Thanks for all help & suggestions. I forgot to mention at the time that I was actually using the Google menu thing, not Trebuchet, but I switched to Trebuchet and it solved all my desktop problems 
.
Also switched to an alternative to Snote - thanks again for the alternative suggestions.
The battery life is not that important, it just shocked me coming from the stock 412 ROM with Speedmod kernel (which was amazingly fast & battery friendly). CM13 Nightowl seems to use a lot of power, but it could also be that I'm spending more time just playing & looking at the pretty interface than I did before. I don't mind giving up battery life for a much better and beautiful interface than the rather dated & boring original.
I also had a few problems with root. I installed Root_SuperSU.0.95.Only-signed.zip originally and it seemed to work, but it always told me that I had to upgrade and it never seemed to complete fully, always said "installation failed", exactly as another user reported here. Eventually I chose the "normal method" when given the choice between "Normal" or "TWRP CWM" (or something similar), it also reported that it failed but ever since it's been working perfectly & hasn't asked for an update since - no idea why.
This CM13 runs so much better than the CM12 (5.5.1) version, where I had really bad performance issues and constant crashing.
I just ordered a new device which is more suited to my everyday use (bigger screen & faster cpu for reading large pdf service manuals), so the Note will be retired shortly anyway. I got the N7000 as a gift from my wife at Xmas 2011, just as it was first released and it's given me many years of almost trouble free and faithful service. (screen replaced once under warranty for burnt in images - typical AmoLED, and now on my third battery). At least she's going out with a bang and will be in nearly prefect shape when she goes back into her box (the Note, not the wife!), to be resurrected only if/when I need a backup phone.
Once again, many thanks for all the help and support.
Regards, GrowBag.
.Also switched to an alternative to Snote - thanks again for the alternative suggestions.
The battery life is not that important, it just shocked me coming from the stock 412 ROM with Speedmod kernel (which was amazingly fast & battery friendly). CM13 Nightowl seems to use a lot of power, but it could also be that I'm spending more time just playing & looking at the pretty interface than I did before. I don't mind giving up battery life for a much better and beautiful interface than the rather dated & boring original.
I also had a few problems with root. I installed Root_SuperSU.0.95.Only-signed.zip originally and it seemed to work, but it always told me that I had to upgrade and it never seemed to complete fully, always said "installation failed", exactly as another user reported here. Eventually I chose the "normal method" when given the choice between "Normal" or "TWRP CWM" (or something similar), it also reported that it failed but ever since it's been working perfectly & hasn't asked for an update since - no idea why.
This CM13 runs so much better than the CM12 (5.5.1) version, where I had really bad performance issues and constant crashing.
I just ordered a new device which is more suited to my everyday use (bigger screen & faster cpu for reading large pdf service manuals), so the Note will be retired shortly anyway. I got the N7000 as a gift from my wife at Xmas 2011, just as it was first released and it's given me many years of almost trouble free and faithful service. (screen replaced once under warranty for burnt in images - typical AmoLED, and now on my third battery). At least she's going out with a bang and will be in nearly prefect shape when she goes back into her box (the Note, not the wife!), to be resurrected only if/when I need a backup phone.
Once again, many thanks for all the help and support.
Regards, GrowBag.
