It seems like I can't walk down the hall in my house without tripping over note-taking apps. It's the first thing that new programmers tackle when they decide to make an actual program, and as such there are thousands of options available when looking for a note taking app.

It's a bit harsh to say so, but the honest truth is that the vast majority of note-taking apps out there are utter crap. Most don't even do a reasonable job of differentiating themselves from what comes preinstalled on your computer. The Mac app Notational Velocity, on the other hand, is very useful.

A couple of caveats here: Notational Velocity is for people that need to take notes on their computer, but don't require access to them on a mobile device. It's not web based, doesn't sync with the cloud, and doesn't have a companion iPhone app.

Notational Velocity also isn't for people that need a complicated categorization or tagging structure to organize their notes. Simplicity and speed are what NV is all about.

If I haven't turned you off, there's a good chance that you'll find a lot to like in Notational Velocity. The app is cleverly designed to make adding and finding notes incredibly quick. The app has a single search field at the top of the app's window that allows you to search for content, or instantly add a new note simply by pressing Enter. Searching filters down your list of notes based on content and title with title taking precedence, and the filtering happens instantaneously even with thousands of notes stored in the app.

The app's makers suggest using Notational Velocity to create many very specific (and therefore shorter) notes instead of a few long-form ones. That allows you to more quickly find what you are looking for later on.

Here's hoping that cloud syncing and an iPhone version are just around the corner.

[via Daring Fireball]

Mentalcase is a note taking tool that allows you to build study sessions out of virtual flash cards. It has both a smart-ass name, and a kick-ass interface. Basically, as you remember or come across information that you want to learn, you add it to a flash card using super quick keyboard shortcuts. Notes can be in the form of text, images, screenshots or simply URLs, and each is handled seamlessly. For example, if you want to add a photo of an object or person to a slide, simply invoke the use of your iSight camera (if you have one), and the photo is automatically take and added. Simple!

Mentalcase can be configured to automatically present lessons to the user at configurable intervals. You simply choose how often you want to be exposed to each slide on a slide-by-slide or lesson basis.

While it might seem that Mentalcase is aimed squarely at students, and it may well be, it's also a useful tool for anyone that wants to stretch their brain muscles regularly and learn everyday information more quickly. Anything that you can think of that you might want to learn, from your new cell phone number or zip code to your boss's wife's name - Mentalcase makes the case that it can help.

A free trial is available for 30 days, after which a license can be purchased for $29.

This cool web-based application called Wridea has the potential to revolutionize the way you keep and share notes. With its fresh colors and niceWeb 2.0 design and ease of use you will be on the path to never forgetting your ideas again.

Signing up on Wridea is easy, and took me about one minute until I was off and writing down my notes. Some interesting features of Wridea include the ability to host brainstorming sessions with contacts, and RSS feeds of your friends ideas. How cool is that. It's easy to create ideas, and categories for some serious note taking.

PS. It's free, and has a wicked little IdeaRain feature that lets you see your ideas raining down in an interesting array of pure note taking genius.

Check out some screenshots of Wridea in use after the jump.