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TheBrain 9 is out of beta
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Posted by Paul Korm
Feb 28, 2018 at 10:02 PM
This is anticlimactic, since the beta has dragged gone on for a good chunk of the decade, but TheBrain 9 was released from beta today.
It’s a very good product, IMO. But if anyone is interested in TheBrain I recommend a very long trial if you can swing it, before committing. TheBrain is an acquired taste, for sure.
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Feb 28, 2018 at 11:37 PM
Thanks for the notice, Paul.
The one feature that I really miss in TheBrain 9 that was in version 8 is the ability (working in Windows) to drag an email out of Outlook and onto the Plex. That was so handy for reminding myself to tackle things on certain dates. Other than that, TheBrain 9 is superior in every other way.
Steve Z.
Posted by Graham Rhind
Mar 1, 2018 at 08:35 AM
Steve, I hear a lot that The Brain 9 is superior than previous versions, but rarely why people think this. Obviously a lot depends on an individual’s work flow, but I can find little to applaud about version 9 apart from the ability to sync files between multiple computers and to the cloud, and being accessible through a browser, which is why I am a subscriber (and I use it daily, but only in a limited way). Every version has dropped features, such as the ability to create a web brain independent of TheBrain’s servers. Outlook integration, as you said, is weak (though still being advertised as working), the notes editor is a laughable shadow of its former self, the list of outstanding bugs is as long as both arms ... I also use version 6 and don’t see a lot of improvement from that in version 9.
Perhaps you need a brain of 100000 thoughts to see the advantages. If speed has improved, it would be like choosing a Ferrari which only turns right. So, seriously, outside the marketing blurb on TheBrain website, what for you has actually improved? I would really like to know what I’m missing - I get the impression that the basics, such as the notes editor, are somehow being sacrificed for features I don’t see or use.
Cheers.
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Mar 1, 2018 at 12:12 PM
Graham,
For what it is worth, here are the main things I like about version 9:
- Much, much faster syncing to the cloud, and more reliable. (By itself, this would be enough for me to recommend version 9.)
- You can keep multiple brains open at the same time and access them through the tabbed interface or open them side by side. You can also use the tabs to view the same brain, but in different places.
- I’ve always thought the notes tool is weak, but I feel it is much improved in version 9. For instance, if you want to create a checklist, you no longer have to manually add a checkbox to each item. Though there are times that it doesn’t properly refresh when selecting a new thought.
- The timeline view is a nice feature, but one I haven’t put to much use yet.
- I like that it is now not dependent on Java and Java updates.
These are on top of the many, many ways TheBrain is a thoughtfully built information manager.
Steve Z.
Posted by Paul Korm
Mar 1, 2018 at 02:37 PM
I second Steve’s list and add
Tabbed browsing. Multiple brains open in multiple tabs, or multiple tabs focused on different areas of the same brain.
The panel for editing a thought’s name, tags, types, colors, icons, etc., is very well done
Thought history (I think this was also in v8) is presented in a very useful way
Website views in the notes panel. (I happen to thing the overall improvements to note taking is a major improvement in v9.)
On the other hand, getting information out of TheBrain is a major disappointment. The beta forum continually received requests to match or better the export features in TheBrain 8 and all of it was ignored. I can only conclude that TheBrain company is interested in locking in users. From a data perspective TheBrain 9 is more proprietary than any prior version. That alone limits my interest in using version 9—I would never use it for anything that my income relies on.