September 2007 - The mind-mapping.org Blog

September 24, 2007April 23, 2011

Imindi, PAUX, UML Explorer, Mappio and yalips

There are five additions to the mind map software list at Mind-mapping.org this weekend: Imindi, PAUX, UML Explorer, Mappio and yalips.

Imindi – Something to watch – with interest. It has high aspirations but little information on actual progress so far:

Mappio – This is not officially out yet, but it’s accessible and you can sign up without waiting. I made a little mind map of mind-mapping.org with Mappio, but I’ve blogged about that already: http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/blog/?p=63 This is web based:

PAUX – Information management sofware with a visual element, an outlines element and a claim to a “multidimensional mindmap”. I have no idea what the pricing is. It says: Free “in the context of a development partnership” and there is no information about how it is priced outside such a partnership. This is a thumbnail of the only image I could find of how the UI looks and feels:

UML Explorer – Part of the ModelMaker family, this UML tool can make mind maps and is at a good price point for a product with such capabilities:

yalips – Yes the lower-case name is the way they’ve registered the trademark, so I won’t capitalize it. Makes you wonder where the name comes from. This is another UML diagrams product that goes much further in the diagramming, and includes mind maps. Reasonably priced for such a product as well:

As usual, there’s more information with full-size images at mind-mapping.org

Vic

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September 21, 2007December 25, 2010

Coming soon? – Imindi

Here’s a proto-product that will be interesting if it lives up to its aspirations – Imindi.

There is little more than a blog peeping up over the parapet for now:
http://imindi.typepad.com/imindisaid/2007/08/what-is-imindi.html

“The Imindi Thought Engine enables you to input your Thoughts and the semantic connections between them (Why, What, Where, When, Who, How) in a naturally radiant fashion with one thought radiating outward to one or many associated thoughts that themselves radiate outwards towards other thoughts which …” you get the idea.

“Our aim is for Imindi to integrate with … many of your favourite third party applications …”

Just a few images for now – here’s one:

Vic

Google

September 21, 2007September 21, 2007

Text-to-mindmap in one click – It’s Mappio!

I’m adding this one to Mind-mapping.org as part of this weekend’s update, but I want to put the word out now:

Mappio – it’s at mappio.com – will take a lightly indented text file and make a mind map from it. The text must be formatted according to some simple guidelines and the indents show structure.

For now, the maps are limited in many ways, but it is a very interesting approach to making mind maps. Allowing pictures and hyperlinked nodes at this early stage is cool. There’s no privacy for maps at present, but you need to be logged in as the maker to edit the text.

Here’s a mind map of mind-mapping.org that I made (click to go to the original at Mappio):

And this is the text that did the job:

Mind-mapping.org++ * http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping 
    Master list of Mind   http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping, 
    mapping software { Shape: RoundRect } 
        Includes concept mapping 
        Has other information, 
        organizers 
             But they must include, 
             a graphical element 
        Control what you see with, 
        'Refine software list' 
        All currently live software http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/full-list.php 
        All historical software http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/full-list-historical.php 
    Articles on mapping http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/article_main.php { Shape: RoundRect } 
        Creativity http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/mindmapping-and-creativity/ 
        Mindmapping and you http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/mindmapping-and-you/ 
        Mindmapping before writing http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/mindmapping-before-writing/ 
        Business and planning 
        Project management http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/mindmapping-for-business-and-planning/ 
        Learning, study, memory http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/mindmapping-learning-study-memory/ 
        Outlining 
        Information Management 
        Seminal papers in  http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/seminal-papers-in-information-mapping/, 
        concept mapping 
    Razor-sharp mind, 
    mapping search { Shape: RoundRect } 
        Search box http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/article_main.php 
        List of sites it draws on http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/mm_sites.php 
    Mind mapping news at the blog http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/blog/  { Shape: RoundRect } 
---

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September 14, 2007December 25, 2010

The initiative to facilitate exchange of mindmaps and concept maps

In the spirit of the well-established move towards open or semi-open file formats, at Mind-Mapping.org I recently began a new initiative.

This is to collect information about the format of mind- and concept map files, or the format of exported structured files. The intent is to make public those formats for which the software publishers give permission. Over time, I hope that there will not only be file format descriptions, but instructions for conversion and descriptions of limitations. I am willing to co-ordinate the gathering of this information.

There are benefits to users, spelled out below, and I believe these benefits will bring benefits to software publishers and vendors for reasons explained here.

User benefits:

Keen mindmappers are starting to work with both desktop products and web-based ones, according to the circumstances around a specific mapping task. They use different platforms and want the ability to interchange freely;
users want to be able to interchange maps made in different products;
users will be more temped to try out products if they can use their own material without the need to recreate from scratch.
users contemplating trying a new product will have the confidence of knowing that they can revert without needing to redo all work done during the trial period, thus increasing the likelyhood that they will commit to the trial.

Some products offer limited interchange. The fact that these actions are not freely possible with a wide range of products is a limit to growth on the whole field of mindmapping and concept mapping and therefore a limit to growth on the mapping software market.

I’ve written to all publishers of mind mapping and concept mapping software for whom I can find a contact email. I asked if they are willing to make public either the format of map files produced by their product or of any exported files. I hope to be able to show this information by links to an appropriate page on their site or by locating the material at Mind-mapping.org. In either case, I hope to have a copy of the material at mind-mapping.org to ensure continuity of the link.

Naturally, I shall honour any future request from the software publisher to remove these materials.

I have already received many favorable responses, some with immediate information, others with promises to gather the material or supply it later. There’s been only one outright rejection so far, so it seems that the general view is, like mine, that expanding interoperability will expand the market, and that’s as good for the mind mapping software publishers as it is for the users.

I’ll be reporting progress here.

Vic
Mind-mapping.org
The master list of mind mapping &
information management software

Google

September 10, 2007December 25, 2010

Cayra, VORG Express and SnapXT

This weekend’s update to Mind-mapping.org brings a lively and colourful new mind-mapping product, Cayra; VORG Express, a free information manager; and a development platform for throw-away web applications that revolves around a MindManager mind map.

Cayra – This is an attractive program, free for now, that produces colourful maps that don’t have to represent a pure hiearchy. It can therefore produce a limited form of concept map as well as mind maps.

[Update December 2010: No longer supported but still available from download sites like CNET, and still good.]
VORG Express – VE is a free information manager that also has diagramming capabilities. It has a big brother, VORG Team, which costs US$48 a year per user. There are other products in the family that are aimed at vertical markets: Finance and medical.

SnapXT – Finally, there’s SnapXT that uses a MindManager mind map to build collaborative web applications. The key to its original approach to application development is that the connection between the mind map and the application is “live” – changes to the map can be reflected in the on-line application.

Vic

Google

September 4, 2007September 10, 2007

Useful bubbl.us review

There are some useful comments about bubble.us here: Mind Mapping Software – Fast, Free, Simple, Online.

The reviewer Dane Morgan says “But most of all I like that the maps it produces look like mind maps look in my mind.” I would add that it’s also able to produce concept maps of a sort – a network rather than a hierarchy.

I’ve added the link to the bubbl.us review entry in the database and it will appear on the site soon.

Vic

Updated – typo correction

Google

September 3, 2007

Taonotes, Dia and XWiki MindMap

The new entrants to mind-mapping.org this week are:

Taonotes – a reasonably-priced outliner.

Dia – free diagramming software with the ability to draw mind maps, but it has no features specifically aimed at easing mind map production. Then again, it is free.

XWiki MindMap – an add-on to XWiki that lets you introduce mind maps (made in FreeMind) to a wiki.

Vic

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