Google Drops Notebook - omigosh!

I was profoundly disappointed to learn this week that Google is moving to drop Notebook. I used this app every day, found it extremely useful, and encouraged many other people to use it too.
Over on the Google Certified Teachers discussion group, a couple of colleagues commiserated with me and 2 of them mentioned other services to consider in this realm.
Checking them out led me to two more, for a total of 4! I'm a happy camper again, I don't have to lose the functionality of Google Notebook just because it's on the way to extinction.
Like I said, this is something I use every day, so having a viable alternative is essential.
The ones I found are:
Evernote
Clipmarks
Snapbits
Zoho Notebook
Haven't had the chance to try any of them yet; just did some reading and looking at videos. They all look quite good, with perhaps Zoho Notebook being the most interesting at first glance (at least their video presented a lot of compelling features and uses).
Anyone have any other alternative services to mention? (delicious and diigo are not playing in the same ballpark)
I'll keep you posted on my comparisons of use as I move forward.

Could Chrome (+ Gears) Be the Next (Really) Big Thing?

In reading Dan Grabham's blog post over at techradar.com , it seems to me he's pretty much hit the nail on the head. The combination of Chrome and Google Gears makes Google's dominance of the desktop, not just the Net, pretty much of a lead pipe cinch. Why pay Microsoft for Word(r), Powerpoint(r), and Excel(r) when one can have functional equivalents, and a whole lot more, for free. Plus, with Gears, one can use them from any computer connected to the Net online, and offline too.
Of course, many in the private sector will be happy to continue to pay for the added security represented by Microsoft's propriety software, but those outside of that realm (and increasingly, many within it as well), will come to see those costs as wasteful and unnecessary.
Seems to me that this is going to be really, really huge. We'll see.

Image from www.zepy.net/archives/10-unique-google-logos.html