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Why I'm Continuing to Use Evernote


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I have read so much negativity lately from users reacting to the privacy policy and the move to google servers I feel the need to chime in but on a positive note. I understand the frustration and unhappiness. If you didn't care, you wouldn't be angry. 

I too gulped when I first read the emails outlining EN plans and thought about leaving. I was in a quandary because I had just completed a review of my options previous to this. OneNote has issues for the Mac user. I won't go into them here but there are many. Apple Notes has a continuing synch issue for the Mac and along with barebones functionality is a non starter for me. I have heard some talk about using Google Keep. Really? After complaining on this forum about Google? Evernote has functionality I need and use. 

When i read the new privacy policy I combed through my notes looking for info I wouldn't want to get out. Where I found it, I pulled the note and used Preview encryption on my Mac to encrypt the data. I then put the note back into EN and used tags and keywords to aid in finding the data later. If EN wants to read the rest of the data, they better bring a lot of coffee because they will be bored into oblivion. Be smart. If you don't want someone to even possibly see your data, encrypt it yourself. Why depend on someone else for that? It's easy, fast, and free. I want control of my sensitive information and I have it through existing tools. 

My biggest worry before this was "is EN going to be around in the future?" The new pricing plan was actually good news to me because I thought "okay, they have reviewed the path forward and now understand how to stay viable". I gladly paid to become a premium user. I use EN many times a day and for the price of 1 family dinner I can continue to use all the features for a year. No problem. Of course if the cost/benefit falls to the negative side, I will get serious about finding an option where the cost/benefit is positive. I'm not a blind follower. Right now, I'm concerned and keeping a close eye but still okay. 

I will continue to use EN until something better comes along or until they offend me to the point of leaving. I'm hoping that doesn't happen. Right now, EN is still the best option in my opinion and for my use. I take control over my data with my own encryption tools so I don't depend on them for that. I have added my vote for the features I want and hope EN looks at those things but for now I will still use it. 

Just wanted to add my support for those who are still positive on the product and it's future. 

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3 hours ago, silentquest said:

I have read so much negativity lately from users reacting to the privacy policy and the move to google servers I feel the need to chime in but on a positive note.

Its nice to read a positive post

>>My biggest worry before this was "is EN going to be around in the future?"

I've experienced many software products come and go.
When I started with Evernote, I made sure I had an exit strategy in case
- Evernote goes down,
- I decide to leave.  
My backup plans (documented here) use AppleScript running on my Mac to export my notes to a cloud drive

>>I pulled the note and used Preview encryption on my Mac to encrypt the data

I also encrypt my private data.  
Not in response to anything I read, I just want to secure my privacy for data I upload to the cloud
I use an automator script (documented here) on my Mac to simplify the process

Be aware, the Mac encryption level is not very high.  
Some users have recommended switching to a dedicated product for more secure encryption

>>I will continue to use EN until something better comes along or until they offend me to the point of leaving. I'm hoping that doesn't happen. Right now, EN is still the best option in my opinion and for my use. I take control over my data with my own encryption tools so I don't depend on them for that. I have added my vote for the features I want and hope EN looks at those things but for now I will still use it.

Same here - Right now, "EN is still the best option in my opinion and for my use"

Also: I care, but when/if I leave I won't be posting angry comments like I see in the forums

 

 

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21 minutes ago, DTLow said:

 
My backup plans (documented here) use AppleScript running on my Mac to export my notes to a cloud drive

That's a bit much for me. haha. I think I read somewhere that on the mac a copy of all my notes are stored anyway so if EN goes away I still have a copy? If not is there a easier/more manual way to back up to iCloud? (haven't explored how to use apple script at all)

21 minutes ago, DTLow said:

Be aware, the Mac encryption level is not very high.  
Some users have recommended switching to a dedicated product for more secure encryption

Do you know of any good products for Mac that do this?

Thank you!

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2 hours ago, silentquest said:

That's a bit much for me. haha. I think I read somewhere that on the mac a copy of all my notes are stored anyway so if EN goes away I still have a copy? If not is there a easier/more manual way to back up to iCloud? (haven't explored how to use apple script at all)

You can also simply select your notes, right click and select export

And yes, you have a full copy of your notes on the Mac

>>Do you know of any good products for Mac that do this? (Encryption)

One of the recommended products was A-PDF.  It wasn't expensive and had top level encryption

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2 hours ago, silentquest said:

That's a bit much for me. haha. I think I read somewhere that on the mac a copy of all my notes are stored anyway so if EN goes away I still have a copy? If not is there a easier/more manual way to back up to iCloud? (haven't explored how to use apple script at all)

Do you know of any good products for Mac that do this?

