Bilioscape vs. IdeaMason - 2 (Reply to Dalys post)

< Next Topic | Back to topic list | Previous Topic >

Posted by Dominik Holenstein
Oct 19, 2007 at 09:15 AM

Sorry for re-opening this topic but I can’t see the the reply button in Daly’s post.

Daly you wrote
“I would eally appreciate hearing from folks who have tried the new version of Biblioscape, or both Biblioscape and IdeaMason, in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Is the enhanced notes mofdule on B’scape sufficiently strong to one’s main note-taking application?”

I have re-installed IdeaMason yesterday again because I need it for my studies in C# (programming), Mathematical Finance and Natural Language Processing (NLP -> *not* Neuro Linguistic programming…).

I don’t know Biblioscape well but I tested it several years ago and I remember it was unstable (crashes, address violences etc.). Please note that the issues appeared on my PC so it can be that Biblioscape is more stable on your machine. Further, Biblioscape is constantly developed further.

Here are my Pros and Cons for IdeaMason:

Pros:
- Interface
- Concept -> you have to get used to it and really understand all the features to fully use the potentials of this product. Do it like you did it with Zoot: Print the whole online help find, put it into a binder and work it through from A-Z
- Filter and search for information. You can save searches for re-use.
- Material types: Idea, Quotation, Thesis/Abstract, Summary, Figure
- Composition Tool to prepare your papers and export functionality (Word, XML, RTF, HTML)
- Citation Styles (you can even ad your own citation styles)
- To do lists related to a project
- Reminders (Post-it notes)
- Organisation of the data by Portfolios, Categories, Projects, Activities
- Pricing

Cons:
- Slow, even if you have a power machine (see posts in other threads in this forum). I hope this will be improved in one of the coming releases
- Concept -> you have to get used to it and really understand all the features to fully use the potentials of this product. Do it like you did it with Zoot: Print the whole online help find, put it into a binder and work it through from A-Z (repeated from ‘Pros’).

Overall I think that IdeaMason is a user friendly application and I feel that the developers know what a writer, researcher or information worker needs.

Taking notes is easy in IdeaMason. I mostly use the types Idea and Summary. It is very easy to add a reference after entering a note.

Here you can find some videos explaining some of the main features of IdeaMason:
http://www.ideamason.com/products/screenshots.htm

And here is a message on the News/Blog of IdeaMason announcing an interesting new feature in the coming version:
“We have also been doing a lot of work and planning for some upgrades and new releases which will be coming over the next few months. We’ve got some new import filters coming, but a more exciting change in the works is a cool new working environment for dashboards with what we are calling the Session Manager. This will include a slick new platform where you will be able to work with and manage multiple open dashboards, saving an entire session and even more it directly into a composition. As we move forward with the work on this we will post some screenshots of the new Session Manager so you can see exactly how cool this new tool will be. We will also keep you posted on dates as we get the timelines in place.”

Hope this helps,
Dominik

Posted by Thomas
Oct 19, 2007 at 10:33 AM

Ideamason’s interface (GUI), is in Cons on my list.
While the longer one works with it, the less of a problem that becomes, there is a space for improvement.

Back to topic list