Why I Built It

I built iXnote because I needed to solve "the notes problem" for myself.

About ten years ago I pivoted my career from traditional software to AI, where the pace of continual learning is brutal. Pen and paper just couldn't do what I needed. Neither could their digital skeuomorphs.

I'd become fascinated with graph databases as a way to provide context to AI systems. It occurred to me that with a more usable interface, a graph might also provide context to boost human intelligence, not just as an efficient way to capture thinking, but with the primary goal of stimulating better thinking. As a spatial thinker, mind maps came closest to what I was envisioning, but they're too sparse: too many empty pixels on screen, not enough information. I experimented for two years before landing on what iXnote is today. I think of it as a screen-efficient mind map with tweet-sized nodes and all the empty space removed.

How I Use It

I've been using iXnote for five years now. I don't take it into meetings and problem-solving sessions to record what happens; AI transcription tools do that very well these days. I take iXnote into meetings to be smarter, more creative, and more valuable in the moment. It's open on my desk all day helping me think.

Why Publish Now?

Because it looks unlike any other software, people see me using it at work, at conferences, traveling, and ask about it. Over the years many have asked if they could use it. So here it is.

Will it disappear? Startups folding and their software disappearing is a real risk, and I can't guarantee iXnote will still be around in ten years. But I think the chances are good because it costs me nothing to share. No servers, no running costs. I'll keep refining it for myself even if I'm the only user, as I have for the past five years.

Say Hi

I love hearing how others use iXnote. If you got this far, drop me a note on the Contact Us page.