Articles
I have more thoughts on the latest Evernote update.
A couple of days ago, I shared my initial thoughts on the new features in version 10.85.4, but there’s more to show you.
Let’s start with the first topic I talked about in video, the calendar. I was so focused on demonstrating the creation of events not connected to Outlook or Google that I missed a subtle new aspect of the Evernote Calendar.
In a recent conversation with Federico Simionato, I told him that I believed everything with dates on Evernote should be in the calendar. Have you watched that video? Do you recall him telling me he was already discussing that with the team? I think the new calendar may be setting the stage for that.
If you go to the Evernote Calendar and take a close look at the My Calendars section, you’ll see that there is a sub-menu under Evernote Calendar (image below). For now, the only item there is Events, but because My Calendars is in the plural, I think we’ll soon see other items there. Maybe Tasks? You never know.
Another addition related to the calendar is the Events item in the three-dots menu next to New Task (image below). It’s great to see that menu getting attention. Let’s hope they keep making it more useful. For example, one other option I would like them to add in the future is the creation of a new note from one of our templates.
Finally, there’s the new full-page Tasks. I haven’t covered this in the video because I’ll be using it for the next few days before sharing my thoughts. But there’s one new detail I’m pleased to see there.
You are already aware of my stance regarding Tasks as an integral part of the fundamental building blocks of Evernote, namely notes and notebooks. So, I believe it is evident that I am delighted to see the addition of the Notebooks filter.
What about are you? Anything in particular you liked or that you are still missing? I’d love to hear your thoughts about this update.
The first time I used an e-Ink screen device to write an article.
I’m torn. Part of me wants to make this work because that screen is so good, but at the same time, the writing experience is not as convenient as opening my MacBook Air and starting to type.
My obsession with how simple it is to sit down anywhere, open a lid, and start typing began with an 11-inch MacBook Air back in 2012. I loved that computer. It traveled with me around the globe, allowing me to write books, articles, and blog posts wherever I was. Furthermore, its size was perfect for trains and plane tray tables.
It was eventually replaced by the M1 Air, which is a little bigger, but I still carry it with me to far too many places. Regarding the small screen of both computers, it was never a problem since I always had an external display at my office.
And, yes, I have tried an iPad, but, regardless of what Apple claims, that’s not a computer. Mostly because of iPadOS limitation. Anyway, I quickly stopped using it because, more often than not, I had to also pack my laptop for the non-writing work. So, why bring two devices with me if I can do a much better job with just the MacBook Air.
Enters the Supernote
The Nomad, which is the one I have, is a little bigger than a Kindle, but much smaller and thinner than an iPad. It has an e-Ink screen and the Kindle app. And talking about reading, I love my Kindle and keep it in my bag all the time. Can you see where I’m going with this? But before that, let’s talk about my first attempt to organize my notes in the Supernote (video below).
I’m trying my best to document and share my learning process, but inevitably the videos about the Supernote will always be a few days and many features behind my real-life experience. So, what I showed in the video above has already evolved to a system that I’m thrilled with.
I’m easily capturing and organizing my ideas like never before. There’s almost no friction and, of course, I’ll publish a new video about it in the following days. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that with the above solved, I thought I could probably give the Nomad an extra job.
Yesterday I packed a generic foldable Bluetooth keyboard and a tablet stand and went to a coffee shop. Writers tend to spend far too much time looking at screens, and that combined with the time I spend editing videos has taken a toll on my eyes. So, the first thing I felt when using the Supernote to write was an immense relief. The comfort is almost indescribable. What a gorgeous screen to look at.
However, before that, I had grabbed the Supernote pen, navigated to the article, unfolded a keyboard, unfolded a stand, and only then start typing. Arguably, there are also many steps when using a laptop, but it is a single piece of equipment and there’s no need to lift the hands off the keyboard and trackpad to get to the app and start writing.
Extra gear and fewer features
Using the Kindle app on the iPad was never an option because of the screen, but I can now leave my beloved Kindle behind, and make room for the Supernote.
However, if my goal is to write long texts when away from my home or office, I’ll have to always carry that keyboard and stand with me. I’ll also miss some useful tools, like LanguageTool. Not to mention that I have already expressed my negative thoughts about devices like this.
Fortunately, I’m already old enough to understand that only the fool never changes their minds. Maybe less strain on my eyes and a more mindful writing experience is what I need for a while.
