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Your choice of mind mapping software
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Posted by Graham Smith
Oct 18, 2006 at 05:19 PM
>Have you ever looked at B-Liner?
Indeed I have and I bought a license for it some years ago. A very clever program, but its more of diagramming program than a mind mapping program with some clever project management tools.
But it wouldn’t allow me to replace the $ sign with a £ sign and it only worked with US style dates. The company showed little interest in this issue and some years later when a ne w version came out and email asking about upgrade prices and whether the new version would help with these two problems, was not replied to.
I have now long lost the registration details, but if the web site had showed me that it was now B-Liner 2006, I might still be interested in trying it again, but as it is still stuck at B-Liner 2002, then I think I will give it a miss.
Shame because it is a unique program and potentially very useful.
Graham
Posted by Stephen R. Diamond
Oct 18, 2006 at 09:15 PM
A.Research wrote:
>I think mindmapping in a literal sense should not be restrictive, but Tony Buzan
>trademarked mindmappers are essentially only radial trees.
Not sure what you mean by “literal sense.” The main thing I hate about “mind mapping” is my need to always put the phrase in quotes or substitute terms like radial outline and then accepting the risk that people won’t know what I’m talking about. To me, the term is just stupid. It isn’t a map of the mind. To the limited extent that it is a map at all, it is a map of whatever it purports to be dealing with. The very phrase evokes some crude version of Bishop Berkeley’s fallacy.
Then there’s the counterposing of mind map’s to hierarchies, where “mind maps” actuall enforce a stricter hierarchy than outlines, as each branch must be subordinated to a single ultimate element at the center.
Posted by Stephen R. Diamond
Oct 18, 2006 at 09:34 PM
Graham Smith wrote:
>Although I have several different mind mapping programs (Mind Manager, Mind Genius,
>Inspiration, FreeMind and Axon) I don’t feel that any of them really what I am looking
>for. All of them are excellent in their own way, but I none have found a place in “my
>comfort zone”
>
>Any one got suggestions of what else I should look
In subsequent posts you clarify what you are looking for. I see why the programs you mention are unsatisfactory. I agree they try to do too much, at least for my purposes too. The program I had been using is Visual-Mind. I think it is faster in its approach to entry than the programs you list, certainly the ones that require an additional use of the Enter key to create a branch. (MindManager and FreeMind.) Axon would be downright cumbersome. In fairness, it is intended for greater things.
I have recently started using Visi-Map. I am still uncertain if it is undergoing development. They do collect crash data, so fixes for any bugs discovered could be fortchcoming. Version 4 has had 3 updates directed to that purpose. My best guess is it on a slow development path. I see various programs that have not been updated for a couple of years and it is unclear whether they will be updated further. They talk as if they intend to, but maybe it is more like they hope funds will be available for that purpose. Perhaps BrainStorm is an example of a program that now fits that description.
The sharp drop in price of VisiMap (it now goes for $35 for non-business use) is probably not a good sign for future development. But unlike the program Visual Concept that I’ve tried, VisiMap seems to me to be a mature program, better thought out in its details than any of the competing programs I have seen. It also seems quite stable, unlike Visual Mind.
I think Buzan was onto something when he noticed the particular usability of radial outlines for core outlining. On the other hand, some of the factors he emphasized have struck me as pure distraction. I do not think the use of color automatically interests the brain to justify gratuitous coloration. Color can help when used for some classificatory end. The plain diagrams in Visi-Map have been more conducive to thought than gaudier displays. I have the sense that Visi-Map was intended for users more like me than the other programs. This, it has to be admitted, creates an artificial element of sympathy with the program, going outside actual usability.
Since you know Visi-Map, I would suggest you check out Visual-Mind.
Posted by Graham Smith
Oct 18, 2006 at 09:34 PM
Stephen
> To me, the term is just stupid. It isn’t a map of the mind. To the limited extent that it is a
>map at all, it is a map of whatever it purports to be dealing with.
Have you read Tony Buzan, and how the concept of mind maps evolved?
Graham
Posted by Jack Crawford
Oct 19, 2006 at 03:19 AM
Interesting topic Graham
I do my brainstorming in text mode, using an outlining program. However, I do find it useful to then switch the view to a graphical one and observe the connections and patterns. I might edit a little in graphical mode and then go back to text.
Consequently, the ability to toggle between so-called outliner text and mind map is important for me.
So far, I’m aware of only 2 programs that do this in a more than rudimentary way - Mind Manager (version 6) and Inspiration. I would dearly love to use Inspiration but it is a bit clunky and really designed for another market. So I use Mind Manager - a behemoth for sure.
I’m interested in other programs that have this toggling ability.
Jack