TW5 - Roadblock ahead - Why I don't use TW and why I do
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RichShumaker
Mar 14, 2016, 11:39:58 AM3/14/16
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Fist I want to say thanks to everyone in the community for all your help. I LOVE TiddlyWiki especially TW5.
I am posting this to share my experience on why I don't use TW5 all day everyday, even though I want too. Hopefully in sharing my experiences you guys can help me grow and learn. Also this thread is designed to help you share where, when, and why you use or don't use TW5.
I figured out that I don't use Tiddlywiki unless I am at a full computer as I need the keyboard and decent processing speed, I dislike two finger typing for TW. 2 fingers are too slow for the TiddlyWiki flow. When I start to use TiddlyWiki the ideas pop up faster than I can type. When I get in the TW flow I can blink and 2 hours have gone by and so many ideas have formed, which is awesomesauce.
My ?'s in previous years and all the help I received allowed me to get closer to day to day use but fell short. The major one I listed above. The minor one which isn't really minor is what I need and want TW5 to do, which seems to be everything, heheh.
I use TW5 as a multimedia notebook that I call my Dream Machine, a machine to help me reach my dreams. So I take pictues, shoot videos, record audio, oh and write stuff and weave it altogether. Once I do what I do in TW the important part starts which is sharing my stuff or keeping it for myself forever. TW5 is amazing for sharing, room for improvement always exist except TW5 is awesome for this. Archiving is also a strong suit for TW. This is why I started down the TW path almost a decade ago. Still have all that data which I can't say is true for the data from 2 decades ago.
So that's the post I am sure I could blather much more except that's not the point. The point is to say why I do and don't use TW and hopefully this helps me get over my roadblocks and helps others share and get over there's.
Rich Shumaker
I am posting this to share my experience on why I don't use TW5 all day everyday, even though I want too. Hopefully in sharing my experiences you guys can help me grow and learn. Also this thread is designed to help you share where, when, and why you use or don't use TW5.
I figured out that I don't use Tiddlywiki unless I am at a full computer as I need the keyboard and decent processing speed, I dislike two finger typing for TW. 2 fingers are too slow for the TiddlyWiki flow. When I start to use TiddlyWiki the ideas pop up faster than I can type. When I get in the TW flow I can blink and 2 hours have gone by and so many ideas have formed, which is awesomesauce.
My ?'s in previous years and all the help I received allowed me to get closer to day to day use but fell short. The major one I listed above. The minor one which isn't really minor is what I need and want TW5 to do, which seems to be everything, heheh.
I use TW5 as a multimedia notebook that I call my Dream Machine, a machine to help me reach my dreams. So I take pictues, shoot videos, record audio, oh and write stuff and weave it altogether. Once I do what I do in TW the important part starts which is sharing my stuff or keeping it for myself forever. TW5 is amazing for sharing, room for improvement always exist except TW5 is awesome for this. Archiving is also a strong suit for TW. This is why I started down the TW path almost a decade ago. Still have all that data which I can't say is true for the data from 2 decades ago.
So that's the post I am sure I could blather much more except that's not the point. The point is to say why I do and don't use TW and hopefully this helps me get over my roadblocks and helps others share and get over there's.
Rich Shumaker
Mat
Mar 14, 2016, 12:46:20 PM3/14/16
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Thanks Rich (and great to see you!) - very valuable input from an advanced user.
You're touching on something that I've also experienced problems with; TW is fantastic for managing data and archiving it, but still too slow to capture data with. I just recently made QuickTid as yet another attempt to speed up the capturing of ideas. It's in beta tho and not for cell phone yet. My own brain is in constant tornado mode and it is extremely frustrating to feel how all the Nobel Prizes swoosh by because I can't capture - let alone implement - my ideas at the pace they're generated ;-)
Specifically, for your problem with small screen, there might be hope in the audio feature that has been popping up in discussions. I.e to record your thoughts and put them in TW only to later refine them into text or perhaps just applying serach tags and categorization. Also taking a picture and have it directly appear in a TW has been discussed. If TW could just read files in a folder it'd be pretty simple to implement, for someone who can code, I'd guess.
Anyway, I think the overall solution is for us to keep on working with the infrastructure for TW and simplifying the workflow interface.
