This release has issues, bugs and tbd development
but I don't agree the direction is a loss in "performance and fidelity"
When complete we will have definite improvement in The Web and mobile platforms
I am concerned about loss for the Windows/Mac platforms
Evernote has no support for "notebooks within notebooks"
For notebooks, you can assign notebooks to a Stack - this gives you two levels to work with
>>3 levels
Evernote's primary organization tool is Tags
They have a parent/child structure that supports unlimited levels
You can use the notebook/tag trees to emulate folders for your notes
>>Q3. Can I change the order of notebooks and notes in the list?
Notebooks are in Name sequence (alphabetical)
Adjust the order by adjusting the notebook name
>>Q4: When I attempted to create my first notebook I received the error in a red box "failed to create notebook",
A screenshot might help
You can contact Evernote support at https://www.evernote.com/SupportLogin.action
Someone logged in with your userid/password; probably obtained from a less secure web site
An important practice is to only use the new password for Evernote
Don't use the same password at other sites
The familiar "shard" format may be a problem
We're used to the "evernote:///" format (in-app)
Of course in-app links don't work on the web, however the app converts them when accessed
Evernote/IOS dropped the in-app format
edit: My panic attack is over
When pasted into a note, the link is converted to the in-app format
Personal backups are do-able on the Windows and Mac platforms
We can backup the raw local database files and Evernote has a note export feature
More information at How-to-export-content-from-Evernote
How-to-back-up-and-restore-your-data-in-Evernote-for-Windows
The export feature doesn't maintain notebook assignment
Separate exports are recommended for each notebook
You can subscribe for a single month
>>How often do you backup?
My personal backups run on a Mac
Daily incremental, Weekly full
Also Time Machine backups (hourly incremental)
Nothing in Evernote's search feature
I could generate the date values using scripting (Mac Applescript)
Edit;
As per @CalS, shortcuts to saved searches will give you "today", "this Week", "last two Weeks"
I use an iPad with a stylus (Apple Pencil); a finger also works
Evernote/IOS has support for PDF annotation
As you know from the Mac, this level of annotation is quite basic
For extensive work, I export the PDF into app Notability