Anki is dead, long live Anki!
2024-06-16
I have talked about Anki many times here on the blog, believe that it is the best flashcard software on earth and truly love studying with it. But lately I have heard some quite impressive things about RemNote, which is a new note-taking software that seamlessly integrates flashcards into your written notes with minimal effort, and wanted to give it a go together with two other note-taking applications that also feature native or plugin-based flashcard support (Obsidian and Logseq). So, let's find out if Anki might be dead...
Before we start talking about my experiences when trying out these three programs, I think it's important to mention how I take notes and work with Anki. Despite not being scientifically proven (or at least controversially discussed), I believe that handwritten notes are better for learning and memorizing new concepts, which is why I mostly handwrite in school with Xournal++ only using its somewhat lacking typing features occasionally. This makes good virtual drawing tools like some kind of ruler, grid + angle snapping as well as the ability to annotate PDF files a necessity for me. Being able to paste screenshots and use LaTeX embeds are also handy with the second one being rarely used to be honest. I usually highlight important sections while writing, which functions as a guiding line for me when creating my flashcards at the end of each day. These usually just consist of a short, descriptive title on the front and plain old screenshot of my notes on the back. Sometimes they are also just text, but that really is the exception instead of the norm.
For my computer science studies, I can imagine me typing a whole lot more however, which makes these new, fancy note-taking programs potentially viable for me - but I would still prefer at least some basic handwriting support. Let's start with my thoughts on the headlining software RemNote, which I can indeed testify supreme flashcard creation options to that integrate surprisingly seamlessly into your writing workflow and also include advanced features like clozes and easy to create image occlusion cards. Creating them is done in no time and the flashcard menu also feels really solid. Thankfully, RemNote also isn't lacking in the note-taking department with a Markdown inspired syntax including code blocks and math equations, folder structures and powerful PDF cross-referencing tools. Basic handwriting integration is also possible through an interactive plugin based on Excalidraw, but basic really is the keyword in this regard. Sync between devices works flawlessly with a solid mobile app being available in the common stores. On the negative side I have to mention, that the whole software is quite far from my personal ideals being closed-source, requiring an account even for local use and incorporating some shady AI features that seem to share more of your notes with whatever model they are using than I'm comfortable with. At least this feature can be turned off in the settings, but your notes are still not end-to-end encrypted meaning that you can't be sure nobody else reads them. I should probably also mention that I noticed a few bugs here and there while using the software and that a few somewhat essential features like PDF referencing and image occlusion require a paid subscription - but these can be fixed in the future and any company needs to make money somehow, so that's fine with me. Overall, RemNote is an impressive, purpose-built note-taking + flashcard app that excels at this very thing, but doesn't feel fitting for me due to lacking handwriting support and only average data security.
With that in mind, I tried out Obsidian, which is quite a popular personal knowledge base and note-taking software that excels with its huge ecosystem of plugins and an active community. It provides the same Markdown based note-taking features including math support and folder structures, but also includes relatively good handwriting as well as flashcard support in notes with plugins. You are even able to annotate PDFs through it, but flashcards can't get as fancy as in RemNote. Despite also being closed-source, Obsidian as a company has earned an excellent reputation for respecting its users privacy and built an E2E-encrypted sync feature, which makes my privacy nerd heart beat a little bit faster. Sadly, the syncing requires a paid subscription, the mobile app is somewhat convoluted and the plugins are lacking some polish here and there - no dealbreakers, but things to keep in mind. All in all, it feels mature as well as extendable and fits my demands quite well, so I might try it out when starting my computer science studies.
Last but not least, I wanted to give the fully open source Logseq a shot, which aims to be THE Obsidian rival, but somewhat fails to achieve this goal in my testing. Don't get me wrong, it's still an impressive piece of software, but the polish and features just aren't quite where they should be. It also uses the Markdown format, features handwriting integration out of the box, which was a pleasant surprise to me, and can even link highlights in PDF files to your notes. Furthermore, there is an E2E sync feature in beta and flashcard functionality built in - which all sounds great. At least until you notice that these features are even more bare-bones than in Obsidian, there aren't any folders (only backlinks) and every fucking thing is a bullet point. I know that this is a just a design decision, but for some reason it really sets me up and immediately made me not want to use this software. For some reason, Math support also requires an extension, but that works so flawlessly that I honestly forgot I had to add it. So, it's surely an interesting open source competitor to Obsidian with unique features, but really lacking flashcard functionality and still somewhat in beta overall, which makes it unusable as my primary note-taking software.
Overall RemNote is surely the best app for this specific use case of combining a note-taking and flashcard app - at least when only looking at the user experience. Personally, I would trade some convenience for the enhanced privacy and extendability of Obsidian. The question also is how much time you really save using these in-built flashcard features compared to sitting down a few minutes after the day to create your Anki cards - but that's up to you. Additionally, I quite like to handwrite my notes, which is just severally or at best somewhat lacking in terms of functionality in any of these applications - Obsidian handles it the best with the option to import PDFs into drawings, but nothing matches Xournal++, which also has quite a large library of advanced features via its LaTeX integration.
With that said, I will probably stick with Xournal++ and Anki for now, but give Obsidian a fair shot when starting into my studies. What are your thoughts on this topic? Feel free to share them in the comments down below and have a lovely day...