1. celsee
   Member

   Hello:

   I stumbled across Pear Note while reading Macworld's RSS feed. The idea is great, especially for taking notes during a lecture. However, there are a couple of shortcomings that make be balk at purchasing the software.

   1. Lack of robust outlining support (I know this is on the horizon, though, so I won't belabor the point!).

   2. Keyboard clicking is way too loud on the recording

   I wonder whether there's any way to get rid of and/or substantially reduce this being picked up in the recording? I'm not a keyboard banger by any stretch of the imagination, but if I were I think it'd make the recordings unbearable to listen to! I could see this easily being circumvented by an external mic source, but that completely removes the convenience and ability to use the software (for me); one can't walk into class and pull out a laptop and mic equipment to set up on the desk!

   I have no clue how this might be fixed, but I certainly hope there's a way... I'd really love to fully deploy it in my note taking, and would if the typing noise was substantially reduced.

   Posted 1 year ago #

2. c-had
   Developer

   Most users have not found the keyboard noise to be too problematic. In fact, I've even had users compliment me on the key sound effect that I'd added as an audio indicator of the typed text (which, of course, is just the sound of them typing on the recording).

   That said, I understand that some laptops pick up the keyboard sounds worse than others, and some users would prefer to get rid of the sound altogether. As you might imagine, it's not easy to do this. I plan to do some research into audio processing to see what I can do, but it won't be in a release very soon. Improved outlining, on the other hand, will hopefully be in 1.3.

   Thanks for the feedback.

   Chad

   Posted 1 year ago #

3. charlau
   Member

   Hi,

   1. I give my vote for better outlining, but also in text editing capabilities as well. And if at all possible, styling :) (or at least being able to set "default" values for font, size, bullets, and a 1-click "list-unlist" toolbar button!) I'm just not a fan of CMD-T...

   2. At least for me, on a 1yo macbook, using the built-in microphone is a no-no. Clicking sound gets way too disturbing for me. Might be less of a problem if you record a one-on-one conversation, but if you're in a big classroom, it's no good. The mic probably picks up a lot on the high frequencies, but also, it's pointing at you... (another thing I noticed is that if I use the built-in mic and my screen is anywhere but at the hightest brightness, there's an added constant buzz...). I've been recording while typing in class (without PN, which I'm thinking about...) using an external mic. You can get something that fits in your pocket. Myself I bought a usb adapter (Griffin Imic), which is kind of a mini external soundcard. Then you don't need a bulky usb microphone - you can even use something like an old walkman mini mic. And let me tell you, this makes a huge difference!

   Personnally I think it would take a huge amount of time to develop some "key-click filtering" capabilities and it would probably still leave (or produce!) undesirerable noises. I've done some noise cleanup jobs in recordings and it can be a nightmare...

   Posted 1 year ago #

4. c-had
   Developer

   charlau:

   1) My current plan for 1.3 is to try to address this. I understand getting tired of having to open menus to apply formatting all the time, so I'm looking to streamline the common tasks (like list/unlist).

   2) I'm glad to hear you've found something that works for you. Sounds like a great setup.

   Thanks,
   Chad

   Posted 1 year ago #

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