iThoughts discontinued
Started by satis
on 2/16/2024
satis
2/16/2024 11:31 pm
The iThoughts app, which was introduced in 2008 for macOS and debuted its Windows verison in 2017, is no more.
https://www.toketaware.com/
It was never quite as pretty as MindNode, but it was deeper, and it didn't have subscription pricing. I bought iThoughtsX on sale for 99¢ in the Mac App Store in 2015 and never had to pay another penny to use it or get updates... a pricing model which helps explains its defunctness.
Most mind maps today are online services, and there are plenty to choose from from free to freemium to pay. But I always have preferred local desktop apps and the best one for macOS now is probably MindNode, which has either a limited free version or a Mac/iOS subscription price of $25/year.
When iThoughts starts getting buggy or sees incompatabilities from future OS updates, I'll probably move to the free tier of MindMeister, which I've used on and off for a few years.
https://www.mindmeister.com/
https://www.toketaware.com/
It was never quite as pretty as MindNode, but it was deeper, and it didn't have subscription pricing. I bought iThoughtsX on sale for 99¢ in the Mac App Store in 2015 and never had to pay another penny to use it or get updates... a pricing model which helps explains its defunctness.
Most mind maps today are online services, and there are plenty to choose from from free to freemium to pay. But I always have preferred local desktop apps and the best one for macOS now is probably MindNode, which has either a limited free version or a Mac/iOS subscription price of $25/year.
When iThoughts starts getting buggy or sees incompatabilities from future OS updates, I'll probably move to the free tier of MindMeister, which I've used on and off for a few years.
https://www.mindmeister.com/
Stephen Zeoli
2/17/2024 11:10 am
I'm sorry to hear this. I bought iThoughts early on. Turns out, I'm not much of a diagrammer, though I keep thinking I am. iThoughts had some nice features but it always seemed kind of uninspiring... perhaps it was the color schemes or something. Or, as I said, maybe I'm just not a diagrammer.
With note apps adding diagramming to their feature-set (Obsidian, Heptabase, for example), as well as competition from a lot of dedicated mind-mapping programs, it isn't any wonder that iThoughts hit rough times. Still, it was one of the earliest apps that I'm aware of to have both MacOS and iOS versions. A pioneer.
Steve
With note apps adding diagramming to their feature-set (Obsidian, Heptabase, for example), as well as competition from a lot of dedicated mind-mapping programs, it isn't any wonder that iThoughts hit rough times. Still, it was one of the earliest apps that I'm aware of to have both MacOS and iOS versions. A pioneer.
Steve
Jerry B Simmons
10/24/2026 2:19 pm
I'm the developer, so weigh this accordingly.
I used iThoughts from 2013 until it went away, for about a thousand teaching outlines. My maps were safe, but nothing I tried afterward fit the way I worked, so I built FerventMind, a mind-mapping app for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
For anyone here with an iThoughts library:
- It opens .itmz maps (both the older and newer formats), and Import from iThoughts copies a whole library at once, keeping its folders.
- It never writes to your iThoughts files.
- Tall, one-sided maps scroll and keep their place.
Beyond that: an outline view, Apple Pencil index cards on iPad, a Presenter Mode with a countdown and speaker notes, and no account or analytics. Maps are files in your own iCloud Drive.
It's in a TestFlight beta, free while testing, and testers who send feedback get a free year at launch. I'd especially like to hear from people whose libraries look different from mine: lots of images, attachments, unusual layouts or styles. If a map doesn't come in right, Contact Support in the app sends it to me.
Sign up: https://ferventmind.app/beta/
I used iThoughts from 2013 until it went away, for about a thousand teaching outlines. My maps were safe, but nothing I tried afterward fit the way I worked, so I built FerventMind, a mind-mapping app for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
For anyone here with an iThoughts library:
- It opens .itmz maps (both the older and newer formats), and Import from iThoughts copies a whole library at once, keeping its folders.
- It never writes to your iThoughts files.
- Tall, one-sided maps scroll and keep their place.
Beyond that: an outline view, Apple Pencil index cards on iPad, a Presenter Mode with a countdown and speaker notes, and no account or analytics. Maps are files in your own iCloud Drive.
It's in a TestFlight beta, free while testing, and testers who send feedback get a free year at launch. I'd especially like to hear from people whose libraries look different from mine: lots of images, attachments, unusual layouts or styles. If a map doesn't come in right, Contact Support in the app sends it to me.
Sign up: https://ferventmind.app/beta/