TechNet Library and Evernote

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Probably like most of you, when preparing for certifications I virtually live in the Technet Library. It's the single largest public repository of Microsoft technical information anywhere in the world, and a veritable gold mine of knowledge. There is information here that you will never find in any book.

However, I found that the vast volumes of information produced in the course of preparation for even a single exam quickly became too much for me to manage via my traditional bookmarks and printouts, so I needed to find a more efficient way of managing it.

A few months ago I came across a blog posting where someone suggested using the popular note taking and archival application, Evernote, along with the Web Clipper add-on, to quickly and easily clip, tag, and organize my TechNet content into Evernote notebooks, by subject and topic, with keywords, for easy retrieval later.

Evernote is like a free version of Microsoft's OneNote application, but with more features and add-ons. I use three versions of Evernote interchangeably, the Windows version, the iOS version, and the Web version. They all sync seamlessly with each other over the internet, so I can work easily with whatever device I have at hand at the moment (including my iPad), without worrying about how changes made in one place will affect my information elsewhere.

I've been using Evernote for a few months now, and I'm very happy with it, so I just wanted to share this with you. Maybe it can benefit someone. Should you require more information, you can Google it, or even ask me if you want, and I will be happy to help.

James

 

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+1 on this. Been doing this with every article I use, clip to evernote, even use it for everyday life . How many times we wished we bookmarked a site? Loads! Though bookmarks don't work for me and if the site goes offline....

It's really good for clipping recipes as well! Especially the good ones. ;-)

Some people will see it as time consuming, i see it as my whole knowledge base and makes me awesome! Worth the little invest in time and you'll build the knowledge base up quickly. It's the same with everything get into the habit and force yourself to use it... Otherwise you'll drift away... Web browsers plugins make it easier to use.

 

+1 for me also just started using it a couple of weeks ago and it is far better than bookmarking, dont know how many times i have bookmarked a page only to go back at a later date and it has moved or no longer available

 

Hi CSX & Mojorisin,

It's great to know that you guys are Evernote fans as well. At least I'm in good company. Maybe we've finally found a way to tame the TechNet beast

James

 

Evernote, along with 1Password are pretty much the first apps I install on a machine when I begin to work on it. I would find it difficult to work without them.

 

Hi Gingerdave,

Yes. 1Password is a very useful application, especially nowadays when we have so many passwords to remember for everything. Additionally, it's multi-platform, and it offers very strong protection. It's every bit as useful as Evernote for what it does. Good choice.

James

 

Personally I use KeePass (similar to 1Password) and is stored in Dropbox so I can access from any device (Laptop, Smartphone, Work PC etc) for local passwords and LastPass for all browser passwords.

I also use Pocket for articles where I just want to read it later and not to fussed about storing it in Evernote.

 

Hi CSX,

Thanks for the suggestions. You're giving us some great ideas on products I never knew existed.

I'm going to Google these products and see which will be most useful. First, however, I'm going to check out Pocket, and if it has good integration with Evernote, then it might be a keeper.

James