EccoPro: Why has nobody developed a clone so far?

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Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Aug 29, 2007 at 01:25 PM

Stephen R. Diamond wrote:
>The “correct” answer was ndx Cards.

Stephen,

I think you’re right that ndxCards might be the closes thing to the Holy Grail—that is, if you use your definition of what the HG of outliners is, as opposed to mine or sracer’s. So why isn’t it more popular? It can’t just be that it has a glacial development process. ECCO hasn’t been enhanced in years, but it still is more popular than ndxCards. As I mentioned, for me it is the interface. The note card windows feel constraining and limiting. Is there any other reason?

Steve z.

Posted by Hugh Pile
Aug 29, 2007 at 01:58 PM

Stephen Zeoli wrote:
> >
>Stephen R. Diamond wrote:
>>The “correct” answer was ndx Cards.
> >Stephen,
> >I
>think you’re right that ndxCards might be the closes thing to the Holy Grail—that is,
>if you use your definition of what the HG of outliners is, as opposed to mine or
>sracer’s. So why isn’t it more popular? It can’t just be that it has a glacial
>development process. ECCO hasn’t been enhanced in years, but it still is more popular
>than ndxCards. As I mentioned, for me it is the interface. The note card windows feel
>constraining and limiting. Is there any other reason?
> >Steve z.

For me (and I own a copy) it is as much a matter of design as anything else. The look is plain, and the colours are washed-out if not dreary (though true-ish to the chosen metaphor). Its website is similar. ECCO, by contrast, has its bright, business-like, legal-pad metaphor (and of course can also do clever things with columns, has calendar and contacts components and syncs with a Palm - oh, and it’s free!).

A minor but additional point - I seem to rememember ndx is one of those programmes that lock parts of their forums away from the eyes of non-users, not the shrewdest marketing tactic in my view.

I try not to let such factors influence my choices - apart of course from price - but they do.

Posted by Stephen R. Diamond
Aug 29, 2007 at 06:26 PM

ndx Cards has a top tier outliner, but just barely. (For example, it lacks a hoist function or elaborate controls over partial folding of the tree.) It has a fairly good free form database, but far from the best. (Most importantly, in my opinion, it should make its key words hierarchical. By my standards, any way, this would at least put it at the bottom of the top tier as an information manager.)

So,, for commercial success, the information management function seems to be more important than the outlining function, and the information management function is not extremely strong. Second, some people (I am one of them) will not settle for a less-than-favorite (writers’) outliner, no matter how great the integration. This may be more characteristic of the users searching mainly for an outliner in the strict sense.

The successful Holy Grail Outliner probably must be top-tier in both respects and perhaps must have attached the best outliner available.

Posted by David Dunham
Aug 30, 2007 at 02:48 AM

Stephen R. Diamond wrote:

>ndx Cards has a top tier outliner, but just barely. (For example, it lacks a hoist
>function or elaborate controls over partial folding of the tree.)

OK, what do people mean by folding (partial or otherwise)? I know of at least four ways to limit topic visibility (I’ll use Opal’s terminology because I know it):

1. Collapsing (hides subtopics)
2. Focusing (which most people call “hoisting”, limits view to only topic and subtopics)
3. Shrinking (reduces how much of a topic is shown, to first line only in Opal)
4. Filtering (shows only qualified topics)

Posted by Stephen R. Diamond
Aug 30, 2007 at 03:03 AM

I _meant_ collapsing (the word had slipped my mind), although “folding” often (and perhaps in best usage) refers to yet a fifth way: by showing only the first line of an item.

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