@joshsullivan Hi. I’m considering Pocket. Currently I’m using a combination of Read Later and Favorites in Safari. Do you recommend Pocket?
@odd I would recommend Pocket for a read it later service. They are very good at displaying stripped down articles, and they have extensions for every platform imaginable for adding pages. I pay for the premium version because I wanted to use them as an archiving service, and so far they have been great for permanent copies of web pages and full text search. But if you are looking for just a read it later service then I think the free version is more than enough for most people.
@joshsullivan I like the way you've got those folders setup, I've never seen it done like that before...I might have to give it a try!
@matpacker If you are referring to 4 at the top, I think I stole it from CGP Grey a few years ago, then changed to 1 folder for everything, but I like symmetry, so I went back to 4. If you are referring to the alphabetical ordering, I had four folders based on category, but I realized more and more apps belonged in multiple categories and didn't like that I couldn't easily find an app if I needed to go digging. So alphabetical allows for me to dig through and find the app quickly. I would definitely recommend giving either a try if it appeals to you. I can't tell you how many times I've changed my home screen after seeing someone elses. Usually I end up adopting some of it, and reverting other parts back.
@canion I love TheBrain, it's my most used application other than a web browser. I store a lot of information in it related to everyday interactions I have on the internet as well as a personal knowledge base system. For example, I keep a record of the conversations I have on M.b in TheBrain, which allows me to go back and check a sort of log of conversations with people. If I searched for your username, canion in TheBrain, I have two thoughts currently, one regarding your conversation with @jack on wikis and DEVONthink, and the second thought is that you have Blot blog. In my Day job and personal life, I also use it as a journal/day log. Anything I do of significance to me, I add to a daily log entry for that day. Later I can go back and know that if I found an interesting article, had a conversation with someone, agreed to something, or in a meeting another person agreed to something I can quickly get all of that information from TheBrain. Due to multiple parents and children, I can link, for example, your conversation about DEVONthink to today's daily log entry and a Micro.blog threads thought of all the interesting discussions I've come across. I can also link meeting notes with a project thought as well as who were attendees. I recommend trialing the free version for a little while at least, and in my opinion, it's worth the investment for a license or subscription as well.
@joshsullivan @canion TheBrain is an odd but powerful bit of software. Check out Jerry's Brain to see what can happen when you go all-in for years.
@joshsullivan 😮 That’s amazing. I also admire your discipline to log daily. Your description makes me very intrigued. Although you are adding another software option! I already can’t decide whether to store information in DEVONthink, my wiki, my blog(s)...
@canion @joshsullivan This is a constant battle for me. I would love to eliminate 4 or 5 places that I put stuff but I love them all so!
@joshsullivan Now I'm exploring The Brain! Have you written a review, or anything similar, about it online anywhere?
@canion I have a few thoughts written here I'm actually hoping to write more about it this weekend, basically how I use it day to day and will send the link once done.
@canion @jack Agreed, I'm using:
- DEVONthink for archiving and document storage
- Notebooks for technical and personal notes (which DEVONthink indexes the folder)
- TheBrain for daily connections and information connection
- Drafts for quick notes that I only need for the next 24-72 hours
Of course, now I'm looking at TiddlyWiki to see what applications it has in my current workflow.
@juliansummerhayes You're welcome, and I recommend giving it a solid go. It was an application for a long time I looked at and decided against then when I started using it, I found so many different uses, and I continuously find new uses for it.
@canion I like it because it's Markdown/Plain text and stores those files in Markdown/Plain text so I can access them with Dropbox anywhere. It allows for images inline, MD tables, and code formatting. Plus you can keep other types of documents in the folders and quickly open them as well in the default application for that file type, but Notebooks also displays PDFs as well.
@joshsullivan Just some appreciation for the four index folders and introduction to TheBrain.
@joshsullivan @jack Sorry to keep going on about The Brain... but... do you have recurring subscriptions or have you just bought a single license? It's so expensive, especially with our currency exchange so I'm trying to assess needs versus wants.
@canion I'm paying annually for the subscription. You're right, it's not cheap. It's hard to know at first if the value is going to be there to justify the ongoing cost. It has been for me. The free version is a bit limited but worth investigating.
@jack I hadn't seen that page. Their free version is actually not a bad deal? I was considering going for the Pro License but that seems more limited re. sync. File attachments I could live without, as I can make links back to DevonThink.
@canion I usually use external links to web pages and DEVONthink myself. The big things missing in the free version for me are Types and Tags, full-text search/reports but I'm thinking that if you're thoughtful about Thought titles those could be worked around. I think the trial version includes Pro features and highlights them in the UI so you can determine how often you use them before actually paying.
@joshsullivan @jack do either of you use theBrain on iOS at all? How is it when you have larger databases? I feel like that's the main reason I'd pay annually vs just the license.
@kordumb I use it, but more as a way to look something up rather than adding to it. I find it a little cumbersome on iOS, especially on a phone. They continue to improve it, though.
@canion Like @jack I also paid for a Service Only subscription for $180 a year. When it renews in August, I will be getting the ProCombo, I got the Service Only so that I could test it out, after about two weeks I knew I wasn't going back, so this renewal I'll get a license and a subscription.
I don't have any internal attachments in TheBrain, but I have a ton of external attachments now. Everything lives in Dropbox or DEVONthink, so I link back to the files on either Dropbox or DEVONthink. With external attachments (meaning those that live in the Finder, not DEVONthink links) it uses Spotlight indexing to search, so you can search within TheBrain for text inside a document that externally attached.
At this point, I can't live without Thought Types and Tags. For example, in my types, I have Books and Movies, in Tags, I have To Read and To Watch, also Read and Watched. I created a report of all books that I marked to read, same for movies. Over the last eight months, I now have a real tracking system for what I watch and what I read with dates started and finished. I also do this for articles or papers for grad school.
As you said it is expensive, but the amount of use I get out of it more than compensates for the cost. So I would try the free version, and if you find yourself wanting more ability to relate information, I think the Service Only subscription would be a great start.
@kordumb I use it for looking items up and adding items to the BrainBox, which is like an Inbox for TheBrain. I find it worth it just for the ability to add something to TheBrain quickly on iOS. For my daily log if I need to add something while away from a computer, I'll write it in Drafts then copy and paste it into the Daily Log thought for today on iOS. The iOS app is great for searching Thought names and quickly grabbing information, but not much more so I'm not sure I would recommend purchasing the subscription solely based on the use of the iOS app. As @jack said though, they are continually adding features to iOS.
@canion One other thing to mention, I use TheBrain on 2 Macs and 2 Windows machines, a desktop and laptop each. So I need my data in sync, you might not be using that many machines, so that might be something else to consider.
@joshsullivan That is all fantastic information, thanks. I will only use 1 Mac and maybe iOS devices (non-critical). I use a Windows machine occasionally but it’s locked down by an IT department so it’s a no-go zone.