In the past two years, I came across a writing/note app called Kortex, the brainchild of Dan Koe and his team. It did a lot of things including linking to umpteen AI models. I used it almost daily.
Then there was an upgrade - Eden - which I’ve hardly used. It’s a horse of a different colour. At this point, it’s unlikely I will renew my subscription.
Partly the reason is me - I’m on a quest for simplified. Less complex tools. And Eden has a lot of moving parts. I don’t need that any more.
There was a time when I would have been all over it but I’ve realised that tweaking apps is akin to rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. Some day you have to stop and sink or swim on your own.
I’m convinced less is more. Less isn’t necessarily the best or the most perfect but it gets the job done, and that’s the key.
I keep receiving update emails from the Eden team. Each one just confirms that this is no longer the tool for me.
I log on every now and again. A lot of my notes are blank because they didn't import correctly. The new functionality doesn't resonate. Partly, I think, because I'm in a different space. Where, at one point, I would have spent hours configuring and reconfiguring tools, now I just want things to work out of the box. I want to create rather than tweak.
Eden doesn't make sense in the way that Kortex did. There was a logic running through Kortex.
I'm toying with the idea of using Notion again but I'm not sure if I even need that. Drafts and Nota work well for me.
I had a lightbulb moment! I have a Plus accounts for NotebookLM - it's included in my Google Drive. I've dabbled with it but not used it a great deal. But it's the perfect (free) alternative to Kortex/Eden/Notion.
Eden has just delivered a new Agentic AI. I love it. But, I ran out of credit in a day!!! So, the jury is still out about Eden.
The Agent element works like a dream. I'm currently on an early adopter subscription (set to not renew). On my current plan, it's $60/month - eek. The next one down is $20. I can't run to either of those options, especially if I run out of credit so quickly. There are ways of mitigating this and I think you downgrade to a free, slower version when you hit your limit. But, still, it's like having a favourite toy that keeps being taken away.
Another nice to have is an integration with Telegram (no mobile app yet for Eden) - so I can still talk to my Agent on the go.
There are so many cool AI apps but none of them do everything. The biggest hurdles for me:
- cost
- lack of functionality
- unnecessary complexity
I'm going to keep exploring NotebookLM and see whether I can get that to do some of the things I could do in Eden.
Related: Eden Has Crashed and Burned · Revisiting Tana · How I Use Tiny Dot · New Tech Blows My Mind · The Obsidian Renaissance