(Archived) On the fence about Evernote

[christa 1]

I run a small design firm and I'm looking for a simple way to keep track of job notes/documents and such.

I've tried Basecamp but honestly didn't feel it was worth the cost. How's the learning curve for Evernote? Would you recommend sticking with the free version or do the features of the Premium version make it worth the upgrade?

Considered OneNote because our biggest client uses it but the Mac version sounds very weak.

Thanks,

Christa

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I run a small design firm and I'm looking for a simple way to keep track of job notes/documents and such.

I've tried Basecamp but honestly didn't feel it was worth the cost. How's the learning curve for Evernote? Would you recommend sticking with the free version or do the features of the Premium version make it worth the upgrade?

I think only you can decide if it's worth the premium cost to you. It's kind of like asking "should I buy this dress?" (shrug) Have you tried using EN? I think that's the starting point. Then if you like it & want to explore premium features, go premium for one month ($5). If you like it, you can then go annually ($45/year.)

[gazumped 11,656]

Hi Christa. You ask difficult questions, because Evernote may suit you down to the ground - or it could drive you wild; it depends on your IT skillset, your hardware (Android / iOS / Mac / Windows x3 or so versions...), and your detailed use. Evernote has two brilliant things going for it though -

1) It works on (almost) ANY hardware you've got

2) It's free, and

3) You've got us as a support crew (as well as those official types at Elephant Central) to help you over the occasional bump in the road.

Main drawback - our math sometimes leaves a lot to be desired...

Give it a try - start with the free version and check in here if you have any problems. Good luck..

Edit: memo to self: type faster darnit!

[christa 1]

Thanks for the feedback.

I downloaded the free version last year but never got into it. We found OmniFocus easier to get up and running with faster but it lacks may of the features of Evernote.

Lynda.com has a series of tutorials on Evernote. We'll start there. Thanks.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I run a small design firm and I'm looking for a simple way to keep track of job notes/documents and such.

I've tried Basecamp but honestly didn't feel it was worth the cost. How's the learning curve for Evernote? Would you recommend sticking with the free version or do the features of the Premium version make it worth the upgrade?

Considered OneNote because our biggest client uses it but the Mac version sounds very weak.

Thanks,

Christa

Hi. Welcome to the forum.

If you are looking for something general (as opposed to something specialized for a particular profession), I'd highly recommend Evernote. There are a lot of use cases you can explore to see how it might fit into your work (http://www.princeton.edu/~cmayo/evernote-use-cases.html).

As for OneNote, it does not exist on the Mac, so it is especially weak there You could install Parallels and run it from there, but frankly, I don't think it matters much that one of your clients is using it, because I cannot think of a way (lack of knowledge on my part?) you would gain any particular benefits from using the same software.

[C6REW 416]

OneNote is a poor relation to Evernote and it is not cross platform and in 2011 it was not capable of being shared.

The iPad version is almost unusable.

Using Evernote is about adapting what you want and how you want to work. I have not seen the Linda tutorials but there are a few good low cost books for beginners.

Regards

Chris

[christa 1]

Thanks GrumpyMonkey. That's a riot, I actually read a review that compared OneNote running on both platforms. And, it wasn't on Wikipedia.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

FWIW, I use both Onenote (occasionally) and Evernote (at least once (normally more) per hour I'm on the computer.) Although there is overlap, I don't see them as competitors, for some of the reasons already mentioned. I tend to use ON for brainstorming & especially when I have input from a myriad of sources (web searches, personal notes, emails from co-workers/managers). But EN is the single, most used app I think I've ever had in over 35 years of working on computers. No exaggeration. But like I said, it's a personal choice. You need to see if it works for you. No one else can make that call.