The only way to know it for sure is by trying, and if this extra job I’m giving the Supernote ends up failing, I’ll be fine with it. Like I mentioned above, this lovely device has already become my quick go-to notepad for jotting down and organizing ideas. In other words, it’s already in my everyday bag, coming with me everywhere.
A Supernote is expected to arrive at my office on Monday.
Some people keep journals, I jot notes down multiple times a day. Together, they form a digital timeline I’ve been crafting since 1999, when I picked up a Palm IIIx. Now, a Supernote is being added to my note-taking workflow.
I first learned about it on cam shand’s YouTube channel, and immediately noticed it checks so many boxes on what I had in mind for a device like this.
Firstly, it is user-serviceable, and as you already know, I like to make, adapt, and fix things myself. Then, there’s the e-Ink screen, the type I prefer on my devices. They not only make reading comfortable, they check another box on my list: battery life. Like my watch and Kindle, I’m expecting the Supernote’s battery to last for a long time between charges.
Have I told you there’s no need to charge the stylus?
I have many ideas I would like to explore and numerous experimental projects I plan to do, such as connecting it to Obsidian. I’m not sure how many of them I will be able to accomplish, but you are joining me on this journey. We’re going to learn how to use it, as we creatively push it to its limits.
If this is a topic you are interested in, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and stay tuned. The first video about the Supernote will be released next week.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Two Web Clipper solutions I use to send information to Obsidian.
Collecting information is an important part of my learning process, but Obsidian doesn’t have something as powerful as the Evernote Web Clipper.
To find a solution, I tried different ideas until I came up with one that works well for me. I use two different tools, and I hope that they will inspire you to create your own system.
There are two types of clippings I do.
Sometimes, I need to preserve the page format, and even Evernote’s Web Clipper is not always good at that. This is the reason why I began using the print to PDF function and then dragging the PDF into a note in Evernote. You can see how I do it by watching the video below.
For this specific type of clipping, I am doing the same on Obsidian. But, since there’s nothing there similar to the ‘forward email to Evernote’ feature, I’m also ‘printing to PDF’ the emails I what to keep. However, like I explained in a recent video, I’m not creating notes for PDFs anymore. I’m simply saving them as files in the related folders.
The other type of clipping I do is text. Most of the time, all I need is the information, the text, and Evernote’s Web Clipper was always excellent at that. As for Obsidian, here’s where Steph Ango amazing solution was super helpful.
Like other Obsidian features and plugins, there are many options and a different one may be more suitable for your needs. In my case, I am enjoying the Web Clipper created by the CEO. A post on his blog even provides instructions for customizing it, which I did. How cool is that?
His post has everything you need to understand how to install, use and customize the Web Clipper. And in my video below, I share my reasoning for doing what I do and how I customized his solution to better work with the Proprieties I use in my Obsidian notes.
How the Vision Pro caught my attention despite my skepticism
It looks like Apple did it again!
No, I haven’t purchased one and do not intend to do so anytime soon, but this is the first device of this type I would ever buy. Confused? Go with me for a moment. It will make sense, I promise.
Even though the Vision Pro isn’t the only Augmented Reality device out there, I always felt like all the others were made for gamers. It might be because of how they are promoted. I don’t know. But since I’m not a gamer, buying a virtual or augmented reality headset simply never crossed my mind.
It’s a computer
From the very beginning, Apple was clearly positioning the Vision Pro as a consumer device, but because of my gaming perspective and the price tag, it was never an item on my radar. Then I watched Casey’s video about it, and something clicked for me. This is definitely not for gamers. It’s not a gimmick for geeks, either. It’s for everyday people who prefer or have to use computers to do their work.
I’m still putting off buying a US$4,000 (after taxes and some accessories) first-gen gadget, but that video sent me on an endless journey on YouTube. Many people are showing it being used as a computer with several giant screens. In other words, one can use it to “work on a computer” with practically no desk space. All that real-world usage really spoke to me. Well, “real-world” might not be the best choice to describe it, but I think you got it.
I could never use the iPad as a Mac replacement. Despite Apple spending a fortune trying to promote it as a computer, it is note a computer. The restrictions imposed by iPadOS make my work much more challenging. The Vision Pro, on the other hand, can be connected to a real computer, and that makes all the difference.
So many Apps
However, a computer is only as good as the software library available for it. And as far as I could understand, everything that works on macOS will work when a Mac is connected. Which kind of brings us back to the old debate about touchscreen Macs, but I digress.
Then there’s visionOS, which has the potential to unleash a wave of new ideas, much like iOS did a long time ago.
