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Tinderbox 8 is released
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Posted by NickG
Apr 15, 2019 at 08:21 AM
In defence of Tinderbox, let me say this. It’s the only note-taker I’ve come across that allows me to (a) just get the data in without having to think *at all* about organisation or structure in advance, (b) find or create structure afterwards and (c) use multiple different structures for the same data.
Any other app I’ve used (OmniOutliner, Ecco, CPN, Curio, various mind mappers, Notes, Agenda etc etc etc) either demands that I make some structure decisions before adding any data or leaves me with no structure and dependent on searches, filters or whatever to make sense of what I have.
I only scratch the surface of Tinderbox - I don’t have the patience or the will to get under the hood - but as a means of just getting stuff down with a minimum of fuss and effort, I find it hard to beat. On the occasions where I do want to do something “clever”, I can usually find a way quite quickly.
I also value the fact that it forces me to keep my notes separate from my files (they go in Devonthink) - I’ve caused myself trouble in the past trying to keep it all together in one place (CPN)
I think that one of the misconceptions around it is that you *have to* spend loads of time getting to grips with the underpinnings to use it (I think there’s also probably a sense that “surely there’s some piece of magic here that I need to understand otherwise why is it so expensive”). My experience is that you don’t. I also think that it’s easy to slip into trying to get TB to do things that other apps can do quicker and easier.
That said, if you don’t spend a lot of time on the mechanics, you may well argue that the price isn’t justified - for many (most) people, it probably isn’t, especially when the market is full of low-cost, very well-built alternatives. I’ve tried lots of them. In the end, I come back to:
TB for making and collecting notes (or transcribing from a paper notebook)
Devonthink for collecting supporting data
Curio for planning
They work for me
Posted by MadaboutDana
Apr 15, 2019 at 09:08 AM
Excellent points by NickG, there. It’s true, there aren’t many apps that are ideal for just dumping any old info any old how.
I’ve looked at Tinderbox with interest, especially in light of the enthusiastic support on this forum, but having evaluated what it does vs. what all my other apps do, have never felt the need to invest in it (and you know what an obsessive CRIMPer I am!).
Clearly it’s a tool that works brilliantly well for many people. Different mindsets see the light in different ways. The fatal mistake we, as humans, always make is to assume that our own mindset is somehow a definitive template of human experience. It really isn’t - people are so, so different. Social mores are what help us pretend we’re all “more or less” equivalent. But after you’ve read a few works of science (or fiction, for that matter), you start to realise that human beings really don’t think/feel/cogitate/invent/ideate/emote/prioritise etc. etc. in a “standardised” way at all. There are certain major crude levers that can be pulled (see: populist politics), but even there, the impact on individuals will vary enormously.
As has already been said: Tinderbox, it seems to me, is a set of interesting tools that really, really appeal to some people. And that’s cool.
You’re all cool. Keep being cool, darlings!
Posted by Chris Thompson
Apr 15, 2019 at 02:02 PM
I agree with NickG’s comments. Tinderbox shines for those projects where you have a lot of material and aren’t sure how it inter-relates. The guy who prepared an insightful report on the myriad of insurgent groups in Afghanistan by piecing together little bits of news from various sources collected over the years is a pretty good example of this type of application. Mark Bernstein calls this working with emergent structure.
Its utility also depends on how you like to work. If you’re the type of person who shuffles the card view around frequently as an organizational tool in Scrivener or bounces between Scrivener and Scapple, Tinderbox is very much suited to this way of working.
I agree that Mark could do a little better work on his marketing. The Eastgate Twitter account for example is approximately 85% US politics, 5% menus he’s cooked for dinner, and 10% Tinderbox, which probably isn’t the best way to communicate with the user base, especially for us international users. I do respect the artisanal nature of the product though. Mark’s singular vision is part of what has kept it alive and evolving for nearly two decades, while a lot of other tools have come and gone.
Posted by Paul Korm
Apr 15, 2019 at 03:01 PM
Really constructive posts, above, from Bill, NickG, Steve Z, Chris T, Beck T, and many others I’m neglecting to call out (sorry). It is that thoughtful, objective and in-depth commentary—from different points of view—which makes this forum indispensable
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Apr 15, 2019 at 06:20 PM
First, I agree with what Paul just wrote about the indispensibility of this forum.
Hoping to add to that—at least a little—I answered my own question about Hyperbolic View in Tinderbox 8 and posted a short blog article about it here:
https://welcometosherwood.wordpress.com/2019/04/15/hyperbolic-view-in-tinderbox-8/
If you’re curious and haven’t uncovered the (really simple as it turns out) “secrets” to Hyperbolic View, I hope the screencast included helps clear it up.
Steve Z