Before 23 things I was unaware of Zotero - I have used Endnote for quite while, and have found it very useful as a way to store references, though I still don't trust any tool to cite anything entirely correctly. Perhaps I'm paranoid, but I always have to double check, and to be honest still have tons of paper references too!
I found downloading and starting with Zotero in Firefox pretty straightforward, and found the simple tools to capture data easy to understand. Unfortunately I had more problems using Zotero in Chrome, which is rapidly becoming my preferred browser on a pc, as Zotero was designed to be used with Firefox. However, after a bit or rummaging on their website, I found an extension plug in for Zotero that should be used in Chrome, but I am still struggling to get this to work. On further investigation I also found information about the
Zotero everywhere project, which should hopefully create a standalone version of Zotero which could be used by researchers using any available browser. So for the moment, to use Zotero effectively I'd have to stick with Firefox. Also, as I use a Mac at home as well as my work pc, I found it really useful to register my account, so I can access my references from the Zotero server wherever I am.
One major advantage for Zotero is that in theory it could be accessed anywhere, and I particularly see potential for its access on mobile devices. I couldn't find an app for it in the Android marketplace for my mobile, so I can only assume that it is only available through my phones web browser - I think this is a real shame, as it does slow down access. Maybe a future development possibility?
On the whole though, I do feel like I have only scratched the surface on Zotero, but will try and use it whilst I am doing my library qual as well as Endnote so I can compare them when I am actually actively researching a particular topic.
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