What really matters in choosing between Windows OneNote and Microsoft Journal for keeping your handwritten notes?
In the end, for me, it came down to two differences between the programs.
1) Where are my notes?
Would you rather have your notes all in one Notebook, which has nice tabs to separate out sections, or would you rather have your notes scattered around your files, each note in with all the other kinds of documents you have that are related to the topic at hand?
The choice isn’t an absolute. You can put copies of documents and links to documents and websites on a OneNote page, and so in a way have access to your other kinds of files from within the OneNote structure. But then you have to tend your file structure and tend your OneNote notebook separately.
2) How does the handwriting recognition work?
You’ve scribbled a page and now you want to convert it to text. With Windows Journal, you get a wonderful recognition window well-integrated with the TIP. You can proofread and correct errors easily, and then choose to send the text to the clipboard or replace the handwriting. With OneNote, you get a very instant and complete conversion that replaces the handwriting, but correction is a real bother. The TIP doesn’t know the selected text. No interface for one-click correction are offered.
This feature in itself would lead me to choose Windows Journal over OneNote.
In an earlier release of OneNote, I had fair success in scattering my notes through my regular file structure, whether OneNote wanted me to do it or not. It seemed to become impossible after an upgrade — service pack 2, I think..
3) Bells and Whistles
Do you care deeply about the feel and mark of your pen? OneNote’s pens are all pressure-sensitive "felt pens." I got tired of this after a week and didn’t want this feature any longer. In Journal, you have pressure sensitive or not. Never mind that in Journal the difference between medium and fine is so huge that I prefer to choose one or the other and then display my page at 150% or 75% to get a pen width that’s in between. Sigh. So much choice and none of it the one one wants.
Having said all this, Microsoft is in fact putting more development effort into OneNote. Which means OneNote has perks, tweaks, clever little things. If you’re plugged into the whole "my boss is tracking my every move" office job thing, OneNote will facilitate this with connections into the Office suite’s meetings, address books, and to-do lists. Too bad I need to keep my notes scattered throughout my file structure and in MyBrain. That’s the deal-maker/breaker in my life, and the problem with all binder/notebook programs.
But the greatest new whistle (or is it a bell?) is shared sessions over the internet. You can share your piece of paper across the world with others who can scribble on it, input text, etc.
Of course it can also be used while sitting across from one another at Steve-o-Reno’s to play tic tac toe.
