Review of Stikkits
Overview:
Stikkit is billed as "little yellow notes that think" Unlike other list managers, Stikkit tries to parse the text you enter and extract meaningful information about the list entry. The smart parser recognizes to-dos, calendar events, contact info, and URL links / bookmarks. It also attempts to link related notes. For example, if you have a note with contact info for John Doe, and later create a note saying "Meet with John Doe for lunch this Friday", Stikkits will create a calendar entry for Friday, and create a link to the note containing John Doe's contact info. (But see below.) A further feature is that notes can be formatted using a subset of John Gruber's Markdown syntax, which allows simple formatting of text and creation of lists. Taken together, these features allow very quick creation of lists, to-dos, and events - the basics for the mobile user.
Stikkit supports email and SMS notification. There are separate views for the different note types, with the to-do list view being particularly useful when mobile. Another very useful feature is the iCalendar event feed, which means you can subscribe to events created from Stikkit notes in Google Calendar or from a desktop calendar application such as iCal.
However, there are two drawbacks to Stikkits:
- Stikkits has a very minimalist interface - Icons for key functions are small, and the interface functions are all spread out toward the edges of the page. While this arrangement does allow maximum area for editing the notes and keeps focus on the content, it makes it difficult to use the interface in a mobile environment. The small icons are hard to tap, and you're constantly forced to scroll the screen to find the necessary functions. Clustering all the icons and buttons together would help, and, like many of these sites, a style sheet optimized for mobile users that made the interface elements easier to hit, even at the sacrifice of some content space, would be a real improvement.
- While the "smart" features of Stikkits is usually a big help, it is frustratingly buggy at times. My biggest problem is with the feature for sharing notes with other users - despite endless tweaking, it refuses to automatically link items shared with my wife, even though I've confirmed the sharing information is entered correctly. I can share a note if I manually share it, but this is extra work the mobile user doesn't need.
Pros and Cons:
| Evaluation Criteria | Pros | Cons |
| Ease of accessing and updating list entries | • "Smart" parsing of entries eases entry of to-dos and dates • Support for markdown syntax allows easy formatting | • "Smart" parsing is buggy, requiring manual intervention • Markdown syntax buggy, sometimes corrupts URLs |
| Usability in a mobile environment | • Easy free form data entry using smart parsing and markdown • Can add multiple list items per edit | • Minimalist interface is hard to use in mobile environment |
| Support for multiple browsers | • Excellent - works in all tested browsers, including Mobile Safari | |
Integrates well with other organization tools | • Provides RSS and iCal feeds • Accepts email for new notes and updates of existing notes • API allows integration with other apps, including desktop apps and tools (e.g., Quicksilver) | • Interface limited to text |
| Good notification support | • Email notification of changes in shared notes • SMS notification of calendar events |
Summary and Recommendation:
I've been using Stikkit for a while as my online inbox with good success. If it weren't for the two issues above, I'd give it an unreserved recommendation for use as an iPhone to-do list manager. However, the interface issues may be a real drawback for many, so check it out before committing to use it. There have been a number of requests for a mobile style sheet for Stikkits, along the lines of what Remember the Milk has done - this would be a huge improvement and would make Stikkits a solid choice for mobile users.
