(Archived) Evernote, KustomNote & Clearly

[Helios One 7]

Hello, I'm new here.

Recently, I came across two fantastic products for Evernote: KustomNote with which serves to create form templates, and Clearly which serves to create layout templates. At present unfortunately, these two products are mutually exclusive.

What if those two products worked together (or somehow became one)?

For me, these are the two missing links for a super-efficient Evernote:

1. A way to enter the same type of information consistently (KustomNote)
   
2. A way to create simple, consistent and eye-pleasing layouts (Clearly)
   

I'd like to know what you think...

In the meantime by the way, is Clearly coming to a Safari near me?

Thanks.

[gazumped 11,664]

Hi and welcome to the forums. Thanks for your suggestion. As you'll gather if you hang around here for long the Evernote developers also read postings and take note of - but don't necessarily reply to - proposed changes, so your comment will be noted.

There's been a lot of discussion about enhancements to Evernote, with requests for more styles, outlining, mind mapping, calendars etc., and my personal view is that I'd far rather see Evernote get faster, (even) more reliable, and provide parity across all the different versions so I can do exactly the same thing on my Android phone that you can do on a Mac. (Within reason, given the differences in accessibility...)

Evernote has an open API, so anyone can build "extensions" that enhance the basic experience - and both Clearly and KustomNote take advantage of that in moving information directly to and from Evernote's database. Both are already closely linked to Evernote. If you have the skill (or the cash) you can get a utility built that will do exactly what you want it to - so in effect Evernote is even more flexible than you want it to be in that it can do anything you want. (Although I'd avoid anything you produce with an Evernote-controlled grill).

Evernote is your external brain. It remember things for you, and can point you towards any sound, picture, movie, or web page that you wish. In some of those cases you'll have to use external storage for the actual item, but Evernote can store a link to that clip and help you search for it in future.

If it adds features, it will get more complicated and (inevitably) more expensive and (probably) slower and less intuitive to use. I vote for faster and slimmer* - and I apologise for soapboxing on your thread.

* This is a policy much advocated in its application to me, by my wife; so it must be right...

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

Hello, I'm new here.

Recently, I came across two fantastic products for Evernote: KustomNote with which serves to create form templates, and Clearly which serves to create layout templates. At present unfortunately, these two products are mutually exclusive.

What if those two products worked together (or somehow became one)?

For me, these are the two missing links for a super-efficient Evernote:

1. A way to enter the same type of information consistently (KustomNote)
   
2. A way to create simple, consistent and eye-pleasing layouts (Clearly)
   

I'd like to know what you think...

In the meantime by the way, is Clearly coming to a Safari near me?

Thanks.

Hi. Welcome to the forums!

Does Clearly create "layout templates"? Here is a blurb about the product: "Clearly makes blog posts, articles and webpages clean and easy to read. Save them to Evernote to read them anywhere." It does have custom themes, but as these are limited to reading (as far as I know), it is something different.

As for KustomNote, the developer might not mind getting hired by Evernote His forms, though, would seem to do exactly what you want (#1 and #2). KustomNote customizes your notetaking experience, and Clearly customizes your web-clipping/reading (now listening, too) experience. I think the division of labor makes a lot of sense, and I don't see the benefit in combining them. I prefer to have little apps doing their little things really well and integrating together smoothly.

[EDIT:] It looks like gazumped beat me to it. Well, as you can see, we share a similar interest in pared down apps. Look at it this way -- why have iTunes to manage every single thing that goes into your idevice (I loathe that app, and I've wasted way too much time messing around with its new layout) if you are someone who doesn't use anything but music? Or, in my case, when you mainly need an app to handle podcasts and iTunes U? The experience is unpleasant for everyone, and the vast majority of features go unused as well.

[Helios One 7]

@gazumped and @GrumpyMonkey,

Thanks for your reply. I'm in total agreement with both of you when it comes to keeping Evernote as simple as possible. Making it complex would defeat it's purpose.

However, since the two products exist, it is probable that there is a need for them. I'm talking about streamlining the note-taking process further by combining two approach into one, leaving the details of it on the developer side, and a simple, easy to use interface à la KustomNote on the client side. I would gladly pay extra for that! Probably so would others do, especially now that Evernote is stretching its wings with its new Business client.

In that sense GrumpyMonkey, I sure wouldn't mind either if the KustomNote developer was hired by Evernote! At the Trunk Conference. he sure looked like a stand up kind of guy too.

Thanks for your thoughts!

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

@gazumped and @GrumpyMonkey,

Thanks for your reply. I'm in total agreement with both of you when it comes to keeping Evernote as simple as possible. Making it complex would defeat it's purpose.

However, since the two products exist, it is probable that there is a need for them. I'm talking about streamlining the note-taking process further by combining two approach into one, leaving the details of it on the developer side, and a simple, easy to use interface

[Helios One 7]

@gazumped and @GrumpyMonkey,

Thanks for your reply. I'm in total agreement with both of you when it comes to keeping Evernote as simple as possible. Making it complex would defeat it's purpose.

However, since the two products exist, it is probable that there is a need for them. I'm talking about streamlining the note-taking process further by combining two approach into one, leaving the details of it on the developer side, and a simple, easy to use interface � la KustomNote on the client side. I would gladly pay extra for that! Probably so would others do, especially now that Evernote is stretching its wings with its new Business client.

In that sense GrumpyMonkey, I sure wouldn't mind either if the KustomNote developer was hired by Evernote! At the Trunk Conference. he sure looked like a stand up kind of guy too.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Were you at the trunk conference too? Maybe we met

Well, Hussein does seem to be a stand-up guy in all of my interactions with him, and I believe he was the only developer in the entire conference who thanked his wife for her support. Very cool.

No, I wasn't unfortunately, but I subscribe on You Tube - That's the closest I could get but I did have the best seat in the house And you are right, what he did was really cool!

Bye.