I need a tool to collaborate remotely with someone who has poor computer literacy. The nature of the collaboration is simple project management, involving mostly brainstorming and work break-down, task development and tracking, and some very basic financial management. Also, I don't want it to cost any money. We both have PCs and we both have Dropbox and an iPod Touch each.

I tried Google Spreadsheet first but it turned out to be too complex for the other person. I checked out a number of online mind mapping software but free versions rarely include collaboration or there were some other problems.

In the end I set up Freeplane on both PCs and have the .mm file saved in our shared Dropbox folder. The problem with this solution is that if the other person deletes some content or does something to our shared file, it may render the file useless. So an online mind mapping service might still be better.

It would be also good to be able to view and edit this .mm file on our respective iPods. I am currently testing Mindjet, which, amazingly, is free for iPod and iPad. It looks fairly good feature-wise but my confidence is a bit dented because the very first test file lost some branches on the mind map after I synced the Mindjet file with Dropbox. Also, it saves it as a Mindjet file, .mmap, though I was able to import it into Freeplane. Moreover, Mindjet on iPod creates its own Dropbox folder, so anyway, it's a different file and folder, can't be synced easily with Freeplane.

I also found out about MindMeister for Google Drive, however I don't like it that they are requesting access to my Google profile and email address before allowing me to see what the service actually looks like. I just find that too intrusive.

I guess another option would be to bite the bullet and by iThoughts for both iPods, and sync them with Freeplane via Dropbox.

I would actually consider paying for some good value online mind mapping software, as long as it is really amazingly good for this kind of purpose.

Any suggestions?

Dr Andus wrote:

I guess another option
would be to bite the bullet and buy iThoughts for both iPods, and sync them with
Freeplane via Dropbox.

This might not actually work either because there wouldn't be an easy way to share the exact same file, as iThoughts would sync with its own iThoughts folder for each user.

Dr Andus wrote:

Dr Andus wrote:
>I guess another option
>would be to bite the bullet and buy
iThoughts for both iPods, and sync them with
>Freeplane via Dropbox.

This might
not actually work either because there wouldn't be an easy way to share the exact same
file, as iThoughts would sync with its own iThoughts folder for each user.

I was wrong. It turns out it's possible to share a folder on Dropbox with iThoughts. That's promising.

Just came across this great comparison of mind mapping software for the iPod/iPad:
http://blog.hansdezwart.info/2011/01/27/mind-mapping-apps-for-the-ipad-a-comparison/

There is also a helpful table in a spreadsheet:
http://bit.ly/mindmappingontheipad

Dr Andus wrote:

In the end I set up Freeplane on both PCs and have the .mm file
saved in our shared Dropbox folder. The problem with this solution is that if the other
person deletes some content or does something to our shared file, it may render the
file useless.

You can always go back to previous version of the shared file in Dropbox.

So an online mind mapping service might still be better.

You might want to try out Mind42 http://mind42.com/ It's completely free and good for collaboration. Whether it's 'easy' is on the eye of the user, I guess.

Alexander, how does Mind42 compare with other web based mind mappers, such as MindDomo?

MindDomo has a free and a premium level of service - Mind42 appears to be completely free. In terms of features is it any better than MindDomo or the others?

Daly

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

You might want
to try out Mind42 http://mind42.com/ It's completely free and good for
collaboration. Whether it's 'easy' is on the eye of the user, I guess.

Thanks for the suggestion. In the meantime I also signed up for Mindmeister's web version, as it turns out they do have a basic free account that allows for 3 mind maps to be shared, which is enough for me. Unfortunately the iPod version only works with the Pro account. However, the web version does look very good and easy to use.

Daly de Gagne wrote:

Alexander, how does Mind42 compare with other web based mind mappers, such as
MindDomo?

I only learnt of Mindomo from Dan's post of the same name here. It looks interesting, but I haven't had the chance to give it a spin yet.

I'm not that enamoured with the mindmap metaphor myself. I use it mainly for presentations, for which the desktop versions (my own preference is MindView) are more than enough.

From my tests (some time ago) of online mindmapping tools, I think found Mindmeister the most powerful. Most of the offerings had some feature that made them stand apart, e.g. bubbl.us, dropmind.com and of course Mindjet's own which I probably liked the least. But for what I needed, basic collaboration, mind42 was more than enough. It was one of the first online mindmappers and I believe it is no longer being developed, only maintained. The chap who made it has some excellent ideas; check out spaaze.com, mentioned here in the past.

In practice, I found that for my collaborators Checkvist was much easier to get used to. The visual candy of mind mappers is nice, but it possibly distracts.

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

In practice, I found that for my
collaborators Checkvist was much easier to get used to. The visual candy of mind
mappers is nice, but it possibly distracts.

Possibly "collaborative" was not the right term to describe my particular needs in this case. It's more about micro-managing someone else's project who is not good with computers or organisation in general, while still encouraging them to gradually pick up the skills and take ownership of PIM and project management.

