Evernote is everywhere [Geeky]

I love Google. I have an "I'm Feeling Lucky" license plate frame. I've been on a mission the last few months to get organized to the max, and Google Notebook has been a huge help. Unfortunately, Google is closing development on Notebook. That means I had to jump ship. Luckily, there's another free service that works just as well -- some word argue better. In my view, it does everything I did with Notebook, so I'm running with it.

I'm going to run through how I use Evernote, then leave you with some links to some tips and tricks from other sites.

Evernote

First things first: the link. Evernote is a note taking service, but so much more. I visualize it as a 10+ subject notebook. I have a notebook for each of my classes (1st-6th, Math and Reading). What I've found easiest to use is their Firefox extension. It sits up by my bookmarks for easy access. When I'm surfing the internet looking for project ideas, I can "clip out" anything I find and put it instantly into a notebook without leaving the page. This video explains it much better than I could with words:



Registration is free. You can use Evernote for free, for as long as you want, with surprisingly few restrictions. We've all come to expect products to be free from companies the size of Google, but not all startups have access to that size of bankroll. I personally appreciate a tiered pricing plan (with "free" as part of the plan) and I can proudly say that I have paid to upgrade to "pro" at Remember The Milk. (Sidebar: it felt strangely rewarding to use some of my "fun money" on what I could have easily continued to use as a free service.)

The differences between the free and $5/month-or-$45/year services at Evernote are laid out on their website, but the main differences are an upgrade from 40MB of upload space to 500MB per month, premium support, and no ads within public notebooks.

Educational Application

The amazing part of Evernote is what it indexes. It indexes any type of file, including handwriting and pictures! I don't know about you, but I don't even get to take a deep breath between classes, let alone write down any work we did on the board. Now that I've installed the Evernote application on my iPhone, I can take it out and snap a quick picture of my white board before the next class comes in. Evernote then indexes the picture and it becomes searchable. That definitely one-ups Google Notebook!

I also use it as I laid out in the beginning with one folder for each class. This has worked pretty well so far. It works much like bookmarking, but I can access those bookmarks anywhere.

So, how about you? Use anything like Evernote? Have different ways of organizing your digital life? Let me know in the comments.