Evernote

The website evernote.com uses the tag line, "Remember Everything". Now, I'm not convinced the free web and phone application can do that (people who know me, know that I can forget the name of the person I am talking to) but I do think it is a great tool for web surfers that like to collect information to use at another time.

Example. I like to search and read several recipes for the same dish - so that I can compare and contrast everything from ingredients to cooking techniques. Evernote notes makes it a breeze to clip these recipes (including pictures) and keep them in a virtual notebook. Negating the need for me to make frivolous bookmarks that I might never click on again.

After you install Evernote, be sure to add the Evernote icon onto your web browser menu bar (works best with Mozilla Firefox). Now, when you are surfing the web and stumble across an image you like or some fuzzy yarn you might like to buy, simply highlight the information and click the icon to save it into your virtual notebook. Later, when you want to retrive the items you've collected, the application allows you to search for it by keywords, tags you create, or even a timeline (for when you sorta remember when you saved it). It also has a variety of options that allow you to organize what you capture into notebooks and by the previously mentioned tags.

If the web application wasn't cool enough, the application that you can install on smart phones has made Evernote one of the top downloaded iphone applications to date. The simple interface on the iphone makes it a snap to photograph anything you want to capture in the real world by taking a quick phone photo. Have you ever been at a high-end store and seen something you could easily make yourself? (That is, if you remember you saw it.) Or, have you ever seen a sign for an upcoming Gargage Sale but when the day comes you can remember where you wrote the address down? Evernote allows you to snap a photo and instantly send it to your virtual notebook. The phone application also comes in handy when you find yourself in the actual world wanting to show someone an item you have captured in your virtual notebook.

There are plenty of other cool functions that currently make Evernote one my favorite websites/applications ...I just hope I don't forget my login and password.