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I use Notion databases for this. They're essentially spreadsheets with customizable table, list, kanban views, and each row gets its own wiki-style page in addi

by dcre 2y ago

I use Notion databases for this. They're essentially spreadsheets with customizable table, list, kanban views, and each row gets its own wiki-style page in addition to the structured data. So it's nice for lists of books or movies or games, where you have some metadata but you also might want to take notes on it when you read/watch/play. It works pretty well for this purpose, but I also could probably make Obsidian or Logseq work and it would have a better privacy story, give me more control over the shape of the data, and not cost $48 a year (though I don't really mind paying). https://www.notion.com/help/intro-to-databases https://www.notion.com/help/intro-to-databases I have been looking for a way to switch from Notion since they rolled out AI features without an opt-out (besides emailing them). I don't even dislike LLMs, I just want to know what I'm sending them and when.

pjot 2y ago
A little know Google product is called Tables[0]. Very similar to what you’re describing. Another is AppSheet[1] for a more drag and drop application builder. [0]: https://tables.area120.google.com/ https://tables.area120.google.com/ [1]: https://about.appsheet.com/home/ https://about.appsheet.com/home/
- edoceo 2y ago
  From the Tables page: Important update: The Beta program is now closed Tables is no longer accepting new users for its Beta program
  - do_not_redeem 2y ago
    Also, > Table’s features and capabilities are now integrated into AppSheet, our no-code platform that blah blah blah Seems like a usual Google product in that if you use it, you'll be forced to migrate all your data/workflows to some shiny new thing every few years.
    - lupire 2y ago
      Tables was never a supported Google product. It was an Area 120 experimental prototype. By design, Area 120 prototypes either get shut down or get merged into real products. AppMaker was Google's AppSheet competitor that was shut down after a few years.
do_not_redeem 2y ago
I badly, badly wish Obsidian had some kind of database/spreadsheet feature. I'm limping along with LibreOffice spreadsheets for privacy, but it's a pain having my notes in two different formats. And I miss grep.
- alostpuppy 2y ago
  What would you use this feature for?
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - do_not_redeem 2y ago
    Basically what parent said, little personal database tables. Example: I have a list of 100 movies I want to see, and I have columns like date watched, year released, should I rewatch again in 10 years, notes, etc. I want to be able to do two things: 1. Sort/filter by columns (ex: status = not watched) 2. Add markdown like "[[Steve]] told me to watch this" and have backlinks etc. work seamlessly with the rest of my notes. I know you can do that with Obsidian "properties" but I don't want 100 separate files for my to-watch list. And I've tried a few of the Obsidian database plugins too, but as far as keyboard usability none of them came close to VisiData or LibreOffice.
    - jddj 2y ago
      I think this all works out of the box with logseq. You can create a movie template with a few props then put them anywhere and then tabularise all the entries with a query.
- adhamsalama 2y ago
  Try SiYuan Note. It was posted here a couple of days ago.
llamaimperative 2y ago
You should check out Fibery. It’s ultimately like Notion but a lot more performant and less “finicky” due to being too clever about UX, in my opinion.
- dcre 2y ago
  Definitely interesting. I think if I was going to put in the effort of switching, it would probably be to more of a labor of love pain in the ass situation like Obsidian where I can be more in control. My use case would easily fit into the Fibery free plan. Amusingly, their own comparison page argues that Notion is a better fit for me: “Where Fibery works better? Processes and work management for medium and large teams. Complex processes like product management, feedback management, user research, software development tracking. Where Notion works better? Personal life organizer. Small/medium company wiki. Work management for teams with simple processes.” https://fibery.io/fibery-vs-x https://fibery.io/fibery-vs-x
  - llamaimperative 2y ago
    I’m a heavy Obsidian user personally, started using Fibery for my startup, and now I’m starting to use Fibery for personal stuff over Obsidian as well. Obsidian is a better note-taker, but Fibery is much more programmable and has the most important OOTB feature of Obsidian which is bidirectional linking (IMO). I don’t think Fibery gives you less control except in the sense of like data ownership (which is what brought me to Obsidian back in the day). More key bindings for Fibery would also be appreciated :)
    - dcre 2y ago
      Funny about backlinks — Notion has had them since 2020 and I've never once looked at the backlinks for a given page. I don't think any of my pages link to each other.
- freetonik 2y ago
  I was commissioned to make a video explaining what Fivery is and what makes it powerful. It was a couple of years ago, but I believe the core principles still stand. In case someone is interested to learn more and is ok with video format, check it out: https://youtu.be/ddgJGoQBdtQ https://youtu.be/ddgJGoQBdtQ I think Fibery is a very interesting product and an incredibly powerful platform. Developed by a small team.
wim 2y ago
We're building Thymer [1] for this, which is end-to-end encrypted, offline-first and optionally self-hostable. It's like an editor but you can organize anything into custom database views, we hope to get it ready soon. [1] https://thymer.com/ https://thymer.com/
- dcre 2y ago
  Very cool! Will be keeping an eye out for it.