And, of course, the younger generation that prefers mobile devices was not left out. Thanks to Scott Forstall’s advocating for the App Store on the iPhone, there’s now an abundance of Apps already available for Vision Pro.
Why not buy it?
Well, first there’s that price tag. Then there is the fact that it is a first-generation device. I waited until the 3GS to buy my first iPhone, and in hindsight, I should probably have waited until the 4S.
There is one thing for sure: Apple won again. I can clearly see myself purchasing a smaller, lighter, and much, much cheaper version of the Vision Pro in the future. And if it makes the Apple stock go up enough, I might be able to score one for free by selling some of what I own to buy its “4S” generation.
There’s no such thing as the perfect App or a magical template
Don’t get sucked into the online drama about productivity. Unfortunately, it’s not an App or other people’s methodology that will help you.
This is the story about how many years ago I was hypnotized by magical solutions that never worked, and how my journey made me realize that everyone can find the perfect system. Yes, you can do it too. It will require more work and take longer, but it’s worth it.
Different, different, and different
Do you remember my article about letting things get messy for a while? This is precisely what I did when I started moving my notes from Evernote to Obsidian. Although both Apps share many similarities, there are still plenty of differences that make it impossible to just use my Evernote system on Obsidian.
If you have already struggled to organize or be more efficient, you may know that it is equally inefficient to use someone else’s workflow to solve your problems. We are all different people going through different moments in life and exposed to entirely different circumstances. I hope I said ‘different’ enough times because it is the most important word in this article. You must realize that your needs are unique.
The early stages of my journey
Years (decades 😮) ago, when I started looking for a solution to my workflow problem, I did what I see many people doing today. I tried to use someone else’s methodology. When that failed, my initial thought was that I was the issue.
Maybe you have been through this too. This is precisely that moment when the evangelists usually show up and tell you that you don’t need to use it the way the ‘guru’ created it.
—You can simply adapt it to your needs.
Hmm. That’s quite convenient, isn’t it?
Well, if I’m adapting something, I better create it myself. And this is when I began experiencing, let’s call it, ‘dishonest thoughts’. If I were to develop my own methodology, I could potentially commercialize it and generate some revenue.
That idea stuck with me for a while, but several books later, I came to the conclusion that all of these so-called incredible methodologies are, in reality, variations of something that came before. Why would I want to add another layer to the onion?
At this point in my career, around the turn of the millennium, my inexperience was evident. Although I gained a lot of knowledge from my degree as an economist and all the books I read about project management, my first company was a disaster. However, it was not all in vain.
That unique combination of failure and acquired knowledge helped me start a career as a project manager in the booming mobile telecommunications industry. But what if I told you that the companies I worked for were also having trouble creating and managing effective processes? Wow, what a relief. It wasn’t me; the problem was significantly more extensive than I initially anticipated.
Figuring things out together
Twelve years later, in 2012, I realized I had enough experience to start another company. But this time, I would do it alone as a consultant. I used social media to spread the word, but I never talked about solving difficulties with this or that particular technique. It was all about collaborating and figuring things out together like I learned to do during my telecommunications career.
Guess what the people I attracted were telling me when they arrived at the discovery meeting?
—I’ve tried countless different methodologies and Apps, but nothing worked. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
You know what? I still hear this from almost all my clients nowadays.
The first thing I ask all new customers is how they do their job. I don’t even use the word workflow. What I say is, ‘Pretend I’m going to start working for you today. Explain to me the work you do.’
That’s harder than you think and people tend to drift the conversation towards the Apps they use. This is when I reply, ‘Forget the Apps. Pretend they don’t exist and tell me how you do your work. I want to understand the process, the stages, the problems, etc.’
People are so obsessed with the idea that something else is doing the work that I always face several moments of silence after that simple question. It’s really fascinating how it proves my point. People think that something outside is the solution, but they already have the answer with them all the time. I’m merely a facilitator. I provide guidance, and they find the answers by themselves.
Anyway, back to the client. After taking a deep breath and receiving some direction from my side, the explanation begins. This is usually when I see the relief on their faces. It’s as if they broke free.
Long story short, it’s only after I understand the workflow that I start helping them build a system. To make the system more efficient, we’ll certainly use some Apps, but only as tools. Always remember, Apps are not solutions; they are merely tools. And it’s all done together because this is not a magical solution. My main goal is to help the client build its own system.
