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Ivan Petkov 

Last week I showed you how, by using two free programs Dropbox and Rainlendar you can make a calendar of tasks, which can be synchronized on every computer you use. Today we will talk about notes – those things that make your desk look like a mountain. In particular, how to avoid them by using our virtual office. I will also offer several different programs for different cases according to your specific needs. 

Let's start with sticky notes. Few years ago, those stubborn notes have taken over me. They are convenient and you get used to them quickly, until at one point you are literally buried under them. I remember that one of my desk drawers at work was full of them and it was definitely crowded. I did not dare to throw even one of them away, because I did not know when I might need the information on it. On the other hand, there were so many of them that I had to waste valuable time looking for someone's phone number or address, just because I had written it on one of those things in a hurry. Finally I had to sit down and filter out the ones I did not need, thus losing more time and spending a lot of effort. This was the icing on the cake, because I could have used this time to spend it with my closest ones.

In order not to find yourself in a similar situation, but to have your sticky notes with you anytime/anywhere, I will offer you very simple and very useful tricks, with completely free resources. 

For this purpose you need two programs – the already mentioned Dropbox, in case you have not read the previous article, and a very useful, small, completely free, but filled with possibilities program sticky notes - PNotes Portable. PNotes Portable is a portable version of PNotes, the difference between the two is that the one we will use does not require installation. This is very important and you need to download the program I specified above. 

Once you download PNotes Portable, you should put it in Dropbox the folder, which you should have already installed. 

Shortly after installing PNotes Portable to the specified folder, Dropbox will prepare the program to sync the sticky notes, and then you can use it. When you work on other computers, as soon as they start, Dropbox will download PNotes Portable and all created notes in it. For convenience, you can create a shortcut icon on your desktop. That's all and you are already to have and use your sticky notes anywhere. 

The second way to use such notes is using Simplenote, which is not a program, but a service and you can find it at the following address: http://simplenoteapp.com/ 

For this purpose, you must register. The notes are in their most simplified form, as the name suggests, but are sufficient for the purposes for which we ever use them. 

You can use the service in its form and you will need only a browser. However,you’re your convenience in cases where you do not have internet, I will offer you a way to save your notes on your computer so that you can read them anytime, whether you have Internet access or not.

The program I want to offer you is called ResophNotes. After you install it and enter the username and password you created for Simplenote, the program will download all your notes, if any, saved on the Simplenote website. You must also install ResophNotes on every computer you want to use it. 

But that's not all! Simplenote can be used in other useful ways that you can see on the download page on their website. I want to mention the synchronization with smartphones, which I use almost constantly and is very convenient for people on the move. This way you will carry your notes with you all the time. There are applications for the most popular mobile operating systems: iOS for iPhone, for Android and others. 

The last method of synchronization is once again connected with services and programs to it. These are the popular Evernote. The difference with Simplenotes is on the opportunities of Evernote, which are many. With Evernote you can store not only notes, but also images/pictures and sound. Evernote also offers application for smartphones, but it is mandatory to have mobile internet in order to see the notes created on your computer. Furthermore the free account is limited in volume of data that you can sync, but for the needs of most consumers, it is perfectly sufficient. 

You can decide for yourself which of the proposed methods best meets your needs and preferences. Also, you can mix and match in order to synchronize your notes. What I can advise you is to give a chance to the 'virtual' notes and soon you will get accustomed to their advantages and the comfort they bear. It is not without significance that this way you consume less paper! 

Next time we will talk about mail, calendar and ways to synchronize your contacts and tasks from your calendar. Of course, we will still use free services and programs! Some of the programs and services have paid version, which can offer more to the more demanding users. The purpose of this series is to show you how one can use legal software and can also take advantage of the opportunities given by the Internet.