mind map

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Simon ocane

Could someone point me in the right direction for a good programme similar
to mind map which helps to so-ordinate ideas when brain storming in a group.

Many thanks

Simon
 
Could someone point me in the right direction for a good programme similar
to mind map which helps to so-ordinate ideas when brain storming in a group.

Many thanks

Simon
Click to expand...
orGenta software organizes your thoughts automatically by category. If
you desire software that is easier to use than a database and more
powerful than rummaging through tasks on paper with a pen, then orGenta
may be just what you seek.

After you enter an item orGenta scans the words and places your item
into each matching category. You may add extensive notes to each item
and store non-indexed information such as phone numbers, eMail, and web
addresses. You may sort your items by any column.

orGenta also provides for importing and exporting data and offers a
variety of printing options.

orGenta is shareware written in Microsoft's C#.Net and hence will run
on Windows computers that have the .Net framework installed.

http://home.earthlink.net/~jdc24/orGenta/orGentaHome.htm

The free version provides nearly all the capabilities as the registered
version. (Registered customers can also access advanced printing and
exporting features.)
 
Thanks guys for prompt replies on a Saturday evening with not a lot on tele.
I will check them out.

Regards

Simon
 
Simon said:
Could someone point me in the right direction for a good programme similar
to mind map which helps to so-ordinate ideas when brain storming in a group.

Many thanks

Simon
Click to expand...
Please describe your system. It makes a difference.
I'm running Windows ME at 720 mhz, maxed-out memory.

Don't try CMap!
It's a horror with an arrogance that's only normal at some universities
(U of West Florida, in this case). It'll only run if you've got five
open connections to the mother ship. When you're installing the program,
it tells you that they own it; you're only a beta tester at their
command, and that when they've had their way with you, you're done with
the software. And that's enforced, because, remember, it won't run
unless you're solidly connected to them with *five* live connections.
Forget dialup (but they didn't tell you that, either).

Freemind is good. It's a little klutzy because the maps are divided into
two sides -- right and left. Otherwise it seems quite decent and runs
sluggishly in Sun Java.

Correlate is also interesting -- a slick commercial product that's free
for home use. I haven't gotten into this yet.

The Literary Machine looks especially good, but I had terminal problems
on my system.

All the other programs I tried were impossible to use. For me, this was
an especially troublesome class of programs. It seems that the
programmers rely on coding tools that present problems on my system. In
one case, the install routine set up a nice Borland environment on my
system, but I was hardly informed about this, nor that an undocumented
subdirectory had been set up. And even Borland had virtually no
documentation about their own application on their own web site. I'm
still trying to pick the pieces of it off my system. And I used to
really like Borland's stuff!

I'm worn out from trying these programs. This is one of those cases in
which some of the programmers haven't bothered to tell the user which
operating systems the software will and won't work with, etc., etc. So
there can be lots of struggling. And this can be a trying situation with
some freeware.

A heads-up if you're running 9x; at least this is what I experienced.

But please let us know if you are successful with any of these, because
I'm still interested, just worn out from the struggle.

Richard
 
All the other programs I tried were impossible to use. For me, this was
Click to expand...

Did you try Brainbox from Circle-of-Excellence? It might interest you. . .

Also, consider a flowcharting program as an alternative. Don't know which
freeware ones to recommend but there are some out there.

Personally, I feel this is one class of program that doesn't lend itself to
a computer. By definition, a program constrains you to rules which is
contrary to the whole purpose of "free for all" brainstorming.

M
 
Michael said:
Did you try Brainbox from Circle-of-Excellence? It might interest you. . .
Click to expand...

No. Haven't heard of it. Is this freeware? Where is it found?
Also, consider a flowcharting program as an alternative. Don't know which
freeware ones to recommend but there are some out there.
Click to expand...

You mean something like Visio? I've seen one or two alternatives to
Visio mentioned in this newsgroup. It's an interesting perspective. I
bought Visio a few years ago. I'll keep your suggestion in mind.
Personally, I feel this is one class of program that doesn't lend itself to
a computer. By definition, a program constrains you to rules which is
contrary to the whole purpose of "free for all" brainstorming.
Click to expand...

That's true enough. However, an advantage of doing this on the computer
is that you can re-label items, move them, re-link, change dependencies,
etc. You might like to give FreeMind a try. I can't recall if there was
some sort of print problem, but as I recall, it's possible to export the
diagram pretty well to something else that prints.

I have a sense that the developer is responsive to user feedback, so I
think that this application bears watching as new versions improve --
it's already quite decent -- the only complaint is the left-right
structure. But, of course, you can choose to do a mind map on only one
side. I'll have to get into it again. Although it's Java-sluggish, it
did seem to have good manners when I tried it. No crashes or other nasty
surprises.

