For a long time I used to type my notes. I can remember the moment when I decided that I would work this way: I was attending a professional development session, and wanted to learn how to use OmniOuliner. It had come pre-installed on my new Mac, a PowerBook G4. I quickly fell in love with OmniOutliner.
I have continued to enjoy outlining when I think and plan. I tend to write in outlines, using a pen and index card. These are dead-simple lists of notes destined for later consideration (or delegation, in the happiest cases).
Following my interest in outlining, though, I went through a long phase of markdown-flavored notes: SimpleNote, nvAlt, iAWriter, Bear, Dendron… you name it.
Markdown notes are fun to take. They’re fast, too. And often, you can just move a folder full of markdown notes into another app and try something new.
But the left-to-right, top-to-bottom style isn’t really how I think. I really like handwriting. Or I should say, I like to be able to handwrite. I also like to be able to drop in tables. I like to drop screenshots into my notes. Sometimes I want to type.
Apple’s Notes is the same on iPad. Notes is perfectly serviceable if you only type your Notes, but it’s probably not the most compelling: I’d give that nod to Craft. If you move between a Mac and and iPad–and tend to prefer the iPad for jaunts and note-taking–Notes is hard to beat.
First, there’s the handwriting support. iPadOS18 introduced Smart Script, which smooths out your handwriting. It’s fairly remarkable: the device studies your handwriting, and learns to smooth it out on screen. As a sloppy writer, it’s fun to see a device fix what’s behind the chicken scratch.
Second, the sync: it’s nearly instantaneous. You can take handwritten notes on your iPad while dropping screen shots into the same note on your Mac. It’s a great user experience.
