It’s Not Good for Note Takers to Live Without Saved Searches or Shared Notebooks

Introduction to my Self-made Challenge

Apple’s Notes app got me thinking: why is it Apple’s app insists on significant limitations? Evernote has tags, notebooks, and saved searches. Notes only has manual search. Because it seemed so ridiculously stifling and for no clear reason, I thought maybe—just maybe—Apple genuinely thinks this is a great way to manage all of your notes; in one lump sum with very little to help sift through them. Could it be possible that we nerds are just pretentious?

So, I challenged myself: for the next 30 days I would only use Evernote like it were Apple’s Notes app, and see just how ‘genius’ or ‘impossible’ it is to manage all notes without control and organization—full on search mode only.

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • This is Part 4

Apple is on to something, but so is Evernote.

Screen shot of iPad's Notes app

Notes are auto-ordered by date updated

Apple’s choice to simplify the notebook with only one tier is good for one sort of note taker: the taker that practically has no notes. I’ve come to figure this out from working in Evernote these last few weeks only with one tier and with the search bar to sift through them.

Evernote’s search is powerful; it reads text in images; it highlights all instances of words searched contained in your note; it has rich text format controls (which Apple’s Notes is getting when Mountain Lion is released). On top of these, there are tags, notebooks, and saved searches that organize your content.

The organizational tool I favor the most in Evernote is the saved search. If you simply write a keyword or two into a note, it will smartly be added to the saved search you created before—no manual organization necessary. Imagine the possibilities. I’m not saying saved searches work exclusively, but they are probably the most overlooked organizational feature ever, seeing that they have to be created from a menu at the top or bottom of the program. For most people, saved searches are out of sight and mind.

Evernote Screen Shot - Courier highlights

Evernote highlights the word in the note

Apple’s Notes has so little in the way of organization—in fact, it has nothing. You can’t even tell the app to organize your notes alphabetically or by date created/updated.

Honestly, these past few weeks have stifled me greatly. Evernote reduced to the likes of Apple’s Notes is a creativity dampener. I’m in the midst of several projects that I am eager to use Evernote’s powerful feature with, and I’m held at bay by my self-made challenge.

But the biggest setback of all is outdated Share-ability

Evernote has the ability to share notebooks with others. If you have a free account, they can view the notes. If you pay for the membership features, they can also edit and create new notes to be added to the shared notebook. Collaboration is a growing need with web, book, and app graphic design projects in my field. Apple’s Notes has only the option to print or email notes to share notes. It feels like a joke when compared to Evernote’s options.

Thankfully, I’ve only got eight days yet to go in my stupid challenge, and I’ll be scot-free from the unwarranted simplicity that is Apple’s Notes.

Web Design Taking a Cue from Instapaper

Jeffrey Zeldman himself is a product wrought with an extra dose of quirkiness. All the same, I still see his objectivity. These are his own words about his recent significant redirection for the interface of his site.

Screen Shot of Jeffrey Zeldman's updated web interface

This is Zeldman.com’s new look; very accommodating for high pixel density displays.

This redesign is a response to ebooks, to web type, to mobile, and to wonderful applications like Instapaper and Readability that address the problem of most websites’ pointlessly cluttered interfaces and content-hostile text layouts by actually removing the designer from the equation. (That’s not all these apps do, but it’s one benefit of using them, and it indicates how pathetic much of our web design is when our visitors increasingly turn to third party applications simply to read our sites’ content. It also suggests that those who don’t design for readers might soon not be designing for anyone.)

It’s nice to see another designer come to grips with some of the web’s recently spawned realities. It’s also great to see him do whatever he so choses, and make the site his own.

It’s not that Zeldman disregards web standards, or what most consider ‘readable.’ He just doesn’t think it’s right for all situations; particularly his own brand. The site is a significant departure from what you typically see online today. The new Zeldman.com says, “I am what I am, and I don’t plan to be otherwise.” I like that. Individuality is hard to come by.

If this were a client site, I wouldn’t push the boundaries this far. If this were a client site, I’d worry that maybe a third of the initial responses to the redesign were negative. Hell, let’s get real: if this were a client site, I wouldn’t have removed as much secondary functionality and I certainly wouldn’t have set the type this big. But this is my personal site. There are many like it, but this one is mine. And on this one, I get to try designs that are idea-driven and make statements. On this one, I get to flounder and occasionally flop. If this design turns out to be a hideous mistake, I’ll probably eventually realize that and change it. (It’s going to change eventually, anyway. This is the web. No design is for the ages, not even Douglas Bowman’s great Minima.)

But for right now, I don’t think this design is a mistake. I think it is a harbinger. We can’t keep designing as we used to if we want people to engage with our content. We can’t keep charging for ads that our layouts train readers to ignore. We can’t focus so much on technology that we forget the web is often, and quite gloriously, a transaction between reader and writer. »

If you enjoyed this entry, and Zeldman’s thoughts in general, you may also appreciate his free e-book, Taking Your Talent to the Web.

