When I was still working on a Windows XP computer I enjoyed Evernote. Evernote is a combination of a web-service and client applications for note-taking. Most of the time I used Evernote’s Windows client application for keeping my notes organized. Though there are additional application for mobile devices and what not – I didn’t need or use them. I enjoyed the Windows client greatly. I was greatly disappointed when I discovered that Evernote did not have a client for Linux and did not give signs that they intended to provide one (though the topic appeared many times in online forums).
I looked around a lot for an alternative note application for Linux but couldn’t find one I liked. Until not too long ago I came across a heartful recommendation for a relatively unkown application called KeepNote. It’s a clean, simple, no frills and straighforward application. It stores the notes in folders and standard HTML files and it’s easy to use. I loved it from first sight.
I also wanted to be able to share my notes across numerous computers (like I did with Evernote). This was very easy to do with my Dropbox account. Dropbox is a great service that enables synchronizing files across numerous computers. It has a client application for Windows, Mac & Linux operating systems. It operates quietly in the background and automatically keeps files syncronized.
So all I have to do is place my KeepNote folder in my Dropbox folder and that’s it – all of my notes are synchronized through my Dropbox account. When I change/delete/create a note on one computer that gets syncronized with my Dropbox account and then all the other computers automatically sync with that. So now I can create a note on one computer and have it immediately available on another computer.
KeepNote is a great substitute for Evernote. I like it so much that I doubt I would go back to Evernote even if they did bother to create a Linux client. It is an open source project.
4 Comments
Using Keepnote with dropbox does work, but it has some strange quirks, if you have more than one computer trying to access the same notebook at the same time (e.g. many times certain files get updated). I don't know how to work around this, but if you know of / find a solution, please post!
I am working with KeepNote on two computers… and it's working fine.
I haven't tested it changing the same files on both computers… there's no file locking issue (because the files are local) – I am guessing that there maybe a problem in extreme cases – where changes are made before the client has had time to sync.
This is a very extreme usecase – and is not an issue for my needs. I am having a great time making notes on one computer and having them available on the other without lifting a finger. 🙂
There is a LINUX version of Evernote – it's called Nevernote and you can find it here: http://nevernote.sourceforge.net/
There's just a few requirements to get it running… follow the instructions and visit their forum!
You can choose between 32 bit or 64.
I got it working fine and it runs well…!
the new version of NEVERNOTE (v.90) is a .deb package made for quick & easy installation – just click-n-go…!