journal, a.k.a. "context browser"

journal, a.k.a. "context browser"

The journal would not only keep track of files you created, but websites you visited, IM conversations you had, and even allow you to make notes about particular entries.

It's great to see this happening. Many years ago, in a past life in a consumer electronics research division, I had the same idea: something that would track calendar info, digital photos, filesystem changes, e-mail, television schedules, browser(s) history, etc.--ideally across multiple machines--and allow one to browse some or all of it in a unified fashion. I called it the "context browser," and my hope was that it would do more than simply help with "where did that file go?"--I wanted to answer questions like "where/when did I come across that information that I only vaguely recall?" Obviously filtering and other UI elements (non-linear timeline, freeform visualization, etc.) would have been critical to making it truly useful.

Unfortunately, it never went anywhere; the last economic downturn took its toll, and the project (and group :-) ) got whacked before it got fully underway. So it's good to know that other folks are working on similar ideas. Maybe one of these years I'll have a chance to get back to it...

Greg