Category: Tech

Bye Bye Evernote, Hello Joplin

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I logged into Evernote the other day only to find I could no longer create new notes. I got this message when I tried.

They’ve been pestering me to upgrade to a paid account for months now, but there was never prior warning that there would be restrictions put in place if I didn’t comply. Pretty shady, if you ask me.

I guess they think it’s fine to just change things and let people know abruptly via the app AFTER said changes took affect. Pretty shitty way to treat people you’re hoping to turn into paying customers. It’s not exactly extortion, since the data is still accessible, but it’s also not the best way to entice people to get on board with a paid subscription either.

And of course the price is higher now than when they first started pestering me. Maybe if back then they’d have said “hey, if you do not upgrade, we’re going to lock your account down and you won’t be able to create any new notes if you already have over 50, or move existing notes around”, people might have paid more attention. I know I would have. But if they think I’m paying them $130 annually to use their service, they have another thing coming.

I immediately tried a new service called AnyType, but I didn’t care for it. Then GoogleKeep. Ditto. I already pay for Microsoft 360 so I thought I’d give OneNote another try even though it used to corrupt my notes almost daily many years ago when I used it at work. Doesn’t matter, though, because they changed the look of it and I hate that too.

In comes Notion. Very feature rich, free without note limitations, similar layout to Evernote. Great. Even has a way to pull your Evernote data into it. Well, that’s what they claim anyway. That process failed and after some investigation apparently there are certain notes in Evernote, namely those that contain tables, that cause issues, and for some reason this has been an issue for years with Notion without any resolution. Great. And since I couldn’t move those notes from one Notebook to another, since Evernote locked me out of that option, I was kinda stuck.

After trying for hours to figure out a way to get my Evernote data into Notion, I gave up. I found an app called Joplin that didn’t have issues with the import process. Sure, I still had to export my Evernote data for each notebook individually, then import into Joplin, but at least it worked!

Joplin is free, I use Dropbox as my database server, and there’s desktop and mobile versions of the app. It’s not quite as pretty as Evernote, nor have I yet found a way to mark certain notes as shortcuts in order to access them quickly, but my data is safe and I’m able to manipulate it how I want… for free.

Don’t get me wrong – I would have paid Evernote a reasonable price, but $10.83 per month is not reasonable for a note-taking app. I pay that for Photoshop and Lightroom!

Furthermore, I do not want to give my money to an underhanded company who pulled what they did. That company, Bending Spoons, has the appropriate initials – BS. Because that’s what they are full of, and they can go to hell for treating their users this way. And the Evernote bootlickers on Reddit calling us all whiny freeloaders for complaining can all go to hell as well.

Update 12/28/23 – Joplin is already driving me crazy due to how it stores & syncs data using Dropbox. I’m constantly getting notices from Dropbox’s desktop program about files being added/deleted (these are temporary files created by Joplin). I am probably going to subscribe to UpNote. I have been using the free version for a few days and it looks more like Evernote, plus has pinned notes which I like. It’s also affordable – $1 monthly or $30 for a lifetime subscription that they claim will be honored even if they move to a different subscription type in the future. It’s been around since 2017 so I think my data will be safe (plus I create weekly backups of this blog, my bookmarks, and my notes because I’m paranoid about losing stuff).

New Computer

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Joe built me a new computer!

My old one was still working fine, actually, except for one little big thing – running denoise in Photoshop/Lightroom would take an average of 20 minutes per photo which was unacceptable. With my new mirrorless camera, denoise is a must due to the higher ISOs I often shoot in. So naturally, that required a whole new computer after installing a dedicated graphics card and extra memory in my old machine did nothing to improve the processing time.

We got all the components from MicroCenter, but I ordered a case from NewEgg since I didn’t like the ones MC had available. I wanted a case that had a 5.25″ bay as I planned on installing an internal memory card reader. I didn’t want a portable one that had to sit out all the time since I’ve been going out taking photos almost daily. Apparently any case with an external bay is a bit harder to come by these days, but I really like the one I ended up getting, minus a few snafus.

I was bummed I had to get a larger case (to accommodate the motherboard) than I’m used to because it feels gargantuan on my desk. Unfortunately it’s too tall to fit on the lower shelf under my desk which would have been ideal. The door to the case came dented, but the manufacturer happily sent me a new door frame. The side of the door frame came scuffed which was irritating, but Joe was able to swap the actual door from the new frame for the old one and then we ended up one with one whole front that wasn’t damaged in any way. I let the manufacturer know so they could improve their handling process moving forward, which they appreciated.

