Reinstatement of Card View - Evernote Version 8 Lacks Retrieval Cues of Version 7
Evernote's aspiration has always been ambitious in seeking to provide users with a kind of external super-brain, capable of remembering everything, forever, in an organized, ubiquitously available way, with effortless capture and recall. However, for this virtual repository to come close to being an annexe of one's own brain, a basic grasp of neurology and emulation of the processes by which memory works would be helpful ie. in terms of encoding, consolidating, retaining and retrieving.
Neurologists seem to agree that memories are not retrieved by means of a simple pathway, but through a complex web of interconnecting neural networks working together. For this reason the abadonment of the elaborate card-view in Version 7 of Evernote is a big mistake since by drastically reducing the number of retrieval cues, access to stored information has now become much more limited and difficult.
In Version 8, browsing through notes, especially those where audio, sketch or attached files are included but hidden, is a dispiriting experience since there is no easy way of knowing where things are, without quite a bit of guesswork and selecting each note preview individually. There is only a single, very lengthy column to look through and no way to skim a large number of detailed previews quickly, as there was in Version 7. The search bar is of little help in recalling important stuff uploaded but forgotten about. Notes may still be stored on Evernote servers, but they are no longer readily accessible. The design of the app may appear less cluttered and the app possibly performs faster but it's at the expense of it's basic function. It's as if one's house has been tidied up when out and all essential belongings unexpectedly stashed away in the dark recesses of a vast store with only a small door to get in and no light.
Personally, I have invested a huge amount of extremely important information, from every area of my life into Evernote and it's crucial I stay in touch with it on a daily basis. Having placed my faith and trust in the system, I need it to work reliably. I am sorry to be critical, but it's a serious matter for me and it seems I'm not alone in my criticism of the latest update. I wouldn't like to see Evernote become Nevernote, redundant and unloved. Reverting back to the comprehensive card view is a no-brainer and would be a positive step in sorting out some of the current issues.
