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Clover: An all-in-one notebook

122 points| robenkleene | 5 years ago |cloverapp.co | reply

85 comments

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[+] Waterluvian|5 years ago|reply
For what it’s worth (and maybe I’m just dumb). It took me a lot of scrolling to realize they weren’t selling hardware.
[+] moritzmeister|5 years ago|reply
And as a Data Scientist, my first thought was it is a replacement for Jupyter Notebooks :)
[+] tyingq|5 years ago|reply
Me too. I think maybe they forgot that "notebook" also has a hardware connotation.
[+] Bedon292|5 years ago|reply
I also got confused because Clover is a payment processing company, similar to Square. And also apparently a dating app.
[+] vnair|5 years ago|reply
Honestly had the exact same thought
[+] thomasxiii|5 years ago|reply
Not dumb at all. Apologies for that! We'll work on honing our messaging to avoid this confusion.
[+] upen946|5 years ago|reply
Same here. Looking at the UI, I thought there were selling some devices
[+] jonathanstrange|5 years ago|reply
That's funny because my first thought was almost the opposite, that they are offering a new open source HTML template for ebooks.
[+] afandian|5 years ago|reply
On Android Firefox you can't even scroll! It takes a few swipes to get the page to move.
[+] mcs_|5 years ago|reply
Yup, Took me till the color picker.
[+] smetj|5 years ago|reply
Where, how and in in which format is my data stored? First question I have ...
[+] triyambakam|5 years ago|reply
I used to be obsessed with trying new note taking apps, but I've been the happiest and most productive using Vim and Markdown on my laptop synced via Syncthing to my phone and editing with Markor. I've used Vim for as long as I could program, so I am embarrassed that it took me so long to set this up (a few months ago) but I finally don't care about note taking apps.

Edit: sometimes I print my notes and for that I use the Vim plugin MarkdownPreview to render to the browser, then print there

[+] mark_l_watson|5 years ago|reply
Me to, then I just stopped. The enabling moment came when I found a free app that backs up Apple Notes in a portable format. I use the iCloud.com web app on my Linux laptops to access notes, and on my copious Apple devices, the Notes app is easy to use.

Some sad history: I spent years carefully making notes and organizing material in Evernote but realized that I spent much more time curating material than ever using it.

[+] 0xdeadb00f|5 years ago|reply
The problem I have is Markor's ugly design. I prefer a UI like that of the app "Monospace" (which I don't use, because it isn't open source).

I'm more of a developer than an end user but I still cannot stand apps with odd, "ugly" UI. I get this is mostly subjective though.

Edit: I downloaded Markor just to see again. It's actually not as awful as I remember, I do dislike the primary dark purple however. Otherwise, it's quite decent, I might start using it.

[+] TheMatten|5 years ago|reply
Neuron (https://neuron.zettel.page/) can be useful for this approach - it's purpose is to basically turn folder of Markdown (or Org-mode) notes into static, interlinked page with pretty formatting, tree view and search support. Not only is it great for making reading more pleasant, it works great for building blogs and knowledge bases.
[+] idm|5 years ago|reply
This is basically what I do.

I then use Gthnk (http://gthnk.com) to navigate all my markdown files. I sync with dropbox or seafile, but it's the same basic idea.

Gthnk renders to PDF for printing. In fact, a medium-term goal is full import/export via hardcopy, which requires paper-oriented output.

Disclaimer: I'm the author of Gthnk.

[+] criddell|5 years ago|reply
My problem with a text file is how clunky it is to include images.
[+] fatline|5 years ago|reply
what do you use for syntax highlighting? I have tried a few options but can't quite get what I need. I like url hiding (or is it called folding?) that VimWiki does for md files, but I hate that VimWiki's does not really follow the md standard
[+] esrh|5 years ago|reply
Just use emacs org-mode lol
[+] nxc18|5 years ago|reply
Very interesting. This feels like a fusion of my favorite tools: OneNote and Todoist. The command line is a great feature - Todoist executes on it well, also the Outlook app but on macOS only for some reason.

This appears to solve a major gripe with OneNote: it is really hard to style and get things looking like I want them to. It also lacks formatted code display - the whole Office suite is surprisingly very behind here. It’s a shame, since I know at least in the past MS used word for their internal technical documentation, so they should be feeling this pain daily.

The competition is fierce, but the offering appears strong enough to overcome my “it’s just another note taking app, haven’t they heard of OneNote” instinct. As a user I’m hoping that OneNote and Doist will pull an Instagram and copy some or all of these features.

I love using software that inspires me with its design.

[+] freeone3000|5 years ago|reply
If you write the code in Visual Studio and paste it into Word, it preserves Visual Studio formatting. This is what's used instead of putting code formatting into Office.
[+] emaro|5 years ago|reply
Looks pretty clean. I wonder about a) pricing / distribution model and b) compatibility with other tools i.e. if you use open formats.

Note: Displaying email addresses in uppercase is bad UX, since emails are mostly, but not always case insensitive.

[+] system2|5 years ago|reply
One time only: Yes. Recurring monthly: NEVER.

There are bazillion apps out there, mostly free or comes with free tier. Unless this is $9.99 or lower, I would never consider. Just my opinion.

