snozle Wrote:The closest thing to an algorithm in iFlash appears to be the interval mode, however it does not adhere to the strict leitner approach of moving an incorrectly answered card back to 0, but instead decreases it's 'score'.

I've not used iFlash for review much at all yet. But I changed the 'score' to 97 which should move a failed card back to the start. Regardless of which stack it is in.

Cheers,

Hey guys Ive tried JFC, SuperMemo and VTrain. Ive avoided trying to get a Japanese only system as I like to keep everything together. This site is the exception to the rule however as the support and ability to see other storys simply makes up for that.

I first started with JFC - it was a great start but i always thought the learning system could be better.

Then i heard about some geezer called leitner and his smelly shoeboxes. From there it lead me to supermemo. It sounded great but boy it looks crap. It also felt untuitive to me and although it allowed the user to make things simple by having a begginner, intermeditate and expert view mode for menu functions i still couldnt get my head round it. I also felt that it was not working properly. There was no clear indication of where the cards were going unlike this site which is nice and clear. It did have the abiltiy to make templates for your flash cards which was good though but again it felt a bit clumsy to use.

I then heard of VTrain. I really like it. Its interface is relatively simple and its also very clear. It also shows you cleary where your cards are going. It allows you to choose how many smelly shoebox levels you need and the scheduling of reviews for them. You then make flash card decks whihc you can add to the your collection of shoeboxes. You can import your vocab lists from word or excel files into a flashcard deck as wellas export if you wish to switch to another programe. Whats great is you can make loads of shoebox collections. So one shoebox system for RTK and another for "japanese porn titles" if you so like. Finally its sound for Unicode.

Vtrain for the PDA is currently being programmed as well.

Well thats my two cents on it.

i personally use mnemosyne. it is VERY simple and thus i prefer it over Supermemo. I know supermemo is better from having used both but i just cant argue with the simplicity of mnemosyne.

I'm anxious to try mnemosyne. Has anyone gotten to run it on Mac OS X? I tried (abeit half heartedly due to JLPT cramming) last weekend to get it up and running
to no avail.

guppy, I've been working on it for 2 days now, it's a painful process. After I get it I will be sure to post how to do it.

Ok, I finally got Mnemosyne running on OSX. Here are the instructions to get it working.

1) Download the binary installer for mac python v. 2.4.x
http://www.pythonmac.org/packages/py24-fat/index.html
and install

2) Download and install QT (you must use v 3.x, NOT v 4.x)

this is tricky, it took me many installs to get it working correctly, neither the binary installs nor the darwinport installs worked. You can download the source from their ftp site. http://ftp.ftp.trolltech.com/qt/source/

If, like me, you need the snapshot, you can get it here:
http://ftp.ftp.trolltech.com/qt/snapshots/

The one that I used is:
qt-mac-free-3.3.6-snapshot-20061024.

*note: I'm on an intel mac so you may have better luck with PPC, at least version 3.3.6 is needed for intel.


a. Drag contents of file into /Developer/Qt (you will have to make this directory)
b. Edit .profile file to include the following
QTDIR=/Developer/qt
PATH=$QTDIR/bin:$PATH
MANPATH=$QTDIR/man:$MANPATH
DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$QTDIR/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH

export QTDIR PATH MANPATH DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH

c. Run the following in terminal
% cd %QTDIR
% make
% sudo ln -sf $QTDIR/lib/libqt.3.dylib /usr/lib
% sudo ln -sf $QTDIR/lib/libqui.1.dylib /usr/lib

3) Download and install SIP
http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/sip/index.php
% python configure.py
% make
% sudo make install

4) Download and install PyQt (you must use v 3.x)
http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/pyqt/index.php
% python configure.py
% make
% sudo make install

5) Download Mnemosyne and run the following from within the directory
% python setup.py install

6) You're done! Run mnemosyne
% mnemosyne

Let me know how this works for you.

i hope your happy with it after all the trouble you went to.

I finally got mnemosyne installed on OS X; however, I'm having some difficulties. Does anyone have some insight into these issues?

First off, I am able to resize the window, but when I go to the next "card" it stubbornly goes back to its default state.

One thing I was wondering is how to know what cards to do. On the bottom it tells me how many cards are scheduled, but the review continues past that number. Is mnemosyne supposed to indicate when I've finished my review or am I supposed to look at the bottom to see if my scheduled cards have reached zero? Also, What is the difference between "scheduled" and "not memorized"?

Next, this is a small issue, whenever I open an aqua menu (for example to import a file) and return to mnemosyne the buttons get "greyed out" and sometimes the keyboard shortcuts stop functioning. This is easily resolved by simply restarting mnemosyne.

