Wikipedia + Google = iKnow

No, PpcSoft iKnow does not replace Wikipedia or Google, but the principle behind PpcSoft iKnow is based on Wikipedia and Google.

If you're looking for information about a specific topic, Wikipedia will often get you exactly what you want.

if you don't know exactly what you're looking for, Google will search the internet for you and try to find what you want.

As you see in the screenshots to the right, they are both based on a single search box.

PpcSoft iKnow is based on the same principle, only better.

The search is incremental, meaning that the closest match is highlighted as you type.

Also, because PpcSoft iKnow is limited to the notes that you have created, a list of all notes is shown below the search field as you type. The list is alphabetical, so you'll see similarly named notes immediately.

If the search doesn't match any note titles, a full-text search is automatically started to help you find what you're looking for.

Unlike Wikipedia and Google, the full-text search in PpcSoft iKnow allows you to preview the complete note immediately, and it also highlights the search word for you.

An example: ABC (first aid)

Let's try to find out what ABC (in first aid) is.

Most people will try Google first, and will probably get a result like this:

Google found 23,380,408 matches for 'ABC', but you'll quickly realize that none of them are relevant.

Google cover more or less everything, which means that you have to be more precise when Google knows so much. In this case, searching for "abc first aid" would return much better results.

If you had tried Wikipedia first, you would get something like the result to the right:

There are currently more than 3 million articles in Wikipedia, so finding the correct article is not always easy on the first try.

However, each article is very well described, and it is therefore not too difficult to locate "ABC (medicine)" under the heading "Medicine and biology" if you scroll down the page.

If you search for "first aid" directly in Wikipedia, you'll get the article directly as it is not as ambiguous as "abc". This article will describe the basics of ABC, and will also provide a link to more information in the article "ABC (medicine)" if you want more.

Wikipedia is an excellent resource for a lot of different topics - however, because of the high quality standards there is a lot of information in each article, and very often they may contain more information than you need.

Using PpcSoft iKnow to help

PpcSoft iKnow can help you by being a buffer between you and the information overload that's available on the internet (and everywhere).

By storing the information you need you'll be able to find it again lightning fast as it is stored locally on your computer.

In this example you have a "First aid" note where the most important parts (to you) is stored.

As you can see, the "ABCs" are located close to the top along with other important information.

What would it look like if you didn't remember that the note title was "FirstAid", and instead tried to search for "ABC" ?

When there is no matching note title, a full-text search is automatically performed, and in this case the result would be like this:
There were 4 matches, and the note "FirstAid" was considered the best.

The first (and best) result will automatically show a preview, and the search word(s) will be highlighted and focused on (by auto-scrolling the preview).

Unlike Google or Wikipedia, you can quickly preview all the results by clicking them or navigating up and down using the arrow keys. Each preview will be focused and highlighted for quick and easy search.

If you want to open a note, double-click the note in the list, or press Enter to open the current one. If you got what you needed, simply press Escape to return to the previously active note.

For more examples on how you can use PpcSoft iKnow - see Using PpcSoft iKnow.

Take a look at the 'First aid' note for an example.