Bill Myers

Wow. Thank you for sharing this. I'm not entirely sure how all this would work or whether it would fit my use case but -- I'm intrigued to say the least. I think a more robust tasks feature would be amazing both for me personally and for Evernote as a product. I can't wait until some of this is unveiled to the wider public for feedback.

I'd love to see the capability to assign categories to tasks. I know that for most use cases, organizing tasks by project makes the most sense. And Evernote tasks work great for this. But I practice GTD, which recommends organizing tasks by "context": the person, place or tool required to accomplish an action. The ability to add that kind of metadata to tasks while still having them located in a project note would be all I'd need to adopt this feature. It's not the sort of thing that will cause me to stop using Evernote -- I use it for so many things, and I love it. But boy, it would be cool to have this feature and be able to use tasks for my use case. I'm aware Evernote can't accommodate every desire each and every customer has. But it can never hurt to ask.

I don't. To the best of my knowledge, Bending Spoons hasn't said anything about that yet. For all we know, they could bundle AI with the Professional tier as an incentive to upgrade. Or they could charge more for it. What I'm saying is that it's a big question mark right now.

Are you attacking my dietary preferences now, too?

Yes. This. We can't assume everyone feels the way we do. Or should.

I'm back, and don't sweat it. I had a really crappy day at work and I may have overreacted. I see it as 100% subjective. I don't know how to articulate why the new UI just feels right to me. But it does. I'm not sure how I could be any more "fundamentally mistaken" than those who don't like it. We all feel the way we feel. If someone says "two and two is five" or "the moon landing was a hoax," we can call them fundamentally mistaken. We can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they're wrong. But if I say I like the new UI, and someone else says they don't, we're both right. Because we know what we like. Bending Spoons has to look at the big picture, though. Not just my opinion and your opinion, but consumer sentiment in general. And they don't have the luxury of catering solely to current customers' predilections. They have to think about the larger market they want to capture. They may have to make changes that will upset a few existing users in the short term in order to bring many times that into the fold in the long term. One hopes they're placing their bets well. Time will tell.

@Dave-in-Decatur, normally I wouldn't even respond to something like this but I like you enough to say something rather than just walk away in silence. You asked those of us who liked the UI to explain why, and then quoted my reasons and described them as "fundamentally mistaken." You've also said "you'd like" those of us who have commented to come back and confirm we still like it. I was happy to give an opinion when asked, but your response makes me feel uncomfortable and even a little angry. I'm not willing to justify my aesthetic tastes, or do any additional work over this. I think if you avoid putting people in a defensive position, you'll find there is a benefit to you as well. People will be more apt to converse with you. I've unfollowed this thread and am going to go back to what I was doing. I respect everyone's opinions and I understand some people feel passionately about this. But I don't think my continued participation in this thread is good for me.

When did Evernote become this thing about notes? When did an elephant get involved? Sorry. My question to you wasn't a serious one. I was riffing off your original joke. "See, Bill? Notebook icons!" Wait, what are these... how you say... "tags?" As for your query, I'm not sure I have an answer that will mean anything to you. I guess I realized that the prior UI, with all of its color contrast and "efficient use of real estate" now feels like it was cluttered and cramped to me. It took some time with a minimalist UI to realize I felt that way. Evernote now feels lighter to me, less claustrophobic, and has fewer things that distract me from my content. I don't expect everyone to agree, and that's OK. But that's the best explanation I can give you for why I like the new look. Which is, frankly, way better than my "Old West Brothels" idea. Please, nobody on this earth ever do that. I am so sorry I said anything.

OS/2 and laserdisc! The only platforms that ever mattered.

OK, I've played with the new UI for the better part of a day and it's actually growing on me. I think I may like it better than the old UI. But I'm hoping @Dave-in-Decatur can tell me where all those little notebook, notepad, tag and other little icon thingies came from. Are those new?

Bring back DOS. The only UI I ever loved.

Oh, Lord. I just looked at my sig. I went from Level 3 to Level 4. When did this happen? Does it come with extra added responsibilities? Because I don't want them!

By the way, for those people who have vision or other issues and are finding the new UI difficult to read, I mean no disrespect. I can't speak for anyone other than myself when I say that the new UI doesn't appear to change much of anything for me. I don't love it. I don't hate it. It's just different. But I think I will join the beta if they'll let me because I like playing with new toys.

@Dave-in-Decatur, here's a very early Evernote UI. Circa 2004. Very blue. Very Windows XP. And here's Evernote circa 2008. So much green. And now here's my idea for an Evernote UI: Very, very minimalist. Do you like it?

Thank you. I've actually enjoyed our interactions and found that even when we disagree, I think you're a really reasonable guy yourself. In fact, you're usually good at talking people down when they're overheating. I'm sorry for overreacting. I remember when they abandoned that in favor of the design that got us where we are today. I was like, "Whoa! That's NUTS!" Well, maybe not. Could you imagine anyone trying to resurrect that? The truly funny thing is, I am so used to those little notebook and tag icons we have now that I totally forgot they were even there. I mean, when you posted those pics I was like, "What else am I missing that's right in front of my face?" Then I looked for my other blue sock and found it in the freezer. I may have problems.

Possibly. Admittedly, I can't read his mind. Still, I've been reminded in the past that tone doesn't always convey well through text on a computer screen -- a little caution doesn't hurt. Nevertheless if I was wrong about him lashing out at me, @Dave-in-Decatur can consider this a public apology. Frankly, I've gotten so used to the little notebook icon thingies that remain that I honestly forgot they were there. Although now it occurs to me that someone from Bending Spoons might get the idea to take those away and then... But other than smarting off, I really don't have anything more to contribute. I meant what I said when @Sayre Ambrosio's reaction might be a better gauge than mine. When v10 came out I thought it was boiled garbage. Now I love it. Sometimes it takes me time to come around. And at this point, having had my say (admittedly, I may have said more than I actually have to say), all I've got left is a shrug. If Bending Spoons wants to decorate Evernote like a brothel from the old American West, let them. As long as I can find all the buttons and menu items, I've exhausted what little ability I have to get excited about these things anymore.