The good news is that you can solve this by yourself too. It takes more time, but eventually, you’ll have the perfect system for yourself. Start by mapping your work and needs. Ignore the Apps and methodologies. Think of your work as a workflow. One step after the other. Once you grasp that, allow yourself to feel a bit uncomfortable. Don’t add tools just yet.
While you are experiencing the hard work and maybe even the mess, think about what you need to do to make each step of the way more efficient, and then look for the tools that can help you. Congrats! You just built a mindful workflow.
I know it’s easier said than done. After all, it took me some years to figure this out. Maybe the video below will help you. But as you watch it, please pay attention to the process that led me to the dashboard, not the plugins I’m using. I’m never looking for a silver bullet. I’m sorry to be the one telling you this, but that doesn’t exist. Anyway, as you watch, notice that as I go I’m constantly trying to find something that will solve a very specific next problem.
The truth is, you are the only one who has the correct answer. Keep asking yourself what you need to do next to reach the following level of the game.
You can do it!
What inspired me to move from Obsidian Publish to Microblog?
TL;DR: a gateway to a thriving online presence
What if I told you there is a tool that can replace your blog, website, newsletter, podcast, bookshelf, and more? 🤯 It’s even compatible with the ActivityPub protocol.
In a recent article, I discussed how owning a domain and using permalinks can help you seamlessly move from one hosting service to another without losing your audience. Then I published another article devoted to describing a similar approach for your social media presence.
Well, there is a way to combine the best of both words in a single place. Better yet, what if you could also include other services, like a newsletter? Have I mentioned that the price is a fraction of what you would pay for a combination of similar services from other companies?
Since this is too good to be true, I feel like a disclaimer is needed. No, this is not a sponsored post. I paid for my subscription, and no one at Micro.blog had any input on this article or any content I’ve been publishing about them. I’m doing it because, as you already know, I’m an enthusiast.
Anyway, I hope you’ll find the information below helpful.
My previous set-up
I have an institutional website for many years, but have been posting my articles on Medium for a long time to take advantage of the algorithm. Two YouTube channels, one in Portuguese and another in English, a newsletter hosted by Substack, and a presence on multiple social media platforms.
I believe that diversifying like this helps spread the word because I can take advantage of algorithms from multiple platforms. However, my entire business is run by myself, and things can quickly become overwhelming. So much so that last year I was forced to pause my newsletter for several months.
Why Obsidian Publish didn’t work for me
When I moved my website from WordPress to Obsidian Publish, I was trying to simplify things by having my notes and the website in the same tool. But if I’m being honest, it ended up creating more work. Not because of the publishing process, which is easy and straight-forward. The problem was me. I love taking notes, so I suddenly felt compelled to share as much as I could, and that came with its own set of complications.
Instead of just taking notes, I was constantly thinking about how to structure my notes to have them ready for use and, at the same time, good for publishing. Furthermore, my folders structure became a little chaotic due to the numerous additional files needed to create a website. I was constantly afraid of accidentally moving or deleting files.
There’s no way to have a blog when using Obsidian Publish, but I was kind of okay with that because Medium was my blogging platform at the time. I also read numerous complaints about SEO, but I’m not a specialist on this topic and cannot say much about it. However, the final hurdle was the verification process at Mastodon, which could never identify the needed code because of the way Obsidian Publish builds the website.
I couldn’t care less about verification, but I have already been impersonated, and unfortunately, some people following my YouTube channel in Portuguese were scammed. After that, I’ve been constantly trying to do all I can to prevent it from happening again.
What’s next?
In 2022, I tried Micro.blog, but it lasted for less than a year. It was the way the platform handled engagement that made me give up on it. If you would like to learn more about it, I have already explained everything in more detail in another article.
For those of you who are not aware of Micro.blog, we are talking about a complete online presence solution. It is a space to share short posts like ‘tweets’ and pictures, a blog, a website, a newsletter, a podcast hosting service, and many other amenities like bookmarks plus a ‘read it later’ with a highlights feature, a bookshelf, and more. And the price is amazing. US$5 or US$10, depending on the features you need. To learn more about it, I suggest you watch the video below. But beware that it doesn’t cover all its potential.
I still have my two YouTube channels, and they are not going anywhere. But I reactivated my blog on Micro.blog. I won’t stop publishing the articles on Medium, but I started adding a ‘Canonical Link’ that tells Google that the story was originally posted at a different place.
Micro.blog can be used as hubs to share the same content on other websites, like Medium. However, for now, I’m doing it manually.
