Microsoft OneNote - yay or nay?

[alwaystheunderdog]

i use it now and will be using it in law school.  it makes it significantly easier to organize notes.  if you desire, as i do, in the class XXX section i have notes and other pages.  under the notes page i have a sub page for each days notes.

cons: the page size varies, unlike in word, it is as big or small as you make it.  also, the spell check function is not as strong as it is in word, it only picks upon a few words and many times i will go back over it and find mistakes.  

if you use word, having 80 page long documents becomes a hassle and it is much easier to manage in one note.  one note also allwos you to write ontop of your notes.  say for instance, there is an important part, you can draw an arrow or cirlce that part.

it may not have the spell cheking ability as much as word, but the organization by far makes it better

[jashdey]

I don't have it, but plan on getting it.  I have a perverse pleasure in organization, and the feature set available in One Note for organizing makes me damn near giddy.

The other option would be to create a database for the stuff, but that may be expanding my geekiness a bit too much.

[alwaystheunderdog]

i bought mine online with a student id, from journeyed, 49 bucks, dont know if i could have gotten it cheaper but i think it was like 100 from microsoft.

[Logic]

To run out and pay $50 (or anything for that matter) to get OneNote in my mind would probably be a waste, especially considering that most of us can easily pirate the stuff for free (whoops, hope Bill Gates isn't checking this thread).

I know a guy that knows a guy...  so...


I plan on getting OneNote and just seeing how it works out.  I've never really taken hardcore notes before in class (until having my graduate course in fluids that is... thanks Dr Tailmage...), much less on a computer, so I guess I may be at a disadvantage next year.  I think some general advice that seems to be helpful for all aspects of law school is applicable here as well:  Try it out and see what works best for you.

[aufhebung]

You can download a trial version (with a 30 or 60 day license I think) here:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010858031033.aspx

[Little D]

I've been using it this year and Im a 1L.  I like it pretty good.  Its more convenient to use than word cuz you dont have to open a bunch of different files.  I dont really use any of the note features, though I like the ability to draw because my contracts professor is enamored with diagrams.

[SplitFinger]

I plan on using it, mostly because I'm a big nerd.  The organizational features sound really cool, though I suspect I'll have to spend some time screwing with it this summer to figure out exactly the best way to make that an effective tool.

[BrerAnansi]

tag

[TheFool08]

Very easy to become accustomed to, and yes, I find out SIGNIFICANTLY better than word.

You can flag items so that you can have stars next to the most important parts.  If your notes are in outline form, you can double click on a heading to hide/collapse everything below it, for better organization / searching.

For example:
I.  TOPIC A
     A.  Sub-topic A
     B.  Sub-topic B.
II.  TOPIC B.

can become just:
I.  TOPIC A
II.  TOPIC B

and you can double click to expand it back.

When you copy and paste something from a website, it automatically includes a link back to that website so that later on you can easily find your source.

All in all, AWESOME.  I got it for free (legitly! haha) but would pay money for this. And I don't pay money for software.

[pinkybella]

Very easy to become accustomed to, and yes, I find out SIGNIFICANTLY better than word.

You can flag items so that you can have stars next to the most important parts.  If your notes are in outline form, you can double click on a heading to hide/collapse everything below it, for better organization / searching.

For example:
I.  TOPIC A
     A.  Sub-topic A
     B.  Sub-topic B.
II.  TOPIC B.

can become just:
I.  TOPIC A
II.  TOPIC B

and you can double click to expand it back.

When you copy and paste something from a website, it automatically includes a link back to that website so that later on you can easily find your source.

All in all, AWESOME.  I got it for free (legitly! haha) but would pay money for this. And I don't pay money for software.

Thanks for all the info. I just bought my copy for $20.