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Evernote + Dropbox means that I am basically device/OS/location agnostic for all my information needs, which given that I switch between 3-4 machines (all with

Evernote + Dropbox means that I am basically device/OS/location agnostic for all my information needs, which given that I switch between 3-4 machines (all with different OSs) regularly is absolutely crucial. That said, some PAINFULLY obvious things which would be hugely benficial for adoption; - LaTex support built in - Markdown (either in every note, or allowing you to add 'markdown' boxes, if just for writing code) And a stretch goal; - Better PDF/attachment integration. In a perfect world there would be a Dropbox extension which creates an "Evernote" folder in your Dropbox and any attachments are automatically stored in a notebook-hierarchy file-system within that folder. This would autoupdate to reflect what's going on in Evernote.

the_watcher 13y ago
I'm working on integrating Evernote into my everyday life, and finally just purchased the level of Dropbox I need for backup. I have 5 devices that I use semi-regularly to all the time and it is fantastic to be able to shift between all 5 devices seamlessly.
- MatthewPhillips 13y ago
  You could just use regular WebDAV[1] (boring I know) and not have to worry about syncing gigabytes of redundant data onto every device you own.
  - coldtea 13y ago
    Yes -- he would only have to worry about setting up and maintaining a WebDAV server. Plus, he would have to do without integration with tons of his favorites apps in desktop and mobile (like Dropbox has).
    - MatthewPhillips 13y ago
      You can save to your WebDAV using the standard file picker. Surely an app that exports to Dropbox also gives you a "Save As" dialog.
      - anamexis 13y ago
        Except for every iOS app that integrates with Dropbox.
        MatthewPhillips 13y ago
        Very true, iOS doesn't give users control of their data. To me that's more of a reason to not use iOS rather than a reason not to use WebDAV.
        bradbatt 13y ago
        "You shouldn't use Dropbox because WebDAV is better." "Sure, but that doesn't work with my iPhone." "You shouldn't use an iPhone either."
        coldtea 13y ago
        "WebDAV should be enough for everybody"
  - msh 13y ago
    But then it won't work offline
  - rubinelli 13y ago
    You can also avoid syncing too much data with a little organization, by specifying which folders should be synced to which devices.
bentcorner 13y ago
Re: Markdown support This is my biggest gripe with Evernote. I've used Evernote and OneNote and settled on OneNote because the text formatting and editing in Evernote desktop client and mobile client needs serious work. I've created notes in the desktop that the mobile client said it couldn't open[1]. That's a showstopper. Not to mention the weird quirky text editing in the mobile client. [1] To be fair, this was over a year ago on iOS, but I have no reason to go back at this point.
jwr 13y ago
This also means that all the information you collect is readily available in unencrypted form to any agency that might want to bulk-process it. You're essentially storing your information on postcards. That said, it might be a fair compromise for many of us. Evernote has another problem: their Mac app was never "smooth enough". There was always something off about it, when compared to apps like Yojimbo. And these things really matter for apps that you use a lot.
gjuggler 13y ago
Re: PDF / attachment handling, you may be interested in what Paperpile (http://paperpile.com http://paperpile.com) does with PDFs: we create a subfolder in your Google Drive space which automatically stays synced with your reference library, so PDFs and supplementary files are accessible from anywhere. It's tuned more specifically towards academic work than Evernote, but the Drive sync is quite simple and robust. (Disclaimer: I co-develop Paperpile, a web-based reference manager)
- alexholehouse 13y ago
  I don't even.... this is amazing. I've been toying with the idea of making something like this, but could never have produced anything as good. I don't know when I was last this excited about a piece of software. When the paperpile option appeared next to PDFs via the Chrome extension - goosebumps! Thank you, this solves a massive problem I have and have had for a while, and despite trying all kinds of managers have never found anything which really combines organization with raw PDF access in a distributed manner.

the_watcher 13y ago

I'm working on integrating Evernote into my everyday life, and finally just purchased the level of Dropbox I need for backup. I have 5 devices that I use semi-regularly to all the time and it is fantastic to be able to shift between all 5 devices seamlessly.

MatthewPhillips 13y ago
You could just use regular WebDAV[1] (boring I know) and not have to worry about syncing gigabytes of redundant data onto every device you own.
- coldtea 13y ago
  Yes -- he would only have to worry about setting up and maintaining a WebDAV server. Plus, he would have to do without integration with tons of his favorites apps in desktop and mobile (like Dropbox has).
  - MatthewPhillips 13y ago
    You can save to your WebDAV using the standard file picker. Surely an app that exports to Dropbox also gives you a "Save As" dialog.
    - anamexis 13y ago
      Except for every iOS app that integrates with Dropbox.
      - MatthewPhillips 13y ago
        Very true, iOS doesn't give users control of their data. To me that's more of a reason to not use iOS rather than a reason not to use WebDAV.
        bradbatt 13y ago
        "You shouldn't use Dropbox because WebDAV is better." "Sure, but that doesn't work with my iPhone." "You shouldn't use an iPhone either."
        coldtea 13y ago
        "WebDAV should be enough for everybody"
- msh 13y ago
  But then it won't work offline
- rubinelli 13y ago
  You can also avoid syncing too much data with a little organization, by specifying which folders should be synced to which devices.

bentcorner 13y ago

Re: Markdown support This is my biggest gripe with Evernote. I've used Evernote and OneNote and settled on OneNote because the text formatting and editing in Evernote desktop client and mobile client needs serious work. I've created notes in the desktop that the mobile client said it couldn't open[1]. That's a showstopper. Not to mention the weird quirky text editing in the mobile client. [1] To be fair, this was over a year ago on iOS, but I have no reason to go back at this point.

jwr 13y ago

This also means that all the information you collect is readily available in unencrypted form to any agency that might want to bulk-process it. You're essentially storing your information on postcards. That said, it might be a fair compromise for many of us. Evernote has another problem: their Mac app was never "smooth enough". There was always something off about it, when compared to apps like Yojimbo. And these things really matter for apps that you use a lot.

gjuggler 13y ago

Re: PDF / attachment handling, you may be interested in what Paperpile (http://paperpile.com http://paperpile.com) does with PDFs: we create a subfolder in your Google Drive space which automatically stays synced with your reference library, so PDFs and supplementary files are accessible from anywhere. It's tuned more specifically towards academic work than Evernote, but the Drive sync is quite simple and robust. (Disclaimer: I co-develop Paperpile, a web-based reference manager)

alexholehouse 13y ago
I don't even.... this is amazing. I've been toying with the idea of making something like this, but could never have produced anything as good. I don't know when I was last this excited about a piece of software. When the paperpile option appeared next to PDFs via the Chrome extension - goosebumps! Thank you, this solves a massive problem I have and have had for a while, and despite trying all kinds of managers have never found anything which really combines organization with raw PDF access in a distributed manner.