ActivityPub
Regarding the newsletter, I am still using Substack, but I also intend to transition it to Micro.blog in the future. However, the feature in which I’m most interested is precisely the one that made me live in the first place. The blog is compatible with ActivityPub and, as explained in another article, anyone can follow it from any Fediverse service.
The strategy Flipboard is using inspired me. Their Mastodon instance — flipboard.social — works as a Twitter alternative, where the community can share and interact with one another. As for flipboard.com, it is being converted to be 100% compatible with the ActivityPub protocol. If all of this seems too much, please watch the video below. It may help you better understand the terminology I used above.
My plan is to rebuild my Twitter community on Mastodon, while Micro.blog will host my blog, site, and other services, acting as a central point to help people access all the content I’m constantly sharing online.
27 APR 2024 | UPDATE: I migrated all my followers to @vladcampos@vladcampos.com and that’s the only Fediverse account I’m using now.
Nostalgia
This doesn’t necessarily count as a rational reason, but since when is feeling at home something that’s rational? When I first tried Microblog in 2022, I noticed a familiar face among the team: Jean MacDonald. I had the opportunity to meet here only twice for brief moments during the 2013 and 2014 Evernote Conferences. Nevertheless, the conversations we had were so pleasant that those moments remain etched in my memory to this day.
Jean MacDonald and Vladimir Campos at the 2013 Evernote Conference
In conclusion, there’s nothing terribly wrong with Obsidian Publish. On the contrary, during those months I used it, it proved to be a fast and reliable service. But there’s no blog or ActivityPub there, and those are some reasons why Microblog is gradually becoming my online home.
Another reason, as I mentioned before, is that Micro.blog can work as a hub for publications. At some point in the future, when I finish my migration process, I’ll start using it to automatically cross-post content to other social media platforms.
Combined with all the other benefits I mentioned above, I’m expecting Micro.blog to significantly reduce the work I currently do every time I publish a new article or video.
What went wrong with Evernote? How did we get here?
I expect negative comments on every video or article I publish about Evernote now. Sadly, talking about it makes me feel anxious.
I don’t think Evernote is doomed, but there is a profound shift in perception going on. It used to be that going to the Evernote Conference was the most important moment I looked forward to every year. It was great to see my friends, clients, developers, and the Evernote team.
Furthermore, sharing news from the conference or anything else Evernote released throughout the year had such positive vibes. Now, it’s hard to ignore all the negativity out there.
But the mood didn’t shift at once; it rarely does.
It all started many years ago
In July 2015, Phil Libin stepped down as CEO, and Chris O’Neill initiated a series of changes that made many of us, myself included, uneasy with the future of the company, or, in other words, our notes.
Evernote had a family of companion apps, and the new CEO gradually discontinued most of them, making many of us unhappy. But moving Evernote’s database to Google Cloud and the layoffs kicked off the first negative wave I’ve ever seen. At least, I do not recall anything similar during the Libin years.
I have to believe that from a financial standpoint, moving to Google servers was the best course of action. Even Apple used Google’s service in the early stages of iCloud. And I think they still do. However, the public’s perception was distorted by the way the media covered all the other CEO decisions.
For instance, I recall reading articles that referred to Evernote’s headquarters as a “ghost town.” I was furious about that; it made no sense. Back when Libin was CEO, or, in other words, before the layoffs, I visited the company and can attest that the building was not fully occupied. As far as memory serves, floors one and two were completely empty. Not even desks! The idea was to have enough room to grow in the future.
October, 2014. Redwood City, California
Nevertheless, I can relate to the anger and frustration people felt. The way the story was told made it hard to tell the difference between noise and reality, which leads me to the topic of communication. I’ve always found Evernote to be terrible at conveying decisions to its users. And the problem is still present. For instance, I believe that transferring operations to Europe was an excellent decision, but again, the public perception was different.
When you are hosting people’s memories, you don’t have the luxury of being as secretive as Apple or carless as a cable TV announcing the new version of its app. Every decision has to be over communicated.
I’m not sure why, but one thing that made me upset was the end of Evernote Market. Possibly because some of the products made it easier to organize things in real life, like we were used to doing in Evernote. Anyway, I was sad to see that go.
Over the past few years, more than 800,000 Evernote Moleskine notebooks and 300,000 Jot Script styluses were sold worldwide. Through Market’s website alone, we sold nearly 20,000 ScanSnap Evernote Edition scanners.
Market gave us the opportunity to illustrate the true value of Evernote to folks who hadn’t yet considered a Premium subscription. In fact, nearly half of the folks who shopped the Evernote Market were paying us for the first time.