So it worked out in the end and I’m slowly getting used to this new behemoth of a case. I had to install felt pads on the rubber feet of the case, though, as it was damaging the surface of my desk! The rubber was leaving these marks I cannot seem to clean off the desk now. Luckily the case sits over them so you cannot see them.

Now denoise runs for 10 seconds on each photo which is much better. We did run into an issue that took awhile to resolve, though – Photoshop was continuously crashing during the most basic commands, such as opening more than one file at a time or trying to resize a photo. It was getting to the point it was unusable even though I tried multiple things in their troubleshooting tips. What ended up resolving the issue was switching the drivers on my graphics card from gaming to studio, or something to that affect. Photoshop hasn’t crashed a single time since. Whew!

As for the internal memory card reader, I wasn’t able to find a 5.25″ one I liked, so I ended up buying a bracket so I could get the highest rated 3.5″ one. Other than it being designed where the CF card goes in upside down for whatever reason, it’s been great. I don’t use CF cards often anyway. The reader accommodates SD cards which I do use daily, plus the microSD cards (also known as TF which I learned recently) that my dashcam uses.

I bought a monitor arm during Prime Day too so my whole computer desk looks pretty cool now.

Poor Robert Smith is being blocked by my monitor, though, so we will have to raise the wall shelf so I can see him again.

This Site

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In case anyone is wondering why the site looks different it’s because my host updated all accounts to PHP 8 last month and broke my site, which I hadn’t noticed until recently since I only log in once a month or so. The front-end still worked, but I couldn’t log into the admin page. Basically the theme I was using is no longer compatible with the latest PHP & WordPress version. I also had to delete all the other themes I actually liked because they too were broken. Sigh.

In any case, I’m currently using a theme I don’t love but at least works because I cannot seem to find another one that looks how I want and also doesn’t break something. I had found one earlier this morning that I thought would work until I realized it took all of my old entries and turned them into one single paragraph, ignoring the spaces between the paragraphs.

I am struggling to understand the way WordPress works these days and have to use a plugin just to access their classic editor. The new visual one is actually more confusing to a person like me. I don’t want each paragraph or image to be it’s own “block”, nor do I like that I have less control over elements because it thinks it knows better. Why can’t we have a version for people who know HTML and CSS? Or at least USED to know, because lately it seems confusing even to me and I used to build my sites from scratch. Use it or lose it, I guess.

February 2023 Recap

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Learned that the Lombard Roller Rink is shutting down. I had my 35th birthday “party” there and it was packed. Do people not enjoy roller skating anymore? How sad.

Discovered a very funny and unique show on Hulu called Extraordinary. It’s about a girl named Jen, a self-aware young woman who lives in a world where everybody except her has a superpower. 9/10 just because there’s a character named Jizzlord.

Was woken in the middle of the night, for the second time this year, by the Eufy video doorbell going off. Nothing is creepier than the doorbell ringing in the dead of night. If it just detects motion that will send an alert to my phone and I have my phone on DND, but if someone presses the button, the base downstairs will ring. No one was picked up on video actually ringing the doorbell, so it was a malfunction. Or my dead uncle pranking me as my cousin suggested. Either way I find it weird it never malfunctions during the day.

Started watching Party Down again for the 3rd attempt. Could not get into it the first two times I tried even though I like all the actors in it. Was motivated to try harder this time since they recently added a third season after 13 years. It’s funny, but not the best show. But what aggravates me is after finishing the second season I came to realize the third season is only available on Starz. So why the hell are they advertising it on Hulu? I feel swindled.

Streamed the annual Puppy Bowl live thanks to Discovery+ (we don’t have cable). The kitten half-time show was no more than five minutes long and pretty boring but the puppies were as cute as ever. I miss the days where they had guinea pigs in blimps over the field and whatnot.

Paid $69 (plus tax) to Apple to replace the battery in my iPhone 11. Technically they don’t need to be replaced until they hit 80% capacity (mine was at 85%), but I was tired of charging my phone 4-5 times daily, plus they were raising the prices March 1st to $89. We had to walk around Woodfield Mall while waiting 45 minutes for my repair and we were one of the few people wearing face masks. I guess everyone has collectively decided we don’t care that 300 people in this country alone are still dying from COVID every day. Sad. I’m willing to bet if they suffered through the nightmare I did from May 2019 – March 2020 they’d feel differently about risking their health. Long COVID is actually scarier to me than dying because at least if you die the suffering ends.

