James Fallows, a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, writes an article for The New York Times Techno Files -- Humans vs. Computers, Again. But There's Help for Our Side.
James calls the term 'knowledge management' -- "deceptively blah." Google is swimming in the easy side of the pool according to Mr. Fallows, the really challenging stuff to organize and access is right on our desktops or internal networks.
James calls out a number of contenders in this area of personal knowledge management below. Have any of you used these products? I know a few folks who utilize "The Brain" -- but I would love to hear of good, bad, or indifferent experiences with any of the other mentioned products:
If operating system upgrades are Microsoft's "hard power," it also offers a soft-power approach to the K.M. problem, with a program that looks and feels different from anything the company has offered previously. This product, OneNote, is costly - $199, but with a free trial - and is still a promising glimmer more than a realized solution. But its goal is to provide an easy, elegant way to lodge bits of significant information and then get them back at the right time. Oddball disclosure: I worked with the team now responsible for OneNote during a brief stint at Microsoft five years ago.
THEN there is everyone else. There must be hundreds of programs designed to give users better command of their own data. I know that I have tried at least 50 of them. They have names like ADM, askSam, BrainStorm, Chandler, Enfish, InfoSelect, iRider, Lookout, Onfolio, TheBrain and Zoot. Their prices range from zero to about $100, and nearly all of them do something useful...
K-Collector Topics: Goals Knowledge Management Productivity Writing