It is also a pain in the arse for a normal user. When I search for a local plumber, instead of typing my query into the address bar, I need to go to maps.google.com first, and search there. These days, half of my searches are for businesses (the other half for spelling or correct usage of a difficult word), and all those searches now need to be made directly on the map page.

I keep envelopes from mail I received and write notes on the empty side. On the rare occasion where I want to actually retain the note, I retype it into one of several txt documents I have open in my Notepad++.