Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Note

Wrist watch with voice memo capability!

WhereAmI — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:12:07 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good wrist watch with voice memo recording capability? I had a great watch the I bought at the Sharper Image (maybe Brookstone?) years back, but it has disappeared into my junk drawer and I'm looking for a similar replacement :)

Notetaker Wallet without the big price tag

nam3d — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:33:00 -0800

I really like the look of David Allen NoteTaker wallet, the only downside being I can't afford the $80 price tag. Are their any similar wallets out there without the high price tag?

Pear Note Alternative

gocubbies — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:26:51 -0800

Do you know of any free software packages (for the Mac) that have the same or similar functionality to Pear Note?

Journalists: how do you organize your notes?

NikitaNikita — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:15:48 -0800

Interview and note organization tips for journalists and non-fiction writers? Can any Mefite journalist-types suggest methods for organizing interviews and organizing your thoughts for writing long-ish feature articles or books? Or can you point me to some books/resources that have helped you?

When I write non-fiction news feature-ish pieces with lots of interview sources, I feel like my method of note organization and interview organization is flawed, particularly in terms of optimizing time management and helping me find the best quotes.

For my audio files, sometimes I can find what I need by ear, but other times I feel like I need to transcribe the entire interview. My "system"* often consists of color coding text files, pasting into another word document, etc.

To put it simply, I suppose, I'd like some direction in how to make my writing more of a "process" or a "method", rather than a mental tornado.** I've found a few nice suggestions on prior AskMe posts***, but I'd like suggestions which consider not only text or web resources but also audio and written notes from interviews.

Thanks!

*I use this word loosely -- I'm always switching up my game plan, to see what might work better.

**The tornado has worked thus far, but it is unpredictable (time-wise) and I'm wondering if there's a better way.

***For the sake of posterity:
- a vague question about writing a non-fiction book
- tiddlywiki, etc for random snippets of info and also related
- zotero for wrangling up PDF journal sources
- virtual notecards oneand two

Pen + Paper + Pocket = Profit

nmaster64 — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 09:06:16 -0800

Best cheap and very pocket-friendly paper/pen solution? My pockets are full as is, but I really need to keep something on me to take down those wonderful little sparks of genius that usually end up lost to the aether that is ADD. Looking for a cheap (definitely sub-$20) pen and paper answer that I won't just leave at home due to tight pockets. Would love to hear ideas and some experiences people have had with different solutions.

Thanks!

Recommended Graphics Tablet For Note Taking and Sketching

defben — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:39:47 -0800

I'd like to try a graphics tablet for the work I do. I know Wacom is the big dog in the field, but am unclear on what the real differences between the models are (too much marketing spiel). The work I see myself using it for includes note taking, sketching and storyboarding (paper prototyping). I use linux (ubuntu) at home and WinXP for work. OneNote and Visio are used pretty often on the windows side. I don't see myself doing any high fidelity work on this; I'm pretty lousy at drawing. Does it matter what I choose? What should I look for/focus on? Any recommendations?

Thanks

How best to take discreet private notes on a not so private computer?

therubettes — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:34:50 -0800

I want software which will allow me to capture text thoughts at work, to a remote web location - quickly, discreetly and privately. I work at a computer which is visible to co-workers and is sometimes used by others at short/no notice, so I would like to make the following senario a reality.

1. At work I have a non-work related thought which I wish to capture.

2. I input a keyboard shortcut and am presented with a simple command line interface. Something similar to the google desktop quick search if you have seen it, but perhaps even a little more discreet if thats possible.

3. I type the thought and hit enter/esc and the input screen/command line disappears.

4. The text I entered is not stored locally but sent to some remote web location (I am willing to pay for this service if necessary) where it can be reviewed and edited by me at a later time.

Additional Info:

I am using Windows XP.
A physical notebook and pen is not what I want.
I have had a Palm and did not like it.
I do not want to have to open a web browser.
Have tried using Yahoo Notepad with widget but it is not what I want.
I lose USB memory sticks too often for that to be a reliable method.
A local text file fails the privacy test.
I would prefer not to have to install software but would be happy to run an exe, if it did the job and was safe.
I do not wish to use my cell-phone.
I would like to be able to capture the thought almost as soon as I have it and then return to work immediately.
This is not related to GTD and I do not wish to do any more than input shortcut, type though, hit return.

I have checked lifehacker, ask mefi and similar sites for what I want but can't find precisely what I want.

The tip of the tongue, taking a trip to the foreignerland.

