Mac's TextEdit (a rich text editor) has been what I've ultimately chosen after using Evernote, OneNote, SpringPad, Simplenote, Notational Velocity, and Mac's Notes.app. Let me explain some of its benefits.
- Notes are placed in Finder (the file system). This is the biggest benefit. This means that I can store notes separately in folders, according to their specific purposes. For example, I can categorize my notes by project, AND store files of any type alongside them, since they're just placed in the Finder. I generally don't like using specific notes apps, because what if you want to attach a real file (not a shortcut to a file) which is of a type that's incompatible with the notes app? You can't, because notes apps can only categorize notes. That's very limited. With Finder, everything's categorized according to your own purposes, and any file type can be moved into/out of each purpose. The more I use Finder, the more I love it.
- TextEdit is very simple, but also very powerful if you know how to use it. It generally has all the features of a typical notes app. It has rich text editing, and you can put in pictures as well. When you're searching for a note or its content in Finder, it'll look through all the text within the notes, not just the file names. If you want to quick look notes, just click on a note in column view.
- If you use a certain note more often than others, you can use Alfred (a smart search app) to launch it really quickly just by typing its name, without needing to load an entire notes app filled with notes you don't need, and then find it yourself.
- Unlike Evernote, you can easily password-protect as many notes as you like by storing them in an encrypted DMG, since this feature comes with the Mac.
A downside for some people is that you can't edit your notes on a phone/tablet. For me this hasn't been a problem because I'm ten times more productive on a laptop. I can always view my files with the Dropbox app, and I can always make some quick notes on my mobile device if I ever need to. For most people, your laptop is almost always with you, and it doesn't take long to pop it open.
If you're on Windows, I think WordPad would be the right way to go. Not too sure about Linux though.
In conclusion, the TextEdit/Finder combo is the simplest, fastest, and most functional, notes tool that I've ever used.
- Notes are placed in Finder (the file system). This is the biggest benefit. This means that I can store notes separately in folders, according to their specific purposes. For example, I can categorize my notes by project, AND store files of any type alongside them, since they're just placed in the Finder. I generally don't like using specific notes apps, because what if you want to attach a real file (not a shortcut to a file) which is of a type that's incompatible with the notes app? You can't, because notes apps can only categorize notes. That's very limited. With Finder, everything's categorized according to your own purposes, and any file type can be moved into/out of each purpose. The more I use Finder, the more I love it.
- TextEdit is very simple, but also very powerful if you know how to use it. It generally has all the features of a typical notes app. It has rich text editing, and you can put in pictures as well. When you're searching for a note or its content in Finder, it'll look through all the text within the notes, not just the file names. If you want to quick look notes, just click on a note in column view.
- If you use a certain note more often than others, you can use Alfred (a smart search app) to launch it really quickly just by typing its name, without needing to load an entire notes app filled with notes you don't need, and then find it yourself.
- Unlike Evernote, you can easily password-protect as many notes as you like by storing them in an encrypted DMG, since this feature comes with the Mac.
A downside for some people is that you can't edit your notes on a phone/tablet. For me this hasn't been a problem because I'm ten times more productive on a laptop. I can always view my files with the Dropbox app, and I can always make some quick notes on my mobile device if I ever need to. For most people, your laptop is almost always with you, and it doesn't take long to pop it open.
If you're on Windows, I think WordPad would be the right way to go. Not too sure about Linux though.
In conclusion, the TextEdit/Finder combo is the simplest, fastest, and most functional, notes tool that I've ever used.