Ph.D. Candidates and Note Anarchy

[Alexandre Enkerli]

YAPhDC (Yet Another Ph.D. Candidate) here.
And I can really relate to Kei's long post. I really don't see it as a 
rant but as a reflection on application use.
At the risk of keeping this off-topic a bit, here are my thoughts. 
Sorry if it's longwinded. But it *can* be useful for long-term 
development.
Long story short: once OO3 is really out the door, the OmniGroup could 
(should?) give the world the perfect program we academics have been 
dreaming about all those years. Please?
There's demand for it and people like Kei are good at describing it.
Ok, we don't have much money, but we're a good market because we'll 
eventually be able to purchase site licenses through grants!

> As I read it from C. Clifton's mail, he must be very disciplined, and 
> thus he could use any hierarchical tool to order and work with such 
> non-hierarchical information.
My thoughts too. The only thing is, I then feel bad for not being more 
like Curtis! ;-)

> VoodooPad is a nice little tool, but here I found the UI too 
> constrained for me (a 99% keyboard/1% mouse user, if possible).
Same here!
This is one big advantage of OO: keyboard navigation!
Come to think of it, it's one of the most important aspects of 
outlining, IMHO. You can "outline" things in any editor (with tabs, 
etc.) but the very simple fact that you can use keystrokes to move 
items around in an outliner makes the whole complete total difference. 
Yes, it's UI. But it's not about being pretty or intuitive. It's about 
being fast and efficient. Moving items around is something I do 
hundreds of times while writing. If it takes even two seconds each 
time, it *really* cramps my style!!!!
Again, it might sound silly but that's one reason the addition of "add 
child/add parent" in OO3 makes a difference.

> - First a collection of all kinds of programs and formats
Same here, with some reflection put into the ideal format and 
accompanying tool. It seems like it should be here already and it's 
probably going to be some XML-based solution, but it's just not there 
yet.
Let's hope the OmniGroup is listening... ;-)

[NoteTaker]
> I found that I am using is less and less often because of a couple of 
> user interface quirks, and a general feeling of 'unpolishedness'
Ha! So true!
Functionality's good but these little things get frustrating after a 
while when you spend so much time in a given app.

> - Recently, I did use wikis (zwiki under zope and plone, also tried 
> mediawiki
Good thinking! I just *love* the concept of Wiki and WikiEdit. Simple, 
intuitive, powerful...
Any advice about wiki solutions on Mac OS X?
And as OO3 might allow wiki output through XSLT, that's a start.
OTOH, it'd be very nice to have a dedicated WikiEditor with good 
outlining capabilities. Even just the navigational features, that'd 
almost be enough...

> as not only computer scientist but also with some programming 
> background, I am proficient enough to change software to cater to my 
> need (if time permits).
Please find time! The dissertation can wait! ;-)

> Now, with my drafts are getting more and more structured, I have 
> choosen the parallel approach to
> conceptualize my thoughts in OO3, and creating draft versions with LyX 
> (Latex-based WYSIWYMean editor),
Almost the same thing here, although using TeXShop instead of LyX.
If OO3 "did LaTeX or DocBook" (no, exporting isn't enough), the world 
would be a better place.

> ATPMs ATPO series:
Yes, a very good series! Would rank it, along many of Matt Neuberg's 
stuff in TidBITS, among the best pieces about software that can help 
academics.
Is he writing one on OO3? With exclusive interviews? ;-)

> I tried most of the mentioned programs there, on the eternal search 
> for the perfect program.
Same here. Are we all doomed to be eternally unsatisfied or is this 
program right around the corner?
Thing is, whatever this program is, it has to be an outliner. And it 
should probably be written by those friendly OmniGroup developers we 
keep praising.

> OmniOutline 3 Pro, paired with an inter-document wiki-like linking 
> facility and document storage
> facility like Devonthink Pro allowing manual meta data management 
> would be my dream
> (oh yes, and please some web pages archiving facility as well :-)
We seem to share the same dream. And your description is very clear. 
Thanks!

Alexandre Enkerli
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology
Indiana University