by dcre 2y ago

pjot 2y ago

A little know Google product is called Tables[0]. Very similar to what you’re describing. Another is AppSheet[1] for a more drag and drop application builder. [0]: https://tables.area120.google.com/ https://tables.area120.google.com/ [1]: https://about.appsheet.com/home/ https://about.appsheet.com/home/

edoceo 2y ago
From the Tables page: Important update: The Beta program is now closed Tables is no longer accepting new users for its Beta program
- do_not_redeem 2y ago
  Also, > Table’s features and capabilities are now integrated into AppSheet, our no-code platform that blah blah blah Seems like a usual Google product in that if you use it, you'll be forced to migrate all your data/workflows to some shiny new thing every few years.
  - lupire 2y ago
    Tables was never a supported Google product. It was an Area 120 experimental prototype. By design, Area 120 prototypes either get shut down or get merged into real products. AppMaker was Google's AppSheet competitor that was shut down after a few years.

do_not_redeem 2y ago

I badly, badly wish Obsidian had some kind of database/spreadsheet feature. I'm limping along with LibreOffice spreadsheets for privacy, but it's a pain having my notes in two different formats. And I miss grep.

alostpuppy 2y ago
What would you use this feature for?
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- do_not_redeem 2y ago
  Basically what parent said, little personal database tables. Example: I have a list of 100 movies I want to see, and I have columns like date watched, year released, should I rewatch again in 10 years, notes, etc. I want to be able to do two things: 1. Sort/filter by columns (ex: status = not watched) 2. Add markdown like "[[Steve]] told me to watch this" and have backlinks etc. work seamlessly with the rest of my notes. I know you can do that with Obsidian "properties" but I don't want 100 separate files for my to-watch list. And I've tried a few of the Obsidian database plugins too, but as far as keyboard usability none of them came close to VisiData or LibreOffice.
  - jddj 2y ago
    I think this all works out of the box with logseq. You can create a movie template with a few props then put them anywhere and then tabularise all the entries with a query.
adhamsalama 2y ago
Try SiYuan Note. It was posted here a couple of days ago.

llamaimperative 2y ago

You should check out Fibery. It’s ultimately like Notion but a lot more performant and less “finicky” due to being too clever about UX, in my opinion.

dcre 2y ago
Definitely interesting. I think if I was going to put in the effort of switching, it would probably be to more of a labor of love pain in the ass situation like Obsidian where I can be more in control. My use case would easily fit into the Fibery free plan. Amusingly, their own comparison page argues that Notion is a better fit for me: “Where Fibery works better? Processes and work management for medium and large teams. Complex processes like product management, feedback management, user research, software development tracking. Where Notion works better? Personal life organizer. Small/medium company wiki. Work management for teams with simple processes.” https://fibery.io/fibery-vs-x https://fibery.io/fibery-vs-x
- llamaimperative 2y ago
  I’m a heavy Obsidian user personally, started using Fibery for my startup, and now I’m starting to use Fibery for personal stuff over Obsidian as well. Obsidian is a better note-taker, but Fibery is much more programmable and has the most important OOTB feature of Obsidian which is bidirectional linking (IMO). I don’t think Fibery gives you less control except in the sense of like data ownership (which is what brought me to Obsidian back in the day). More key bindings for Fibery would also be appreciated :)
  - dcre 2y ago
    Funny about backlinks — Notion has had them since 2020 and I've never once looked at the backlinks for a given page. I don't think any of my pages link to each other.
freetonik 2y ago
I was commissioned to make a video explaining what Fivery is and what makes it powerful. It was a couple of years ago, but I believe the core principles still stand. In case someone is interested to learn more and is ok with video format, check it out: https://youtu.be/ddgJGoQBdtQ https://youtu.be/ddgJGoQBdtQ I think Fibery is a very interesting product and an incredibly powerful platform. Developed by a small team.

wim 2y ago

We're building Thymer [1] for this, which is end-to-end encrypted, offline-first and optionally self-hostable. It's like an editor but you can organize anything into custom database views, we hope to get it ready soon. [1] https://thymer.com/ https://thymer.com/

dcre 2y ago
Very cool! Will be keeping an eye out for it.