Zotero

Tried: Endnote, Wizfolio, Zotero; Also Known: Mendeley, Refworks.

I never really try Endnote to the extend that I am comfortable to it. Having to figure out how to use it turned me away in a couple of minutes. However, I still need a bibliography software to manage citations and references for my thesis. Luckily, my senior pointed me to this wonderful and simple software, Zotero.

You need Firefox because Zotero is a Firefox extension. I will recommend that you try it yourself instead of me explaining Zotero in detail. But I will tell you how simple Zotero is: create a folder (collection); find the article you want; click the icon at the address bar; done. If you are logged in, the pdf will be downloaded as well, or you can drag the link to the pdf to the entry you just made. Sound simple? Give Zotero a try.

Zotero is free, you can't expect that it beats Endnote in all ways. It might lacks some styles, but the support forum is great (I got the styles I want by asking a favor there.) Not convincing enough? Zotero can import Endnote styles. Oh yeah, be sure to download the Word or OpenOffice plugin for word processor integration.

Wizfolio is very similiar to Zotero, but it is web-based. It provides a simple GUI to modify the bibliographic style easily. Maybe I will take a look into it one day.

Update:
I gave Wizfolio a short tryout and I still prefer Zotero. Wizfolio lacks the drag and drop Zotero has, and I prefer working my stuff without the needs of connecting to internet all the time. But if you need the function as mentioned previously, then you know your choice. One more thing, Wizfolio gives you a 5GB storage if you use an institutional email account (e.g. your university email).

Edited 7 Oct 2010.

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