Discussion Forum > Google Keep, anyone use?
I checked this out a number of years ago. It is most like the stickie note/ post-it note software genre (there's a list of some of them here: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/post-screen-x-sticky-note-apps-windows/ ). Which means you can use them any way you choose, as note cards, for lists, etc. I'm happy to hear that Keep has reminders now, I may check them out again. The key feature is that it is cross-platform and you can sync across devices, which could prove quite useful.
August 20, 2016 at 4:05 |
maureen
maureen
On the subject of note keeping programs, Evernote have just re-introduced the thumbnail view on the PC Desktop version. I'd never forgiven them for getting rid of it some years back, so as far as I'm concerned the re-introduction is a major plus.
Google seems to suffer even more than most other internet companies from removing functionality which one has come to depend on. So however good their stuff is, I'd be very wary of investing everything in it.
Google seems to suffer even more than most other internet companies from removing functionality which one has come to depend on. So however good their stuff is, I'd be very wary of investing everything in it.
August 20, 2016 at 17:47 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Mark, "So however good their stuff is, I'd be very wary of investing everything in it."
HA, forget about how good their stuff is. How about is their stuff any good? Already, only after decide OK, to really test this, to be fair I'll start to toss everything in here, I'm hitting glitches. And some big ones.
There is a concept of archive. Put all you don't want to focus on into archive, always able to unarchive or just look around archive anyway. Or that is at least how I started to use it.
Today, went to find note in the archive, instead of the 20 or so that are in there, only 2 show up. That showed up later, yet for a moment, that was already frightening.
And yes, did test it several times with same result. Also, when start to make a long task list, such as the GIANT number of over 20 (ha!) it will start to clog up and not take new tasks until click out of and back into the note.
What is wonderful is synch across machines, locations, devices. And connect into other Google services. But wow, it is not solid. And this with only ~2 days of notes/use.
At least for me. Chrome on Apple desktop and iPhone app.
HA, forget about how good their stuff is. How about is their stuff any good? Already, only after decide OK, to really test this, to be fair I'll start to toss everything in here, I'm hitting glitches. And some big ones.
There is a concept of archive. Put all you don't want to focus on into archive, always able to unarchive or just look around archive anyway. Or that is at least how I started to use it.
Today, went to find note in the archive, instead of the 20 or so that are in there, only 2 show up. That showed up later, yet for a moment, that was already frightening.
And yes, did test it several times with same result. Also, when start to make a long task list, such as the GIANT number of over 20 (ha!) it will start to clog up and not take new tasks until click out of and back into the note.
What is wonderful is synch across machines, locations, devices. And connect into other Google services. But wow, it is not solid. And this with only ~2 days of notes/use.
At least for me. Chrome on Apple desktop and iPhone app.
August 20, 2016 at 22:22 |
matthewS
matthewS
matthewS:
I had a similar experience a couple of years back, since when I've never touched any of their stuff.
I had a similar experience a couple of years back, since when I've never touched any of their stuff.
August 21, 2016 at 16:37 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
I use Google Keep quite a bit actually but really for only 4 use cases.
1- I use it as a quick note taker on the phone when I don't have anything else to write on. I use a Samsung Note 3 with a stylus so the note can either be with the pen (handwriting) or typed. I love that it syncs to my google account and I can pull it off later at the computer. In this case it is nothing more than an inbox that I try to clear out as fast as I can.
2- I take pictures of whiteboards from meetings or items in stores while shopping that I want to research further at home from with it. Again primarily for the syncing functionality and it doesn't clutter up my actual pictures.
3- I share shopping or similar lists with my wife. - since we both have a google account. It is easy to have a shared list that we can both see.
4- I actually like using it to bookmark sites that I want to revisit for research at a later time. When I'm done I delete the note.
I've also experimented with using it like a travel journal to record places I've been etc but not super pleased with it in that way.
