Subject: REVIEW: NoteBook version 1.08
From: [email-masked] (David Ingebretsen)
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 14:49:41 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	NoteBook version 1.08

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	This application mimics a standard three ring binder.  One can
	insert lined, blank, or graph pages, enter and import text, draw
	"doodles" or import any standard native mode Amiga Graphics. The
	resulting project can be printed and/or saved to disk.

	[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  Some non-native English speakers might not know
	the word "doodle" used in this review.  It means a little drawing or
	sketch usually done for fun or out of boredom.  For example,
	students will often doodle in their notebooks during a boring class.
	:-)   -- Dan]

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Black Belt Systems
	Address:	398 Johnson Road
			Glasgow, MT 59230

	Telephone:	(800) 852-6442
	FAX:		(406) 367-AFAX

	E-mail:		?

LIST PRICE

	List Price: $39.95 US
	I paid:     $29.95

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		The only special hardware may be a deinterlacer ("flicker
		fixer") board, since the program runs in interlace mode only.

		Minimum RAM: 512k
		Can run from a floppy
		Works on all CPU's

	SOFTWARE
	
		None.  It runs under DOS 1.3 and 2.0, although Black Belt
		says that future versions may not run under 1.3.

COPY PROTECTION

	None.  The program installs easily on a hard disk.

REVIEW

	NoteBook is an application that mimics a real live 3 ring notebook.
	One can add pages of different kinds, put "paper clips" on pages to
	mark them, and add tabs to divide sections.  One can enter text
	and/or doodle using the supplied "structured" drawing tools.  It is
	small and does what it claims to (rare these days).

	The whole idea of NoteBook is to replace the stereotypical 3 ring
	binder.  It is an idea-catcher, doodle pad, and organizer.  I found
	it to be clever in conception and execution.

	STARTUP! 

	When started, the notebook is empty, so add some pages.  The page
	type can be lined, blank, or graph, all with the option of "hole"
	markers and the typical red line for a left margin.  These are
	present to inform the user where not to type if the notebook is to be
	printed, punched, and put into a real notebook.

	Enter some text.  Pick the text gadget and you can type anywhere on
	the page.  A font is supplied that fits the line spacing or a
	different proportional font can be used.  Text is treated as an
	object and, as such, can be picked and moved as a whole or joined to
	another object.

	There is a complete, albeit very basic, set of "structured" drawing
	tools to doodle with.  The line color and fill color are specified
	by the user.  I put the word "structured" in quotes because the
	output is not really in a structured drawing format:  it's just a
	bitmap image as far as I can tell, BUT the lines and objects can be
	manipulated and edited like any structured object.  The objects can
	be resized, joined to other objects, and saved individually.

	NoteBook has the ability to import native mode (IFF ILBM) Amiga
	graphics (well, native to the 1000, 500, 2000, and 3000).  The image
	is converted to a 4-shade, dithered, greyscale image.  Again, it is
	an object that can be moved, resized, etc.

	PRINT!

	The printing is where NoteBook is really weak.  The printout is a
	scaled bitmap of what you see on the screen.  Because NoteBook only
	operates in hi-res interlaced mode, the lines/text look very good on
	screen.  HOWEVER, when you scale the small notebook page up to full
	size (8.5 x 11 inches), the nice thin lines get big and fat, and the
	text is very lo-res and pixelized (jagged).  This was very
	disappointing.  On screen, it looks great.  Printed, it looks...
	well, it looks bad.

	INTERFACE!

	This has the typical Black Belt interface.  There are no menus nor a
	menu bar with the standard gadgets.  It opens a custom hi-res
	interlaced screen and places two columns of gadgets on the right
	hand side of the monitor.  The notebook page is on the left hand
	side of the monitor and fills about 3/4 of the screen vertically.
	When a gadget is selected, a third column of gadgets appropriate to
	the selected function appears just to the right of the page.
	Although the interface only very loosely follows Commodore's User
	Interface Style Guide, it is reasonably useful and intuitive.

	MISC!

	NoteBook will import text from an ASCII	file.  This is nice if you
	want to edit your text in a different word processor with more
	features.  As I stated above, NoteBook will also import bitmaps.  It
	will save and load single pages, tab sections, or whole notebooks.
	This facilitates transferring information from one notebook or
	another.  You can even save the current notebook page as an IFF/ILBM
	image.

	There's a "clipboard" where one can store objects then copy, cut,
	and paste the objects somewhere else.  As far as I can tell,
	however, this clipboard is not the Amiga standard clipboard.

	One other cute thing is the ability to highlight any graphic object
	or text with a background color just like a highlighter pen.  

	DOCUMENTATION:

	The book that come with NoteBook is well written, contains few
	typos, and explains the features reasonably well.  There is a short
	introduction to the product and a complete reference section.  The
	disk holds a sample notebook that is very nice and really
	demonstrates what the product can do.

LIKES AND DISLIKES

	LIKES: 

	I like the concept.  It is easy to use and fun.  It seems to be a
	very flexible tool that can be used for several things.  For
	example, I am using it as a diary and a notebook to organize
	different tasks for my job, my involvement in my church, the
	business I'm trying to get going, and household chores and tasks.

	My daughter and I are using it to write the stories that we make
	up.  We can mix text and graphics in a fun way without the
	complication of a word processor or DTP package.

	DISLIKES:

	I don't like the blockiness of the printout.  I also dislike the
	absence of the more standard screen structure and pull down menus,
	although the gadgets in this application are very well done and
	easy for even my daughter to use.

	SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS:

	I would like to see higher resolution printing.  I would like
	to see support for the compugraphic fonts that are available
	in DOS 2.0.

	I'd like better scaling on the printouts.  The ruled lines are
	too big and ugly and any diagonal lines in objects alias big
	time.  

	I would like to be able to edit the fill color and outline
	color of existing objects.  

	I would like to be able to iconify NoteBook from within the
	application, not just at start time.

	I would like automatic word wrapping of the text.

	I would like to be able to import/export the books, sections,
	pages, and objects as DR2D standard files.  I can envision
	circumstances where I would like to import NoteBooks into
	a dtp.

	I would like the standard Front/Back gadgets on a menu bar.  

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	I have not used any similar products and am not sure if any exist.

BUGS

	I found only a couple of bugs.  

	a.	In version 1.08 (waiting for 1.10), I always get an extra
		 page when I print anything.

	b.	The text appears a little high on each line making the tops
		of tall letters touch the line above.

SUPPORT

	I have always been happy with Black Belt's support.  I have
	found that they listen to the customers and try to incorporate
	the users' ideas into future revisions.

WARRANTY

	There is the standard warranty to cover a bad disk.  It lasts
	30 days including shipping time.  After 30 days, a small service
	charge is levied as well as shipping to replace bad media.

CONCLUSIONS

	I like NoteBook.  It's a clever idea and is fun to use.  My big wish
	is to have better looking, higher resolution printouts.  I would
	recommend its purchase if only because the price is reasonable and
	it is fun to use.  I actually use this application on a day to day
	basis!  If you can stand to have the lo-res printing (hopefully to be
	improved), it's a useful utility.  Now, if we could only get a cheap
	laptop, I'd use it for my "Day Timer".

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	No copyright.  This file may be copied, transmitted, archived, read,
	or burned, so long as nothing is added or removed.

	Day Timer is probably copyright by the Day Timer people.
---

   Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews
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