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Note Taking Tips?

I'm in my first year of university and trying desperately to come up with the best way to take notes on my mac...

I've been looking into notae and yojimbo (I like the tagging features alot, but dislike that I can't put in pictures and such) but have heard good things about journler and devonthink.

The problem with Notae (which I used today) is everything is in SQL databases which is going to make it difficult. Plus most of these apps REQUIRE you to make a new database file rather than a bunch of text files which it will database and collect, etc. I've also heard wiki's are a great way to take notes but have no clue how to do so on my mac.

So please, if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. I'm sure there are many like me who also would love to know any suggestions for great apps for us Univeristy kids.

hyperblazer's picture

Another vote for low-tech

A point worth making: you probably want a system that will remain useful to you throughout your education. And the fact is, as you move into more difficult classes, the profs will cover things more quickly. If you're in a class that involves math, you'll find it hard to keep up with the equations. Either you'll treat everything like images (in which case, what's the point? you could just scan in paper notes) or you'll be lost because you're trying to switch from image mode to text mode and back.

I'm a grad student in theoretical chemistry. This fall, I'm TA'ing a class in quantum mechanics. You do not want to try to type notes during that class.

Non-Mac solution: one of my students has a Tablet PC. Seems to work well for him.

Mac (or any other) solution: use plain white loose-leaf paper for the notes, and buy a scanner. With good choices of scan quality, you'll can probably keep your whole undergraduate education on a single CD.

 
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