GrooveStix — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:51:23 -0800

I am in a search of a program that will help me memorize words... I am an avid reader, but since English is my second language, I've been using dictionary a lot. I've noticed that I had to look up the same words twice, thrice and so on, so for some time I've been thinking about making a word collection and sticking everything on my wall in a post-it-note fashion. Now, writing every word down will prove a tedious task. For example, I was reading Nabokov's Lolita (which by the way, molested me on more than one level) :) and I can't even remember how many times I had to look through a dictionary per single paragraph.

What I am looking for is software or something, that will automate the whole process, where I copy/paste a certain definition in the program (or whatever) and that would create (PDF perhaps?) pages that I can later print, cut and stick on my wall.

Does anybody know something resembling what I am describing?

ACECAD DigiMemo

jeffburdges — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 12:07:11 -0800

I'm looking for an A4 sized combination digital notepad and graphics tablet, ala the Aiptek MyNote or Adesso CyberPad (apparently the same product). But neither works under Mac OS X as a graphics tablet. Maybe an ACECAD DigiMemo? A program called VectorPen claims some limited support on the Digital notepad side. But in-fact VectorPen only supports the ACECAD DigiMemo.

Does anyone know if further development on VectorPen has been abandoned? It appears to be a closed source program.

Does anyone know if the ACECAD DigiMemo works as a graphics tablet at all? How about under Mac OS X?

Does anyone know of other digital notepads that also work as tablets? Genius G-Note? LaPazz D-Note? How about smaller devices like the Pegasus Mobile Notetaker or various digital pens?

No doubt people will bring up Wacom tablets. Wacom doesn't make this sort of digital notepad product afaik. I'm also reluctant to sacrifice portability by including several inches of useless space around the writing area.

I imagine that devices like the Nokia Internet Tablet don't really allow for note taking?

help me pick the right present for a friend I have never actually met.

krautland — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:05:15 -0800

help me pick the right present for a friend I have never actually met. my headhunter has gotten me a new job and I want to send her a thank you-note and a present. I've worked with this lady before and we have exchanged hundreds of emails and talked countless times over the phone. I consider her a friend, yet we have never met. (hey, this is a creative industry, people are bound to be a little off sometimes.)

I know she's british, I know she's in her forties, I know she's artistic, I know she's married to a very wealthy guy who happens to be at one of the very top spot in my industry. I also know she's a near enigma to almost anyone I know. very few people have ever met her but everyone I know knows her, everyone has a story. she's the ghost of new york city. it took me a month to get a mailing address for her.

I want her to get a present but feel like being a bit more creative than flowers or chocolate. I am thinking $100-300 for my budget and I am looking for ideas.

your suggestions, please.

Alternatives to Microsoft One Note?

sully75 — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:35:26 -0800

I'm looking for an alternative to Microsoft One Note Hi there,

I just started using Microsoft One Note. I hate to rave about an MS product but currently I'm loving it. It seems like the solution to a lot of problems I've been having organizing pictures and text for writing projects.

But I'm wondering if there are any better alternatives out there before I put all my eggs in this basket. Are there shareware programs that do basically the same thing? Has anyone used One Note extensively enough to comment on it? It looks good but I don't know anything about it other than using it for a few hours.

Thanks
paul

High note?

Cosine — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:26:34 -0800

What's the highest note in a hit rock/pop song by a male vocalist? I've heard different opinions on this, that Sheriff song, Art on 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters', the high note in the vocal solo in Mr. Big's 'To Be With You' or maybe when Roger Taylor tops the last note of 'Bohemian Rhapsody'with a B-flat, almost 2 octaves above middle C, in falsetto. Any other good suggestions?

Software for highlighting and note taking on the web?

herbiehancock00 — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:33:04 -0800

Software for highlighting and note taking on the web? I read ALOT on the web. Is there a software or service which allows me to save a webpage onto my harddrive, highlight important points, and leave post it notes, bubbles, or whatever kind of comments on the highlighted points? I want to start taking notes and retaining the information I read online.

Keynote for the Web

Jimbob — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 05:04:29 -0800

In the last 24 hours I've discovered Keynote (no, not that Keynote) and it's pretty much revolutionized the way I organise my information and do my work. Is there a web-based equivalent? The basic form of Keynote is:

(a) A tabbed interface - each tab is a "note".
(b) Within each tab you can set up a "tree".
(c) Each node on the tree is an RTF text document.
(d) It's all movable, searchable, exportable.

Somehow this format is incredibly intuitive - it makes much more sense to me than all the other "mind mapping" or Wiki style of information management software. I can put a different project in each tab, and under each tab set up nodes and sub-nodes for a things to do list, copies of correspondence, things to remember, research data, analysis, lists, you name it.