So "visual candy" in this case is good, as it is for a visual person who has a very hard time with hierarchical thinking and organisation. Yep, there are actually people like that out there :)

Another tool that I found indispensable in this regard is TeamViewer, which allows me to take remote control of the other person's computer and carry out live tutorials.

I also found out
about MindMeister for Google Drive, however I don't like it that they are requesting
access to my Google profile and email address before allowing me to see what the
service actually looks like. I just find that too intrusive.

FWIW, you can visit http://www.mindmeister.com/ and sign up with a non-Google account to explore the service. Their free option is comparable to Mindomo's.

Ben wrote:

FWIW, you can visit http://www.mindmeister.com/ and sign up with a
non-Google account to explore the service. Their free option is comparable to
Mindomo's.

Thanks, Ben. I did figure it out in the end. MindMeister looks very good indeed for this purpose.

MindMeister looks very
good indeed for this purpose.

I agree and I like their HTML5 foundation instead of Flash (used by Mindomo and many others). My complaint against them at present is the fold-expand function in their Android client: expanded trees often overlap making them impossible to read and interact with. -Ben.

Ben wrote:

I agree and I like their
HTML5 foundation instead of Flash (used by Mindomo and many others).

I believe that Mindomo doesn't use Flash but Adobe Air, at least in the desktop application; and in the web client I didn't see Flash running. Notwithstanding I have similar reservations for Air, which I have experienced mainly through Goalscape.

I also prefer HTML5 and expect that it will gradually take over in rich web applications. It's really quite remarkable and for similar effects the footprint seems to be minimal compared to Air and Flash.

I've played around with MindDomo, and find it is stable and responsive.

Similarly, with Tweetdeck, which has been my main Twitter app for a couple of years.

So for me Air is not a problem - something that I wouldn't say about flash which is the single greatest factor in crashing Firefox or Chrome (for me, at least).

Daly

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

Ben wrote:
>I agree and I like their
>HTML5 foundation instead of Flash (used by
Mindomo and many others).

I believe that Mindomo doesn't use Flash but Adobe Air, at
least in the desktop application; and in the web client I didn't see Flash running.
Notwithstanding I have similar reservations for Air, which I have experienced
mainly through Goalscape.

I also prefer HTML5 and expect that it will gradually
take over in rich web applications. It's really quite remarkable and for similar
effects the footprint seems to be minimal compared to Air and Flash.

Interesting. Wikipedia says that "Adobe AIR internally uses Adobe Flash Player as the runtime environment, and ActionScript 3 as the sole programming language." So maybe AIR vs Flash is a distinction without difference?

I spent time in the past weeks bouncing between Mindomo and MindMeister for lecture outlining and presentation before settling (for now) on Freeplane and Mindjet on Android. Of those, only the first two have any collaboration features, though.

Ben wrote:

So maybe AIR vs Flash is a distinction without difference?

Quite possibly.

I spent time in the past
weeks bouncing between Mindomo and MindMeister for lecture outlining and
presentation before settling (for now) on Freeplane and Mindjet on Android. Of
those, only the first two have any collaboration features, though.

What do you mean? Doesn't Mindjet on Android link with MIndjet Connect?

What do you mean? Doesn't Mindjet on Android link
with MIndjet Connect?

You're right, it does. I excluded Mindjet connect early in my search because it doesn't have presentation features--my focus--but it does allow collaboration. My earlier point--poorly phrased--was just that Freeplane doesn't allow synchronous collaboration.

Do try Podio, too, for collaborative purposes. It's got a vast range of free apps available, and you can even create your own. It's one of the more impressive online collaborative efforts I've discovered recently. The pricing is good, too. What sets it apart is the ability to build your own apps, without being a programmer - oh, and the speed of the interface, which is impressively responsive.

it's at http://podio.com

Cheers!
Bill

MadaboutDana wrote:

Do try Podio, too, for collaborative purposes. It's got a vast range of free apps
available, and you can even create your own. It's one of the more impressive online
collaborative efforts I've discovered recently. The pricing is good, too. What sets
it apart is the ability to build your own apps, without being a programmer - oh, and the
speed of the interface, which is impressively responsive.

it's at
http://podio.com

It is very impressive (though a bit too sophisticated for my current purpose). This is what Google Wave could have become...

Yes, and with Citrix behind it now, it's probably going to be around for quite some time. The web collaboration field is finally being taken seriously.

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

But for what I needed,
basic collaboration, mind42 was more than enough. It was one of the
first online mindmappers and I believe it is no longer being developed,
only maintained. The chap who made it has some excellent ideas; check
out spaaze.com, mentioned here in the past.

Mind42 has recently received an important update making it overall cleaner, more intuitive and more responsive; according to the developer, it has been rebuilt from the ground up. See http://mind42.com/blog/post/2012/welcome-mind42-v20

Additionally, it is now fully free (ad supported) with no functionality limitations. If you don't want ads, you can pay a very moderate sum (5 Euro per year, or 20 for lifetime) making this the most economical collaborative mind mapping solution that I am aware of. There's even a Giveaway raffle until the end of January, via Facebook and Twitter. See http://mind42.com/blog/post/2012/introducing-ad-free-accounts-giveaway