The iPhone app is free.

I totally agree with 1 to 3 but not so much with 4 because the point of the iPhone version is to use it when you are not around your mac, in fact, it may be so cool to review in the iPhone that you could end up reviewing only in the iPhone and doing management on the mac.

Jarvik7 wrote:

Dicking around on an iPhone at work is a lot more conspicuous than simply using your work computer.

So if iFlash perfected points 1 to 3 (would have what you say from 1 to 3) would you still use Anki because you can occasionally use it at work even when you could use the iPhone at least during breaks?

Jarvik7 wrote:

Even if it fixed 1-3, it still wouldn't be better than Anki. It would, at best, be equally good (excluding 4). It would need something that I want that Anki doesn't have, or just do everything that Anki does but better and faster.

And thats basically the heart of the issue, imo.

I'm also a Mac user, but a pretty interface is not going to convince me to switch away from Anki. Your program would also have to be significantly better than Anki in performance- better algorithm, in particular, would probably be one of the only things that would provide sufficient incentive for me to switch programs.

I think this is a problem you will have with most other users too. People who are using Anki already (or their preferred SRS) are already comfortable with its UI. They are no longer confused by it (and I never was to begin with, honestly).  For this crowd of people, making a new program with a simpler UI mostly misses the mark because the UI is no longer a hindrance to them. You might attract people who are new to SRS'ing and confused/afraid of a complex UI but I don't think you will convince many people to switch from their current client.

There are some people who prioritise a beautiful UI of course, but I would think most users are primarily concerned with functionality. Beautiful UI alone won't persuade many people to use your program.

Anki is the perfect SRS for me. The interface is intuitive and easy, the options cover every eventuality and the developer is devoted, helpful and brilliant.

When I use Anki for my uni course it feels like I'm just downloading information to my brain.

jorgebucaran wrote:

I agree is functional and gets the job done but that doesn't fix it's poor design. Google it, is not just me saying that. The software works but that won't make me overlook its loose design.

I repeat: Can you please state what exactly about Anki's UI you don't like and how you think it can be improved?

If you are just parroting a specific website feel free to post a link to it, if it exactly states what is bad about Anki's UI and how it can be improved. Just saying "Google it" won't cut it here.

1: Paying for an app (especially only $15) isn't a big deal, if it is worth the extra cost. We already have Anki which (imo) is better and free (and open source)

2: Most of which probably have no interest to me Most of the Anki premade decks on the wiki have relevance to what I do (Japanese/Chinese/etc)

3: The relationships aren't 1:1, but they are almost always accurate because they use dictionary lookups and not simple kanji reading lookups. In 99% of cases where there is a chance of having a different reading it gives you a choice. Having to double click every now and then is much better than having to input all of the kana yourself. Pinyin is even worse since you can't input the tones easily by hand. I have almost 10,000 facts worth of stuff between my decks and I can't remember the last time I had to manually fix the reading.

4: Well, that depends on the person of course. Anki can be used as a portable application I believe, so it's more a matter of downloading & running and not installing.

I'm also not trying to get anyone to switch, but he asked me for reasons that I don't use iFlash and I gave them.

Last edited by Jarvik7 (2009 June 02, 8:51 pm)

Jarvik7 wrote:

2: Most of which probably have no interest to me Most of the Anki premade decks on the wiki have relevance to what I do (Japanese/Chinese/etc)

My bad. What I meant to say was that there were 265 Japanese-related decks and from what I can remember nearly 400 Chinese-related ones, including most if not all of the stuff that I saw mentioned in this community forum.

Actually, iFlash allows you to assign (multiple) categories to cards which can be quite convenient when working with large decks. Some of the decks I downloaded out of curiousity made great use of this feature such as Greek New Testament full word lists categorized by usage frequency. Kind of adds an extra dimension.

Jarvik7 wrote:

3: The relationships aren't 1:1, but they are almost always accurate because they use dictionary lookups and not simple kanji reading lookups. In 99% of cases where there is a chance of having a different reading it gives you a choice. Having to double click every now and then is much better than having to input all of the kana yourself. Pinyin is even worse since you can't input the tones easily by hand. I have almost 10,000 facts worth of stuff between my decks and I can't remember the last time I had to manually fix the reading.

My Pinyin tones are all in numbers. As for kana, does Anki translate the whole sample sentence in kana? If that's the case, I suspect that readability is impacted. My sentence cards only have kana for one or two words that are actually central to that card - seconds lost typing them in are gained by not having to fish them out from a kana string during reviews.

By anyway, not having a one-size-fits-all application is probably a good thing...

Serge wrote:

My bad. What I meant to say was that there were 265 Japanese-related decks and from what I can remember nearly 400 Chinese-related ones, including most if not all of the stuff that I saw mentioned in this community forum.

Hmm, as a relatively new study platform that is mac only, that seems like a lot of content. I'm guessing they partnered with flashcardexchange.com to use their decks, in which case most of the decks have about 10 cards each. Most of the decks at that site are one deck per section of a textbook etc.

If not.. that is surprising.

As for kana, does Anki translate the whole sample sentence in kana? If that's the case, I suspect that readability is impacted. My sentence cards only have kana for one or two words that are actually central to that card - seconds lost typing them in are gained by not having to fish them out from a kana string during reviews.

I don't do sentences on my cards so it's not a problem. You can color the ones you want as the above poster does though. I find pinyin numbers take longer to read, but I guess it really drills into your head which tone is which number (iffy if thats a truly useful skill though).

Last edited by Jarvik7 (2009 June 03, 2:12 am)

Smackle wrote:

jorgebucaran wrote:

I already tried contacting the developer of Anki (Damien Elmes) but he was too busy to help and said I was wasting his time (so nice of him).

This was a needless, confrontational comment that started the drama in the thread. It's not that people are afraid to move from what already is or that they necessarily disagree with you. It's that you sometimes come off a bit rude or immature.

Hiya fellow SM user! I started in May 2005. I love SM. I tried anki. But the change to how you view your pile was too much. 2-300 a day is massive. I have a mental block where 150+ and I rush them. Do you do it all in one sitting. How long does it take per day?

The perfect SRS is one that keeps self centered, socially ignorant individuals busy writing other SRS programs so I don't have to come across their posts in this forum.

Last edited by activeaero (2009 June 03, 3:01 pm)

jorgebucaran wrote:

So instead of developing a new cross-platform solution (which would be silly having a complete open source application like Anki) I decided to build a OSX native application (that will also be free and open source) incorporating the best of everything out there along with my own ideas and the suggestions I have received in the forums.

Maybe you should just bite the bullet and learn Japanese with a crappy interface while fantasizing about the un-realized possibilities of an SRS with a cute UI.  That's what I do whenever I get some huge programming idea in my head and I always thank myself for it in the end.  Just advice, not an attack.  Do what you want if you love programming that much the balls in your court.

Last edited by welldone101 (2009 June 03, 8:03 pm)

jorgebucaran wrote:

Now, Anki users getting upset and attacking someone/s because in their opinion Anki is a poorly designed software, well, that is beyond pathetic, that earns you a mayor kicking loser title.

I'm confused.  What does kicking a mayor have to do with anything?