[TriLUG] Web-based note taking application - similar to KeepNote

Steve Litt slitt at troubleshooters.com
Tue Nov 3 15:12:32 EST 2009


On Tuesday 03 November 2009 11:34:51 Ronald Kelley wrote:
> <Hopefully this does not get posted under an existing email - sorry
> for the double-post)
>
> Greetings all.
>
> I am looking for a web-based note taking application to install on my
> CentOS server - something similar to KeepNote but web-based.
> Normally, I would use a Wiki, but I find they don't lend themselves to
> hierarchical data presentation and the data is not easily portable
> between machines (in case my server dies/crashes).  KeepNote allows me
> to export my notebook as html, but I really need to use a DB server so
> I can access the data from any location.
>
> I have seen a ton of online note-taking apps (EverNote, Springboard,
> etc) but I want to host the DB myself (sensitive data).
>
> Thanks for any pointers,
>
> -Ron

Hi Ron,

This doesn't answer your exact question, but maybe it will give you a few more 
things to consider...

If by "note taking application" you mean an app to take notes in real time, 
like you'd do in a class or in a meeting, your #1 priority is authoring speed. 
If, while taking notes, you have to have to wait the time it takes to reach 
for a mouse and click a plus sign, you've lost your train of thought. Whatever 
notetaking app you use must be FAST!

VimOutliner is by far the fastest authoring environment for hierarchical 
notetaking. I take notes with it all the time. My experience is that for text 
information, you can take notes and organize them in real time with 
VimOutliner. That's very rare.

If you need to do quickie diagrams, you could use VimOutliner's executable 
lines feature with Inkscape or Gimp or whatever. It would be slower than 
pencil and paper, but doable.

Once the notes have been taken (and probably post-class edited), the priority 
shifts to a secure storage place on your server. VimOutliner native format is 
nothing but a tab indented hierarchy, so it's trivial to use Perl, Python or 
Ruby to convert it to XML or any other format needed for import onto your 
server. At that point you could use the web based program to view and make 
additional updates, secure in the knowledge that when the information was 
coming at you hot and heavy, you didn't have to wait for the net, nor 
Javascript, nor a mouse.

You can find VimOutliner here:

http://www.vimoutliner.org

Here's a talk about VimOutliner, in which I specifically address the need for 
authoring speed:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8810772602188234059#

I didn't answer your question, but I hope you find my info helpful.

Thanks

SteveT

Steve Litt
Recession Relief Package
http://www.recession-relief.US
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stevelitt





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