Nocs: a Notepad replacement with a twist October 4, 2009
Posted by CLibra in Clippings, Google, Notes, Software, Sync.add a comment
In my never-ending quest to find the perfect note-taking application, I stumbled across nocs, a lightweight application very similar to Windows Notepad that can be used for taking text notes on the fly; the catch is that your notes are saved into Google Docs, with the option of encrypting them to. After testing, I found that nocs was very fast and easy to use, it took up very little system resources, and it was good that my notes were saved online because if my hard drive broke, I’d lose them, and it means I can sync my notes between PCs.
However, nocs does lack a little in a few places; the notes are saved in an obscure spreadsheet format in Google Docs, making them unreadable through a browser, and as of yet there’s no Mac client. Notes can’t be read offline, and at the moment it’s only focusing on plain text notes, but in the future we might see nocs develop further.
All in all, I’d recommend nocs for a quick replacement to Notepad, but it’s still in its early days yet.
Concept: Notes Format August 7, 2009
Posted by CLibra in Code, Creations, Email, Notes, Sync.add a comment
There a standard for
mats for the things we use everyday, such as email, music, calendars, and photos, and this is so that they can easily be manipulated and shared through different programs and operating system; however, although there are many note-taking tools out there, there is no one standard format, and as such, our note data becomes fragmented through incompatible mediums. It would be much easier for developers and end users to have a single format that everyone used when developing note applications.
I’ve tried to come up with a basic, open framework for notes that anybody can use, and it can be easily extensible so third party features can be coded in. It also provides version IDs and author information, so developers can provide functions to sync and share notes. I think that it’s important not to define too much information in a notes format because a lot of things should be handled by the client, and so therefore they can all intergrate it into their own clients.
I’ve published my initial idea to Google Docs, but I’d like lots of feedback so I can develop it further, so feel free to give me your input & criticisms; the first draft is very rough and I’d like to improve it a lot in the future. Anyone’s welcome to use it and build upon it but please link back to me if you do, and I’ll give you a mention on my blog.
[https://docs.google.com/View?id=ah7rdrmx7vm4_60hrpdxwct]
Photo: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/yggg/130617196/]
Foldershare out, Windows Live Sync in November 21, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Clippings, Internet, Microsoft, Software, Sync, Tools.1 comment so far
My favourite cross-platform syncing tool, Foldershare, is doomed to die soon.
In its place will spring Windows Live Sync, a tool promising the same great features, and then some.
Click the link below to read the full letter from Microsoft, as it also explains how to prepare for the upgrade, because your libraries will be lost by Windows Live Sync.
Let’s hope this new version’s really something, hey?
Soocial, the Plaxo killer? November 15, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Beta, Sync, Tools, Web 2.0, Websites.3 comments
I got accepted into the Soocial beta, and after having a nose around, I think it easily contends with Plaxo as a contact sync system.
Plaxo needs no introduction as one of the best contact synchronisers in its field, but after it was acquired by Comcast, the general opinion on the net is that users aren’t too happy about handing over their contact data.
How does Soocial excel Plaxo?
- The webapp is less browser-intensive as Plaxo’s. It resembles Address Book on OS X, and works faster than Plaxo’s own.
- Automatic backup comes as standard with Soocial, but is part of a premium package at Plaxo.
- Soocial implements a simple API, so users can extend it by developing clients to sync contacts wherever they want to.
- Your data is secure – connection is always encrypted, and Soocial stress how your data will be completely erased when you want it to be.
- It has a working sync to GMail; Plaxo’s has been broken for a long time. It also syncs to Highrise, which Plaxo doesn’t, and has a proper mobile sync (although no mobile access page as of yet).
- Soocial is dead set on contact synchronisation, whereas Plaxo has seemed to stray off into more of a social network.
There are some drawbacks that I can see though, compared to Plaxo. For example, it doesn’t yet cover calendar & task sync, and the list of services it syncs to isn’t as large a Plaxo’s. Still, if you’re interested in trying an alternative to Plaxo, check it out.
I have beta invites! Comment if you want them.
The solution to Notes? September 23, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Articles, Creations, Email, Gmail, Google, Notes, Sync, Theoretical.4 comments
Maybe this’ll be the solution to my notes dilemma?
Things I used:
Is it really that simple? Here’s what I did.
- Created a ‘Notes’ folder in my GMail account. Set it as the default templates folder in Thunderbird.
- Created a plus sign GMail address, and a GMail filter to put all email to here in the Notes folder.
- Write my note in a new email. A sample one might look like this:
To: Me+notes@someone.gmail.com
Subject: @Music @Money @ToDo
Message: Ask Dan about that £10 I lent him – maybe use it to buy tickets for that Gig?
Now, to save the note, either hit the send button, or save it as a ‘template’ in Thunderbird.
Checklist: Offline access? Yup, through iMap I can access the notes offline. Online web access? Yeah, just log in through GMail. Portability? Of course! Email can go anywhere, so I can have my notes on any platform, sync’d whenever I need them. Features? Uh huh, the subject line acts as tags, and I can search the notes through GMail’s powerful search front-end. I also have permanent notes (when I send the email) and ongoing editing notes (by saving them as templates). I can embed HTML into them, too.
Ok, it ain’t perfect…yet. It’s the best solution I have so far, and I intend to stick to it for a while – Google are managing my email, my calendar, my search, my photos, and now my notes!
