Apple Notes alternative

[phly]

Good day

I'm wondering if there is any apple notes alternative now that I am looking at switching OS. Seems i'll have to switch a number of things I was used to over to the google platform. Looking for something that I can easily do on Mac and it syncs on an android phone. I have looked at google keep which just seems too simplistic and bare bones and Evernote which seems overkill. Purpose is to jot down quick thoughts be it on Mac or phone - attach media to those notes now and then and have easy access to them on either platform. Cloud sync is also important. Are there better alternatives that I can look into or my choices boil down to the above mentioned two?

 

[backstreetboy]

Onedrive or Joplin which is FOSS then sync via webdav.

 

[phly]

hmm... onedrive means I need to adopt microsoft more tightly for interoperability aka onedrive so one note makes sense - I came across Joplin mentioned several times. Hadn't heard of it before. Will check it out - thanks.

 

[bwana]

Good day

I'm wondering if there is any apple notes alternative now that I am looking at switching OS. Seems i'll have to switch a number of things I was used to over to the google platform. Looking for something that I can easily do on Mac and it syncs on an android phone. I have looked at google keep which just seems too simplistic and bare bones and Evernote which seems overkill. Purpose is to jot down quick thoughts be it on Mac or phone - attach media to those notes now and then and have easy access to them on either platform. Cloud sync is also important. Are there better alternatives that I can look into or my choices boil down to the above mentioned two?

I use Google Keep in lieu of Notes on my Android phone. It's close enough and it gets the job done.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Even as an Apple geek I much prefer Onenote for taking notes.

Syncs perfectly across all the platforms you can possibly want except maybe Linux, but there is a web interface for that.

It allows for multiple notebooks and subsections and has many advanced tools like converting images to text etc.

Unlike Evernote it doesn’t feel like overkill with its simplistic design language.

 

[SauRoNZA]

hmm... onedrive means I need to adopt microsoft more tightly for interoperability aka onedrive so one note makes sense - I came across Joplin mentioned several times. Hadn't heard of it before. Will check it out - thanks.

You don’t need to actually adopt OneDrive at all.

As in Onenote interfaces directly with it, you don’t need to install it on your machine or mobile.

 

[phly]

You don’t need to actually adopt OneDrive at all.

As in Onenote interfaces directly with it, you don’t need to install it on your machine or mobile.

I meant it just made sense to then adopt that eco system - one drive, onenote, outlook as an email app would make more sense as everything just works well together. But I do get that getting one does not mean I have to get the other. Will give one note a try - I checked out Joplin and I was not feeling it. Should one note still feel out of place then google keep may just have to do. Easy to adopt and get running with it. Currently checking it out.

Thanks for all the input though

 

[backstreetboy]

I meant it just made sense to then adopt that eco system - one drive, onenote, outlook as an email app would make more sense as everything just works well together. But I do get that getting one does not mean I have to get the other. Will give one note a try - I checked out Joplin and I was not feeling it. Should one note still feel out of place then google keep may just have to do. Easy to adopt and get running with it. Currently checking it out.

Thanks for all the input though

Works great for me. Just getting it working on an RPI I must still try.

 

[Nicholas Lisse]

I use Apple Notes for my own stuff.

at work, we are bought into the Google Ecosystem and use Google Keep to share notes with the team. Works very well.

 

[phly]

It will be some mission to migrate to android apps when I have been so used to iOS apps which I now realize do not have Android versions. Keep is awesome for short quick notes and ideas which is all I want. Evernote I already have an account so I could go back to using it but One note is praised all over the web and microsoft is known to do some neat dope apps that I want to try it out and get a sense of what it can do before I settle on the other options and alternatives.

 

[bwana]

Pity there doesn't seem to be a simple way of moving notes to Keep or Onenote.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I meant it just made sense to then adopt that eco system - one drive, onenote, outlook as an email app would make more sense as everything just works well together. But I do get that getting one does not mean I have to get the other. Will give one note a try - I checked out Joplin and I was not feeling it. Should one note still feel out of place then google keep may just have to do. Easy to adopt and get running with it. Currently checking it out.

Thanks for all the input though

Sadly the integration isn’t there like it would be in Apple land.

They are all basically independent things which is both good and bad.

 

[phly]

I like the variety and openness of the eco system but its also a double edged sword for some of us who need things to work in a certain way. I recall back in the day I used to waste hours just setting up things the way I wanted it. The customization capabilities is far reaching. On Apple side things just work coz there isn't that much to tamper with or mess with. Anyways - I wont complain and i'll just try find what works for me and suits me best with my workflow and needs.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I like the variety and openness of the eco system but its also a double edged sword for some of us who need things to work in a certain way. I recall back in the day I used to waste hours just setting up things the way I wanted it. The customization capabilities is far reaching. On Apple side things just work coz there isn't that much to tamper with or mess with. Anyways - I wont complain and i'll just try find what works for me and suits me best with my workflow and needs.

While iOS isn’t too open for customisation, the same can’t be said for MacOS.

More so when you add Automator and that kind of stuff into the mix.

Out of interest what is the allure of switching to Android? A Top 5 things making it worth breaking your life for would be interesting.

Having been there and done it twice, first with Windows Phone OS and then later Android (6 I think it was at the time) it was so life breaking that I was back on all Apple as quickly as I could be.

Then changed jobs and had to use a PC which wasn’t quite as bad but still broke a lot of things that could be better.

Oddly I would opt for Windows Phone over Android any day (after iOS I mean) and it’s sad that didn’t get anywhere.

 

[phly]

While iOS isn’t too open for customisation, the same can’t be said for MacOS.

More so when you add Automator and that kind of stuff into the mix.

Out of interest what is the allure of switching to Android? A Top 5 things making it worth breaking your life for would be interesting.

Having been there and done it twice, first with Windows Phone OS and then later Android (6 I think it was at the time) it was so life breaking that I was back on all Apple as quickly as I could be.

Then changed jobs and had to use a PC which wasn’t quite as bad but still broke a lot of things that could be better.

Oddly I would opt for Windows Phone over Android any day (after iOS I mean) and it’s sad that didn’t get anywhere.

Getting a new phone and it happens to be an android one. Coming from an iPhone SE that I was happy with but was getting tired of and yearning for something new but not ready to sell my liver to get it. So decided to reward myself with a new android device after a grueling year - should be arriving tomorrow. I have a Mac so the sync between that and the SE was seamless. Also there is no way I am going to start chasing after viruses by getting a windows machine. So the setup is still Mac and an android phone.

I reckon its only a few apps I need to find substitutes for as most stuff I work on is on Mac and does not need a mobile version. A decent file manager and a way of sending files across from Mac to phone and vice versa (perhaps over WIFI) are the only two things I anticipate having issues with. All else seems straightforward