A practical way to master information from Web pages is so important that new programs for this purpose keep appearing. Those I have described in recent months (and still like) include Microsoft OneNote, with its attractive look and its integration with other Microsoft programs; Zooter from Zootsoftware and ADM from Advanced Data Management, which offer extensive ways to organize data once they have been captured; and Surf Saver from AskSam, with fast searches of stored pages. (Unless noted, all software can be found at Web sites with the name of the company or product.)

Three more to consider are EverNote, Onfolio and Net Snippets. In functions, they are similar. With any of them, you can easily store a full Web page, or selected passages or any other material on your computer screen; you can apply a label or classifying information or just send the data to a general slush pile for later review; and you can search and reclassify the stored material at any time. The programs are also designed for journal entries, to-do lists and anything else you may want to jot down. All offer 30-day free trials. After that, basic versions of Net Snippets and Onfolio are free; EverNote's basic version costs $29.95. More advanced versions of each program are available at higher prices. The programs work with most major browsers, notably Internet Explorer and Firefox, but they run on the Mac only under the Virtual PC utility.

Their differences are in style. EverNote's big idea is the time band, a kind of chronological ruler that runs down one side of the screen. As each bit of information is stored, it is attached to its specific point in the great river of time. The underlying insight, similar to the work of David Gelernter, a computer scientist at Yale, is that sequence of arrival is one of the brain's fundamental organizing concepts. EverNote has a variety of other unusual features, many aimed at people who take notes in handwriting on tablet computers.

Onfolio's comparative advantage is in handling feeds of R.S.S., for really simple syndication, and other regular inflows of information. Its professional version also has many tools for publishing the information you've organized, in a blog or other formats.

Net Snippets, in its basic version, is the simplest of the three. A little square icon sits on one side of the screen. You click on it or drag information to it whenever you want to store something, which you can dig up later with a search. I usually end up using Net Snippets, precisely because it is so easy. But all are worth trying. While this stage of computing hasn't given us the ideal program, if offers something to appeal to most tastes.