Ultimately though, Evernote is a software company.
Communication, communication, communication. I don’t have all the facts, and I believe all of us try to make the best decisions based on the information we have available at the moment. But the way the official blog post was written suggests that the Market was successful, “but we are ending it anyway.”
As for:
Instead of selling and fulfilling orders ourselves, on February 3rd [2016], we will transition the Market to promote Evernote-integrated products made and sold by our partners at Adonit, Moleskine, and PFU. We plan to continue adding partners and integrations that strongly and elegantly complement Evernote to that list.
The transition lasted for a brief moment. It didn’t take long before everything stopped being sold. I have a lot of items in my collection, but the Evernote Market was much bigger.
Recently, I learned in an interview with Libin that when he was the CEO, the Market was profitable, but its benefits went way beyond that. I messaged O’Neill on LinkedIn months ago, inviting him to an interview on my channel to talk about his time as CEO, but I never heard back.
The last thing I remember from O’Neill’s tenure as CEO was the fervor the company generated on social media to unveil a “fresh brand identity”. Once again, the issue of communication was affecting Evernote. There was a lot of criticism about spending time and money on a logo instead of addressing the problems with the app.
Regarding the old logo, did you know that the elephant trunk is hiding the letter e?
A frustrating web client
If you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel, you know that I try crazy experiments all the time. Well, back in 2018, I tried to run my entire consulting business on a Chromebook. The Chromebook paired with Google Workspace and Trello performed exceptionally well, but the Evernote web* client, which was limited at the time, ended up being a major drawback in my plan.
* It should be noted that the decision to oversimplify the web client was taken when Phil Libin was CEO.
My experiment and what was going on with Evernote (the company) at that time made me think about switching to a different app for the first time. My consulting business is about helping companies build mindful Kanban workflows using tools like Trello, so I thought Notion would be a perfect fit for my notes and Kanban workflows.
I moved some of them, played with Notion for a while, and made couple videos for my YouTube channel in Portuguese, but even though I love all the cool stuff Notion has to offer, the database vibe doesn’t appeal to me. If I were to switch to a different app, note-taking would have to be its main feature. Perhaps that is the reason why I am currently enjoying Obsidian.
Ahead of its time?
Sometimes I catch myself thinking about Evernote’s series of managerial missteps along the way, but analyzing events in hindsight is always unfair. Other times, I believe the problem was timing. It is possible that Evernote was too ahead of its time and didn’t find a way to use this advantage in its favor.
For instance, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to test the Obsidian Map View plugin, and I couldn’t stop wondering why Evernote removed the fantastic map feature the app had back in the day.
Most people don’t even know this, but when we create a note, the app always attempts to save the coordinates of where the note was created. Evernote map view would simply show all notes with coordinates on a map. That’s it. We didn’t have to deal with any configuration.
It was a great feature, as were many others that were discontinued. In contrast, the Obsidian Map View plugin is difficult to set up, but at least it exists for people like me who want to see their notes on a map. Why? Well, you should watch the video below to be amazed by how many interesting use cases people can come up with this feature.
Evernote even had AI back in 2014, but the “A” stood for augmented. Features like context and handwriting OCR were among the many innovations the company came up with. To learn more about the challenges and the ideas they had for the future, I encourage you to watch my interview with Phil Libin on this topic.
Even today, with so many of these marvels gone, it’s still hard to find an app that’s both easy for non-tech-savvy people to use and that also packs in so many useful features.
But when a company stops innovating, others will take over. Steve Jobs famously said that if Apple hadn’t taken the iPod’s market share with the iPhone, other companies probably would have.
Do you remember?
Did you know that back in 1999, in the days of dial-up and DSL Internet, there was a service called Yahoo Briefcase that would create a ‘Y’ drive in our computers and allow us to synchronize files to the cloud?
That’s correct; Yahoo had it many years before Dropbox. But I bet that young people believe that Google and other companies invented services pioneered by Yahoo. The book “Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!” has some chapters about how Yahoo missed the chance to be even bigger than today’s version of Google. Instead, it ended up as a Verizon subsidiary with a financial channel on YouTube.
Palm’s path was much harder than Yahoo’s. They were inventing a new market, and if that wasn’t tough enough for the team to deal with, the company went through numerous ownership changes and never found its way to a stable future. It’s mind-boggling to me that an entire generation is unaware of the remarkable products this company invented.