I was thinking more along the lines of these days: It could just me be, but I think the interface has changed a fair amount since those days. Anyway, I think it's going to be best if I disengage with you and maybe this thread altogether. I'll offer some parting advice, though. I'm the guy who derailed a thread accusing someone of using an ethnic slur by calling Bending Spoons a "greedy Italian mob," only to learn that where that person is from the word "mob" can have connotations that have nothing to do with organized crime. So I think I'm actually well-positioned to give this kind of advice: you're digging in and picking fights where there need be none, and I think the person you're hurting most is you. I've never found that lashing out in anger has ever actually made me feel better.

I suppose you could be in the minority, but I don't think the forum is any way to gauge that. Those of us who post a lot in forums are actually in the minority. Most people don't do that. Also, I remember a former colleague once pointing out to me that people don't tend to call the cable company to tell them, "Hey, my TV is working. Great job!" And as a lifelong comic-book fan, I remember reading decades ago that even when a comic-book was selling really well the majority of fan letters would be negative. It seems the happy readers would just keep buying the book and being happy. I am not going to go so far out on a limb as to say there is a silent majority at play here. But I think there could be. And if there is a new UI design movement that a lot of people are responding well to, Bending Spoons would be well-served to get on the bandwagon. I once ill-advisedly (as in, my own wife advised me not to) took a job to sell a business-focused mobile application with a UI that was at least 10 years out of date. It lacked design elements that had become part of the common visual language of mobile apps. To say the least, it wasn't my most successful sales assignment. As for my initial reaction, it may well come from the fact that I'm 53 and it's getting harder for me to adjust to change. Soon I'll be yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn. But I got onto my work computer this morning and when I opened Evernote I saw the beta UI. Rather than restart to go back to the current production UI, I decided to play a bit in the new sandbox. I don't love the new look like you do, but I don't think it's ugly. And it's not impeding my work in the least bit. As for the volume of complaints in this thread, Bending Spoons' revenue is measured in currency and not forum posts. And it wouldn't surprise me to learn that there are still those who pine for the days when Evernote notebooks had icons that looked like little notebooks so you knew what they were. But those days are not coming back. And I guess that's my long-winded way of saying that your reaction might be a better gauge than mine. Time will tell.

Well, I wouldn't do that. I was referring to my own desire to avoid what I feel would be my own knee-jerk reaction to change. Because I sometimes have such reactions. Your responses are your own and not mine to judge. My own thinking is this: a lot of people declared the jarring transition to v10 to be the death knell of Evernote. It's still kicking. This new UI appears to be a very minor change in comparison. If anything's going to kill Evernote, or my relationship with it, it won't be this. On the other hand, if what I saw is close to the final product, I don't get it. The change isn't "stunning," it's not dramatic, it's just... a little different. I guess my initial feeling is that the blog post heralding this new UI is a little tone-deaf. I was expecting something... bigger. But it's very possible I'm just having a Grandpa Simpson moment, and a year from now I'll be whistling a different tune. Time will tell.

I'm not going to join anyone in asking "who needed this" because it's possible there's a new UI movement afoot I'm unaware of. Maybe this will make EN more palatable to potential new users. I remember when abandoning skeuomorphism became all the rage across just about all major software products and I got cranky. Over time, however, I learned to like the new design aesthetic and I don't miss skeuomorphism at all. People tend to resist change, and I don't want to be the equivalent of Grandpa Simpson yelling at a cloud. This could be something that will cause a great hue and cry that will die down and be forgotten. But I have to confess, I'm not sure what Bending Spoons is hoping to accomplish. From what I saw, there was just enough change to be a bit jarring, but not nearly enough to change my user experience positively or negatively.

I'm glad I saw this thread. I'm one of the non-beta-testers who accidentally got the new UI, but I quit and restarted. I have the old UI again. I'm not having the violent reaction some people are having. If this becomes the new UI (sans the bugs I experienced, presumably) I'll still be a happy Evernote user. Nevertheless, @Federico Simionato, FWIW from this one Evernote user, I'm not sure how what I experienced (briefly, admittedly) would be an improvement. If anything, it seems like a lateral move to me at best. No real harm other than some irritation on my part, but no benefit either. Maybe I should sign up to be a beta tester. I guess I do have some opinions about this. @Federico Simionato, maybe you'd at least be willing to clue us in as to what this UI redesign is supposed to accomplish? It could help us in providing feedback to you.

It me. I report all of those.

@tombran44, you may want to edit your original post again to remove your phone number.

OK, I did a quick Google search and there is a line of Campfire "field notes" memo books. https://fieldnotesbrand.com/products/campfire?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAqNSsBhAvEiwAn_tmxS5QMAjfDh0QvhrBFG9In8fwbKACHgpzP5Cuos3bPvTZXlLPAjO3choCQcwQAvD_BwE Knowing that helps make more sense of the OPs comment. That doesn't mean we have to stop playing the non-sequitur game, because there are apples in my refrigerator.

Here's the bad news: this is a user forum. Bending Spoons employees visit only sporadically. Your fellow users (like me) couldn't change the layout if we wanted to. (And I don't want to -- I like the new Evernote much better than the legacy version.) Here's the good news: there are lots of alternatives to Evernote. It's very likely you'll find one that makes you happy. Good luck.