This was a minor thing a year or so ago – release of NoteTaker 4 for Catalina.
Is anyone using it?
I have been using NoteTaker 4 and have found it to be a great digital notebook. I do wish that NoteTaker 4 had more customization options (more control over the cover, tab color control, more skeumorphism 
, etc.).
This is a screenshot sample from Aquaminds
You may have seen this review:
In the past, I used Circus Ponies Notebook and really enjoyed that program. Unfortunately Circus Ponies Notebook is no longer being updated.
When Circus Ponies Notebook was abandoned five years ago (I think 5 years is right) I went into panic mode and ended up with Growly Notes. Growly Notes is now a free product, seems supported, and bears a strong resemblance to Microsoft One Note (the Windows version). As a notebook for writing, I realized that all I needed for that was already in Scrivener which I was already using in collaboration with CPN for notes.
I looked at NoteTaker 3 at the time (its state of abandonment/support was not determinable at the time) and thought it was a poor substitute for CPN. It didn’t help that there was no way to import a CPN notebook. I would be concerned that the code base for NT and CPN was 25 years old at the time (30 years old now) and that its creakiness led to CPN being abandoned and NT4 taking years of delay before eventual release. Bug reports for CPN got unwelcome replies.
I looked a little into the shared history of Circus Ponies NoteBook and AquaMinds NoteTaker. There was an application for the NeXT computer by Millennium Software Labs called NoteBook. It shipped in January 1993 with a suggested retail price of $495.95.
Here is a screenshot from The Best of NeXT Computers
and the stylish packaging
A review in NeXTWorld magazine mentioned that
It should win a large following of current NeXT owners and could even sell others on the platform. It’s that good.
and awarded it a rating of 4.5 out of 5 “cubes,” describing the product as
An elegant synthesis of ideas yields a breakthrough application for storing, retrieving, and processing random information. Many users will use NoteBook as a central application that they constantly keep active.
NeXTWorld magazine even awarded it the Most Innovative Product in August 1993.
The founders of Millennium Software Labs went on to develop Circus Ponies NoteBook and AquaMinds NoteTaker.
I understand that the software market is a lot different now than in 1993. Still, I think NoteTaker has a lot to offer someone looking for software that is fast, work-focused, and uses an intuitive notebook metaphor.
That’s close to $900 U.S. today. Just looking at the screenshots – would anyone today pay $900 – or even $90 – for that?
Times have changed.
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Software pricing, expectations, and distribution have definitely changed in the last 30 years!
NoteTaker is currently Mac only. That may be an obstacle for some. The NoteTaker FAQ says
Are there mobile versions of your new software being planned?
Not at this time. However, depending upon our user community support, we will consider a mobile version if the user demand is large enough to fund the development.
NoteTaker is still being supported, it was updated to version 4.2.0 just last week. I think there’s hope for an iOS version.