<:-)
You're touching on something that I've also experienced problems with; TW is fantastic for managing data and archiving it, but still too slow to capture data with. I just recently made QuickTid as yet another attempt to speed up the capturing of ideas. It's in beta tho and not for cell phone yet. My own brain is in constant tornado mode and it is extremely frustrating to feel how all the Nobel Prizes swoosh by because I can't capture - let alone implement - my ideas at the pace they're generated ;-)
Specifically, for your problem with small screen, there might be hope in the audio feature that has been popping up in discussions. I.e to record your thoughts and put them in TW only to later refine them into text or perhaps just applying serach tags and categorization. Also taking a picture and have it directly appear in a TW has been discussed. If TW could just read files in a folder it'd be pretty simple to implement, for someone who can code, I'd guess.
Anyway, I think the overall solution is for us to keep on working with the infrastructure for TW and simplifying the workflow interface.
<:-)
Jed Carty
Mar 15, 2016, 6:15:32 AM3/15/16
to TiddlyWiki
I have the same problem. If I am ever not on my own computer than using tiddlywiki as anything other than as a way to consume content by using tools that have already been created becomes very difficult. Particularly on touch screen devices. This is a problem because for a lot of what I do it is most convenient for me to use my tablet.
I have been working on some hardware things that would help with UI and as far as typing goes I think that the limitation is more on the hardware side than with tiddlywiki.
The problems with adding media directly to a wiki are being addressed, but I think that one big stumbling block is file size. Perhaps we need some way to use tiddlywiki as an interface to capture media and then store it outside the wiki. It goes against the single file aspect of tiddlywiki but I think that for things like video that is how we will have to go.
I have been working on some hardware things that would help with UI and as far as typing goes I think that the limitation is more on the hardware side than with tiddlywiki.
The problems with adding media directly to a wiki are being addressed, but I think that one big stumbling block is file size. Perhaps we need some way to use tiddlywiki as an interface to capture media and then store it outside the wiki. It goes against the single file aspect of tiddlywiki but I think that for things like video that is how we will have to go.
Eric Shulman
Mar 15, 2016, 6:41:57 AM3/15/16
to TiddlyWiki
On Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 3:15:32 AM UTC-7, Jed Carty wrote:
I have been working on some hardware things that would help with UI and as far as typing goes I think that the limitation is more on the hardware side than with tiddlywiki.
Either a Bluetooth keyboard, or an OTG cable + USB keyboard makes this much easier. You can also use an OTG cable with USB hub so you can plug in both a keyboard and a mouse (Android tablets are mouse-aware, and provide a cursor when a mouse is connected). Of course, this isn't much benefit if you are on a tiny mobile screen, but if you are using a larger-sized tablet, the addition of a keyboard really makes all the difference in usability for editing on the go.
-e
Jeremy Ruston
Mar 15, 2016, 6:50:14 AM3/15/16
to tiddl...@googlegroups.com
if you are using a larger-sized tablet, the addition of a keyboard really makes all the difference in usability for editing on the go
I heartily concur. I’ve recently got a keyboard for my iPad, and find that it’s had a surprising impact on my working habits. In many ways, for non-coding tasks, I now find the iPad preferable to my laptop: less distractions, less fiddling with overlapping windows, physically lighter. I use TWEdit heavily to work on standalone TiddlyWik’s offline, copying to and from Dropbox. In fact, it’s probably the way that I'm using TWEdit that makes the environment feel so interchangeable with my laptop. Generally, I find I’m living in TiddlyWiki more than ever for my non-coding, non-email work.
Best wishes
Jeremy
HC Haase
Mar 15, 2016, 8:02:13 AM3/15/16
to tiddl...@googlegroups.com
I agree on what have already been said. TW is amassing in so many ways but has some pitfalls.
On my list of frustrations wit TW I agree with @Rich
1. problem: mobile capture.
It is a big problem. As said elsewhere the future of computing and note taking is moving to mobile devices. For me the roadblocks here is:
a. speed. Of course it also has to do with the power of the device, but other note taking tools have no problem where TW5 struggle.
b. buttons is a bit small to hit, thus making capturing a bit cumbersome.
solution proposals
If tiddlywiki could watch a folder of txt or markdown files and automatically import them, TW could be used to view the files and make nice tagging, and whatever app that is better optimized your device (and outputs in txt) could be used for capture. This would preserve the TW portable file strategy and make it more flexible.
