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Yey another note taking app! And YC no less! Not at all like previous YC-backed note taking app https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26565629 https://news.ycom

Yey another note taking app! And YC no less! Not at all like previous YC-backed note taking app https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26565629 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26565629 Or any note taking app ever.. Seriously, is that the biggest thing bothering developers? Is this what you got into computing for? The best use for your AWS experience? The digital equivalent of making an ashtray in pottery class.

tighter_wires 5y ago
“Developers should work with notes the same way they work with code.” Ok, so just put your notes in a git repo, and edit them in an IDE.
- kevinslin 5y ago
  That is the start :) And if that's all you want to use Dendron for (eg. a markdown editor with better integration to vscode and git), then you can. But if you want to expand further (eg. you now have a few hundred or few thousand notes), Dendron adds additional syntax and structure to make that manageable.
- tra3 5y ago
  But there's more than just revision control, no? Compilers, linters, intellisence. I don't know what is to notes as compilers are to code, but certainly note taking could stand to use more tooling.
  - kevinslin 5y ago
    Yep. Developer tooling has been making massive strides over the last six decades, all focused on the problem of making information (aka code) easier to manage. Dendron builds on top of this and applies it notes. In terms of the compiler analogy to notes, in Dendron, this is the schema (aka type) system we use to help users define the structure of their notes: https://wiki.dendron.so/notes/c5e5adde-5459-409b-b34d-a0d75cbb1052.html https://wiki.dendron.so/notes/c5e5adde-5459-409b-b34d-a0d75c...
kevinslin 5y ago
Yeah, note taking apps are like mushrooms these days and it sometimes feels like everyone is doing it. I think the reason you're seeing all the development here is because how *humans* manage *knowledge at scale* is fundamentally an unsolved problem (this is why people keep building new tools). My friends give me grief about doing cloud computing for over half a decade to work on a local-first note-taking app. There is some overlap though - it is impossible to keep even a small subset of AWS (which now has over 200+ services) in one's head. The only way to use it effectively is externalizing the relevant details in a way that I, as a human, can retrieve. In many ways, trying to externalize my mental model of AWS was a great proving ground for many of the fundamental ideas around structure used in Dendron
- vladsanchez 5y ago
  I love Kevin's humbleness. I not only became a Dendron user/evangelist but I mostly loved the fact it is driven by such a smart-yet-humble person like Kevin Lin. Thank you and congrats on your YC backing!! <3
  - kevinslin 5y ago
    thanks for the kind words :)
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
necovek 5y ago
I thought that was to-do apps? But the one you are making a comparison with is not really relevant: that's Apple-only it seems, and that, in itself, is enough incentive to look out for more. Ultimately, market can decide which are needed and which aren't. As for investors like YC, they usually bet into multiple products — while YC might have a better hit rate than some other investors, there are likely still more failed investments than successful ones (by count). The important bit for YC is what the monetary equation is at the end.
- kevinslin 5y ago
  I think there's now a blurred line between todo app and knowledge management, especially as tools like notion (and for that matter Dendron), are making it more viable to manage todos within your knowledge base. As for YC, I remember seeing at least two other note taking companies within our winter batch. At AWS, the mentality for new services is to "let 1000 flowers bloom" (and see which one's make it). Something similar is happening in the note taking space right now
  - necovek 5y ago
    Definitely agree, though I think that line was always blurry (see Emacs' org-mode originating in 2003, but built on top of outline-mode which is even older), but _now_ might be a good time to approach the wider population with more polished/opinionated (UI-wise) tools.
bachmeier 5y ago
> Yey another note taking app! You're posting on HN. I'm willing to bet you wouldn't be as interested in posting comments on r/housekeeping. Superficially, HN and r/housekeeping are the same thing since they both have a form to input comments. Obviously, there's more to it, and good reasons for both to exist. I disagree with your casually dismissive "digital equivalent of making an ashtray in pottery class". Dendron supports a specific workflow, something that takes a lot of effort to get right. And if they're going to get into syncing and collaboration, that's a challenge. As someone that has been watching this space for a long time, there's plenty of room for new entrants. Potentially of interest: https://danluu.com/sounds-easy/ https://danluu.com/sounds-easy/

tighter_wires 5y ago

“Developers should work with notes the same way they work with code.” Ok, so just put your notes in a git repo, and edit them in an IDE.