Another thing is in the edit all items window, is it possible to multiple select?

Finally, I can't find a way to launch mnemosyne from the dock or an application icon, right now I launch it from terminal by typing mnemosyne.

This program looks very promising, but it just doesn't feel right on os x due to the above annoyances.

according to the new patch (0.9.6) notes:

"-After the window expands to accomodate a large item, it will shrink
back again. "

this may be your problem.

also, "scheduled cards" is like the orange bars of this website "not memorized" is essentially the same as the blue bar.

as for the mac problems, i cant be of service there. i run it on PC.

yorkii Wrote:according to the new patch (0.9.6) notes:

"-After the window expands to accomodate a large item, it will shrink
back again. "

Doesn't seem like much of a 'feature', it's kind of annoying.

yorkii Wrote:also, "scheduled cards" is like the orange bars of this website "not memorized" is essentially the same as the blue bar.

Thanks. Is Mnemosyne supposed to tell you when you have finished reviewing your 'scheduled cards' or are you supposed to look at the bottom to see when the number reaches zero?

Nice guide snozle, I'd like to try it when I have some time.

I found a thread discussing BundleBuilder and other methods to create clickable python icons.

Thank you so very much snozle. I've been knee deep in trying to get it up and running.
No such luck yet. I'll keep you posted of my progress. Once I can get it up, then
I can maybe help with some of the other bugs. However, it appears that your unix/osx skills are way above mine.

Again. Thanks a lot for the help!!

snozle Wrote:Thanks. Is Mnemosyne supposed to tell you when you have finished reviewing your 'scheduled cards' or are you supposed to look at the bottom to see when the number reaches zero?

yea. when it gets to 0, it changes to "Learn ahead of schedule" you can review, but i think your supposed to stop when scheduled hits 0

how about jMemorize or is it jMemorise? anyway it looks very similiar to Mnemosyne and im sure there was a mac version so if your getting nowhere with it on the mac give it a look.

Anyway can anyone help me out here, I have a pda thats rusting away and id really like a leitner flashcard system that can be used on pc and pda with sync option. I know of supermemo but i really dont like that software. Anyone got any ideas?

Yes, JMemorize is java-based so it does run on macs. In fact, won't java apps run on PDAs too? Would you be able to run JMemorize on a palm? It is indeed leitner-based.

hmm before i try and waste a good hour setting the rusty tin up again can anyone comment on java software running on a pocket pc. Wont there be screen size issues?

snozle Wrote:

yorkii Wrote:according to the new patch (0.9.6) notes:

"-After the window expands to accomodate a large item, it will shrink
back again. "

Doesn't seem like much of a 'feature', it's kind of annoying.

there has been a newly patched version and the new patch notes read:

Quote:2006-10-27: released Mnemosyne 0.9.7
-again respect window size set by user.

seems like they didnt think it was that useful either

during my quest to find pda + pc leitner software i found this site with a general overview of what's available. Maybe theres one you have missed. http://www.studystack.com/Wiki.jsp?page=Flashcards

I'm interested in using Jmemorize but am not too keen on redoing all 2000 flashcards. Any ideas about getting a list of the heisig kanji? I feel like Im missing some simple solution but couldnt find the data I needed.
On a different note; I'm surprised more people aren't mentioning stackz. Im a mac user so it isn't a good investment for me HOWEVER it has the best collection of ready to use cards I've ever seen. It has a trial version that I recommend everyone download, if only to see the database of downloadable cards.

Hyland1 Wrote:I'm interested in using Jmemorize but am not too keen on redoing all 2000 flashcards. Any ideas about getting a list of the heisig kanji? I feel like Im missing some simple solution but couldnt find the data I needed.
On a different note; I'm surprised more people aren't mentioning stackz. Im a mac user so it isn't a good investment for me HOWEVER it has the best collection of ready to use cards I've ever seen. It has a trial version that I reccomend everyone download, if only to the database of downloadable cards.

You can generate a list from Edict, there are also several lists in the Yahoo RTK group (although beware, some of them miss a few kanji).

How exactly would I go about doing it with Edict?

I am planning on downloading Stackz for studying vocabulary (as opposed to just kanji). It looks like it employs Lietner and it's own system. Do any of the Stackz users out there prefer one to the other?

yea, i really like stackz. i have actually bought a copy for myself. recommended by me. I use it for Onyomi study and Jukugo study.

Hyland1 Wrote:How exactly would I go about doing it with Edict?

On the edict website, you can download Kanjidic in a few formats (including some standard database formats iirc), which you can import into Excel or whatever is the program of your choice. the fields include the Heisig # (as well as some other interesting information).

Thanks laxxy, I appreciate the help. Ill take a look.