Another path could be to make some other app (optimized for mobile devices (e.g. AndTiddlywiki)) create a tiddler in the TW without opening TW.
Of course performance improvements is always in it self. @Mat I am looking forward to try the plug-in.
I experimented a bit and found out that by purging my TW5 for photos and keep the size down ( to about 6mb) I cut the android loading time by around 30%, but the biggest difference came when I disabled as many plug-ins as possible. this reduced loading time by 50%. But TW is still a bit slow.
2. images. it is to much hassle.
@Mat
There is a quite nice image capture feature already. When you press the import button on a mobile device, you get a dialogue asking if yo want to import a file, a picture from gallery or take a photo with the camera. This is great. For some mystery it works on my work phone Samsung android 4 but on my private LG android5 it doesn't (but others have reported android5 success in the forum).
However there are two problems with images in my opinion.
a. if you want to keep the size of the wiki down you need to keep photos external and it is clumsy to write links.
b. It takes to much time to give photos there own tiddler and the transclude them.
solutions proposals
it would be great if you cold drag´n drop photos into the text editor of a tiddler and then either include it as a link to a image tiddler or a link to the external photo (e.g. with a save dialog), in that place in the text.
This is just my ideas of solutions. I am not a programmer. If they are technically feasible or not, I am sure others have greater knowledge of.
On my list of frustrations wit TW I agree with @Rich
1. problem: mobile capture.
It is a big problem. As said elsewhere the future of computing and note taking is moving to mobile devices. For me the roadblocks here is:
a. speed. Of course it also has to do with the power of the device, but other note taking tools have no problem where TW5 struggle.
b. buttons is a bit small to hit, thus making capturing a bit cumbersome.
solution proposals
If tiddlywiki could watch a folder of txt or markdown files and automatically import them, TW could be used to view the files and make nice tagging, and whatever app that is better optimized your device (and outputs in txt) could be used for capture. This would preserve the TW portable file strategy and make it more flexible.
Another path could be to make some other app (optimized for mobile devices (e.g. AndTiddlywiki)) create a tiddler in the TW without opening TW.
Of course performance improvements is always in it self. @Mat I am looking forward to try the plug-in.
I experimented a bit and found out that by purging my TW5 for photos and keep the size down ( to about 6mb) I cut the android loading time by around 30%, but the biggest difference came when I disabled as many plug-ins as possible. this reduced loading time by 50%. But TW is still a bit slow.
2. images. it is to much hassle.
@Mat
There is a quite nice image capture feature already. When you press the import button on a mobile device, you get a dialogue asking if yo want to import a file, a picture from gallery or take a photo with the camera. This is great. For some mystery it works on my work phone Samsung android 4 but on my private LG android5 it doesn't (but others have reported android5 success in the forum).
However there are two problems with images in my opinion.
a. if you want to keep the size of the wiki down you need to keep photos external and it is clumsy to write links.
b. It takes to much time to give photos there own tiddler and the transclude them.
solutions proposals
it would be great if you cold drag´n drop photos into the text editor of a tiddler and then either include it as a link to a image tiddler or a link to the external photo (e.g. with a save dialog), in that place in the text.
This is just my ideas of solutions. I am not a programmer. If they are technically feasible or not, I am sure others have greater knowledge of.
Mark S.
Mar 15, 2016, 12:12:21 PM3/15/16
to TiddlyWiki
I've wanted drag-n-drop to create an image link for the longest time. But we're told that the browser security won't let tiddlywiki "see" the original file path. This seems odd, since the browser can "see" all the data that gets dropped on it and even create the image. It can also "see" and portray any image file on the file system. It can even browse anywhere in the file system. So why is it so protective about the file path? It reminds me of that scene in Airplane II where the terrorist with a bazooka is allowed through the check point but a little old lady with a bobby pin gets jumped by a dozen guards.
You can use tiddlyclip in local mode to import image paths from a nearby tab that browses local files, but this is a bit fiddly requiring you to set the docking TW (which is forgotten every time your browser reboots), set the local mode, open a tab for file browsing, and then use the designated clip.
