Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Flashcards with Mental Case

MentalCase.pngI think the realization might stick this time: in my "personal facility," my "personal digital assistant (suite of tools as an inter-connected framework)" must include a flashcard solution.
In this case, it was digging up the suped-up Excel file (okay, Macro-enabled Template, I admit it) to remind myself just how exactly I had worked out an ability to display one cell ("Side A") and then the other ("Side B") and capture flags such as as "learnt it" and categorize the items with an ability to sort for those "cards" I am still working on vs. learnt vs. no longer care about.
Enough of that.
With a google doc spreadsheet open in one iPad browser window, and a website I was learning from in the other iPad browser window, I copied & pasted items back and forth so that I could import the spreadsheet into TouchCards iPhone app. I added to the spreadsheet, re-imported, and found a new "deck" of cards for each import (all titled the same, with version #'s)
Okay, enough of that.
So today I've returned to Mental Case, and upgraded from "Lite." I balked at paying $40 six months ago for a full version, but now it's $15 in the iTunes store, so apparently they found the right price point. $5 more for the Full Version for both iPad & iPhone (which, thankfully, are different).
From a marketing and product perspective, I love their use of language. Mental Case is about organizing "Mental Notes" (flashcards) that you organize in "Mental Cases" (folders). The smile on the icon just gets better with each turn.
At this point, I'm looking only at the sample data, but I can tell already: this is as sweet as an Omni Group application. On the Holy Cow scale of Moo, I'd give it... well, a top score. I can't wait to load this up and put an end to several hundred little items that escape me. I think I'll start with my wife's new phone number. :-)
It appears Mental Case will not only become a new family member in my Personal Facility, but will become as indispensable as OmniFocus.

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