PKM Weekly - 2024-09-14
A look at the latest Personal Knowledge Management PKM news from the past week.
Hi Everyone,
This weekend we have a jam-packed schedule of sport. Lots of good Premiership games followed by the F1 in Azerbaijan, so before all that starts, let’s see what is new in the PKM world.
Video of this week's update:
CAPACITIES
iPad App?
There are musings that an iPad app may or may not have found itself to Apple Testflight. For those waiting and part of the Pro plan, I am sure the wait to use Capacities on your iPad will soon be over. Maybe?
Found a Promising PKM Tool
OP posts why they think Capacities is a promising PKM Tool:
Positive aspects:
Clear and separate knowledge writing
Easy to use with built-insupport for math formulas (LaTeX)
Automatic sync via traditional cloud-based system
Web app that allows access on restricted work laptops
Local graph view for connecting notes
Free to use
Drawbacks:
No complete offline function
No tablet version available yet, in future maybe only for paid-plan
Capacities Writing Space
OP talks us though their Capacities set up where they create one object (called Content) for one writing piece, then organize blocks for different writing steps:
Pre-writing:
This includes content briefs (i.e., content type, objectives, target audience), outlines, and maybe research notes.
TUFD:
This stands for The Ugly First Draft. I dump any ideas related to this writing. Suggestions or feedback from AI also go here.
For any content piece that involves a lot of information, I would turn those information into a new embedded page, which makes it easier to find related information. (The graph view is particularly useful for this!)
Content:
This is the block for writing the main content. I LOVE the split screen, which allows me to write while also opening other related documents, as well as the table of contents. It is very convenient and improves my writing experience.
Minor Server Outages
This week unfortunately there were a couple of server outages. These only lasted a handful of minutes and were quickly fixed but goes to show the importance in the decision Capacities has taken to have a fully functioning (or just about) offline mode. These outages will see be a thing of the past.
LOGSEQ
Multiple views coming to Logseq DB version?
Think the image says all that it needs. Very exciting possibilities.
Work is happening on the queries and I can now change tables that come from query results (thanks Bas)
Also, more and more features are being added to the DB version, such as “support namespace pages and tags”. Things are nicely taking shape.
Logseq DB - Workflows with Alpha build
This recording covers several workflow setups with the Logseq Database version being alpha tested. Content covered:
A super simple habit tracker on the Journal Page - as properties, Track my daily Mood / Book I am actively reading / Workouts, Reading, Track Tiny Tasks, FaQ framework and lightweight book / person framework
A Look at CombiningMinds “Messykasten?
Struggling with chaotic digital notes? Hopefully this will help you embrace the chaos...
In this video I share my personal Logseq database and dive into a conversation with Bob Doto, author of "A System for Writing", which is a practical guide to building a Zettelkasten.
We explore note-taking methods and address common confusions in the Zettelkasten approach. Bob offers invaluable insights into simplifying your system, and adopting a practical approach that works for you. Join us to navigate a journey from messy notes to structured writing, blending spirituality and productivity.
TANA
Release Notes
Lots of fixes and improvements:
Ask AI via the command line now uses GPT-4o, and a lot of places where we were using GTP3.5 by default have been upgraded to GPT4o-mini, which is smarter, faster and cheaper. We are no longer using GPT3.5 by default anywhere, but it is still available for manual configuration in an Ask AI command. We have therefore removed the GPT4 switch from the UI. Tana AI
We've made some changes to AI prompts and models for field suggestions, suggest table columns, AI fields, autocomplete etc which should give more stable results. Tana AI
Reference section with only unlinked references default to be collapsed. The same for reference section on a calendar node that has a related content section. Nodes and references
Checkboxes got a round of polish Nodes and references
Check out the full release note here.
Also: We now have RSS feeds on both the releases and blogs! Links to use:
https://tana.inc/releases
https://tana.inc/blog
Latest Tana Office Hours
Few surprises so well worth checking out.
San Francisco Meet up
A reminder that if you are in San Fransico, on Monday 16th of September at the Commons in San Francisco! Olav and the two co-founders will be having a meet up to share exciting updates, and celebrate how far we’ve come together.
6:00 PM: Doors Open + Pizza and Drinks
7:00 PM: Tana Presentation (Product Vision, Mobile Demo and Q&A)
8:00 PM: Networking
OBSIDIAN
Ever Wondered of the Power of Obsidian?
Ian Carroll on X: "This is my note taking app- If you’re a content creator especially, Or even just a regular person that wants to learn something, note taking in this easy visual format is a game changer. Even if you never reference your notes, just making them in the first place will ingrain
https://twitter.com/Cancelcloco/status/1832145003952619838
Redditors who switched from Obsidian to Apple Notes: Are you happy with your decision and why?
OP asks us Redditors who switched from Obsidian to Apple Notes: Are you happy with your decision and why?
There are over 50 responses, some positive (as in, not using Obsidian anymore) and others negative with users reverting back to Obsidian. Worth checking out if you are in the same boat.
Second Brains are a Lie
Not directly related to Obsidian, but given they have the Obsidian logo on the thumbnail, I thought this would be an appropriate place to leave this.
Uncover the truth about Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) systems and why your carefully curated notes might be holding you back. In this video, we expose the fatal flaws of the Guru promoted likes of Zettelkasten, Obsidian, and Notion templates.
Why knowledge ≠ wisdom (and why it matters)
The hidden dangers of digital hoarding
How to transform your note-taking for real impact
The truth behind Niklas Luhmann's productivity
Whether you're a student, knowledge worker, or lifelong learner, this video will challenge everything you thought you knew about note-taking and personal knowledge management.
Other Apps
Consistent Note Taking
Bianca is offering us a free course on consistent notetaking called “100 Days of Note-Taking” Starting September 23rd, we are embarking on a 100-day journey to help you build a consistent, valuable note-taking habit. Just 15 minutes a day focused on becoming more intentional, effective, and creative with your notes.
Check it out here.
Heptabase
In the latest version, you can display the full title of the folded card and edit the title with our rich-text editor! If you have cards with long titles, you can now better see the big picture of your knowledge, even when the cards are folded. GIF.
Anytype
Acts of giving & receiving form the bedrock of relationships, both to the planet and each other. That's why we're launching our referral program! Share the world of Anytype & earn sweet rewards together—up to 2.5GB extra storage for you and your friends.
Anytype and Logseq Baby?
OP posted an interesting thought - I want Anytype and Logseq to make a beautiful healthy baby. A baby that has the Anytype infrastructure but the objects can be displayed in an outline like Logseq. Each line is an object OR each line can show the full content of an object. Each one you can pull up its version history. It also has a canvas. Plus to avoid confusion, type and relation will be both under the term, property. Finally, the best part would be that it's FOSS and can run offline.
AFFiNE
40,000 Stars! Thanks for your support. Join us in building an all-in-one AI productivity tool for writing, drawing, and planning.
repo: http://github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE…
web: http://affine.pro
Appflowy
Another huge update with V0.6.9
Added a new property type, 'Files & media'
Supported Apple Sign-in
Displayed the page icon next to the row name when the row page contains nested notes
Enabled Delete Account in Settings
Included a collapsible navigation menu in your published site
Evernote
Lots of updates this past month.
RENT is fully rolled out to all users - Evernote sync is now 3x faster!
AI-powered image-to-text
Auto-updating table of contents
A new way to pin a note to a notebook
Improved note readability on Mobile
Mark notifications as 'Read'
Improved log in and CAPTCHA
Latest bug fixes
Check out this video explaining the various updates.
That’s all for this week. Thank you very much in advance for reading and I look forward to bringing you more PKM news next week.