2 More From James Fallows
okay, I love mind-mapping software, and I just can't resist re-posting some more from James Fallows Sunday piece on new and upcoming software. Of course, my other excuse is that I'm just not fully well yet, but hey, here's a helping of technology fun, boyz n girlz...
"Mind mapping software, the focus of last month's column. Most of the correspondence about that column addressed an apparent anomaly: if mind mapping is so great for putting ideas in visual form, why was there no mention of programs designed for the leader in visually intuitive computing, the Macintosh?
The narrow answer is that the two programs I praised, MindManager and ResultsManager, will (like most other Windows software) run on the Mac under the Virtual PC utility that Microsoft sells for $129. Also, Robert Gordon, chief executive of the company that makes MindManager, says that it is "seriously considering" producing a native Mac version. (Impatient Mac users: write to him, not me.)
BUT the broader answer is that programs to collect information and organize ideas are so numerous, varied and rapidly proliferating that a list of the good ones soon grows very long.
Want a mind-mapper designed specifically for the Mac? There's Inspiration ($69 from www.inspiration.com; PC version available too), which is mainly marketed to schools but is also useful for other writing projects. Or FreeMind, which lacks a few advanced features, but is free (from freemind.sourceforge.net). Or ConceptDraw Mindmap ($149, from www.csodessa.com), which runs on the Mac and is made by a company in Ukraine. MindGenius - yes, the names do get sort of creepy - is a mapper for the PC that costs $59 and comes from www.mindgenius.com in Scotland.
NoteTaker ($69.95 from www.aquaminds.com) is an attractive and powerful Mac-only data organizer. Axon Idea Processor is an unattractive and powerful PC-only organizer. It is $135, from Singapore.) I hope to say more about these in the future - along with the likes of: BrainStorm ($75, from www.brainstormsw.com in England); ADM or Advanced Data Manager ($129, from www.adm21.net in Canada); Tinderbox ($165, Mac-only, from www.eastgate.com/tinderbox in Massachusetts); Omea Pro ($49 from www.jetbrains.com in the Czech Republic); Zoot ($99 from www.zootsoftware.com in Florida); and whatever promising newcomers have appeared by then, from whatever odd corners of the world. In the meantime, try them yourself."
"Mind mapping software, the focus of last month's column. Most of the correspondence about that column addressed an apparent anomaly: if mind mapping is so great for putting ideas in visual form, why was there no mention of programs designed for the leader in visually intuitive computing, the Macintosh?
The narrow answer is that the two programs I praised, MindManager and ResultsManager, will (like most other Windows software) run on the Mac under the Virtual PC utility that Microsoft sells for $129. Also, Robert Gordon, chief executive of the company that makes MindManager, says that it is "seriously considering" producing a native Mac version. (Impatient Mac users: write to him, not me.)
BUT the broader answer is that programs to collect information and organize ideas are so numerous, varied and rapidly proliferating that a list of the good ones soon grows very long.
Want a mind-mapper designed specifically for the Mac? There's Inspiration ($69 from www.inspiration.com; PC version available too), which is mainly marketed to schools but is also useful for other writing projects. Or FreeMind, which lacks a few advanced features, but is free (from freemind.sourceforge.net). Or ConceptDraw Mindmap ($149, from www.csodessa.com), which runs on the Mac and is made by a company in Ukraine. MindGenius - yes, the names do get sort of creepy - is a mapper for the PC that costs $59 and comes from www.mindgenius.com in Scotland.
NoteTaker ($69.95 from www.aquaminds.com) is an attractive and powerful Mac-only data organizer. Axon Idea Processor is an unattractive and powerful PC-only organizer. It is $135, from Singapore.) I hope to say more about these in the future - along with the likes of: BrainStorm ($75, from www.brainstormsw.com in England); ADM or Advanced Data Manager ($129, from www.adm21.net in Canada); Tinderbox ($165, Mac-only, from www.eastgate.com/tinderbox in Massachusetts); Omea Pro ($49 from www.jetbrains.com in the Czech Republic); Zoot ($99 from www.zootsoftware.com in Florida); and whatever promising newcomers have appeared by then, from whatever odd corners of the world. In the meantime, try them yourself."
2 Comments:
James: BrainStorm went down to £20 36 hours ago. That's about $35 US. Please pass on the word. Thanks.
By
David Tebbutt, at 1:46 PM
Sorry. I didn't realise you were copying James. Still BrainStorm is half price now.
Why? Well James mentioned a half price offer in the New York Times last October and sales friction more or less disappeared overnight.
The offer closed at the end of the year and sales responded accordingly. Made sense to restart the offer as a permanent price change.
By
David Tebbutt, at 2:18 PM
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