CNET Editors' review
Pear Note is a clever app that helps you type traditional notes while simultaneously recording--and integrating your notes with--any audio or video source, whether a lecture, a meeting, or a narrated PowerPoint (or even a video that you've imported later). Pear Note captures every keystroke and tracks exactly what was happening as you were typing, so you can go back later and easily see what you were typing at a particular point in the recording.
Pear Note's pleasingly minimal interface has gotten even cleaner in recent updates, with an easy-to-use, two-pane window: the main area is devoted to your notes, with basic editing functionality and tools for highlighting and creating lists, while the sidebar on your left shows the status of your recording, along with an optional live preview. If you're also following along with imported slides (such as from a PDF, PowerPoint, or Keynote file), this where you can see the current slide and navigate forward and back. The top of the interface is dedicated to recording and playback, and it includes handy extras like a Jump button (to jump backward 30 seconds) and a speed-control slider (perfect for filling in the gaps later, if you're trying to transcribe a fast talker). A live search makes tracking down old notes easy, with a quick preview along with the file name and date, and you can export your text, audio, video, and slides in several different formats.
Pear Note doesn't offer much help with actual note-taking, but its integration capabilities can be invaluable for students or anyone else who needs to take notes alongside any type of presentation, live or recorded. This app may be relatively spendy given its narrow scope, but it does offer a free, 30-day trial.
Publisher's Description
From Useful Fruit Software:
Pear Note integrates audio, video, and slides with traditional text notes. By recording all activity, Pear Note keeps track of what's going on while taking notes as well as what the user has to say about it. This makes Pear Note incredibly useful for important meetings, class settings, or speeches. Recording Notes Pear Note records audio, video, and what the user does, including typing notes and changing slides, on a timeline. Since keystrokes and slide changes are kept on this timeline, users can easily find what was being said during typing or a particular slide. They can play back an entire recording to recreate a meeting, or jump straight to the point in the audio they care most about. Searching Instead of Organizing With Pear Note, there's no need to manually organize notes to find them. Users simply bring up search and start typing, and the note they're looking for will pop right up. There's no need to manually sort notes into folders or categories. Pear Note finds notes transparently so they don't have to go looking.
What's new in this version:
- Fixed bug that prevents File->Open from working on Lion
- Fixed bug that prevented underline from syncing properly to iPad version
- Fixed bug that could result in a broken web player when sharing
- Improved search handling of documents created on the iPad
More Popular Presentation Software downloads
- Apple Keynote
751 downloads
- ProPresenter
103 downloads
- Keynote Themes
93 downloads
- FotoMagico
55 downloads
- iWinSoft CD/DVD Label Maker
43 downloads
-
All versions:
4.0 starsout of 1 votes
-
Current version:
0 stars Be the first to review this product -
My rating:
Write review
Results 1-2 of 2
-
"Simple to use recording/note taking program"
Version: Pear Note 1.4
Pros
Easy to use.
Cons
Would like a clearer way to use outline form
Summary
Highly recommend.
-
"It's Just Great"
Version: Pear Note 1.2
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
A very well thought out product - it works a treat. The only minor quiblle I have is that when you click on text to hear what was said at that time, you get the tap-tap of the keyboard keys that went with the notes you were typing as they were speaking.
A minor quibble tho - this is excellent software.
Add Your Review
Submit your reply
E-mail this review
Report offensive content
See more CNET content tagged:
Previous Versions:
