Okay…okay.. OneNote is not new! It’s become new to me – well sort of. Actually, I’ve experimented with OneNote (by Microsoft) since 2007. I know that because recently I discovered some old OneNotes I created from back then. I didn’t get on with OneNote back then because it was more than a bit confusing and rather cumbersome.
So what’s new and what’s changed? Well, only yesterday – no I’m not about to sing a Karen Carpenter song – I discovered the true value and power of OneNote. I think Microsoft has done a lot of work on it from 2007, having seen how easy OneNote2013 is to use – and how versatile it is. [Warning: you’ll never discover the power of this on a duff computer]. Oh I need to deviate a little to say that I dislike Microsoft as an organisation intensely. That doesn’t mean I can’t love one of their creations – go figure. LOL.
What’s absolutely amazing about OneNote? There’s too much to say – but a few things leap out:
- It’s so flexible for catching all kinds of content e.g. text from anywhere, video, audio, and handwriting (I did warn about duff computers – just reminding you who reads this).
- OneNote can search for words inside handwriting, audio and even images!!! How ‘mad’ (aka cool) is that!! Like very.
- OneNote syncs to SkyDrive documents – and with SkyDrive you don’t need to have a Microsoft sponsored email address.
- OneNote lives on Android HCDs (handheld devices) – and sadly on devices created by Apple. I hate Apple – more than Microsoft!! Just declaring a personal bias.
- HCDs can sync straight to SkyDrive so you can view and update OneNotes in your SkyDrive account straight from your HCD or create new OneNotes in SkyDrive and then work more on them on a desktop or laptop.
- OneNote autosaves instantly anything put into it – so you never have to manually save anything or worry about computer crashes!!
In summary OneNote is a thing (software) that allows people to take notes of various kinds on their computers, and keep them or share them with others of their choice.
The best way to learn OneNote – as for most types of software (IMHO) – is to get a legal copy of it and play with it. Then watch a few YouTube videos and follow what they show you. The following videos DO NOT SHOW YOU exactly how to do the business – there are other videos on Youtube to do that. These videos are to explain the powerful features so that you can motivate yourself to go get the thing and learn to use it!