I know you can do all this with Evernote but I left Evernote a few years back because it frankly tries to do *too much*. I was spending too much time tweaking and organizing and tagging and trying to make it do everything and yet it always fell short on that promise. Plus I never really like how it looked.
Google Keep's limitations are actually what appeals to me. A simple note that syncs for later reference that I don't have any qualms of deleting later in the same way I wouldn't hesitate throwing away a sticky note.
1- I use it as a quick note taker on the phone when I don't have anything else to write on. I use a Samsung Note 3 with a stylus so the note can either be with the pen (handwriting) or typed. I love that it syncs to my google account and I can pull it off later at the computer. In this case it is nothing more than an inbox that I try to clear out as fast as I can.
2- I take pictures of whiteboards from meetings or items in stores while shopping that I want to research further at home from with it. Again primarily for the syncing functionality and it doesn't clutter up my actual pictures.
3- I share shopping or similar lists with my wife. - since we both have a google account. It is easy to have a shared list that we can both see.
4- I actually like using it to bookmark sites that I want to revisit for research at a later time. When I'm done I delete the note.
I've also experimented with using it like a travel journal to record places I've been etc but not super pleased with it in that way.
I know you can do all this with Evernote but I left Evernote a few years back because it frankly tries to do *too much*. I was spending too much time tweaking and organizing and tagging and trying to make it do everything and yet it always fell short on that promise. Plus I never really like how it looked.
Google Keep's limitations are actually what appeals to me. A simple note that syncs for later reference that I don't have any qualms of deleting later in the same way I wouldn't hesitate throwing away a sticky note.
September 6, 2016 at 18:17 |
Brent
Brent
Brent:
<< I know you can do all this with Evernote but I left Evernote a few years back because it frankly tries to do *too much*. I was spending too much time tweaking and organizing and tagging and trying to make it do everything and yet it always fell short on that promise. >>
Just because you can do something with Evernote, doesn't mean you have to.
The great advantage of Evernote for me is that I can use it any way I want to. Some things I organize very closely with it, and others I just shove into it and forget about them until needed (which may be never), when I can find them with Search, and I write loads of "simple notes for later reference which I don't have any qualms about deleting later".
It can not only cope with all those ways of dealing with things, but it can cope with them all at the same time.
<< I know you can do all this with Evernote but I left Evernote a few years back because it frankly tries to do *too much*. I was spending too much time tweaking and organizing and tagging and trying to make it do everything and yet it always fell short on that promise. >>
Just because you can do something with Evernote, doesn't mean you have to.
The great advantage of Evernote for me is that I can use it any way I want to. Some things I organize very closely with it, and others I just shove into it and forget about them until needed (which may be never), when I can find them with Search, and I write loads of "simple notes for later reference which I don't have any qualms about deleting later".
It can not only cope with all those ways of dealing with things, but it can cope with them all at the same time.
September 7, 2016 at 16:53 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Mark:
It's a personal preference for sure, but I still feel that Google Keep has a quicker interface for getting things in and out on my phone and browser. I use Android and Chrome and it is so integrated getting rid of Evernote meant one less log-in and one less app. I use google for docs and email so I'm not getting rid of Google.
Also for me, with Keep's fewer features I don't have the compulsion to over categorize things once it did get in. In Evernote I couldn't shake the feeling that I had stuff "just shoved in", as you say, and so I kept moving it around into folders and tags and I never felt that I got it "just right"
I have a compulsion to want to organize it all and after reading Marie Kondo's "Life-Changing Magic of Tidying" book, I decided that Evernote was a pile of stuff and the container for that stuff that I wanted to get rid of. ( I guess I don't like "green filing cabinets" =)
I completely understand that is not the case for everyone. It really is just a preference.
Brent
It's a personal preference for sure, but I still feel that Google Keep has a quicker interface for getting things in and out on my phone and browser. I use Android and Chrome and it is so integrated getting rid of Evernote meant one less log-in and one less app. I use google for docs and email so I'm not getting rid of Google.
