One note application to rule them all...

so, i've been in the market for a note-organizing app since about, um, 1999, and I could use some advice if anyone has some on what to choose.

On the one hand, there's the venerable app "StickyBrain," an app for which I have a serial number for, so I could upgrade to the most recent version of 4.0.x. Originally, StickyBrain was the like the old Mac OS desk accessories NotePad, Stickies and Scrapbook rolled into one. It was the only app of its kind at them time, but without a really good database backend, you sat there thinkin "well, why don't i just use NotePad, Stickies and Scrapbook instead?

Things took a turn for the better when Mac OS X came on the scene, but their interface was a horrid conglomeration of Classic layout with poorly rendered Aqua elements. My first reaction was "ewww..." and ignored it until version 3. Version 3 looked like they actually understood the Mac OS X interface, at least by osmosis, and 3 added database and syncing ability that truly made it a great product. unfortunately, it had a very BAD bug with its database that crippled my machine, which they eventually fixed, but it scared me off.

version 4 makes some great strides, but i would have been pissed if i had bought version 3 and then see version 4 adds all of the optimization 3 SHOULD have had. But still, it'd be $25. it's gotta be worth $25, right?

so i tried out the demo, and once again, it's merely okay. there's still something about chronos' apps that are just wacky in terms of interface. like, there's customization, like choosing new icons or background textures, but you're limited to their pre-defined elements. with the background images, you can drop them in the right folder and they'll show up, but this smacks more of "hack" than "user-defined." the icons are even worse, since i reckon you have to crack open the package contents for those. why isn't there a copy/paste ability to change icons? why isn't there an "other..." or "choose..." option when selecting background images? just weird differences that leave you wondering why they don't just do things the way everyone else does, when those other ways are just fine and way more flexible?

but just $25... hmmm.

i haven't gotten a chance to try yojimbo yet. very tempted, except that it doesn't have a "nag" mode (i.e. persistent sticky notes), so while it looks like a great note database app, i'm not sure it's a whole solution for me.

and someone has to figure out soon how to grab info from dashboard widgets into these apps, unless it's there an i don't know it yet.