I know a lot of our readers are already well into the new term and I hope you’re all getting on fine. However in my corner of the globe (if globes have corners? :o)), the new semester doesn’t begin until October 1st so right now I’m sitting slap-bang in the middle of my yearly ritual of Tablet PC re-formating, and deciding on what changes, if any, I’m going to be making to my software setup. Therefore I thought it may be of value to some of you if I shared a few of the major software decisions I’ve made for the upcoming term and why. Read on to find out what’s going to be in Robert’s ‘back to uni’ software box.

Windows Vista (Home Premium Edition) - Yep Vista flavoured Windows, albeit the Home Premium Edition because a student’s budget can only stretch so far (awwww poor me :o)), finally becomes an integral part of my Tablet PC operation. As far as operating systems go I’m never an early adopter (at least on such a critical computer as my only Tablet PC). I know a lot of people have said from the outset that Vista offers the Tablet PC one of the most stable and reliable platforms yet but I prefer to hold off, just for a bit, until the inevitable stream of bugs, driver problems etc. slows down into more of a trickle.To convince myself that the stream really is a trickle now, I’ve spent the summer running Vista on my Mac Mini (dual-booting using Boot Camp) and I’ve got to say, I’m really happy with the way it’s performed. Whether this view will change or not, after sustained use on the Tablet PC, remains to be seen (fingers crossed though :o)).

Microsoft OneNote - Finally, finally, finally! Yes finally I’m migrating 100% over to OneNote. Why? Well firstly my old faithful note-taking workhorse GoBinder just seems too unstable for the job under Vista. Secondly Agilix appear to be giving GoBinder little development thought these days (which makes me lose faith) and lastly I’m keen to take advantage of the more streamlined integration that OneNote appears to offer.I’m no absolute stranger to OneNote. I’ve used it a lot in the past to index my lecture audio recordings (more about that in Part 2c of my ‘Studying in the Humanities’ series) and I’ve also used it for short periods when attempting to migrate to OneNote more fully in the past. However I’ve got to admit that I do have a bit of a learning slope to clamber up to get me anywhere near OneNote competent so you won’t see me offering any significant OneNote related advice for a while :o). Thankfully I know that there’s a wealth of knowledgable OneNoters around here who I can prod if I need to, and even more thankfully I’ve got one of the best right here on STPC’s doorstep - our very own Andrew aka Professor OneNote :o)

MindManager - For the time being at least, MindManager remains with me as my No.1 mind-mapping application. I like MindManager a lot. It’s intuitive, reliable, fast, featured filled (including the all important ‘inkability’) and it’s one of the few mind-mapping applications that does a good job of translating the whole ‘paper-based’ concept of mind-mapping into an electronic format (a real challenge on its own).However I’m also massively passionate about mind-mapping (I have about a dozen books in my library and have even considered training to become Buzan-accredited) so I never really stop hunting for the ‘holy grail’ of mind-mapping applications (if such a thing exists). Earlier in the year on my personal blog, I launched a six-month ‘road test’, of what was considered to be the best in computer ‘mind-mappers’, to decide which one was the best suited for my needs and to find out if any were good enough to knock MindManager out of my ‘toolbox’. Try as I might though, university commitments and loss of focus stopped me from following this through, so I’m keen to pick this up again now (with a better project management strategy in place :o)). It’s going to be interesting to see in a few months if MindManager has remained my ‘numbero uno’ choice but it’s going to be a tough nut to topple.

RecallPlus - Next to accompany me into the new semester is this often overlooked gem of a learning tool which believe me has saved my hide more than a few times in the run-up to exams. For the benefit of those who don’t know, RecallPlus is essentially an ink-friendly ‘bells and whistles’ flash card application with one particularly ‘trump card’ - its revision feature.What the revision feature of RecallPlus essentially does is to take away all of the uncertainty and stress related to what needs to be revised and when, and it works it all out for itself before prompting to test you accordingly. RecallPlus has got a bit of a learning curve to it and you have to spend the time inputting your study material (which is best done on an ongoing basis BTW so you get the benefit of testing as you go) but what you have for all of your efforts is the electronic equivalent of a pushy parent who doesn’t let up on the nagging until you’ve well and truly met your revision goals and are set up to sail through your exams. Quite simply RecallPlus is revision ‘pixie dust’.

EverNote - Even though OneNote is set up to be my primary note-taker this year, I still have room in my primary apps ‘toolbox’ for an old favourite, EverNote. I often find it quite refreshing and hugely liberating to step out of the confines of a structured note-taker such as GoBinder and OneNote and just ‘run’ with the free-form simplicity of EverNote and although I’ve switched primary note-takers I’ve no intentions of giving up this avenue to freedom.I’m a huge fan of Leonardo daVinci and in particular I love the way in which he freely filled his notebooks without any apparent order, and presumably without any anxiety about structure. EverNote, using its continual ‘roll’ of ‘digital paper’ offers the nearest electronic equivalent that I’ve found that replicates this methodology of Leonardo so closely. Working with Evernote has been hugely beneficial for me in the past, especially during those times when my creative ‘flow’ just wasn’t happening, and I’m sure this will continue. Furthermore, and a definite ‘one up’ on Leonardo and his notebooks :o) I love the way that EverNote let’s you find everything again so easily (even my illegible ink notes).

Snapter - I’ve already spoken about this enough lately (here’s my review) so I won’t say anything else other than that this, along with my digital camera, is going to serve as my mobile paper capture device. I’ve only had the pleasure of using it at university for a few weeks at the end of last semester so I’m really excited to see how it works for me in the upcoming year.

PDF Annotator - Previously I used to just import the documents and book chapters I needed to annotate directly into GoBinder. This year I’d like to try and keep my primary note-taker a little less cluttered with respect to imported documents, book chapters etc. so I’m going to give this often proclaimed application a trial to see how it works out. Although there’s a good chance it isn’t going to stay (as this year I’m also trying to ‘wabi sabi’ simplify my workflow a bit more) I’m open to exploring it as a viable option. I like its annotating features and the way it keeps PDFs as PDFs.

So there we have it - a short list of the essential applications that I’ve decided I’m going to be starting the new semester with. I’ve still a few decisions to decide on i.e. my bibliographical/reference management software for the year (currently I’m deciding on whether to stay with Scribe (a free offering from the Center for History and New Media) or if I’m going back to EndNote but that’s something I’m making a final decision on nearer the start of semester.

Of course nothing in my study toolbox is ever set in stone. So while I see how well these ‘essential’ applications pan out for me, you can be sure I’ll still, as always, be reaching out to explore whatever other software possibilities come to my attention (i.e. I’ve made a promise to spend some time with Raymond Davey’s promising InkBuddy) and I’ll be happy to let you know about them, ask for your opinion and share the experience of using them.

Comments? Suggestions? Recommendations? As ever I’d love to hear all of them, as I’m sure our other readers would too.

Other posts that may interest you:

1. Printing Software Every Student Should Try
2. Free ritePen or Evernote Plus
3. Tracy’s "Already at uni" Software Box
4. RecallPlus officially has ink!
5. I can’t wait for OneNote 12