Can anyone recommend a good cheap/free ELN? I have been playing with http://mekentosj.com/labassistant/, but I'm not overly impressed with the 'logbook function'.

Any ideas? I'm using OSX leopard.

I'm probably being old fashioned here - but whats the advantage of using this?

I know people get on very well with paper lab notebooks, however, personally I find that typing out my protocols, calculating solution concentrations, calculating PCR mastermix volumes, making 96 or 384 well layout and analysing data on a computer a lot easier (or indeed absolutely necessary). It seems ridiculous to then have to print out the documents and stick them into a paper book.

Also, if you have many small projects running concurrently, it is a collosal pain in the backside to have to flip through each page of your lab book and connect the different stages of a single project when there is info from everything else you've been doing in-between.

whatever works for you

I do keep excel master files for calculating pcr mix volumes, protein concentrations etc etc

In my experience lab books prove invaluable, if you are in the habit of carrying it around and writing everything down in it then you never loose the data and its cronologically filed. otherwise It can all get a little messed up - but I suppose if thats what you software does then it might be work.

I regularly run many large experiments concurrently and find it just as easy to sit down and make a plan of action, timings etc - but again your programe might do this for you

The only thing I expect might happen is that you'll end up having to write a few days notes into it, which may turn into weeks and then you will inevitably lose some data

but maybe you are more organised than me?

S

No, I think I am probably not as organised, hence the need for software.

My program doesn't do any planning for us! I think that would be a disaster!

All my mastermixes are excel tables too, and I print out a record for exactly what I did on a certain date (with gel picks stuck on etc), but I don't want to have a load of print outs stuck in my lab book (I don't find it at all user friendly, I like stuff for single projects filed together), so I end up with files of notes in folders. Keeping a labbook on top of this turns out to be duplication. My To do list is in another notebook (because only half of the items ever get done - I am too optimisitc)

With an ELN my supervisors would be able to 'log in' to my lab book and take a look at what was done, how it went etc.

I think it is the future for organisationally challenged individuals like me. :)

That seems like a disadvantage!

by your own admission, like many of us you are optimistic to a fault, therefore your supervisor will more often than not see that you have not achieved what you set out to do?

Only kidding, I'm sure it has its uses - I'll just stick to my messy lab book tho