NOTA BENE NEWS

January 29, 2024

Many thanks to all of you who purchased new copies of Nota Bene during our recent sale, and to those of you who upgraded to NB 14 from older versions. The volume of new purchases and upgrades surpassed our expectations, and we are delighted that so many of you are choosing to use Nota Bene for your research and writing. We especially welcome those who purchased Nota Bene for the first time!

Perhaps even more encouraging were the many personal notes that we received from some of you. We loved reading your reactions to the very personal reflections that Nota Bene founder Steve Siebert shared in our most recent newsletter. Many of you have been with us for decades - some even since the 1980's - and others are just getting started.

Here are excerpts from some of the reactions to Steve's January 22 newsletter.


“By the way I loved your personal note in the latest Nota Bene News. I had no idea of the origins of Nota Bene. Lucky for me and many other scholars that you are ABD in philosophy! You have made a difference!”


“Thank you for such a nice trip down N.B. memory lane.”


“Today I was swayed by your very interesting account of how you ended up spending a good part of your working life developing Nota Bene (esp. Orbis). While I'm effectively winding down my academic work, I wanted to endorse your huge commitment-which so many of us have greatly benefited from! So I ordered an upgrade from #13 to #14. ... With major gratitude and hearty best wishes to you and Anne.”


“Thank you for supporting the continued development of a wonderful software suite.”


“Yes, I did know something of the origins of NB from the days when I first encountered it being demonstrated at the Anglo-American Historians conference in London in 198?. At that time it was being promoted by Oxford University Press. I think I started with version 2, and for some reason have a very fond recollection of 4.5 [the last NB DOS version]. ... But what I wanted to say is that I feel some guilt that I have been amongst those whose technological gratification over a long period has distracted you from your original scholarly endeavours.”


“Many thanks for your interesting news sheet. I am glad to know you are still there and thanks for the brief history of NB!”


“Hi folks. Thanks for the email. I've retired and I am no longer engaging in academic work so I haven't updated my Note Bene. I loved using the program for the many years I worked in academics. You have a great product and a wonderful writing tool!”


“Thank you for the long, thoughtful review of NB's and your history. I've often been directly indebted to you over the years, when you've offered me (or my local fixer) the help we've needed.”


“Thank you for this interesting note on the birth and development of Nota Bene. Yes, I have long thought that ORBIS was potentially the most helpful element, although my bibliographical work meant that I lived with IBIDEM. ... Thank you again for your note and encouragement to continue travelling with Nota Bene.”


“I enjoyed your informative note about the backstory to Nota Bene. I am still intending to upgrade to Note Bene 14, but I am waiting until I finish checking all my footnotes in the 24 chapters of a long book manuscript in French History that I've been working on for two decades.”


NB has given me so much pleasure and company since v. 1 that I need to support it. ... What would the world be like without NB?”


“I just read your personal history of Nota Bene word processor, much of which I knew but which was most enjoyable and helpful to read. Nota Bene since the eighties has made my career with the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures incredibly easier than it would been. Especially useful to me as a Biblical Scholar has been the easily integrated Greek, Hebrew, and Roman alphabets, along with all the scholar marks added to various foreign words. ... So, Steve, to you and to Anne, and to all at Nota Bene who also helped me when I needed advice with some aspect of NB, I am immensely grateful. And I've come to feel a personal friendship with you and Anne over all these years. ... May God bless and keep you, and may Nota Bene continue to flourish and grow.”


“I appreciate your excellent and hard work over all of these years. I use NB daily. It is the backbone of my research and writing.”

Some of these responses mention Orbis, the focus of Steve's original newsletter. We still think that taking full advantage of all that this unique retrieval/correlation module offers is the single most important thing that you can do to expand your own research. To read in detail how some of your colleagues have relied on Orbis to change their work, see Listen to your Colleagues...".

Special thanks to all of you who took the time to write. Hearing from you is part of what makes us so committed to sustaining this Nota Bene community.

Anne and Steve

Anne Putnam
Steve Siebert
(718) 382-1500
www.notabene.com
sales@notabene.com
technicalsupport@notabene.com