The Search for the Uber Info Management System Pt 2: Or Why we like a good old SYNC

The attraction of Google Docs was irresistable initially, with the ability to have your files available in any location. In hindsight, Google's cloud provision for true portability forced myself and others to change working practices in order to gain that portability. In reality is this really true portability when you do not have the actual physical document? And I've asked myself this question again, when finding myself with flaky or no internet connections, forcing me to download a local copy and then create my own ad-hoc versioning system to overwrite the old document online in Goodle Docs. Enter DropBox. Actually, I had a DropBox account for a couple of years, but never used it as was blinded by Google's offering. It was initially a need to transfer files to my iPhone that made me revisit the service, then finding myself with an intermittent internet service when travelling that made me look again at my current Google Docs system. Using it for the iPhone again, I realised just how seamless and quick the synchronisation worked, giving me true portability to all my files. I then thought, wouldn't this work great if I had all my Google Docs downloaded into my DropBox folder. No need to to download and create separate archived versions. DropBox would just handle all automagically! Well today rather than attempt at using DropBox purely for archiving or back-up, will make it my primary file management system. Thus keeping all things centralised and no need for multiple Google Accounts. What's your solution? Let me know. Always have your stuff when you need it with @Dropbox. 2GB account is free! http://db.tt/XdAwKX8

The search for the uber info management system...

Haven't posted for a while, but thought it worth sharing my thoughts on the above. I'll add more as I get closer to an ideal system. Much of this post is gleaned from my comments on other blogs. So excuse the format.

Great post! I've posted some thoughts, included below, on my search for an uber info management system on a couple of other blogs recently. I arrived at this juncture simply by looking for a way to sync with Google Docs, but I've always been refining my current system, and so requirements include all info capture. I.e. email, notes on the go, feeds, bookmarks and docs etc. I am looking to replace WriteRoom with either NotesPro, EverNote or email to Blogger.com. Ideally, would like to have my info in discreet silos, but with one centralised view and search. So Gmail for email, GTD, tasks and notes, Google Reader for feeds and mail lists, Bookmarks for web clippings, and NotesPro + Google Docs or EverNote. I think I've already discounted email to Blogger as this is the same as my email note to self method and adds an external app to the equation. Right now I'm leaning towards NotesPro because of it's Google Docs syncing, and don't will probably halt my EverNote experiment for now. I'll let the centralised view and search idea stew for a while and see what comes up

Just wrote a long comment and lost it. Anyway, arrived here looking for an improvement to my current info capture method, which is a very streamlined context based Gmail GTD and WriteRoom. I ditched Superstars and cut some more granular GTD Gmail labels as this was getting unwieldly. Ideally wanted to sync with Google Docs, and believe an iPhone app will shortly be able to do that better than what’s out there right now. But I came across Ruud Heins/Darren Crawford while searching. Whilst I am looking for some justification to use Evernote over my existing system, apart from it’s centralisation, syncing and OCR abilities, the use of it combined with a Gmail GTD system seems like duplication or overkill. People on both threads have talked of emailing to Gmail and then forward to Evernote, and using that Gmail copy as an archive. Doesn’t this make EN superfluous? Would love to hear other thoughts on this.

Just realised this search for a simple way to sync with Google Docs has thrown up other needs. So currently.
- Use Gmail GTD for notes and tasks
- WriteRoom for mobile ideas and text capture
- Google Docs for doc management
- Google bookmarks, Gmail and Reader for web clippings

So I think the requirement is to supplement Gmail GTD and Google Docs, but replace Google bookmarks and Gmail for web clips etc in a more centralised method. Go on convince me!

http://ruudhein.com/gmail-to-evernote-information-management-workflow
http://darrencrawford.com/my-simple-gtd-evernote-combo/
http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wordpress/iphone-software/notes-pro-new-iphone-notes-app-syncs-with-google-docs-has-spotlight-style-search
http://www.cloudnotes.net/2009/06/why-google-reader-is-still-hugely.html