It’s been a week since I’ve launched this blog and posted my list of favourite software and hardware tools for research, note-taking, outlining, writing and other aspects of personal information management and productivity. About 70% of the visitors came from the Outliner Software forum, so the following stats may also give a quick snapshot of which countries readers of Outliner Software are based in and what software that was discussed here they were most interested in.
Here are the countries of origin where visitors came from (or at least where their servers were based in) (click on graphic on the left):
66% came from English-speaking countries, which is understandable, considering that the Outliner Software forum and this blog are in English and that these countries have led development in information technology. One of the most curious absences is Australia, considering the size of the country and their software sector (and that they are English-speaking). I even mentioned two Australian software on my list (Mindsystems Amode V2 and Directory Opus). However, three other giants in terms of population and size and importance of IT sector are also missing: Russia, India (I did mention WhizFolders), and China. Looks like folks in these countries haven’t discovered Outliner Software or haven’t been reading it recently (or just weren’t interested in my blog). They don’t know what they’re missing – I’m talking about Outliner Software :)
In terms of which software visitors were most interested in, here is the top 10 list, based on the number of clicks on links:
1. ConnectedText – personal wiki
2. Mindsystems Amode V2 – project management
3. Protopage.com – customisable home page (free)
4. Freeplane – mind mapping (free)
5. Noteliner – fast outlining (free)
6. Nebulous Notes – note-taker for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad (with Dropbox)
6. VUE – concept mapping (free)
6. Natara Bonsai – outlining
7. CarbonFin Outliner – outliner for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, with online companion
8. MyLifeOrganized – to-do list
8. Storybook Pro – for structuring writing
8. NoteTab – text editor (free)
9. A-PDF Collector – PDF utility
9. Directory Opus – Windows Explorer replacement
10. PureText – utility for stripping rich text formatting (free)
10. Debenu PDF Maximus – batch PDF processing
10. Surfulater – note-taker for websites
10. PDF XChange Viewer – PDF viewer (free)
It’s understandable that CT and Amode were top of the list, considering that I have reviewed both in dedicated posts. I’m happy that Protopage has made it to no. 3, as I’ve been a long-time fan and user and I can’t imagine my life without it. (Apparently there is even a way to embed your Google Calendar into Protopage – although I haven’t tried it.) There are two one-trick ponies on the list: A-PDF Collector and PureText. I use PureText several times daily, pretty much every time I am doing copying and pasting. A-PDF Collector is a more occasionally used tool but can be very useful for the specific job it does. Debenu PDF Maximus is the one software I use the least frequently, simply because those big jobs it’s designed for don’t come along that frequently. It’s quite expensive as well, though I was able to grab a free copy at the ever so useful BitsduJour service. In my top 10 I would have probably also included other iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad apps such as iThoughts, GoodReader and PDF Expert.
Dr Andus's toolbox 