Microsoft does a lot of strange things. Or at least they do, from the viewpoint of a lifelong Mac user. Maybe Windows users feel the same way when they use a Mac. But where I feel Apple makes one version of an app and declares it the best of its kind until it summarily replaces it with what is now the best app (notable exception described below), Microsoft floats all kinds of ideas and examples of things and sees what sticks.

An example? Consider Loop. It’s clearly a Notion competitor, which itself is kind of a Google Docs competitor. Loop, though, competes with Microsoft’s own Word (in some ways) and even the venerable OneNote. If you like OneNote but want to try Loop, how do you not lapse into paroxysms of uncertainty about when to use each application?

Even within OneNote, there is a curious amount of feature creep and obfuscation. Consider the Feed, a helpful feature that allows you to see your notes chronologically, irrespective of the group they’re filled in. Notes apps of all stripes will show you this view of your data; in OneNote, it’s a kinda-hidden option that Microsoft has purposefully hidden from the user (it’s not hard to find, but it’s not exposed in the GUI). But on the iPhone, OneNote works exactly this way.

One example, though, in the same vein I find endearing and useful: the integration with Sticky Notes. As on the Mac, Windows has a quick and dirty sticky notes app; but on the Mac, stickies are their own data silo; there’s no integration with Apple’s Notes. But on OneNote, where the Feed once lived, you can view your sticky notes and add and edit them as well. This is useful and boasts some clever features, the main one of which is Sticky Notes attention to the source of the information for your Note. for example, let’s say you’re looking at Serious Eats for sous vide recipes. If you create a new note while viewing this page, Sticky Notes will embed a link to the URL and the browser you were using when you created the note. This is a very cool example of linking in the manifesto sense. Sadly, you can’t file sticky notes into groups or dividers. Maybe this will come in the future.

The Feed, however, shows all of your notes, Sticky Notes included, in the same chronological view. It will also show notes you may have taken in Samsung Notes, if you’re a Samsung phone or tablet user. Yet the Feed is hidden, replaced by the Sticky Notes view.

I don’t get it.