but it wouldn't run on our ancient version of MacOS. Plus it's bloody expensive. Well, I was going to suggest Zotero, but then I read your penultimate sentence, so it would be a bit redundant. It’s great, though – one of the few productivity apps that actually does something really useful for journalists. Why aren’t there more like that? When we ran Macs in our office (for editorial – we still do for production) I was very tempted by DevonThink, but it wouldn’t run on our ancient version of MacOS. Plus it’s bloody expensive.

]]> By: Lee http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290574 Lee Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:31:37 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290574 Thanks! Interesting that you find fiction to be easier listening: I'm the opposite. To really get a thrill from a story, I pretty much have to sit still in my bus seat. But most nonfiction I can follow while scrambling eggs and brewing coffee. (Sandel's chapter on Kant does stress the listening lobe, though.) While I'm still off-topic, I will recommend another political nonfic audiobook I think you might enjoy: Colin Ward's "Anarchy". Thanks! Interesting that you find fiction to be easier listening: I’m the opposite. To really get a thrill from a story, I pretty much have to sit still in my bus seat. But most nonfiction I can follow while scrambling eggs and brewing coffee. (Sandel’s chapter on Kant does stress the listening lobe, though.) While I’m still off-topic, I will recommend another political nonfic audiobook I think you might enjoy: Colin Ward’s “Anarchy”.

]]> By: John Holbo http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290566 John Holbo Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:30:34 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290566 Hey Lee, I've been listening to a lot of Dickens recently. "Great Expectations" and "Bleak House" and (Mervyn Peake, but very Dickens-y) starting "Titus Groan". That's a lot of hours on the bus and toiling over a hot scanner. Oh, and Temeraire books and the Dresden Files. I haven't been listening to a lot of nonfiction - apart from a few political podcasts - because I'm usually doing something else and would find it it hard to devote quite enough mental attention to something like "Justice". But it does sound like the sort of thing I might like to check out. Hey Lee, I’ve been listening to a lot of Dickens recently. “Great Expectations” and “Bleak House” and (Mervyn Peake, but very Dickens-y) starting “Titus Groan”. That’s a lot of hours on the bus and toiling over a hot scanner. Oh, and Temeraire books and the Dresden Files. I haven’t been listening to a lot of nonfiction – apart from a few political podcasts – because I’m usually doing something else and would find it it hard to devote quite enough mental attention to something like “Justice”. But it does sound like the sort of thing I might like to check out.

]]> By: Lee http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290565 Lee Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:20:30 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290565 I have experimented with taking photos of passages with my iphone (it's always in my pocket), but with poor results, probably not OCR-able, though I've been planning to try the Evernote app out on them. Maybe Google will one day match blurry page-grabs with the original passage from a book in their database. Another phone trick I use when reading on the couch / subway is to record cites I wanna follow up on in Simplenote, which does a no-fuss live-sync of my plain text notes to the web. AND SINCE you mention audiobooks---yes, this is off-topic---John, can you please do a post on some you've recently enjoyed? Michael Sandel did the narration for his excellent new book *Justice*, and it was released to Audible with zero fanfare. No one is talking about intelligent audiobooks. I have experimented with taking photos of passages with my iphone (it’s always in my pocket), but with poor results, probably not OCR-able, though I’ve been planning to try the Evernote app out on them. Maybe Google will one day match blurry page-grabs with the original passage from a book in their database. Another phone trick I use when reading on the couch / subway is to record cites I wanna follow up on in Simplenote, which does a no-fuss live-sync of my plain text notes to the web.

AND SINCE you mention audiobooks—-yes, this is off-topic—-John, can you please do a post on some you’ve recently enjoyed? Michael Sandel did the narration for his excellent new book Justice, and it was released to Audible with zero fanfare. No one is talking about intelligent audiobooks.

]]> By: sunship http://crookedtimber.org/2009/10/05/mindhacks-for-the-fingertips/comment-page-1/#comment-290564 sunship Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:47:13 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/?p=13236#comment-290564 I recently bought a livescribe pen. The task you're seeking is nested within its many other wonderful features. I recently bought a livescribe pen. The task you’re seeking is nested within its many other wonderful features.

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