While backing up some photos I became aware that not only is my secondary drive nearly full, so is the backup one. Instead of buying larger drives, I decided to take on the time-consuming and emotionally exhausting task of reviewing all my photos and deleting some unnecessary shots. No one needs five different angles of the same subject, or in some cases, photos that are either boring, out of focus, or both. Why I kept those is beyond me. Judging by the progress I’ve made thus far, I do not expect to be done with this project for several months. I cannot sit at my computer for as long as I used to when I was working. It’s tiring, plus I get super cold if I don’t keep moving.

Our cookware set is old and some pieces are in worse shape than others. We decided instead of getting a new matching set we’re going to replace each piece as needed. Found this pretty purple 8″ frying pan at Home Goods for $8. I’m really liking it so far.

Apple Watch

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It probably comes as no surprise that I ended up getting an Apple Watch.

Friday (12/16) Joe came home work and told me he had gotten some American Express gift cards, and between that and finally selling the coffee table he had restored over a year ago, it would cover the watch and I should get it. He wanted to surprise me, but he knew I wasn’t sure which one I wanted (SE or Series 8), nor what color/size case.

He mentioned Target had them on sale through Saturday the 17th which put me into a bit of a panic since I needed to make a decision quickly. Needless to say, I spent the entire evening looking at options and using the Apple Store app on my phone to compare the watch case to the Amazfit Bip 3 to get an idea of how it would look on my wrist.

I finally settled on this one:

Apple Watch Series 8 GPS 41mm Silver Aluminum Case with White Sport Band – S/M

Initially, I thought I wanted a black one, but I didn’t care for the fact that the midnight case isn’t truly black, but instead a very deep blue. I briefly considered the Starlight color, but I tend to wear cool tones, so silver seemed to match better and would be more versatile with different color bands.

As for size, I felt the 45mm one was a bit too large for me and would be heavier than the watch I was currently wearing. The 41mm one is 1 gram lighter. I excitedly ordered the watch and then had to painstakingly wait until Wednesday (12/21) for UPS to deliver it.

It arrived with a nearly dead battery so the first thing I did after letting it come to room temperature was charge it. Luckily, I was aware of the absence of a power brick, so I had ordered one from Amazon which, in a stroke of perfect timing, arrived a half hour after the watch did.

Small rant: I think it’s shitty of Apple to not include everything you need to actually charge the watch. Imagine buying the watch as a gift for someone and not knowing this. Here’s something you can’t use until you buy something else. It’s pretty presumptuous of them to think someone getting a watch already has the appropriate plug when they recently changed from lighting to USB-C. I owned exactly zero USB-C compatible plugs until now.

First Impressions

The silver case is even nicer looking than I pictured, as is the white sport band. White is not a color I ever really wear so I was kinda bummed I couldn’t get a black band, but I’m actually really digging the white after all.

It’s heavier than the Amazfit and hurt my arm at first. This is because the band has more heft to it. It also takes getting used to with the way it fastens and then loops back into the side of the band against your arm. Initially I really didn’t like that, but now that I’m used to how it feels it’s not bad, and the bonus is the band cannot not get caught on anything since there’s no exposed excess.

The screen quality is stunning and even though I chose the smaller case, I can see everything quite well even with my bad eyes (I need progressive lenses ASAP).

Pros

I love how easy it is to customize watch faces and switch between them on the fly. You can store a bunch of them in memory.

Watch faces are interactive & offer at least one, but usually many, Complications (Apple’s term for small interface elements that users place on the clock face). For instance, if you add a weather complication that shows the temperature, tapping on it with your finger will bring you to more detailed weather data.

Notifications are intelligent – if your iPhone is locked, notifications will only make noise/vibrate on your watch. If you’re actively using your phone, they won’t bother you on the watch since you’d see them there immediately.

You can make/answer calls from the watch.

You can control media from the watch such as Spotify, podcasts, YouTube, etc. although you cannot actually listen to that media directly from the watch’s speaker.

I can keep better track of my hydration with the water app I have installed. Spoiler alert – I never drink enough.

The Activity app helps motivate me to move around more during the day and exercise at a higher intensity in order to complete my goals.

Cons

Audible notifications on the watch all sound the same regardless of which app they come from (with the except of phone calls). I wish you could mirror the same sounds as the phone since some notifications are more time sensitive than others.

There’s no Complication for steps as Apple doesn’t think they are as important as how much overall activity you have per day. I really don’t like Apple telling me what to do. I have just gotten into step counting and don’t like I need to install a 3rd party app to see that information at a glance. Apple tracks it, but I have to click on Activity and scroll down to see my steps. That is obnoxious and the 3rd party app wasn’t syncing the data correctly, so I ended up uninstalling it.

Conclusion

Despite some of the frustrations I have, I really love this watch! It’s very functional, and looks great too.