But it would be killer if I could keep all my information online in a form that is accessible from anywhere. Now days the web seems full of "Online AJAX to-do lists" - any ideas about something more like Keynote?

Note numbers on a staff

scazza — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 07:22:24 -0800

I'm trying to find an image of note numbers with the corresponding notes on a staff. I should be able to find this. This is a common image. It's all over my ENT's office. I can find an image of all the MIDI frequencies, with the numbers on a keyboard but not on a staff.

Thanks everyone.

Thank-you note when meeting the parents

Lisa S — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 19:10:54 -0800

When is a thank-you note appropriate -- or just excessive? I met my boyfriend's parents for the first time when they took us out for brunch. This weekend we are going to a museum. I wanted to send a thank-you note after the first meeting, but is it excessive? It's not like I flew out and stayed at their home for a weekend. What's thank you-note protocol here?

one more suicide...

trinarian — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 06:46:13 -0800

How do I get ahold of a suicide note? A very good friend of mine killed himself last July. His mother held on to the multi-page suicide note and moved away to Ohio. His brother and I have been wanting to read it, as appearently it makes direct reference to both of us, but she's been elusive about the note. Being that the police definately did investigate this suicide, is there any way to get a copy of the note as part of some sort of public record request?

Government bonds

zek — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 15:26:46 -0800

I'm trying to find any example of what a U.S. Treasury security might look like (T-bill, T-note, or T-bond, but not a savings bond). I understand most treasury bonds are electronic now, but it wasn't always that way. The Treasury FAQ says that paper versions still exist. Google Image turns up nothing but oodles of financial graphs no matter what I do. Nothing over 100 years old, please! Versions of this from other countries are fine as long as I can read them in English and they're recent.

A cure for missing newspaper syndrome?

onshi — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 11:36:32 -0800

What's the best way to cure missing newspaper syndrome? I live in a large apartment building and subscribe to a daily paper (Toronto Star), which is delivered by an independent contractor and hung from my unit's front door handle.

The Star has an on-line form to report 'delivery problems' and to request a credit when you don't receive your paper. If you complain early enough, they send a replacement paper; later on, they just credit your account.

Presumably, some heat gets applied to the delivery people when there are too many complaints. I’ve come down with missing paper syndrome 8 or 9 times in the two months I’ve subscribed, and have reported it each time.

When I’m home (and awake) all morning, and am sure the paper never came, I have no qualms about complaining. What worries me, however, is when I sleep in on Saturdays, like today, and find no paper at about 11am. What are the odds that someone is ‘borrowing’ my paper? I don’t want to cause unfair trouble for my delivery person, but I’m concerned that posting a note like this one (albiet less passive-aggressively worded) on my door might give my neighbours the wrong impression of me.

Advice?

Thank you email

bright77blue — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 07:50:24 -0800

I would like to send someone a thank you email after I have presented a proposal for doing business with them. A note in the mail will take to long - and they are a bit far for a hand delivered note. (Or should I hand deliver a note anyway?) Does anyone have a nice example "Thank You" note? Thanks!

post-its for the internet?

ferociouskitty — Sun, 23 May 2004 14:02:16 -0800

Internet Sticky Notes: Does the software I want exist? [More Inside] I’m looking for some kind of program to construct user-created pop-ups, essentially. For example, every time I look at a menu for a certain restaurant when I’m making a take-out order, the red-skinned potatoes look really good, so I order them. When I get them, I remember that they’re terrible, and they’re terrible every time. I’d love for something to pop up when I go to that web site to remind me that I hate their red-skinned potatoes. Ideally, it would have a recurring function (pops up every time I visit the site), and also a one-time only function, say for example, when I visited AskMe, a note would pop up reminding me to check for new replies on a question I found interesting. So --- anything like this exist?

Help me translate guitar tabs into piano sheet music

thebabelfish — Sun, 29 Feb 2004 16:23:04 -0800

As I begin to learn the piano again, there are some songs I'd love to try to play but for which I cannot find sheet music (I definitely want to learn to play by ear at some point, but I don't think that point would best be now). I can however obtain guitar tabs for the songs, and so I'm hoping to try to translate those into rough sheet music for the piano. Can I just translate it note by note (and chord by chord), or are there some specifics about guitar tabs I should be aware about and take into account (it seems that way, a quick direct translation didn't seem to turn out quite right)? I should mention that I can't read guitar tabs at all. So for example, I don't really know what FM7 refers to, or which E E7 is specifying. I see a couple Am, Bm, and Em references... I suppose that's A, B, and E, but what does the m mean? (Flat? Sharp? Something else?)

(Sorry for so many questions.)