How Apple Sees the iPad Impacting Healthcare

Apple Healthcare Video Screen Shot from Apple.com/Business

Click the picture to watch the video on Apple.com

Every now and then I hear that the iPad and iPhone are making a positive impact on the medical field. Apple has taken the time to report how one doctor uses it in the field, along with one of Apple’s beautiful trademark video demos to promote the use of iDevices in the hospital.

“It’s tremendously important that medical facilities have the latest technology,” says Dr. John Perlin, HCA’s Chief Medical Officer. “It makes all the difference between good care and not-so-good care. It may even be the difference between life and death. Apps on iPhone and iPad put the information needed for medical decisions into the hands of decision-makers.” »

This video and others like it are available at Apple’s Business Section on Apple.com. Perhaps you haven’t heard or seen this part of their website. You are not alone, because it is not obvious in the site’s navigation.

I visit there occasionally to see new content like this story on Apple technology in the hospital. The business section of Apple.com has been around for years, and is a great place to explore how Apple products used in a corporate environment—not just by doctors, but lawyers, small businesses, and other industries.

Dr. John Perlin’s story and others like it are a testament to Apple’s relevance not only to people looking for great media, music, and everyday “life” iDevices. An iPad has its place as a tool for professionals. 

The iTunes Music Festival is Scheduled for 2012

This year’s iTunes Music Festival is scheduled to begin September 1 in London and run 30 nights. The festival is a celebration of iTunes and since the tickets are free, a way for Apple to give back to its customers.

First held in 2007, the iTunes Festival is sponsored by Apple and held at London’s historic The Roundhouse in North London. Past performers have included Adele, Paul Simon, and Amy Winehouse.

For 2012, Apple expects to include 60 artists including One Direction, Usher, and Norah Jones. Plus, as in past years, for those that can’t attend the event live, each show will be presented live for a limited time on your computer with iTunes, or on your iPhone/iPod touch and iPad with the iTunes Festival app. »

I didn’t know Apple sponsor their very own music festival. I guess I should have though, because they 1.1 million “likes” on Facebook for the event. Cool.

Why Use a Search Engine App

UPDATE: Bang On, the search app for iOS that I refer to in this post, is worthy of your consideration. Here’s a worthy of Bang On review by Christine Chan.

People, let’s evaluate our search engines of choice.

When was the last time you evaluated your search engine of choice? Did someone recommend Google search to you, like, ten years ago, and you have never looked back? Or have you done some due diligence and tried out Yahoo and Bing? Well, I’m here to suggest you reevaluate your search engine and consider the modern tools of search that are on the rise.

The big league search engines have their place, but there are three ideals that detract users from the likes of Google, Bing, and Yahoo:

  • Just because it’s one of the most widely used, it isn’t the best for you. When was the last time you tried out another search engine to find out whether it suits you?
  • Privacy is a major concern, even if it’s just to be on the safe side. Google records everything you do on their sites. What do you think Bing or Yahoo do?
  • Maybe there’s an underdog that’s worth supporting. I’m not talking about Bing or Yahoo duking it out to replace Google—I mean, a really, truly, small and original search engine that deserves praise for what it does to distinguish itself in this competitive search market.

There is such an alternative search engine. I’ve gabbed about DuckDuckGo before, and I will again. DDG is the clean, easy to use, robust little search engine “that could.” I believe it stands as a serious competitor for the big leagues, yet it is still one of the unheard-of gems on the web.

And DDG has growing support. Developers are seeing to it this search engine is put to good use in apps as an alternative to the usual Google fare.

Why use a dedicated search engine app?

Bang On screen shot

This is Bang On for the iPhone

The iPad and iPhone are still young gadgets when compared to the whole of computer history. Once upon a time, not long ago, there wasn’t a thing called “the Internet.” Since the rise of the Internet, we saw the rise of the search engine. It’s no wonder that search engines traditionally work as web sites you bookmark and use within web browsers with the typical search bar.

But that doesn’t mean search is best served in a general web browser. You might be best served with one while you’re multitasking; reading emails, social networks, and wikis all at the same time and fooling yourself that you are staying productive with your occasional search query. But an app for search offers a clean and direct passage to read, watch, and view content as it solely pertains to the purpose for your search research.

I like this level of concentration that can only be found in a search app. The web is a noisy place, and it always seems the volume is turned up when I have research, writing, and reading tasks I aim to complete. An app is a great distraction-free zone.

Not to mention that the search engines are getting more convoluted every day, thanks to the social feeds that are cluttering up the search results. A search app offers the simple yet efficient tool that you have dreamed of.

My one complaint with search apps

Search engine apps that stand out are available for mobile devices. I understand that mobile developers discovered the usefulness of such an app on an iPhone or iPad, and I think it’s time such an app made it to the desktop. There are a few apps that have tried, but none have the power and gravitas you might expect to find in such an app dedicated to a full-fledged Mac or PC.

Jiving Jackalope’s Dedicated Twitter Feed

Jiving Jackalope has a new Twitter feed: Twitter.com/JivingJackalope. Follow it to see when new posts are available on the site.

I’ve used my personal Twitter feed for this site as, once upon a time, it was more of a personal site. I feel strongly that Jiving Jackalope stands on its own.