Sidenote - 1.7.3

The problem with Stickies, for me is the lack of easy access. I have to keep them in the doc (or figure another way to launch quickly) OR keep them open all the time. I guess that would be ok IF that wouldn't cause my desktop to be covered with more junk. Stickies makes my computer screen as cluttered as the scraps of paper all over my physical desktop! To find any note, I have to sift through the pile to find notes that may be behind other notes.

The Stickies type apps I've been able to find are still apps that must be launched. They have generally addressed the clutter problem by giving an index or search feature but often have gone into over kill and are no longer simple little apps.

Enter Sidenote, which is such an improvement over the rest, I can't believe Apple hasn't added it to the system. Choose a hotkey or an area of the screen to touch and Sidenote scrolls out for use! Brilliant! You can even sync over multiple machines by setting the preferences to save to a network storage device (I use my Mobile Me iDisk).

My only gripe - No updates since 2007. If I had not been using Sidenote so long, I probably would not take a chance. It generally makes me nervous to use software that has not been updated within a year or so, but I have to say, I'm up to Leopard 10.5.7 and Sidenote it is still operating fine.

sideNote is one of the top most useful utilities in the Mac universe. Seriously. For those who believe likewise, please add feedback to the shameful rip-off of this free utility called SlidePad. It is infinitely perplexing why that developer would so shamefully rip off sideNote and then have the gall to charge $20 for it.

Excellent program with all features needed. What I like very much also is that the 'database' of notes is not a database-file but a collection of text-files (rtfd) in a map. Just like the excellent journaling program Journler has (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28758) One remark though concerning the UI ; I always get some sort of claustofobic feeling when something is stuck to a side of the screen and cannot be detached. Of course SideNote being a side-drawer IS one of the the core features and I do like that. But maybe it would be an idea to make an edge to the left side of the window as well, so that you do not get the feeling the note 'flows into the side'. Or maybe an adjustable intent. That would certainly ease my claustrofobia ;-)

This is a fabulous program. First, it seems utterly reliable. In two years of use it's never lost any data. It autosaves, but you can force a save if you want. Second, it's always just there, at the edge of the screen. That means no switching, moving windows, whatever. It really does seem to be the fastest way to store and retrieve information I've found. Just one simple move of the mouse and the drawer slides smoothly out. And that smoothness seems to characterize sidєɳotє. Read my full review here: http://darkknowledge.info/page2/page4/page3/page3.html

The letters "Bu" appear over the Action Menu button. I've redownloaded and installed and it remains there. Is there a fix?