Hello Melissa, Dena, and Others,
Please explore the Simplenote iPhone app by Codality as a notetaking
solution. As Brett recently posted, as of about two weeks ago,
Codality made this a free app (it used to be $1.99). This is better
than the default Notes app on the iPhone because it provides automatic
syncing through a free, secure web account that you can access through
your computer (or any other computer) that keeps all note content
instantly updated when accessed or created either from the Simplenote
app or through the web interface. It also allows you to locate notes
by very fast, searchable input of content terms in both these
interfaces. Currently, notes on the iPhone/iPod Touch sync when you
connect you connect your device to your computer, unless your have a
MobileMe account, which updates continuously. If you use a Windows
computer, you get this functionality through Outlook -- which means
that it won't be available to you unless you've paid for the Office
suite. In any case, for the general user, Simplenote gives you
better, and near instantaneous access to updates.
Even better, there are desktop counterparts to the Simplenote app that
are available or under development on both platforms by third party
groups. Up till now on the Mac, I've been using the JustNotes beta to
work directly with notes synced between my MacBook laptop computer and
my iPod Touch without even having to go through the web interface
(unless I'm on someone else's computer). Well, it just got even
better for Mac users who want to use Simplenote from their desktop:
the January 30 release of Notational Velocity includes integration
with Simplenote, so there is great, keyboard optimized access to note
creation, searching, and editing that makes it even easier to work
with Simplenote and integrate use with apps like Dropbox to share
content across platforms. There are a whole lot of other new
features in NV that I've started to use -- like being able to bookmark
selected notes with keybindings for even faster access and tagging.
I don't want to get too much into Mac-specific content and detract
from my message that this is a great solution for either platform. In
the general context of note-taking apps, this stands out for its
simple, fast interface and access to a secure web site for note
access, and works well along with supplying new features for both
Windows and Mac users. I'll add that I use MobileMe, and even with
automatic update access to notes through Mail, I prefer using
Simplenote with JustNotes (and now, Notational Velocity) on my
desktop. I direct Mac users to the Notational Velocity web site where
they can read up more about integration with Spotlight and other
features.
There is one unlabeled button in the bottom left of your note which is
a "Mail" button that puts the contents of your note into a mail
message that you can send. Apart from that there is one bug in
searching that arises from the OS 3.1 operating system -- not
Simplenote. Users will recall that when a Spotlight search for iPhone
or iPod Touch is run with VoiceOver activated the screen is likely to
lock up. (This is the search you can run when you are at your Home
screen, press the Home button once, and hear (for me on my iPod Touch)
"search iPod, text field" etc.) The lockup after you type a few
letters only occurs if VoiceOver is turned on. The number of letters
you can type before your keyboard locks appears to vary from user to
user, and I used to be able to type longer search text before hitting
this.
The way that the search bug hits my use of Simplenote is that when I
type more than two letters in to the search field, I'm thrown out of
the app. Here's the way to run a search and avoid this bug by using
copy and paste. (The same method works for running a Spotlight search
on your iPhone or iPod Touch, but you have to open an app such as
Notes in order to type in your search term and then exit the app;
here you can do everything within the Simplenote app).
To run a search for a note:
1. Double tap the "Add" button at the top right of the screen as
though you were creating a new note.
2. On the "New Note" screen type in your search term
3. Use the rotor to select "Edit"
4. Flick up once to "Select All" and double tap
5. Flick up once to "Cut" and double tap
6. Double tap the "Notes" button at the top left of the screen (you
can keep flicking left to reach it or you can touch it directly) to
leave the "New Note" screen. Since the screen is blank, this will not
create a new note.
7. Open the search field by double tapping on the Status bar item time
at the top of your screen (just as you would to bring up the address
bar in Safari)
8. Double tap in the search text field. Then use your rotor to set
the function to "Edit"
9. Flick up one to "Paste" and double tap
10. The results should immediately show up in the list view beneath
the search field. I usually just select the note from there.
However, if you have many search results you might want to double tap
the "Search" button at the bottom right corner of the virtual keyboard
to clear it away.
To read an earlier, more detailed description/discussion of Simplenote
(aimed at Mac users), see this archived Mac-access list post that
contains links to some review articles discussing Simplenote:
http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/2010/000153.html
Simplenote by Codality is available free from the app store:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simplenote/id289429962?mt=8
JustNotes (beta) with desktop integration with Simplenote for Mac
users is available at:
http://selfcoded.com/justnotes/
Notational Velocity with desktop integration with Simplenote for Mac
users is available at:
http://notational.net/
Although I believe the original query Dena made was based on having
access to a Windows system, and although the iPhone may not match her
requirement on battery lifetime, the Simplenote app may still be of
interest to her. Also, Simplenote supports another iPhone app called
TextExpander by SmileOnMyMac. This allows you to use both user
customized and default "snippets" to minimize typing. For example,
when I turn on support for TextExpander under the Simplenote settings,
I can type "ddate" ("date" with an extra "d" at the beginning) and
have it expand to the current date. Again, this works on the iPhone
regardless of whether you use a Windows or Mac computer, but Mac users
who have the desktop TextExpander app can use any of their
TextExpander definitions in all their Mac applications as well as
through the JustNotes and Notational Velocity applications, and have
their definitions on the Mac sync to the subset definitions for the
iPhone/iPod Touch.
HTH
Cheers,
Esther
On Feb 1, 2010, Melissa Riley wrote:
Many Windows Mobile phones allow you to do just what you’re
describing, even letting you sync your notes to your computer later.
That is one thing the IPhone has not been able to provide me.
Warmly,
Melissa
Melissa Riley
[email protected]
[email protected]
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Dena, Elise & Kaylor
Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2010 9:57 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: kind of off-topic: notetaking strategies wanted
Hi All.
This is kind of O/T, but I have been thinking a lot about this issue
lately, especially since I don't know of a way to use a "real"
keyboard with the iPhone. What do people use as notetakers? I don't
currently have an active voc rehab plan, which makes many of the
blindness-specific notetakers (braille notes, braille senses, etc.)
financially impossible. What are some more affordable things that
people use? I'm looking for something that would allow me to take
the odd note while in a meeting, or throughout the course of my day.
I'd like something very portable, with decent battery life, and that
doesn't take a really long time to start up when I need it. I don't
know whether to just get a netbook, or whether there's some other
small windows mobile device I'm not aware of. Any suggestions would
be appreciated.
Dena
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