I'd be interested in your feedback about this (or anyone else's, for
that matter).

Richard
 
No. Haven't heard of it. Is this freeware? Where is it found?


You mean something like Visio? I've seen one or two alternatives to
Visio mentioned in this newsgroup. It's an interesting perspective. I
bought Visio a few years ago. I'll keep your suggestion in mind.


That's true enough. However, an advantage of doing this on the computer
is that you can re-label items, move them, re-link, change dependencies,
etc. You might like to give FreeMind a try. I can't recall if there was
some sort of print problem, but as I recall, it's possible to export the
diagram pretty well to something else that prints.

I have a sense that the developer is responsive to user feedback, so I
think that this application bears watching as new versions improve --
it's already quite decent -- the only complaint is the left-right
structure. But, of course, you can choose to do a mind map on only one
side. I'll have to get into it again. Although it's Java-sluggish, it
did seem to have good manners when I tried it. No crashes or other nasty
surprises.

I'd be interested in your feedback about this (or anyone else's, for
that matter).

Richard
Click to expand...
BrainBox Pro integrates our own work, with a range of free applications,
and with a range of tools programmed by others, to create a suites of
tools to help you learn more quickly and think more insightfully.

BrainBox Pro combines a well featured flowcharting program with wizards
and notes to help you select and use a wealth of creative thinking
techniques. Added to the mix, for good measure, you will also find a set
of writer's templates - notes to help you conduct and report upon
various kinds of research, compose essays or even author fictional
stories.

And if you want to become even more adept in your use of language, an
updated version of NLP Language Lab will provide you with expertise that
you can use to improve your understanding of words and the ways they can
be used to good effect. The application is built around a 15,000 word
library of advice on language patterns, along with exercises with which
you can engage.

Finally, if that were not enough, you will also have access to a number
of applets, such as a well-featured dictionary-thesaurus, a
text-to-speech facility called Orator, an autocue module called
Fasttext, a personal dictaphone, called SpeakEasy, and links to powerful
speech analysis tools, in a module referred to as VoiceCoach. Finally,
even more power can be gained by linking BrainBox Pro with our free set
of books, distributed under the name LibraryDesk.

BrainBox Pro is designed to integrate easily with LibraryDesk, which
contains almost half a million words worth of illustrated texts and
exercises, all with a focus on Accelerated Learning and associated Mind
Technologies: from traditional theories in Psychology to
Neuro-Linguistic Programming; from DeBono DATT to Scenario Planning,
from Knowledge Representation to Design Human Engineering; from Mozart
Effect to Hemi-Synch; from Computer Aided Learning to Web-Based
Learning; from Flow Diagrams to Soft Systems, from Expert Systems to
Neural Nets; from Formal Logic to Fuzzy Logic; and from Production Rules
to Genetic Algorithms. If you are keen to tune up the power of your
mind, then you will find something of interest in our work, and plenty
to make your curious, along with web-links to help you find out more.

http://www.circle-of-excellence.com/_main/Resources_DownloadsExplained.htm#2
 
I'd be interested in your feedback about this (or anyone else's, for that
matter).
Click to expand...

For those few times I have needed a mindmapping solution, I have used a
commercial product (gasp). It is produced by Microsoft (now I'll burn in
hell after first incurring the wrath of the self-annointed ng police here. .
..). I can't give you the name of it but it has the letters W-O-R-D in it.
The combination of hyperlinks, comments, ability to quickly insert arrows,
symbols, etc, format text for special emphasis and the ability to change
views from outline format to online to page format hasn't been matched by
anyway freeware product I've encountered. I played with Open Office but IMO
the unmentionable program has it beat. However, Brainbox Pro comes very
close and it's free at . It also integrates very nicely with
Commercial-Product-That-Dares-not-be-Named-Here.

Depending on your requirements another proggie you might consider is Input
Easy. If your goal is to memorize some course material or the like, this
program is a type of flash card program. You provide intial questions and
answers and it will then test you in various ways. Those questions that are
answered incorrectly are automatically presented more often to help you hone
in on your weakest material. You can quickly import q and a's from a text
file. However, it doesn't allow for RTF formatting, images, etc. A similar
program called Super Memo IIRC allows this, but it's an older program and it
takes some time to set up the cards.

Look for Input Easy in Yahoo groups -- search on "Pali" because I believe
the author originally created it to help him learn that language. Super Memo
(could be Supermemo) I don't have a URL for so you'll have to root around
for it.

M
 
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