Hiro
Productivity
note taking
SHOW HN2013
160points
83comments
#101of 1,739 in 2013
Top 6%of 2013 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
12 positive, 28 neutral or asking, 5 mixed, 17 critical, out of 62 comments about the project. Thread score -0.15.
Idea: 8 for, 3 againstDesign: 1 for, 4 againstExecution: 1 for, 4 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 2 againstDocs: 0 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clean, beautiful design
From 3 comments
This is really cool. The app is beautiful to look at. I find the search useful, particularly being able to pin results to the document. Highlighting a word and getting a list of…
JoelAnair on HNQuick little nitpick thing, but how do you scroll within the document? I was messing around putting a ton of newlines, but I wasn't sure how to get back to the top of the…
hansy on HNIt's amazing. I currently use AIWriter and it's not available on web. Hiro meets all my expectations. Great work. Thanks!
oakaz on HN
Pinned search results and synonym lookup are useful
From 2 comments
This is really cool. The app is beautiful to look at. I find the search useful, particularly being able to pin results to the document. Highlighting a word and getting a list of…
JoelAnair on HNI like it but wouldn't pay for it. The search sidebar is appealing with the pin-it icons. Search results were pretty good if a bit generic. Doesn't seem to be very semantic but…
zwieback on HN
Works as a web notes app comparable to OneNote, simpler
From 1 comment
This is really cool. The app is beautiful to look at. I find the search useful, particularly being able to pin results to the document. Highlighting a word and getting a list of…
JoelAnair on HN
Objections
Search results are weak, slow, or not really semantic
From 4 comments
good idea in theory, but the search is "ridiculously" slow. Not to mention the fact that it doesn't work after the first search. Also, you're using the term "semantic" wrong.
volaski on HNI like it but wouldn't pay for it. The search sidebar is appealing with the pin-it icons. Search results were pretty good if a bit generic. Doesn't seem to be very semantic but…
zwieback on HNI quite like the notes aspect. Good job! The search feature is a total miss for me however. What problem is it solving? I already have Google, I don't need subpar search built…
nostromo on HNHN effect, search should be < 500msec normally. It is indeed semantic (POS tagger & chunker), but as mentioned atm this only tries to build Yahoo BOSS queries, which can't OR and…
brunooo on HN
Sending note text to third parties raises privacy concerns
From 3 comments
This is a cool idea and the execution is slick too, but I'd like to know more about anonymity and privacy of both content and search results. I'm talking about both the privacy…
Terretta on HNI don't get it. It seems like a very basic version of evernote posting everything that I write somewhere else. I am not comfortable with my text going to other unknown places.
goshx on HN(1) who owns this content? (2) can this be exported? (3) is this publically searchable? (4) how is this better than org-mode?
pnathan on HN
Sidebar and layout move unexpectedly and distract while writing
From 3 comments
First thoughts from Chrome on Mac. Questions are stream-of-conscious rather than requiring real answers. Looks sharp. Why is it offering me Wikipedia links in the right column?…
nkurz on HNI like it as a proof of concept. I don't like it as a product. In general, and with notes especially, focus is important. You are essentially doing the opposite by bombarding the…
brd on HNGood idea! Nitpick: The Read More section on the right seems a bit of a misfit for a product that seems to take away distraction. I found it irrelevant and distracting.
badclient on HN
Does not work offline
From 3 comments
Does not work offline! No choice for me.
Andi on HNsome feedback (most of it minor): - the text cursor seems oddly tall to me... - shift-tab should dedent, not indent - the searching google thing.. is weird. I don't get it. - not…
rattray on HNI've tried it and I really like it! However, I don't have internet while in class, so the online requirement is a bit of a dealbreaker.
RaphiePS on HN
Paid price seems too high for the free plan's limits
From 2 comments
I quite like the notes aspect. Good job! The search feature is a total miss for me however. What problem is it solving? I already have Google, I don't need subpar search built…
nostromo on HNYet another notetaking app, What about sync across devices; security/encryption; lock-in? Only ten notes in the free plan. What does this offer over notational velocity or…
elag on HN
Requests
Offline mode
From 2 comments
Does not work offline! No choice for me.