If you believe that the idea of having a personal assistant in your pocket was created by Apple with the iPhone, here is a good book for you: “Piloting Palm: The Inside Story of Palm, Handspring, and the Birth of the Billion-Dollar Handheld Industry.”
The Apple II was the first computer I owned as a teenager, but my Palm PDA and Yahoo services were tools I used professionally for a long time, and I still miss some of Palm’s features. I wish these companies had continued to evolve, but, as I mentioned before, market forces cannot be controlled.
A bright future?
The year is 2018, and here we go again. Evernote has a new CEO, Ian Small. I’d say his main accomplishment was solving a problem that no one else had the courage to deal with before him.
Evernote had apps for Android, iOS, Mac, Web, and Windows, but I always referred to them as “versions” because they were so different from each other. The original management team had a reason for this approach, but in retrospect, it never worked well for us, the users. For instance, formatting a note using one of these “versions” would, more often than not, break it in another. However, I believe the worst consequence was that it slowed down innovation.
Evernote 10 was a necessary evil that created so many complications for the end user. It had to be done. It was a long-overdue project. Furthermore, it took longer than expected, and it was hit by COVID-19. And, again, more features were removed from the app.
Can you see a pattern here? From a user’s perspective, Evernote is constantly removing features and working to fix new bugs.
But for the first time, Evernote established an astonishing channel of communication with its users. The behind-the-scenes videos with the CEO, the blog posts, and many other projects created a new kind of collaboration between us and the company.
Small’s courage to rewrite all the clients was both bold and necessary. But it also means that from a technical standpoint, Evernote 10 was an entirely new app, and like every new piece of software, there may be several unknown bugs.
The good news is that 10 opened the doors to innovation. Evernote Home and its great widgets, such as the calendar and filtered notes, tasks, notes filters, and backlinks, came after 10 was introduced. Even the Real-Time Editing feature was being worked on by Ian’s team for many, many months before the Bending Spoons acquisition.
There are frequent complaints about bugs, but the way I see it, Evernote had no other options. They had to deal with the multiple apps that were incompatible with each other. It was either no more innovation or dealing with some bugs for a while
However, my concern is somewhat distinct. I think Small’s decision to move development towards the “Accomplish Anything” vision was a great idea. The new features his team created brought our notes to the next level, and the way he spoke about Evernote was a clear indication that many more similar features would be coming. Unfortunately, I have no idea what Bending Spoons plans are for Evernote.
I am a fan of Small and his accomplishments, but what I hope to understand one day is why the company was sold. Was it his decision? The board’s? Was it an offer? What happened?
The Bending Spoons era
I have no doubt that Bending Spoons is working hard to fix all the problems they inherited, but they may be running out of time. The bugs, along with the layoffs, price increases, and other unpopular decisions, may be hurting Evernote credibility too quickly. To add more salt to the injury, the connection Small’s team built with the community by being so transparent is slowly disappearing.
I believe Bending Spoons has everything it takes to make it right, but only time will tell if they will be able to replace the iPod with the iPhone or end up like Palm, Yahoo, and so many other fascinating companies that are long gone.
Without experiencing the unknown variables, it’s impossible to organize efficiently
The best way to organize things, whether they’re physical or digital, is to accept the mess for a while. That’s why my strategy for organizing things is to always start with a messy environment, a blank canvas to play with. However there’s a catch: I have to pay close attention to what I’m constantly searching for and using.
It is only after rearranging things again and again and learning my necessities that I am finally ready to begin building the system that will meet my needs. But, there is no doubt in my mind that that will not be the final version. The world around us constantly changes, and we must adapt to keep up.
The tricky part is figuring out the exact moment when the messy stage has to give way to some order. I like to use a concept I borrowed from economics: Transactions Costs. In other words, if the mess is making me less and less productive, it’s time to pause and organize by choosing the best workflow I’ve come up with so far.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to watch the video below. It’s about an Evernote notebook being built from empty to fully functional. It started out messy, and I added tags, links, etc. as I learned what I was constantly looking for and using.
And like I said before, it’s a strategy that works in both the digital and physical worlds. Last week, I finally organized my workbench inspired by the way I moved objects around when I was working on the Apple IIe restoration project. I’m pretty happy with the final result, but I already had new ideas for it.
The messy approach is also a way to foster creativity. There are many good books about this subject. There’s one literally titled Messy, but The Click Moment and Algorithms to Live By also discuss it.
Moving things around forces us to look at a problem from a different perspective, which helps us come up with unexpected solutions. But it is important to keep in mind that the project on which we are currently working is not our sole concern. In my case, the messy workspace was also a project in progress.
