What is Fargo? (original) (raw)

Fargo is a simple idea outliner, notepad, todo list, blogging tool, project organizer.

It's an HTML 5 application, written in JavaScript, runs in any compatible browser, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Microsoft IE 10.

Files are stored in Dropbox, using the Dropbox API. They are accessible anywhere Dropbox is. You can share files with other users, or publicly.

There is no charge to use Fargo.
We don't want any limits on the growth because we think outlining is vitally important to the growth of the net as a thinking person's platform.
We will eventually offer for-pay services to Fargo users.

It's an editor that works with hierarchic structures. You can control the level of detail, and reorganize according to structure.
For a full explanation of how outliners work, check out our new Outliner Howto.

Fargo is our full-featured outliner. Little Outliner is our entry-level product.
Fargo can be used to edit a number of files at at the same time, where Little Outliner is limited to a single file.
Little Outliner only stores files locally, and Fargo stores them where ever Dropbox files go.

There are desktop outliners, and those that run in browsers. Fargo is the only idea organizer that runs in the browser, cross-operating system with entirely cloud-based storage.
Fargo is used for many of the same things as a notetaker app like Evernote. However Fargo is simpler, and the user's data is always fully available to them in an open format, OPML, at all times, in their Dropbox folder. No export needed.

Fargo is Small Picture's primary product.
Little Outliner is a place for people who are new to outliners to get a feel for how they work. It will remain simple, general, easy and approachable. It's where we expect new users to start.
We will strive to keep Fargo simple and approachable as well, and some people will find it easier than Little Outliner because they are already familiar with Dropbox.
Fargo will get new features, connections to new platforms and other products and network services.
We may offer other specialized products after Fargo and Little Outliner. All of our products will be built on outliners and communication.
Concord is the open source outlining engine in all our products. It manages the data structures and basic user interaction. Concord's functionality is documented in our Outliner Howto.
Fargo has a complete content management system which can be used to generate blogs and many other kinds of websites.
All outlines are stored in OPML, one of the most popular formats on the net, openly specified at dev.opml.org. OPML allows our software to plug into other components developed by Small Picture and others. We believe OPML will become as important a format in this decade as RSS was in the last decade.

Small Picture, Inc. is a Delaware corporation, founded on December 19, 2012.
Its founder, Dave Winer, 58, has a long history in the tech industry. He started Living Videotext, founded in 1981, created the first personal computer outliners, ThinkTank, Ready and MORE. UserLand Software, founded in 1988, created Frontier, integrated development tools and web content management software for desktop computers. UserLand developed the first blogging software, Manila and Radio, and pioneered the development of RSS aggregator and interapplication protocols. Winer was the first blogger, and pioneered the development of podcasting, in 1994 and 2001 respectively. He has been a researcher at Harvard and NYU and has a MS in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, and a BA in Mathematics from Tulane University. He lives and works in New York City.