Andi on HNsome feedback (most of it minor): - the text cursor seems oddly tall to me... - shift-tab should dedent, not indent - the searching google thing.. is weird. I don't get it. - not…
rattray on HN
Outline and bullet point support
From 2 comments
I take almost all of my notes in an outline style, which means lots of bullet points. So far, I haven't been able to find a note-taking program that does bullet-outlines better…
RaphiePS on HNsome feedback (most of it minor): - the text cursor seems oddly tall to me... - shift-tab should dedent, not indent - the searching google thing.. is weird. I don't get it. - not…
rattray on HN
Markdown support
From 2 comments
I've been looking for the perfect note taking application for a while and here are the things I'd really like that nobody else seems to have in one place (I understand that these…
Veratyr on HNMarkdown support would be awesome, great interface. Although, the hover to show the sidebar would be better handled with a click event in my opinion.
JeroenRansijn on HN
Export and a desktop client
From 2 comments
I've been looking for the perfect note taking application for a while and here are the things I'd really like that nobody else seems to have in one place (I understand that these…
Veratyr on HN(1) who owns this content? (2) can this be exported? (3) is this publically searchable? (4) how is this better than org-mode?
pnathan on HN
Plugins for Vim, Emacs or Sublime Text
From 1 comment
You could create plugins for existing editors like Vim, Emacs or Sublime Text 2. This way the users would feel home but with the semantic search service helping them.
a0 on HN
Questions
Who owns the content, and can it be exported?
From 1 comment
(1) who owns this content? (2) can this be exported? (3) is this publically searchable? (4) how is this better than org-mode?
pnathan on HN
Where is the privacy policy and how are searches handled?
From 1 comment
This is a cool idea and the execution is slick too, but I'd like to know more about anonymity and privacy of both content and search results. I'm talking about both the privacy…
Terretta on HN
What is the sidebar search useful for?
From 2 comments
Although this is really pretty, I'm not sure I get the concept. Is this a web-based version of Notational Velocity with a sidebar that does a websearch on certain elements of…
bernardom on HNI like the idea, but in my brief test drive (before I ran out of searches) I didn't find much value in the discovered links on the right. Some samples which illustrate the value…
DLarsen on HN
Alternatives named
Evernote
From 2 comments
Could not agree more! I use Evernote, but even there often the bullet points get out of sync and you have to manually realign everything. Evernote is fantastic, but there are…
alexholehouse on HNEvernote doesn't offer LaTeX support, but does support superscript/subscript. In the Evernote Mac app, simply go to Format > Style > Superscript or Subscript. There are even…
jejune06 on HN
Workflowy
From 2 comments
Workflowy was designed with bullet points in mind. It's primarily a webapp though; no native desktop application but they recently came out with mobile apps.
otoburb on HNTry workflowy.com.[1] It's a minimalistic bullet-point, hypertext note taking service; I think it has potential, and quite good usability. I predict of of these lots services…
TuringTest on HN
OneNote
From 2 comments
Have you tried OneNote. It kicks ass in doing bullet lists and todos. easy reordering, checkboxes and flags, pretty cool.
barista on HNHave you considered swapping out Word for OneNote? Granted, it won't break your dependence on Microsoft, but I've found that OneNote is superior in how it handles images, and…
quanticle on HN
Notational Velocity or nvALT
From 2 comments
Yet another notetaking app, What about sync across devices; security/encryption; lock-in? Only ten notes in the free plan. What does this offer over notational velocity or…
elag on HNThis rocks reminds me of NVAlt for mac which I use for note taking locally.
toblender on HN
Simplenote
From 1 comment
Yet another notetaking app, What about sync across devices; security/encryption; lock-in? Only ten notes in the free plan. What does this offer over notational velocity or…
elag on HN