n4 is a next generation todo list application with a subtle but fundamentally different take on the integration of todo list management, calendars, spreadsheets, sharing, and notifications. It is entirely open-source and always will be – no data or software lock-in.
n4 stands for “Now, Not Now, and Notes” (four N’s). It may look like yet just another todo list app, but it is something a tad different and hence, more. It is designed to be out-of-the-way in the same manner that a good bicycle, motorcycle, or car will disappear and allow the driver to feel the road and just drive. The experience becomes more about the mind/body being with the road and less about the device itself.
That is the design goal behind n4 – to noiselessly handle the todo’s that should be done now, not now, and notes that are not really todo’s at all. The basic design is that in n4 there are just two types of things that a user can create – a note (a.k.a. a task) and a tag (also known in other apps as a tag, folder, project, group). But the simplicity and power come from the following design aspects:
- Notes/tasks can be in any number of tags
- Tags can contain notes and other tags – however, a tag can only be in one tag
- Tags follow a simple permission/security/attribute inheritance model – tags do not support multiple permission/security/attribute inheritance
- Notes can seamlessly become tags and vice versa
- Both notes and tags can contain a list, which is how spreadsheets are implemented
- When a tag contains a list, the list becomes the names of the spreadsheet columns, and included notes effectively becomes rows and the note lists becomes the cells
n4 is built from the ground up with security and privacy in mind. Only you have access to your data. However you can securely share specific tags with specific family members, friends, or other users. Whether you seamlessly would like to know what the local farm stand has on sale (when they share that info, perhaps as part of your shopping or food ingredient list), what is the shared prioritized agenda for your next meeting, or have the confidence that the home food list is up-to-date and accurate, n4 facilitates the creation and execution of your private and shared tasks in your life.
n4 – helping you de-clutter the mind and link your thinking, notes, journals, todo lists, and calendars easily and seamlessly in one place