[+] alphagrep12345|5 years ago|reply
Why is there an abundance of note taking apps? Why is it that this particular category of software/apps sees a new one every now and then?
[+] ChefboyOG|5 years ago|reply
TL;DR: I think this is down to the convergence of some perennial dynamics, and the recent success of apps like Notion, as another commenter alluded to.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this. As someone for whom research + writing are a primary component of daily work, I'm probably a little too willing to play with new note taking apps :)

I think the recent surge is actually a convergence of several different trends:

1. There's always been a decent volume of new note taking apps, in large part because of how tempting they are as a project. They feel both approachable (until you try to build one), and they're such a familiar-yet-blank canvas that it's incredibly easy to come up with a "tweak" that makes yours different.

2. The love people have for Notion, and the so-far success of the company, have made it a more attractive niche for more serious startup-y people. Where you used to see more solo projects, you're now seeing a decent amount of apps built by full teams.

3. Human nature. While I am the first to evangelize the impact taking better notes can have, it has also been my experience that note taking systems are the ultimate bike shed problem. It's easy to tinker with them and try new apps out, believing that you'll find the perfect system that will unlock your inner genius. I think a lot of project management and productivity software has a similar thing going.

[+] biophysboy|5 years ago|reply
My hypothesis is they are selling "transformation". I think that humans find a lot of meaning from starting fresh with a new method or point of view. This fact drives everything from baptism to Marie Kondo (not equating the two or saying either is stupid).
[+] erklik|5 years ago|reply
I think Notion was the first one of the recent bunch, and they created something much better than the standard "Write some text" and since they got traction, others saw that they could do better and have started focusing in that direction.
[+] jeswin|5 years ago|reply
It took me a lot of scrolling to realize they don't even have a product yet - it's just a wait list.
[+] hestefisk|5 years ago|reply
The command prompt aspect is quite interesting. But it is going to be tough competing with OneNote (free), which is a pretty decent app.
[+] RyanDeLap|5 years ago|reply
Looks pretty cool. Any other information on how this may be different to Notion?
[+] dersoi|5 years ago|reply
My first thought too. I feel this is meant to be more chaotic in someway: being able to put all the information raw and rearrange them easily, whereas Notion feels more like documentation, where your data has to fit a template.
[+] RobKohr|5 years ago|reply
My all in one notebook:

* Dropbox folder called Notebook

* Has a file called Notebook.md which has links to other files: Tasks.md (to do lists with date headers), Blog.md, etc

* VSC with some markdown extensions

   * Markdown All In One

   * Markdown Preview Enhanced

   * mushan.vscode-paste-image
Doesn't do great as far as mobile note taking, but aside from that, its ability to organize is limitless.
[+] whatthefunc|5 years ago|reply
Another notes app...?
[+] ZephyrBlu|5 years ago|reply
Yeah but this one is an all-in-one notebook for creatives!
[+] kanobo|5 years ago|reply
Congrats to the team, looks very useful. I was an early customer of the Macaw App from the same creator(s?) and was excited for its development and had deeply integrated it into my projects but they got aquihired then all development stopped and bugs frozen in place... honestly didn't feel good and left me wary of new apps like these. Anyways, hopefully this one has a long bright future.
[+] errantspark|5 years ago|reply
I have similar thoughts. I don't see how I could trust my notes to someone else, besides the obvious privacy implications I just don't feel like it makes sense to rely on someone else for something important like this. I want the data on my computer, and I want to be able to use the version of the software I like and not be forced to update to increasingly awful garbage as they try desperately to grow enough for an IPO or whatever the fuck. Yes, I am still very bitter about Evernote, why do you ask?
[+] tobr|5 years ago|reply
It looks very pretty, but leaves me wondering what is the problem I’d have where Clover is better than other note-taking apps?

This is a common problem with product landing pages like these. They show off some cool features but don’t do a good job connecting them together as a clear vision that demonstrates insight about the intended users’ situation.

[+] steveharman|5 years ago|reply
Needs to have browser plugins for desktop and "share to" option from mobile, for noting web content / URLs.

Hopefully it will.

[+] m0ngr31|5 years ago|reply
Looks like a much more refined and finished product than my own notebook app: https://github.com/m0ngr31/DailyNotes

I wonder how it compares to Noteplan (my original inspiration).

[+] ZephyrBlu|5 years ago|reply
I don't think it is a finished product, hence only a landing page and the fact it's "early access".
[+] dvcrn|5 years ago|reply
Is this going to be web-based (electron)?

I'd love for a really good notes app, but everything these days is in electron and I can't deal with the powerhog.

I'm now using Outlinely and Agenda mainly because of this

[+] esrh|5 years ago|reply
> coming soon to web desktop and mobile

I'd bet so.

[+] tomcat27|5 years ago|reply
another notes app people love in the beginning but eventually abandon
[+] gherkinnn|5 years ago|reply
I use markdown in Writer and physical notebooks myself.

Both lack the ability to easily add pictures.

Bad iPad integration will be a killer for me though.

Worth a look, I suppose.

[+] sebiol|5 years ago|reply
My best Markdown experience so far on iPad is with Working Copy. It is primarily a Git client.

The preview mode handles pictures well, but for editing you are stuck with a basic code editor. Using the preview mode I can even navigate to other notes in the same repository via links in the notes.

Might not work for your use case. If it sounds interesting, give it a try.