kevinslin 5y ago
That is the start :) And if that's all you want to use Dendron for (eg. a markdown editor with better integration to vscode and git), then you can. But if you want to expand further (eg. you now have a few hundred or few thousand notes), Dendron adds additional syntax and structure to make that manageable.
tra3 5y ago
But there's more than just revision control, no? Compilers, linters, intellisence. I don't know what is to notes as compilers are to code, but certainly note taking could stand to use more tooling.
- kevinslin 5y ago
  Yep. Developer tooling has been making massive strides over the last six decades, all focused on the problem of making information (aka code) easier to manage. Dendron builds on top of this and applies it notes. In terms of the compiler analogy to notes, in Dendron, this is the schema (aka type) system we use to help users define the structure of their notes: https://wiki.dendron.so/notes/c5e5adde-5459-409b-b34d-a0d75cbb1052.html https://wiki.dendron.so/notes/c5e5adde-5459-409b-b34d-a0d75c...

kevinslin 5y ago

Yeah, note taking apps are like mushrooms these days and it sometimes feels like everyone is doing it. I think the reason you're seeing all the development here is because how *humans* manage *knowledge at scale* is fundamentally an unsolved problem (this is why people keep building new tools). My friends give me grief about doing cloud computing for over half a decade to work on a local-first note-taking app. There is some overlap though - it is impossible to keep even a small subset of AWS (which now has over 200+ services) in one's head. The only way to use it effectively is externalizing the relevant details in a way that I, as a human, can retrieve. In many ways, trying to externalize my mental model of AWS was a great proving ground for many of the fundamental ideas around structure used in Dendron

vladsanchez 5y ago
I love Kevin's humbleness. I not only became a Dendron user/evangelist but I mostly loved the fact it is driven by such a smart-yet-humble person like Kevin Lin. Thank you and congrats on your YC backing!! <3
- kevinslin 5y ago
  thanks for the kind words :)

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

necovek 5y ago

I thought that was to-do apps? But the one you are making a comparison with is not really relevant: that's Apple-only it seems, and that, in itself, is enough incentive to look out for more. Ultimately, market can decide which are needed and which aren't. As for investors like YC, they usually bet into multiple products — while YC might have a better hit rate than some other investors, there are likely still more failed investments than successful ones (by count). The important bit for YC is what the monetary equation is at the end.

kevinslin 5y ago
I think there's now a blurred line between todo app and knowledge management, especially as tools like notion (and for that matter Dendron), are making it more viable to manage todos within your knowledge base. As for YC, I remember seeing at least two other note taking companies within our winter batch. At AWS, the mentality for new services is to "let 1000 flowers bloom" (and see which one's make it). Something similar is happening in the note taking space right now
- necovek 5y ago
  Definitely agree, though I think that line was always blurry (see Emacs' org-mode originating in 2003, but built on top of outline-mode which is even older), but _now_ might be a good time to approach the wider population with more polished/opinionated (UI-wise) tools.

bachmeier 5y ago

> Yey another note taking app! You're posting on HN. I'm willing to bet you wouldn't be as interested in posting comments on r/housekeeping. Superficially, HN and r/housekeeping are the same thing since they both have a form to input comments. Obviously, there's more to it, and good reasons for both to exist. I disagree with your casually dismissive "digital equivalent of making an ashtray in pottery class". Dendron supports a specific workflow, something that takes a lot of effort to get right. And if they're going to get into syncing and collaboration, that's a challenge. As someone that has been watching this space for a long time, there's plenty of room for new entrants. Potentially of interest: https://danluu.com/sounds-easy/ https://danluu.com/sounds-easy/