Before we get to anything, let me say for the record that I have never used OneNote before and that I will be using it for a long time from now on. I really like this piece of software from Microsoft and they have done a tremendous job with this very powerful organizational tool. I personally would be using it to catalog and organize my scanned college notes.

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For those who do not know, OneNote is a highly capable information collection and collaboration software. It is what it says it is a Note-taking program. In the truest sense, you can type anywhere you want just click a place where you wish to add your thoughts and type away. The Office ribbon does not obstruct anything and the entire screen is your playground. Select text and a translucent overlay of the formatting options will pop up and you can easily change the look and feel of your note.

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One of the most useful feature for students is the ability to add mathematical equations. Just use the Math Input Panel in Windows 7 ^[3] (which accepts pen-input on tablet PCs, by the way), insert and you’re good to go. You can also access the equation controls from the Office Ribbon.

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The collaboration features are quite a lot and though I haven’t had the pleasure of collaborating via OneNote, I will in the future, in this semester!

Taking screenshots is very, very easy with OneNote as a notification area button. (i.e. with OneNote started). All you need to do is press the Windows-Key + S and a transparent overlay will appear over the screen you are on. Just select the amount of screen-space you want and release the mouse-key. OneNote will popup a small screen-clipping collection manager which can simplify everything else for you.

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As a passive program, OneNote is a completely new experience (called link mode).

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Double-click this and a completely blank and slightly yellow page will open (reminding you of sticky notes). Copy-paste anything from the web, a slideshow or your computer, and it will appear as it was with a small link telling you where it was taken from. Linking between notes is the same as linking between pages in a wiki. Just add [[Page Name]] and it will get linked automatically! Very simple and brilliant!

This is one of those absolutely fantastic applications that Microsoft manages to produce once in a while that keeps the market firmly in their hands. Kudos! More updates will be available as I use OneNote in the future.