Why I’ll never be happy with notes July 21, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Articles, Notes, Software, Sync, Theoretical.1 comment so far
Out of all of the tools I use on a computer, I’d say that multimedia notes have been one of the most useful, and I think that they’re severely underrated – I’d often store a mini progress log, annotate a picture or keep a phone number in notes, because it’s too cumbersome to then go and create a document to do these tasks, especially when the document will probably be deleted soon.
Notes are infinitely useful. But so is sync.
It’s an implicit necessity for me to be able to access any of my data – be it email, calendars, or files – across different platforms easily, have offline accessibility (through some medium like a client, Gears etc) and have a web interface.
I know it seems a lot to ask, but in my situation, I need portability.
And from there, the problem arises.
X has some amazing features, but will only sync to Windows.
Y is a sleek multimedia power-app, but we can’t get it offline.
Z will sync to all systems, however it has no web interface and lacks advanced tools.
There is no standards for notes. iMap and vCard are two standards for mail and contacts that are universally supported. What have notes got? Where would they even go? We could probably all name some built-in email aplications that will inherently know these protocols, but what about notes? By having image annotations, does that mean you loose out on a multi-platform/client user base? Ok, so plain notes are fine, but exactly where will they go, what can they be access in.
Do you see my dilemma? I can never find the perfect solution for notes because there is no ideal for it set.
Someone needs to create a system – similar to that used by, for example, calendars – that is globally accessible.
Browser Sync is dead. Long live Weave! June 15, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Google, Internet, Software, Sync, Tools, Websites.add a comment
Google has announced that Browser Sync will be dropped with the release of Firefox 3, so many people are stuck for an alternative.
It’s a shame that this is happening – Browser Sync was useful, but evidently deemed not important.
Luckily, Mozilla are developing a new tool to fill the gap – and more.
It’s called Weave, and as you’d expect by the name, it ‘weaves’ multiple browsers together.
It’s possible to synchronize Bookmarks, History, Cookies, Passwords, Form data, and soon, Tabs, Extensions, Themes, Microformats, and Search Plugins.
Similar to Browser Sync, you can encrypt your data with a PIN as well as your password, but there is also support for using a different server to store your data, which makes Weave more open. The source code is readily available online.
[http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2008/06/google-browser-sync-to-be-discontinued.html]
[https://services.mozilla.com/]
HowTo: Sync contacts with iMap May 29, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Articles, Creations, Email, Gmail, HowTo, Sync, Tools.1 comment so far
With Plaxo being bought by Comcast, people I know are feeling uneasy about trusting their data in Comcast’s hands.
But how many alternatives have we got for syncing? .Mac? Google? There a possibilities, but Plaxo is probably the best in it’s field.
I actually stumbled across a solution by accident – a fit of dragging and dropping in Outlook Express turned out to be viable.
What do we need?
- An iMap account of sorts (GMail?)
- Contacts stored on a computer
- Get your contacts in a workable format – export them as VCF files. This will take a while if you’ve got a lot, but it’s worth it.
- Open the VCF file in a text editor. You’ll get something like the following:
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:Doe
FN:John
NICKNAME:Jonny
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:john.doe@gmail.com
etc
3. Copy this into an email. Put the person’s name as the subject, and send it to your iMap account – store all of them in their own folder, maybe using filtering rules.
Now all of your contacts can be searched with your email – you can access them on any client (even the web if it’s a provider like GMail), and if you need to import them into a program, simply copy the body of the message into a text file and change the extension to *.vcf
Offline Notes with GearPad May 21, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Clippings, Code, Google, Sync, Tools.add a comment
As the name suggests, GearPad is infused with the power of Google Gears.
The no-nonsense site allows you to store plain text notes and access them from anywhere – as a bonus, you can sync ‘em offline.
If only Google build this into Google Notebook, that would be really useful.
It’s opensource – if you want to run and serve your own you can.
[http://aaronboodman.com/gearpad/]
[http://code.google.com/apis/gears/sample.html] Source
Sync Essentials May 4, 2008
Posted by CLibra in Articles, Creations, Internet, Software, Sync.add a comment
Sync. Good. Observe:
[And by that I mean, here's my Sync set-up. As it changes, I'll update this post]
Notes: GMail
You may think it’s bizarre, but see my reasoning here.
Favourites: del.icio.us
The famous del.icio.us is plain and simple, but works great.
Browser: Mozilla Weave
Makes all your FireFox’s feel like one.
Files: Foldershare
Microsoft’s creation is distinctly un-evil. A fast, no-nonsense internet folder sync.
Email: GMail iMap
Storage increasing every day, and now I can have my email wherever I want.
News: Google Reader
So you can keep track of where you got up to reading feeds. It beats Offline clients with Gears, and I extend it with Read it Later and Better Greader.
Contacts: Plaxo
Anywhere you want your contacts, Plaxo will have them.
Tasks: Remember the Milk
Also uses Gears, Remember the Milk has gotten better and better over the years – and it was always great to begin with.
Chat logs: IM-History
Consolidate, sync, and access your Chat logs anywhere, on or offline.
Calendars: GCal
With tools such as Plaxo, Spanning Sync, Google Calendar Provider, and plain old Prism, Google Calendar syncs across anything. It also will SMS you reminders.
SMS: TreasureMyText
No bells & whistles, just simple SMS archive and synchronizing.
Passwords: PassPack
A very secure, very versatile password manager on the web.
