Why do our computers still treat our documents as separate pieces of paper? What happened to the promise of hyperlinked, interconnected documents?

If you write a note and email it, and then edit that note, shouldn't the copy update itself? If you save an email or web page as a reference for a project, shouldn't you be able to click right back to that page or email?

That’s the promise of contextual computing. Apps like Notion, Roam Research, Obsidian, Devonthink, and Craft treat everything inside them as a linkable asset. Instead of keeping multiple copies of a single piece of information, you can link to the original or embed it in other apps.

“While this capability is common in web browsers, it should be extended to all types of software (such as PDF readers, task managers, and editors),” writes Luc P. Beaudoin, researcher and developer of the Hook app, in his book The Future of Text.