(Archived) Synchronizing Notes in OneNote 2007 vs. EN3b

[marcclarke 0]

For those of you wondering how the other half lives, here is an excellent and in-depth 40 minute video by Josh Einstein about how to configure and manage note-by-note synchronization using OneNote 2007.

http://gottabemobile.blip.tv/file/423113/

(I'll give you an up-front summary: the EverNote Development team has done a brilliant job of making note-by-note synchronization between multiple devices falling-off-a-log simple for even the least technically-literate among us. Not so with OneNote 2007 synchronization.)

In OneNote 2007, you get to configure the networks and the network folder shares yourself. Josh suggests that you always use the same user name and password on all your different machines to ease the set-up headaches. EN3b doesn't care, as EN3b coordinates everything via the central web server.

In OneNote 2007 you have the master copy and the client copies of your database, all on PCs. There is no Mac client (and, coming from Microsoft, I would not hold my breath waiting for one). There is no iPhone client. There is no Android client. There is a Windows Mobile version, which has some severe limitations (I know people who have tried it, but no one who actually uses it).

The EverNote 3 Beta model is vastly simpler to set up, configure, and use in everyday life than the OneNote model. In the EN3b model everything flows through the EN web server. You set up an account on the EN3b web server. You install client software to your device(s). If you don't want client devices you can access and edit your notes using your web browswer (OneNote 2007 has nothing even remotely similar). That is it. You turn on synchronization on all your devices (on by default in the EN3b installation). You use all your devices, even to the extent of editing, creating, and deleting notes on all your devices all at once. When you device is connected to the Internet that device automatically gets updated with all the latest edits, creations, and deletions from all the other devices. You (the EN3b user) don't have to manage any of this; EN3b does it all for you.

The video talks about setting up a secure Virtual Public Network so you can synchronize two OneNote 2007 databases securely, across WiFi and/or the Internet (even public hot spots). EN3b has a little way to go on that front, as both the web synchronization and (I think) the IMAP e-mail client transmissions can be monitored by anyone with a packet sniffer for either uploads or downloads to/from the EN3b web service. I am confident the EN team will come up with some acceptable solutions.

[No-Nonsense 0]

For those of you wondering how the other half lives, here is an excellent and in-depth 40 minute video by Josh Einstein about how to configure and manage note-by-note synchronization using OneNote 2007.

http://gottabemobile.blip.tv/file/423113/

(I'll give you an up-front summary: the EverNote Development team has done a brilliant job of making note-by-note synchronization between multiple devices falling-off-a-log simple for even the least technically-literate among us. Not so with OneNote 2007 synchronization.)

In OneNote 2007, you get to configure the networks and the network folder shares yourself. Josh suggests that you always use the same user name and password on all your different machines to ease the set-up headaches. EN3b doesn't care, as EN3b coordinates everything via the central web server.

I think you missed one point in your praise of the EN3 synchronization: If I understand ON2007 synchronization correctly, it works using network shares. There is no central Microsoft server/service to synchronize your notes. Using network shares seems to be a huge problem for the normal user to set up sharing over the internet (e.g. to sync work and home database or notebook and PC) as you have to run a windows machine connected to the net and the hassle of running a network share over the internet.

The ON2007 approach is not straight forward to use but allows the user to set up synchronization using his own servers and therefore having full control over his data (assuming he is in control of his server and using VPN to secure the transmission over the internet).

The EN3 approach is easy to use but you have to give the data out of your hands. At the moment EN3 is missing secure transaction of the data when synchronizing, secure access to your notes online (web client) and encryprion of your notes (so that EverNote Corporation cannot access the data - web client would not work then though *g*).

Then I am asking myself what the pricing model of EN3 web synchronization will be like. I assume this will be a paid subscription service depending on the needed storage capacity and maybe future enhancement extras (secure access, ...). ON2007 synchronization is not free either (you have to run your server or use a paid subscription service), but it is up to you. If you yust want to synchronize your notebook with your PC, then you do not even need a server and it is "free".

There is also the question if there will be an EverNote server software to buy (for small to large business) that do not want to hand out their data to EverNote Corporation.

On one side I am really interested in synchronozation over the web, "public databases" and web access to my notes. On the other side I am curious if the developers thought about these problems (it doesen't seem so regarding secure access..., see other thread) and why the users here do not seem to think about this more carefully.

I use Googles services (GMail, Reader, Documents) though, but only for personal data and not for corporate data (I think this would be strictly forbidden for the most), so I would use EN3 web syncronization only for personal or public data and only if the subscription fee would not be to high.

-Jens

[marcclarke 0]

No-Nonsense;

You are correct, aside from the ease-of-setup issue (where EN3b clearly excels), the other other primary issue of interest to me (personally) is security. I am a very private person. I want to have my EN3 database on the EN server be encrypted (so when hackers break into the EN3 web servers, as they inevitably will, they still won't be able to read my personal data) and I want to have all my synchronizing transmissions to/from the EN web servers be impervious to eavesdropping and spoofing, no matter whether I am using my home hard-wired connection to my router, my laptop and my encrypted WiFi connection (at home or at a public hot spot), my WM6 WiFi PDA, or my WM6 cell phone over EV/DO. Similarly, if I am using the EN3b IMAP client on my SmartPhone, I want all those e-mails to be securely transmitted, bidirectionally.

As I have stated elsewhere on the EN3b forum, I currently consider EN3b to be completely and totally open and viewable to the world at every level, on every device, and in all forms of synchronization to all device clients. :evil:

I also suspect that the security-conscious are in the vast minority in what I currently speculate is EN3's target audience: the cell-phone-toting, text-messaging, social-networking crowd.

[marcclarke 0]

For those of you wondering how the other half lives, here is an excellent and in-depth 40 minute video by Josh Einstein about how to configure and manage note-by-note synchronization using OneNote 2007.

http://gottabemobile.blip.tv/file/423113/

(I'll give you an up-front summary: the EverNote Development team has done a brilliant job of making note-by-note synchronization between multiple devices falling-off-a-log simple for even the least technically-literate among us. Not so with OneNote 2007 synchronization.)

In OneNote 2007, you get to configure the networks and the network folder shares yourself. Josh suggests that you always use the same user name and password on all your different machines to ease the set-up headaches. EN3b doesn't care, as EN3b coordinates everything via the central web server.

I think you missed one point in your praise of the EN3 synchronization: If I understand ON2007 synchronization correctly, it works using network shares. There is no central Microsoft server/service to synchronize your notes.

-Jens

You are correct on all counts (and you can watch the video yourself).