Description: Tobu is a “freeform information organizer”, a desktop-based note taking application that allows you to use multiple tags to categorize notes of all kinds. Tobu’s use of tags allows for making multiple connections between notes, which in turn makes it possible for this app to provide versatile database-like functionality for organizing, viewing, and finding your notes quickly and easily.

In general I am wary of posting beta versions of programs, especially if I encounter errors in the course of testing these; however, I am so impressed with this program and so convinced that it represents a quantum leap forward for desktop note taking applications that I am happy to post it, regardless of whether or not it is yet ready for prime time. (See the comments section below for a description of bugs encountered in this release and some solutions that I found).

Tobu is a simple note taking application that allows you to assign multiple tags to a note and then view your notes across tag filters. However, it also allows you to create tags and assign values to them much as you would do with database fields. For example, you can create a tag named “priority” and for different notes you could assign different values (e.g. “priority: 9″, “priority: 7″). What this means, in effect, is that both of these would be notes have the tag “priority” in common, but when viewed in a list Tobu will display the tag as a column that you could sort by value. (See screenshot above for an illustration).

This is a program which you will have to put some effort into initially, in order to create a tag structure that works for your information and the way you want to work with your notes; however, once this is done both storage and retrieval of information will become significantly faster and easier than using a hierarchical notes application such as SEO Note or TreeDBNotes. To illustrate: the difference between a freeform organizer like Tobu and hierarchical notes organizers is similar to that between hierarchical applications launchers (such as the Windows start menu) and a text-input-based indexing launcher such as Launchy. (If you are unfamiliar with what Launchy is and what it does go ahead and try it; you will not be disappointed).

More info on this program:

• The user interface: is split into an upper pane that lists your notes in rows and allows you to apply tags as filters, and a lower pane where you enter text and work with individual notes. The lower pane is tabbed, which makes it easy to keep multiple notes handy irrespective of what you are doing in the upper pane.
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Description: Xobni is a free program that adds a sidebar with a slew of organizational functions to your Outlook. Principally built around organizing your Outlook data around people (similar in many ways to the Gmail model), Xobni provides a quick way to view threaded conversations with other people, view exchanged attachment history, view contacts you might have in common with another person, perform "lightning fast" searches, view email analytics data, and other functions.

Xobni ("inbox" spelled backwards, pronounced zob-nee) is an add on that aims to provide an alternative way to access your emails and data. Although currently it is only available for Outlook (apparently the world’s most used email client), there are plans to release this for other clients in the future.

I’ve been using this for a while now, waiting for it to move beyond the "invite only" beta in order to post it on Freewaregenius, which just recently happened. You might have had a glimpse of some degree of publicity surrounding Xobni, being featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, etc., and if you were wondering whether it lives up to the hype the answer is a definite yes. Xobni to Outlook is just what the doctor prescribed; it takes a somewhat dysfunctional, top-heavy and unexciting piece of software and adds a set of functions that are innovative and exciting, but - most importantly - it is fast and it works.

Here are the top five things I like about this program:

1- People-centric organization: search for someone by name and Xobni will construct and display a "profile" for that person that includes contact info, statistics, network of contacts, and other info. It will also display the email history with that person with the most recent messages displayed on top. You will like this person-centric approach if you like and/or used to Gmail (although it doesn’t quite replicate Gmail’s "conversations", it’s a good approximation).

2- Quick attachment discovery: search for someone and Xobni will display a history of exchanged attachments with that person (to and from) for easy access. This surprisingly useful in practice, probably more useful than you would expect at first.

3- Extremely fast search: forget about Outlook’s search; Xobni does its own indexing of your Outlook data when it is first installed and will keep all subsequently data indexed as well. The result: extremely fast searches without having to install the bloated and top heavy MS desktop search.
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Description: Wubi is an Ubuntu Linux installer designed to be run from within a Windows environment in order to create a dual booting Windows/Ubuntu machine. Wubi is an officially supported Ubuntu installer and is open source.

I install a lot of software every day. I am always on the lookout for good software, always researching and testing programs. If I had a nickel for every program I have installed in the past year I would have a nice stash.

I am also curious about Linux, and have caught myself at times mulling the idea of a dual booting XP/Linux setup on my computer. But installing an OS is not quite like installing an app; you don’t just click on an installer and click “next” a bunch of times; first, you have to create a new partition on your hard drive (which likely involves moving a lot of your data around), then figure out which Linux build to use and download it, then figure out the steps needed to install Linux and their sequence, as well as all the tools needed which you will likely have to add to you Linux boot CD, etc, then perform a whole bunch of steps to make it dual bootable. Wouldn’t it be great if instead of this drawn out process all you had to do was run an installer from within Windows much like you would install any application?

This, in fact, is exactly what Wubi does. In order to install Ubuntu you simply download this 1 meg executable and run it within Windows just as you would any other setup program. Here are more notes on this program:

• How to use: download and run the installer in Windows. You will be asked to specify a folder to install into, and asked to specify your login passwords. Wubi will then proceed to download Ubuntu for you (approx 700 megs), save it into your specified folder, and install it for you. (Or if you have an Ubuntu CD it will be automatically detected).
• Prerequisites: you need to have at least 5 gigs of space on your chosen hard drive partition. You do NOT have to re-partition and/or move data around. Minimum memory requirement is 256 Megs.
• Dual booting: the next time you boot your machine you will be asked whether you want to boot into your Windows OS or into Ubuntu. Very cool! The folder where you installed Wubi will be mounted as a partition.
• Access to your Windows partitions: you can mount and access the Windows partition where you installed Wubi from within Ubuntu and get access to your Windows files.
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Description: Xneat windows manager is a free windows enhancement that adds a number of “window management” type functions to explorer, including the ability to customize window transparency, minimize (or hide) windows to the system tray, toggling always on top, and drag and drop taskbar buttons in order to rearrange them. It also adds interesting options to the windows save file dialog: a “clone file” button that becomes active when overwriting a file, and a time stamp button.

I am always in the market for good windows shell enhancements, and I must say that this is one to take note of: Xneat has a good range of interesting Windows functions, uses very little memory, and has a very nice overall look and feel . Here are more notes on this program:

• Nice set of functions for open/minimized windows: change windows transparency, minimize to tray, hide, and toggle always on top are the standard ones. You can optionally add windows and process priority functions as well. Note that you can customize the context menu to display only the functions you want (e.g. only the minimize to tray and, say, the transparency functions, if that’s all you want).
• Save file dialog functions: adds two buttons; the clone button appears when you are about to save over a previous file with the same name, and gives you the option to create a clone with a counter appended to its file name rather than overwrite a file (e.g. filename(1).html rather than filename.html). Very useful. The other button automatically adds a date stamp to the filename, which could be very useful to some.
• Arrange taskbar buttons: by dragging and dropping, in the manner of Taskbar Shuffle.
• Hotkey activation: will make an Xneat “hotmenu” pop up on the screen wherever the mouse is located. This menu will give you access to all windows minimized or hidden to the system tray, but can also optionally give access to the Quick Launch menu shortcuts or a list of recently accessed files.
• Memory use: just about 2 megs, which is lightweight and quite an accomplishment by the creators of this program.
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