by kraemder » Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:20 pm
I've used both and will probably continue to use both because both apps have their pros and cons. It's mostly about the interface than the algorithm - both are SRS so both space out repetitions accordingly if you check off correct repeatedly you're going to see that card less and less. What I liked about Anki was the direct control I had over intervals while learning or reviewing if I get it wrong. I could set for example to space out repetitions as: .3, 3, 15, 30 if I wanted to. So I would see the card at .3 minutes... if I get it right then at 3 minutes... and at 15 minutes etc. I don't have a complete understanding on the algorithm after that. I will say that I tend to make liberal use of the weak response available in Anki because the default setup.. with 'green' response is very aggressive I think for words that you're just starting to study. But if you do the weak response then it spaces it out ok.
There's a few things I like about FCD though. I like how the SRS algorithm is straight forward and explained so that the user can understand. Anki seems like the app author keeps the formula to himself. Maybe others get it but I only see the results from using it, which isn't terrible but I haven't tweaked it at all because the documentation just leaves me too much in the dark. Reading through FCD though I can see and understand how the formula works so if I wan to try tweaking it in the settings that's something I'm comfortable doing. It's a little limited in that you can't duplicate what Anki lets you do in terms of setting up steps from 1 minute to 10 minutes etc. But there's a lot you can do. I also like the animations involved in FCD - you get no animations at all in Anki. I like how in FCD you have a nice text to speech built right into the app - you do not get this in Anki but a user has made a nice add on that works well but it's still not built INTO the app. With FCD you have a "jukebox" option built in. It's pretty nice. You can auto play cards and if you have audio cards you can just listen to them like an audiobook etc. There's options so you can control to an extent what cards you listen to according to your stats - per your streak for example. Only cards you have a low streak on. It's very configurable. FCD also has a menu for selecting manually when you'll see a card next.. if you press options while reviewing you can bring it up and select in one day, in 3 days, in a week, in a month. It's not an option exercise a lot but it's nice and not one I've seen on Anki.
The two apps are both really good SRS programs so you can't really go wrong no matter what I think.