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defense of Maxthink
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Posted by Guido
Nov 17, 2007 at 09:27 PM
I understand the objections to Maxthink above but have to say that they are not fully justified.
As a lawyer, I used Notemap, but abandonned. Maxthink has a lot of features that I didn’t find until now in other outliner software.
- the binsort command
- automatical hoisting : you only see the parent and its childs ( like in brainstorm ) ; you are forced to concentrate on the active project
- very very fast creation of topics and also navigation as you get used to its key shortcuts
- the gathering command
Maxthink can either be a one - pane or a two - pane - outliner, it depends on if you toogle F 2.
I used and tried so much outliner and mindmapping software, but most of it comes with features that impress you first, that you have to learn in consequence, but that aren’t necessary for structured thinking and working.
Human short - term memory can only concentrate on 7 +/- 2 items at once. This is why I prefer outliners with automatical hoist function. Brainstorm and Maxthink are the only ones I could discover until now.
As for the ugly design of Maxthink : well, there are people that prefer to do their writing in programs like Darkroom, others prefer to have colors and sounds and fancy around all the time.
Posted by Stephen R. Diamond
Nov 17, 2007 at 10:40 PM
I’m very impressed with MaxThink too. I’m also a lawyer. Maybe it’s a lawyer’s program. First, MaxThink has obviously been developed from a theory of how to do outlining. It helps that I think it is a correct theory, and I have independently argued for parts MaxThink’s approach. I have long been convinced that this is the way to develop outlining software, as opposed to providing a grab bag of functions that presumably could suit diverse styles of work. Secondly, it brims with features Larsen has either invented or found in arcane sources, as I have not previously been familiar with many. These features all derive from Larsen’s rational analysis of the thinking, outlining, and writing process. Third, it incomporates the previous (imo) best outliner’s features in a larger framework, with the brainstorm presentation set as default. When I first switched from Macintosh to Windows a few years ago, Maxthink quickly rose to the top of my list. I was put off, however, that a $200 program lacked a manual. During the trial, I found I was unable easily to learn the program without one. The present version carries a much lower price and substantially more Help. It is still greatly deficient in with respect to Help, but who cares, at the price? Of course, one has to find a way to learn the program, which I think I have. While in general not my favorite way of learning, I find that the most effective way to learn MaxThink’s functions quiclky is to try to use them. What does “Classify” do? Just execute it. Instructions usually follow the command, as they do with regard to “Classify.” There are, however, deficiencies that concern me. Most important, the absence of *any* undo function. And as hurting usability, the absence of any right-click responsiveness.
Posted by Bob Mackreth
Nov 18, 2007 at 04:19 AM
Interesting perspectives. As I said in the other thread, I’m not especially impressed by this program, but I should remember that the choice of a personal information manager is definitely a personal one: “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”
(Or as George S. Kaufman said about King Xerxes’ army, “One man’s Mede is another man’s Persian.”)
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Nov 18, 2007 at 04:23 AM
First of all, I would call MaxThink a two-pane outliner, at least not in the same category as, say, Treepad or Jot. In those programs, you create your outline headers within the tree itself… the editor pane is for the content for each topic header. In MT, the editor window is merely the place you edit the headers… perhaps a subtle difference, but a significant one, I think.
Also, MT is not a PIM… that is, it is not the place to capture and store information. It does not have strong tools for capturing this information, nor does it have features for cataloging that information.
MaxThink is far more like Brainstorm than it is like Notemap. Both MT and Brainstorm are list-building programs. That is, their main function is the capture of ideas from your head. They both force focus on the topic at hand. They both facilitate the quick addition of new list items. Then they both provide several powerful methods for categorizing and organizing these items.
In this regard, MT has some advantages over Brainstorm. For one, it allows you to view your entire outline. For another, it provides some basic text formatting. And MaxThink has some additional, powerful organizing tools. Brainstorm, on the otherhand, allows for cloning (namesakes), captures information from other sources more effectively, and, as Stephen has pointed out, has an extensive undo function, while MT has none.
Which is more effective? I don’t know. I do know that Brainstorm sometimes gives me a feeling of claustrophobia because it is so relentless at focusing on one level at a time. Editing text in MT feels easier. Brainstorm is more versatile, I think… it can be used as a PIM or a journal, where I wouldn’t use MaxThink for anything but jump starting a project. Still, I think for this purpose, it seems remarkable nimble and powerful. And for $29 worth a go.
Steve Z.
Posted by Derek Cornish
Nov 18, 2007 at 01:10 PM
Steve:
> I do know that Brainstorm sometimes gives me a feeling of claustrophobia because it is so relentless at focusing on one level at a time. Editing text in MT feels easier.
I share this feeling, which in my case comes from long use of Grandview. I’m looking forward to trying out MaxThink again. In its DOS form it was the most like GV in terms of features - though not so much in mode of operation, I seem to remember (but that was a long time ago). It’s lack of multiple undo, as Stephen mentioned, is a pity, but GV only has a single undo, so it won’t be much of a change for me.
One practical problem of trying out MaxThink for Windows, incidentally, is that if you have previously run the trial on one particular computer you problably won’t be able to do so again; the evaluation copy zeroes out in terms of days remaining. I had briefly evaluated Maxthink 2-3 years ago on this computer, so it would not run again - even to the limited extent of showing the GUI. The solution, Neil Larsen informed me, is simple: just install the trial on another computer.
Derek