About keyboards: OTG cables do not work with all android tablets and devices. Generally they work with the name-brand models, but not always.
There's a "hacker's" software keyboard that makes it easier to select text and use commands like shift-select and Ctl-C/V to copy and paste. This is often more reliable than the default long press method.
At this point, on the tablet, I've surrendered the notion of being able to capture information into TW. I use Evernote or Simplenote for capture and then later, on the desktop, move the information into TW. Real apps are much faster for entering and editing information on the tablet. But I get pretty good performance out of using AndTidWiki to read articles I've previously captured in a 6Mb TW5 file.
I can imagine an Android utility that would watch a designated file directory, and then create a tw data json file that contains the image link in a separate directory. You would need to manually import the JSON file, but this would save you having to hand-craft the links.
Mark
You can use tiddlyclip in local mode to import image paths from a nearby tab that browses local files, but this is a bit fiddly requiring you to set the docking TW (which is forgotten every time your browser reboots), set the local mode, open a tab for file browsing, and then use the designated clip.
About keyboards: OTG cables do not work with all android tablets and devices. Generally they work with the name-brand models, but not always.
There's a "hacker's" software keyboard that makes it easier to select text and use commands like shift-select and Ctl-C/V to copy and paste. This is often more reliable than the default long press method.
At this point, on the tablet, I've surrendered the notion of being able to capture information into TW. I use Evernote or Simplenote for capture and then later, on the desktop, move the information into TW. Real apps are much faster for entering and editing information on the tablet. But I get pretty good performance out of using AndTidWiki to read articles I've previously captured in a 6Mb TW5 file.
I can imagine an Android utility that would watch a designated file directory, and then create a tw data json file that contains the image link in a separate directory. You would need to manually import the JSON file, but this would save you having to hand-craft the links.
Mark
On Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 5:02:13 AM UTC-7, HC Haase wrote:
I agree on what have already been said. TW is amassing in so many ways but has some pitfalls.
Hegart Dmishiv
Mar 15, 2016, 3:26:45 PM3/15/16
to TiddlyWiki
The idea of using the specialized tools for the job at hand, as others here have mentioned, is something we investigated earlier in the {{DesignWrite}} course, and may be applicable here. For instance, we used IFTTT recipes to generate text files (which only really needed changing the extension from *.txt to *.tid to get them working in TiddlyWiki), generated from any new activity on our Flickr streams, or in my case, from my Pinterest pinboard. Using the existing mobile Flickr (or Pinterest) apps to capture images on the mobile device, applying TiddlyWiki tags to them in their descriptions, then importing the resultant text files into TiddlyWiki as new tiddlers with tags and links to the online images, was trivial. It's probably possible to do the same with YouTube videos in IFTTT. Perhaps this workflow could be streamlined even further? Just a thought.
Here's the {{DesignWrite}} exercise for this. And here's my answer to it. Hope this is somehow useful.
Hegart.
Here's the {{DesignWrite}} exercise for this. And here's my answer to it. Hope this is somehow useful.
Hegart.
Alex Hough
Mar 15, 2016, 4:27:21 PM3/15/16
to TiddlyWiki
Great stuff Hegart,
I looks like you are really getting a lot out of the course
Alex
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Hegart Dmishiv
Mar 15, 2016, 4:50:03 PM3/15/16
to TiddlyWiki
Yeah, as I said in my recent mid-semester blog post/essay/narrative thingy, I have come along in leaps and bounds with my TiddlyWiki experience since joining the {{DesignWrite}} course. I hadn't even barely used macros, widgets, or plugins in the 3 months between starting to use TW and joining the DW course. I'd highly recommend the course to everyone. There is a new intake beginning in May, if anyone is interested.
Hegart.
Hegart.
Alex Hough
Mar 16, 2016, 12:29:02 AM3/16/16
to TiddlyWiki
For me there are no road blocks
Reading what Hegart has written above and reading his TW just makes me more besotted.
I just don't expect TW to do everything. There is no software that can do everything well.
It's a learning tool and a tool through which the user can become a tool maker.
Alex
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tiddlywiki/b1a25d4e-d0c1-4bdc-ad01-99738b13e96a%40googlegroups.com.
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