Thank you!

http://www.exportnote.com/

"...ExportNote is the only application for Mac and PC that can export all your notes (including local, synchronized, shared and business notebooks) into a free and standard format while preserving the organization in stacks, notebooks, and notes... "

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3 hours ago, eric99 said:

http://www.exportnote.com/

"...ExportNote is the only application for Mac and PC that can export all your notes (including local, synchronized, shared and business notebooks) into a free and standard format while preserving the organization in stacks, notebooks, and notes... "

Thanks @eric99   Looks like a useful product.  

I noted in the documentation that tags and dates were preserved in the export.  
Do you know where these fields are in the exported notes; my solution was to append the metadata as text in note, another option is to create a spreadsheet

I submitted a request that they implement incremental backups.  
I want to backup frequently (like daily) but only the changed data

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+1 from me to silentquest! :)

The first headline this year indeed was the price change. I have mixed feeling concerning this point (hey, price for me as a Plus user was increased by 50% !!!!!) but I clearly understand why free users have to be limited. In fact it was about time and honestly I still think they're getting to much. But that's just my 2 cent.

But still there isn't a real competitor to me out there. OneNote is good for people that are WORKING with notes (I use it at my work) but I use EN more with a focus of a long term archive. OneNote's webclient fails is so many aspects and having to open up several notebooks instead of one account still bothers me. Ah, and the extremely good webclipper of EN is WAY better than it's competitor from Microsoft. 

With that being said I will remain paying for a good product that is unbeaten for me.

Merry christmas! ;)

 

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14 hours ago, Matze B. said:

OneNote is good for people that are WORKING with notes (I use it at my work) but I use EN more with a focus of a long term archive.

I have a different take on this, but its more the definition of "Working with notes" vs Processing of note contents

My purpose in using Evernote is the storage and retrieval of notes

As to the processing of note contents there is no contest.  
Evernote has some editing features but any dedicated app is a more powerful tool

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My biggest worry before this was "is EN going to be around in the future?"

:

I will continue to use EN until something better comes along or until they offend me to the point of leaving.

I think we are past the point in the technology "note-keeping" at which a new startup can succeed, at least after Google and MS started their applications. There are interesting alternatives out there - but the main obstacle for every (new) cloud based service are the high costs of maintaining the hardware infrastructure. So a free open-source solution like Firefox does not seem possible (THAT would be nice - a basic note editor and extensions for every functionality anyone could dream of). And new contenders must fight an uphill battle against years of experience.

So I think EN is the best alternative which at least has a chance of a future, that we will get. Is it ideal? Not really, but what is. I miss features like encryption, and I would like the editor to stop being like something left over from the last millenium, but it still works for me.

If I'm wrong, and a good alternative emerges, I will consider switching - but I already have enough experience in programming to know that the future market speech "easy importing of your EN notes!" will in no way be an easy process, but a main PITA.

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On 12/25/2016 at 1:27 AM, Matze B. said:

OneNote is good for people that are WORKING with notes (I use it at my work) but I use EN more with a focus of a long term archive.

 

On 12/25/2016 at 9:38 AM, DTLow said:

I have a different take on this, but its more the definition of "Working with notes" vs Processing of note contents

My purpose in using Evernote is the storage and retrieval of notes

As to the processing of note contents there is no contest.  
Evernote has some editing features but any dedicated app is a more powerful tool

Of course, it all depends on your needs for work. My work these days is mostly text-based research and writing. Evernote is superb for certain phases of this (but I must admit that I've never tried OneNote). My process:

  • With my phone, whether I'm reading over breakfast or at the library, I can use EN to snap a photo of some pages of text, or use an OCR app like Text Fairy to process the text and send it to EN. I can clean up the note and do preliminary organizing such as selecting a notebook. The same applies to an idea that I can enter into a text note on the phone, or to a Web clipping, all of which I can do wherever I may happen to be.
  • Later, at my computer, I can edit the notes, OCR  a text image with ABBYY FineReader, and do more advanced organizing. Then the material is available to use when needed for writing.
  • For the "processing," i.e., incorporating notes into working drafts, I transfer from EN to Scrivener (copy and paste is fine), where more sophisticated organizing and editing are available.
  • I do final writing and formatting in a dedicated word processor (I use Nota Bene, which is well suited for scholarly work).

I think one thing that can cause problems in using Evernote is trying to get it to do too much. The editor still leaves much to be desired, for instance, especially in Android. Trying to make EN do word processing or complex organizing is like asking a cow to give butter. For me, the use of a suite of tools seems necessary and appropriate for my professional work, and EN is now firmly established among them. I may be fortunate in being able to pay the freight for all these, but dividing the work up among specialized implements actually makes it easier, IMO.

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