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TheBrain 10 released
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Posted by Dr Andus
Nov 5, 2018 at 09:48 AM
moritz wrote:
>In my experience the web and mobile apps are primarily companion apps
>for the Mac and Windows versions of The Brain.
Well, it’s certainly not how they are promoting and selling it. It’s called “TheBrain PRO Service” and they are charging USD180 for “exclusive pro features.”
For that I would expect pure perfection and luxury, a premium buttery-smooth service. In comparison, WorkFlowy charge $49 and Gingko something similar, and they do deliver what they promise.
>If you don’t have access to a Mac or Windows machine, I don’t know if
>The Brain would work as well for you.
The thing is I do have what I thought was a reasonably powerful Windows laptop (albeit Win7 and 3 yrs old), but TheBrain is incapabable of running properly on it.
Posted by Jon Polish
Nov 5, 2018 at 01:14 PM
Hi Dr. Andus:
To answer your questions.
Dr Andus wrote:
I have started to trial TheBrain 10: the Windows version, the web
>version (in Chrome on a Chromebook), and the Android (v. 9) version (on
>a Chromebook).
>
>The initial experience has been very disappointing, even though I love
>the concept and I’m in desperate need of a tool like this one.
>
>I’m having major problems with the Windows version. I’m
>running it on a 3-yr old Windows 7 mobile workstation with a core i7
>processor and 16GB RAM. In the three years I have not come across a
>software that I wasn’t able to run due to resource constraints.
My setup is very similar to yours and I am not having the problems you are experiencing. There is a caveat. See below.
>
>Just last week I upgraded my Dragon Naturallyspeaking from Pro v. 14 to
>v.15, and it’s running perfectly.
>
>Yet TheBrain 10 is running so slowly that it is practically unusable.
>After every click on anything I have to wait 4-5 seconds for anything to
>happen, often wondering if my click was even registered. At the same
>time the fans are spinning at full speed non-stop while TheBrain is
>running, suggesting that it’s a major drain on resources.
Yes. The first several sessions with version 10 were painfully slow for me as well. Over time it has become much more fluid. I think this has something to do with stuff going on in the background. But it really does settle down . I still find the Java based version 8 much better in terms of features and speed (and use it for my work until 10 matures), but version 10 is getting closer.
>
>The installation itself was painfully slow. When I tried to update the
>software the next day (as a new version came out), I waited 6 hrs for
>the “Updating TheBrain” dialog box to finish before giving
>up and cancelling. I tried three times, it’s impossible to update
>the software from within itself. I may have to uninstall it and then
>reinstall the new version.
Installation was ridiculous. I am very patient by nature, but this was truly a test. Updating is worse.
>
>I haven’t had this sort of trouble installing a software for over
>a decade. It felt like time travel into the past. The interface also
>feels dated.
>
>Is this primarily a Mac software and the Windows version an
>afterthought?
I think it always has been both.
>
>The web version worked a bit better, but it’s missing some
>essential features, and even the ones it has don’t always work. It
>also takes a long time for some of the features to kick in sometimes
>(and I have a decent broadband connection).
>
> For a while I didn’t think I was able to add any notes because
>the interface just wouldn’t activate. Or there seems to be an
>option to set a link type, but when you set it up, it is not saved and
>disappears.
I do not have 10 on this computer, so I am working from memory. Under preferences, there is an option to turn the link labels off. I think it is off by default.
>
>The sync between the various clients also feels archaic and seems to be
>rather slow. Having gotten used to working in web apps in recent years,
>this one just feels like an unfinished beta from some years ago.
Ah, check if you are syncing. This could contribute to the slowdown. I do not sync.
>
>Interestingly the Android app was the most responsive one of the lot,
>but unfortunately it has even fewer features than the web version.
>
>This has been a very frustrating experience, especially considering how
>much money they are asking for this. Having seen what this software
>could do in theory, I would be willing to consider paying for it. But
>how can I do that when the performance is so poor and there are such
>gaps in features among the various platforms?
>
>As I was trialling the software, I was thinking that there is a good
>concept here, but terrible execution, in terms of product quality (I ran
>across some bugs in the web version as well).
>
>My next thought was: how come no one has tried to emulate this idea but
>producing it better, with leaner code, using faster servers etc., in a
>package that would actually work?
>
>Then I came across this post, so other people have also asked this
>question. It seems that there is some kind of a patent preventing the
>replication of this idea:
>
>http://forums.thebrain.com/post/thebrain-on-mac-incredibly-slow-9822809
>
>This is a pity because the idea itself doesn’t seem that
>revolutionary: essentially it’s Tim Berners-Lee’s idea of
>hypertext and hyperlinks, so I don’t get how that could be even
>patented.
>
>Is there anything out there that emulates this model and is more
>useable, or is this a monopoly “take it or leave it”
>situation?
>
None that I am aware of, but you could approach many of TheBrain’s features with the newest version of MindManager.
My biggest issue has always been that I can never get TheBrain to include attachments and web links in the search results. I have scoured the web and consulted with tech support. It seems to be an issue with Windows 64 bit desktop search upon which TheBrain depends. It works fine on 32 bit flavors though.
Jon
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Nov 5, 2018 at 01:30 PM
Dr Andus,
TheBrain should most definitely work better than that for you. I was using it on an old Windows 7 machine without those kinds of delays. I suspect there is a way to fix this. I suggest going to TheBrain home page and starting a chat… the customer service people who chat with you I have found to be very knowledgeable. They may be able to help you right away. If not, they’ll suggest you contact customer service.
I think you’ll find this is worth your while, because TheBrain works way better than that… usually.
Also, TheBrain is definitely built for Windows.
Steve Z.
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Nov 5, 2018 at 04:32 PM
I fully concur. My main machine is a refurbished Core i5 several generations back, with 8 GB. TheBrain 10 has been as fast as previous versions, and the memory footprint is very reasonable (2 threads of about 100 MB each; Firefox seems to demand as much or more for just one tab…). I run TheBrain just after startup and keep it open at all times for orientation, and I’ve never had any issues.
However, I can confirm that the latest 2-3 updates of TheBrain don’t seem to install automatically—update seems to take forever. I close TheBrain, download the latest version and install it without uninstalling first. This seems to work fine.
BTW, auto-update today informs me that version 10.0.25.0 is available, but the download available in the website is still 10.0.24.0, so it seems that existing users are the first to be updated.
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
Dr Andus,
>
>TheBrain should most definitely work better than that for you.
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Nov 5, 2018 at 05:16 PM
As far as I understand, TheBrain has not patented the concept of interconnected information items, but the specific visualisation of those interconnections. I don’t know to which extent this limits other similar visualisations, but I know of at least two more products: Thinkmap, which drives https://www.visualthesaurus.com/ and can be licensed to developers for their own applications; and Inxight StarTree—Inxight is now owned by SAP which is to use the technology in its own products. Others have been mentioned here as well, e.g. used in visualising molecular models.
As far as I know, TheBrain is the only such application which is consumer-targeted, and is directly integrated with the file system, ready to use.
Dr Andus wrote:
>This is a pity because the idea itself doesn’t seem that
>revolutionary: essentially it’s Tim Berners-Lee’s idea of
>hypertext and hyperlinks, so I don’t get how that could be even
>patented.
>
>Is there anything out there that emulates this model and is more
>useable, or is this a monopoly “take it or leave it”
>situation?