[darekkay]

> The proper desktop version requires an office license

That's not true in my experience. I'm running a proper "OneNote 2016" version without any license or subscription. This is also stated on a Microsoft support site [0]:

> OneNote (formerly called “OneNote 2016”), the _free_ desktop app which runs on all supported versions of Microsoft Windows and which is part of Office 2019 and Microsoft 365.

Further down, it's stated:

> Download OneNote as a free standalone Windows desktop app (some features may be limited).

[0] https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-s-the-differ...

[diffeomorphism]

The link to the "free standalone app" just gives me OfficeSetup.exe (7.0MB), which did not give me a standalone app when I last tried it, but if that works now. Great!