Take a look at the shelf and the soldering station; they are all made from scrap wood. By the way, I love that cool industrial vibe. You can even tell from the black circles on one of the shelf legs that the piece of wood was once below the table glass. It was a test; I was trying to figure out how many crossbars I needed to keep everything stable and I ended up replacing the studs with the thicker ones that are there now. As for the rest of the replaced pieces wood, they were used on other projects.
But there are more repurposed materials. The desk itself is made up of the top glass of an old kitchen table, supported by some cheap Ikea trestles. As for that Chromebook, it will not get Chrome OS updates anymore, but it is still good enough for Google searches and the Evernote web client.
So, the next time you are working on a complex project, don’t be too hard on yourself. Every so often, a little mess is what you need to unlock a solution that was always there, but you couldn’t see.
By the way, switching to another project also works, but that’s a story for another time.
Is your computer truly yours?
It is remarkable how contemporary technology is built around the loss of control over our devices. In contrast, the Apple IIe, which is considerably older, is so open to experimentation and modifications.
One or two years ago, I wanted to try ChromeOS Flex and decided to install it on my old MacBook Air 2012. I enjoyed the process of installing it and had fun with the OS. Now I needed macOS back on the computer to be able to use it on the Apple IIe restoration project, but when it came time to reinstall macOS, things didn’t go well at all.
macOS Recovery
If you start macOS holding command + r, you’ll be prompted to reinstall the OS. I was counting on this when I decided to try ChromeOS Flex. Anyway, I tried all possible variations of the command + r command, but at some point, near the end of the process, a glitch would always stop the installation.
Another issue was that the countdown to the end of the process would display a huge negative number, which would also result in an error message. I searched online and found out that the negative number was related to a network problem, but my network and internet connection were working perfectly well.
I also tried to reinstall macOS by holding the option key. This is how you tell the Mac to search for external drives when it starts up. However, I was unsuccessful there as well. I was probably doing something wrong because the system would never recognize the installation disk on connected drives. It is also possible that the bootable part of the disc was damaged during the installation of Chrome OS Flex. I don’t know. Regardless of the reason, I am puzzled as to why I was encountering such difficulty. After all, it is my computer.
Downloading macOS
We are provided with downloads of older versions of the operating system, but I challenge you to try installing it on a computer with a dead or new hard drive. One must go through numerous workarounds to make it work. By the way, during my saga I also learned that Apple does not provide any official instructions for how to install an older OS over a newer one. Even worse, it tells us that we cannot do it.
Carbon Copy Cloner
After jumping from one website to another and failing miserably, I remembered that my wife didn’t get rid of her old Mac mini from 2012. My new plan was to clone the Mini hard drive using Carbon Copy Cloner. Of course, I had problems there as well. First, I had to find an older version of the program that worked with macOS Mojave. Next, the mini drive is 500 GB, and the Air’s is 64 GB.
To make a square fit into the circle, I created a new admin user (me) on my wife’s computer, and on Carbon Copy Cloner, I unselected her user and all the non-essential files before cloning. Of course, figuring out what are the essential files is easier said than done. After lot of trial and error, I was successful, but I would not be able to use this same strategy on a slightly newer Mac. My 2012 machine has a removable SSD, and I happen to have the correct USB enclosure. In other words, I could remove it from my computer and connect it to my wife’s Mini via USB.
My computer finally started, but the OS was extremely slow. It would take several minutes to boot, and the mouse was jumping all around the screen every time I moved it. Thinking that some issue could have occurred during the cloning process, I repeated it several times, but I had no success. It was time to take a break, like I usually do when I get stuck.
The next day, I remembered that macOS has an Activity Monitor. I ran it, but to my surprise, the total CPU load was over 90%, even though no software or process was taking more than 5% of the CPU time. Back to Google!
Resetting PRAM and SMC
In the end, there wasn’t anything wrong with the cloning process. The issue was with the different computers. Using Carbon Copy Cloner to make a copy is like transplanting a brain from one person to another. The new brain in my MacBook Air was from a Mac Mini. To put it simply, I had to help it adjust to its new body.
I don’t have enough technical knowledge to explain this, but there’s a way to reset basic macOS configurations called PRAM and SMC. I reset them, and the OS started working like a charm.
Finally!
Anyway, all this was just another step in my Apple IIe restoration project. I could finally install the ADTPro software on the MacBook Air to copy old software to the IIe. Of course, I hit a new brick wall. But this is a story for another day.