Also for me, with Keep's fewer features I don't have the compulsion to over categorize things once it did get in. In Evernote I couldn't shake the feeling that I had stuff "just shoved in", as you say, and so I kept moving it around into folders and tags and I never felt that I got it "just right"
I have a compulsion to want to organize it all and after reading Marie Kondo's "Life-Changing Magic of Tidying" book, I decided that Evernote was a pile of stuff and the container for that stuff that I wanted to get rid of. ( I guess I don't like "green filing cabinets" =)
I completely understand that is not the case for everyone. It really is just a preference.
Brent
September 8, 2016 at 20:38 |
Brent
Brent
Brent:
I'm not trying to argue you out of your system because it takes time to set up one that works for you and when you've got it you should not lightly give it up. So what I'm writing now is for other people's information, not to try to "convert" you.
The interface for Evernote on an Android phone is extremely quick. To write a brief note to myself whatever I'm doing on the phone, all I have to do is pull down the notification bar and tap the Evernote icon that appears on it. Or I can use the full Evernote widget from the desktop, to access which I just swipe L to R across the page and it pulls across. I then have direct access to all the shortcuts, plus can write a fully formatted note, scan a document, take a photo, use handwriting, access my to do list, all with just one more key stroke.
I've never used Keep so I don't know what the interface is so maybe they've developed something that is shorter than a swipe and a tap - I don't know.
As for the pile of stuff, well the internet is a pile of stuff - but that's it's strength. You will never look at 99.99.. per cent of what's on the internet, but it's invaluable for what you do look at.
There are people who use Evernote and just rely on search to find stuff again (it can read text on photos and handwriting). They don't use tags or notebooks at all. I use a mixed approach myself as I said above. There's nothing very difficult about not organizing things, but if you want to bring Marie Kondo into it you can just ask yourself "Would putting a tag on this note spark joy?"
I'm not trying to argue you out of your system because it takes time to set up one that works for you and when you've got it you should not lightly give it up. So what I'm writing now is for other people's information, not to try to "convert" you.
The interface for Evernote on an Android phone is extremely quick. To write a brief note to myself whatever I'm doing on the phone, all I have to do is pull down the notification bar and tap the Evernote icon that appears on it. Or I can use the full Evernote widget from the desktop, to access which I just swipe L to R across the page and it pulls across. I then have direct access to all the shortcuts, plus can write a fully formatted note, scan a document, take a photo, use handwriting, access my to do list, all with just one more key stroke.
I've never used Keep so I don't know what the interface is so maybe they've developed something that is shorter than a swipe and a tap - I don't know.
As for the pile of stuff, well the internet is a pile of stuff - but that's it's strength. You will never look at 99.99.. per cent of what's on the internet, but it's invaluable for what you do look at.
There are people who use Evernote and just rely on search to find stuff again (it can read text on photos and handwriting). They don't use tags or notebooks at all. I use a mixed approach myself as I said above. There's nothing very difficult about not organizing things, but if you want to bring Marie Kondo into it you can just ask yourself "Would putting a tag on this note spark joy?"
September 9, 2016 at 8:03 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
"Would putting a tag on this note spark joy?"
Now that's funny!
Brent
Now that's funny!
Brent
September 9, 2016 at 19:51 |
Brent
Brent
Hahaha. Comedy gold.
September 11, 2016 at 0:26 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
Not sure if to compare to Evernote, OneNote or what? Not yet done a deep feature compare. Nor am I an expert in either of those. I searched on this forum, did not find anything but did find posts about Google Notebook. Which I believe if now gone. Always a risk with Google. They do everything sort of meh ok. Might drop a service whenever they want. While an Evernote does one thing really well and is focus life blood of entire company.
That is brief summary, risks. I've only just exploring for 2 days, so open to hear from others with more thoughts experience on this.
I found out about Google Keep from this WIRED post.
http://www.wired.com/2016/07/turn-google-best-app-ever/